OPC problems on a 996 - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

How soon after purchase did the strange noise emerge? ie did you complain within a week of collection? If there is a big gap I can see their point, and I doubt you'll get anywhere. Although you've not knocked anything, does anyone else ever drive the vehicle? It's also strange in that most people who hit things buckle the outside of the alloy. DAZ Looking at your profile you may have to make a complaint to Richard Davies at Swindon who runs Bristol as well. In the end though feck em, get another wheel and tyre and enjoy the car. If you feel you have a genuine grievance in future deal with the OPCs in Exeter or Cardiff which are not part of the group I guess you bought yours through.

I have had the car for 4 months, but the noise has always been there but as it is a cab and most of the time I drive it in the more summer months I had the top down andthe noise could not be heard. But my (may be ex) OPC has known about the noise for 2 months. But I am thinking of the option that you have made, but it is not so much the cost of the wheel. It is more that I feel that after the wheel has been replaced then the wheel bearing will also need replacing? I have to say that my OPC in Bristol has given me very good customer service and the sales and customer realations staff are very good. But I brought the car from the other OPC in this group (if you get my drift) and they are total crap!!!! So I am going to change the wheels my self as I quite fancy a set of GT3 wheels. I just wanted to release some built up preasure about the way SOME! OPC's treat there customers.....But I will not drop to there level. cheers DAZ lee >> Edited by lee_harper on Thursday 5th December 11:30

Got to agree with you Lee, Bristol are very good. Having said that I haven't had to "test" them with my unreasonable hat on yet! DAZ (Can you get the bearings done under guarantee? Have they been checked?)

Daz, See you are also in the Bristol area, we will have to meet up and I can take a gander at your TT, very sweet! lee

LEE As you're into cars you'll have to come along to one of the PH meets. DAZ Hmmm - May have to look at a Bristol/Southwest PH readers pub meet for the new year. Together with the usual motoring comparisons/passsenger rides that ensue.

Could you not swop the wheels around to see if it causes the same noise on the other side first? You will then know if it is indeed the wheel or not. But if the buckled wheel could cause a bearing to go (don't know if it can or not) then don't drive the car with the wheel on the opposite side for too long, you don't want two bearings go fail you!

Good point Ninja. As long as Lee isn't running single directional tyres such as Pirelli Assimetricos (As fitted to "Ze Beast" living in my garage). DAZ

Tyres will be fine as long as you don't try any high speed stopping in the wet!!

Dazren My beast is for sale, how about a matching pair Rgds Lee. >> Edited by lee77 on Thursday 5th December 17:29

Sorry Lee. Can't afford another one, even if I blackmailed my bank manager my driving licence couldn't cope with a second one! DAZ PS - Anyone in the market for a turbo should take a look at Lee77's motor, very quick with both a power and "acoustic environment" makeover. It's on the Pistonheads classifieds. >> Edited by dazren on Thursday 5th December 17:36

Lee, although a 993 bod myself, this business of the 911's overt 'wheel sensitivity' - for reasons including what the OPC says - appears to be a recurrent theme of ownership. I wonder whether DAZ or Lee77 (very to hear about the sale, btw - will you be rejoining the fold at a later date?) have ever experienced balancing related queries in their respective steeds during ownership? Mine needs fairly regular fettling of the tracking and I too suffered (unbeknown to me, also) an imperfection in a rim, necessitating replacement. 911s do seem to be funny, fussy burgers viz a vis a range of steering and tyre/wheel issues that you might not have expected.

Hi DeR. Done 6,500 miles. Car Feels fine, tyre wear appears even. MUST TRY HARDER DAZ Above mileage includes two german excursions with gentle mountain road driving.

DAZ - I'm quite sure you try just the right amount (I recall Domster praising your charge...)! The one thing I love about your car (well, ok, I love everything about your car!) is the PSM. This must make you feel invincible, right? I'm in the pig myself today, all zymoled and looking nice; no rain either so a nice northerly blast after work...the turbos lurv this cold weather. Excellent. ears!

DeR My respect for PSM can be summed up in a comment I made yesterday on the 150mph thread. "There are faster cars; Ultimas F40, F50 etc..... but would I hoon into corners in one of them like I would a 4WD 996tt with PSM? No chance." I saw Domster in Swindon a couple of weeks ago and took him out for a blast in the traffic and the transfer of power from rear to front in the wet when you boot it at 50 in 2nd took him a little by surprise. Simple transfer of power from rear to front wheels doesn't even set PSM off!! I've only ever set the PSM light off twice, both times on the Ring. The first time at Brunnchen 2 in the wet, doing a right hander up hill the back went so I just flicked the opposite lock added a little extra Gas. PSM took over and the car went where I steered, simple as that, bloody superb. The second time, in the dry, nearing the bottom of Fuchsrohre (Long down hill straight with an uphill left hander at the bottom) the PSM light came on under full accelleration at 230kmh with me driving in a straight line. I couldn't work that one out, but eased my speed on subsequent laps on that section, concerned about a slippy surface. (Domster and Iguana have seen this particular lap on video) cheers DAZ PS1 - It may surprise some of the PHers who've taken passenger rides in the car that I've only set the PSM light off twice. Particularly those who experienced the little Newbury meet in the rain. PS2 - DeR you'll have to join us at a PH meet at some stage, for a demo. Just seen you've got a picture of your tt on your profile, is that a green interior? or tinted windows giving grey a green tint? A mate of mine had a LHD targa in black with green interior, looked fantastic.

DAZ - Hail you & hail again, mate! Your Nurburger exploits sound quite wonderful; having watched 'In Car 956' innumerable times, you have my deepest respect for chucking your pride & joy around this most notorious of track layouts. One thing though, which I've fancied knowing for some time, is how our respective vehicles compare for various in-gear pick up? I suspect on the twisties my arse would twicth before your PSM light said howdy and therein lies the benefit of £100ks worth of the latest, definitive, driver focussed technology from arguably the masters of the art, as opposed to my rather more humble, mechanically relliant approach... But as I cruised the northern realms late yesterday, I was really piling on the pressure. It was dry, albeit hovering in the 5.5 - 6.5 degree C zone so 'some' caution was employed but - I was gunning for some decent readings. As usual, I decided that over 150 might be a little provocative of a flashing blue fate so instead decided to concentrate on mashing the loud pedal in various gears to revisit the joys of planet acceleration. And this is where I'd like your experiences with X powered 996TTism as a point of ref. What I was finding was that at between 100 and 120 there was really no need to drop into 5th; and although there seemed to be a momentary delay from the engine bay, I was soon whooping it up as all 500 stallions decided it was Frankie Dettorie time; 135, 145, 155...sh1t!!! It still kills me how it gets there so ridiculously quickly. 5th would just seem quite immoral. What's your's like in these moments of 'b*ll*cks - go for it,' DAZ? This is the dilemma for me; as a certifiable, pure speed freak, is the Ultima the only (vaguely feasible) path left? Would it be THAT much quicker given the probable grip-related differentials. God, it's frustrating; I feel like one of those guys in an American road movie, predisposed to a 'cherry popping' quest except my moment of glory is seeing 200 on the speedo... Sad but hey, if I can't blither on about ludicrous speed here then it's a poor show. I just love tales involving speed; lots and lots of speed. Go for it; satiate my lusting! [Babble.] [Sorry, btw.] P.S. Forgot to add, the interior's grey but I think there is a slight green tint (well spotted - never bleedin' noticed that, doh!). P.P.S. Bit of a bugger though (told Greg earlier); went past a gritter at 140 - sh1te - no major structural impacts - good ol' Zymol, eh? Still, I nay fair weather driver! Just as well, really. Cheers! >> Edited by derestrictor on Friday 6th December 13:01

Derestrictor, I'll answer your question regarding a moment of "go for it" in Daz's mad motor. In an overtaking scenario with a car approaching giving only a small amount of room (erm, well *I* didn't actually "see" any space, but Daz must have!) it was all done and dusted in less than a few seconds. Oh, and he missed the gearchange, so imagine! . Luckily pants didn't need changing but it was close.

DeR, Ninja and anyone else reading. On A-roads and track I tend to "play" the gearbox, but on motorways I tend to leave it in 6th. Basically if you're doing 3k+ revs already you're going to get neck ache if you throttle the throttle. I only ever experience full on through the gears accelleration when in Germany (Honest oshifer!!), but what is particularly fun when on appropriate stretches of road is dropping down to 3rd at 60mph, mashing it, snatching 4th at 105 and carrying on. As many passengers will testify the 3rd gear accelleration from 50 to 69++++ is almost as crackers as the second gear acceleration. Going from the "starting line" (You may be inclined to substitute the term "traffic lights" ) is a funny one, because of the 4WD I tend to get the car rolling before mashing it, even so 0 to 100 is brutal, with fourth gear taken at 105 DeR, in compring our to two stuttgart ROAD THUGS I'd say there is probably not much in it in the dry, if anything yours would be faster. However in the wet, an average driver would probably feel more comfortable hooning the the PSM equiped car. One thing I can say they will definitely have in common that 99% of people will not comprehend is the accelleration in sixth from 150 to 185+. Sheer automotive barbarism of the highest order. Those magistrates who dish out the speeding sentences really should experience the acceleration and braking of these cars. There really is a great difference in doing 100 all day in a repmobile and switching between 80 and 140 in one of these beasts. DAZ PS - Ninja, missed gear? moi? It's funny but that sunday in Sept I think I may have missed a gear on the overtaking side of the road with Chris (hughjayteens) in the car as well. Luckily not something I make a habit of (not yet in double figures in 8 months of ownership).

I recall when EVO magazine were running their lhd 993TT long termer at the time the 996TT was launched,they did a standing start comparison and the 993 came out marginally ahead .Bear in mind these were stsndard 408bhp 993TT vs 420bhp 996TT. I have PSM on my 2wd 996 and after driving old style 911 for 8 years or so I really find it a useful ally or safety net.I do get a little suprised at the bravado banter from the old school who put it down so much...

Hi Clubsport Is PSM a cost option or standard on the Carrera 2? If it is a cost option then you have my congratulations on specing what must in my opinion be the most important option available on the car. Even more important than getting the 18 inch alloys, sports suspension etc.... DAZ

It is an option on C2 for about £700...cheaper on imports as a rule.standard on the rest of the range. having owned my CS at the time of ordering I specced the PSM purely to help re-sale thinking the car would appeal to a wider audience.I really didn't expect be praising it so highly 6 months later.

DAZ - great insight; murky bucket. I really think PSM is essential for uberhooning in non-dry conditions. It's all relative of course because I recall contemporary testers of the 993 4-wheel drive system during the 90s, pretty much freaking out. And when I first got my 993, in standard mode, it felt as glued as a latter day EVO, which is, erm, phenomenal! But as the power hiked, reversion to type emerged and the balance was more GT2 than C4... ...which is where you guys' electronic PSMs come in so significantly. Frankly, if I could retro fit it, I'd do it. Clubsport's quite right to talk about the 'anti' PSM lobby; it's one thing to riot in an Elise where your right foot can only do so much damage but when you KNOW you're hovering over a depth charger of a plunger in one of these buggers and I suppose, when you're kind of balancing your rate and angles of attack on the throttle* (quite literally), I would imagine any form of stabilizing influence is desirous. * I actually found myself at one point, doing about 130 on a rising crest of a sweeping m-way ascent in the outside lane, feeling the forces at work. Really very vivid indeed and although not as visceral as the Ultima experience perhaps, stimulating on a different but equally saturated, adrenelin soaked level. Speed - I love it!

Is this thread now accepting postings? 'Cos it wasn't last night...

Ok, this is really wierd - help needed - if anyone is getting this! When I checked this thread out from the 'what's new' table it showed 21 posts which excluded my 22nd post from last night. However, as I'm doing now, if I post a reply by accessing the thread FROM 'what's new' and then press 'back to thread' it shows post 22 from last night and indeed, my test post 23, above. AAaargh! And yet other threads aren't afflicted so!

Oh rollocks - it's bloody well working now! What IS IT with computers?!!! P.S. Got Vectra'd in the beetle last night. Bloody peasants.

DeR. It's not your computer. On the recnt postings board, my PC was showing 21 posts with mine being the last one but the time of the last post was half an hour later than my post, ie your posting (22). Seems fine now though. Perhaps GCHQ on behalf of the Blair Scamera Partnership Central HQ picked up a few choice phrases and froze the thread? Can I expect to get arrested today and my computers seized? Hmmm, better wipe off the porn. byeeeeee. DAZ

Salutations, DAZ - as well as removing your manhood, the Bliarheads will also forcibly get your local OPC to replace the current 3.6 litre engine in your car with the detuned, LPG-electro hybrid conversion job from an early 70s Autin 1100. On the subject of beetles, what sort of mpg/range do you get? Mine's DIRE! Every time I hit the plunger the yellow light comes on, so it seems. It's actually worse than a colleague's vast 4.7 Amazon V8. Shocking! Hope you manage a burn on the morrow. I might partake in the morn but the damn thing gets covered in muck so damned easily - black's ok in Montana but silver's best for Manc land. Bugger. Chin, chin.

I was a little surprised that when I ordered the car I wasn't charged with "Intention to Speed". Generally about 19mpg. Although on a run at 80 I get about 27mpg. Worst car I've ever driven for fuel economy was a 1992 3.9 Range Rover. Bloody Ludicrous, about 10mpg about town and 14.5 on a run, utter madness. Luckily for me I managed to have a blast yesterday afternoon having watched ManUtd beat the Arse at the pub (soft drinks of course). Coming onto a nice dual carriageway only two cars in front, the first of which decides to move into the outside lane with nothing in front of him (A prime candidate for Carzee and Domsters "middlelanemorons" site). Needless to say I Litronicked the peasant and went about my merry way, maxing both third and fourth gears before slowing down. Although black looks great when clean it's a colour I could never spec, as living in the countryside it would always be covered in crap. Silver is definitely a low maintanence colour. cheers DAZ

DAZ - highly impressive fuel economy there! Time for more TT queiries (how many Turbos are there on PH, btw?). What would you say is your natural cruising speed? By which I'm referring to a m-way type pace that allows swift progress with consumate ease but without recourse to 'sh1t, this is fast' style mental checks (licence retention excepted for the purposes of this question). I'm currently researching but I reckon 120-130 seems ok for those rare moments of low density traffic where you can just sit there, 'pootling.' I know this is difficult to define/quantify but in a raft of other cars I've always found this speed to be anywhere between 90 and 110. I dare say, if this were based on other countries' road conditions, that figure would be significantly higher. The 911 seems to 'sit down' at 120... What say you, DAZ? P.S. Any chance of some piccies of the beast?

I don't know how many 996tt drivers there are on pistonheads. I know Lee77, rich1231 and McNab all drive one and Lonman has got a 996GT2 Empty roads Eh? Cruising rather than short blasts I tend to drive at just under 80mph . In Germany on unrestricted Autobahn sections I tend to run at 200kmh + or - 50 depending on traffic Having just spent 10 minutes registerring with fotango please click on my profile. Now contains "small" piccy of the car after I washed it on my 4th day of ownership. IGNORE THIS PARAGRAPH PICTURE NO LONGER WORKING. CNUTS..... cheers DAZ PS - Does anyone have any space on a "thingy", that could host a proper sized photo of my Brrrrm Brrrrm rather than the "micro effort" that used to eminate from Fotango? I'll buy a beer or two at the next PH bash. EDITED BECAUSE PICCY NO LONGER WORKS. RATTLE NOW BEING PREPARED FOR EJECTION FROM PRAM. >> Edited by Dazren on Sunday 8th December 16:28

Daz, email me the pic and i will sort you out. Rich

Rich you have mail. Please reply so that I can grab your address and email you with the picture attachment. (PH email doesn't handle attachments) cheers DAZ

Rich you have further mail. Drinks on me when we eventually meet at a PH meet. cheers DAZ

Silence from me because my 996tt still nowhere near run in. Nice to read all your posts though - gives me plenty to look forward to! We've had weeks of flooded roads, plus it's potato lifting time with mudbaths round every corner. Car looks as if it has desert camouflage - just a little Midnight Blue Met visible at the top. Absolutely certain the Turbo's far and away the best car I've ever had ... and it flatters my driving no end. I think I've reached the age where I need a little encouragement

God almighty, McNab - just gandered chez your profile - those aren't just 'previously owned cars' - it's an automotive wet dream! A DAYTONA...woargh..drib...drool..bla..nu..ohmiGod!!! Pictures YESTERDAY - NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!!

Well, as somebody said somewhere, "It's been a long, long time!" Seriously though, I have photos of some of them, but they aren't as good as I'd like - bad angles, etc etc. Probably worth putting them together though - must make an effort (never been very good at effort)...

I have had a constant problem with a noise from the rear passenger side of the car. I took the car to my local OPC and they told me it was a gearbox problem. That was changed under warranty, but the noise still persisted. I went back to the OPC and they told me after some checking it was the passenger rear wheel. The inside rim seems to be buckled, so moves up and down about ½ inch per rev. Now my OPC has said this is my fault as the car was fully checked before leaving, but I am sure I have not hit the wheel that hard to make this happen (well in fact I have not hit the wheel at all!). Has any had experiences of this happening to wheels? I would have thought to have deformed a wheel in this manor would have caused the tire to have also be damaged? Could this have also caused the gearbox to have problems? I have to say I am not happy with what I am being told by my OPC. I am very mechanically minded myself and I am quite sure that the wheel bearing has gone as well, I know this may be due to the state of the wheel??? So is this my fault as well? Though remember I feel that I have not hit the wheel? any thoughts?