My dealer says "desnorking" your car is a big time NO NO

(The following quotes mentioned in this article are not verbatim, since it's just impossible to remember that much, but basically what the people said) After reading up on this whole desnorking thing, I realized it would be a great idea to do, especially with the help of K-man S' great article at my service. The only question I had was that whole warranty violation thingy. So after just coming back from the dealer to get some extra keys made, I decided while I'm there to ask about the whole warranty violation if I proceed with desnorking my CS. A porsche service guy said (something along the lines of), "Removing the black plate does not violate the warranty. (Yay!) However, if there is a problem with your engine and we can trace the cause of this problem back to the desnork, then your warranty is violated and you'll have to pay with your own $$$ to fix the problem. At this point I'm not too worried since I would be installing the mesh guard, to prevent foreign objects from flying in. Now this is when the story gets good. Just to be safe I asked for a second opinion, on whether or not I should perform this procedure and the second guy, who was a reliable source said, "Don't ever! Ever! Take that plate off." At that point I didn't know what to say because I was thinking about how a great, very great number of people on this site have done this already and have had no problems at all, and now this guy is telling me to never ever take that off. So I thought he thought I thought (say that 3 times fast) I was talking about the painted piece, but no he knew what I was talking about. We then went on to talk about what it was, why it's there, the whole cigarette care fire thing. He said, "Yes the cigarette stories are true. The reason why the boxters before 03' caught on fire is because their fins, which directed air into the engine, were actually closer to the engine itself or (in other words, they were more countersunk into the car), and as a result of this, a vacuum was created right outside of those fins which could sucked the cigarettes into the engine. If you remove that plate, air can't be directed into the engine and cool it off, it'll overheat and you'll have all sorts of problems then." In my mind I'm thinking, remove the plate and I'll overheat the engine since air can't pass in? What are you :crazy:? So then I asked, "So how does that plate direct air into the engine?" So he said, "Well the air flows through these fins (I agree 100%), then it hits this black plate here, which directs it to [He puts his fingers under the fins' casing] here (I dissagree 1000000%). You see this tab here? [ points to that horizontal slat located at the top of the black plate] This helps direct air flow into [does the whole fingers under the fins' housing again] here." Now after personally removing the fins' housing last week, but not the plate, I can assure every you that there is no other snorkel like thing in this area, other than behind the black plate. Did this Porsche dealership hire him from Mars? So in return I said, "Well how come on the Caymanclub.net, there's an article that tells you how to take this plate off with a picture of this oval like snorkel located directly behind the black plate. The article also posted numerous other photos, all of which didn't have this other area under the housing, where air can travel into the engine?" So the guy says, "All those people think they know more then us Porsche technicians, but they don't know a thing. The Porsche engineers designed this air intake to be the best it could be. So I tell em' that if they know more about these cars than us, why don't they go and get a job for Porsche at Stuggart. I would never trust those people. There are plenty of guys in the world who buy these half a million dollar cars, but they don't know how to drive them and end up wrecking them. Just because you're rich, doesn't mean you have brains." Woah there fella, no body, and I mean no body talks like that to my family like that without repercussions :argue:. I said, "I still don't understand why there's a snorkel behind this plate, if you say the air goes into this crevice?" So he and I :argue: some more. In the end this guy thought that the air traveled somewhere else other than behind the restrictor plate, the Caymanclubsters are :crazy:, you should never remove this plate since the engine will overheat, and that if I ever wanted to make any performance modifications, I should always ask him or another technician first. I aslo found it kind of weird how the first guy I asked said it was ok to do, as long as I make sure nothing can fly into my engine, and how the second guy I asked, looked at me as if I had 12 noses, 6 ears, 3 eyes, and pronounced the word Porsche wrong. I think that what I'll do now is write a letter or send an e-mail to the Porsche headquarters in Stuggart, asking them to explain and specify what this black plate is and what it is for. I'll be sure to tell them that after extensive diagnostic dyno testing, many of the people who have done this, have found an increase in HP. I'll mention the many contradicting theories of what this plate is, and why it is there if it is stoping the cayman from having proper air flow to cool the engine. P.S Thanks for reading this far, because I know it was long . And I am still holding my belief that the real intake is behind this black plate, but I found the comments by this guy very interesting and news to me. I still don't know if I will desnork, because if I do and a serious engine problem is traced back to my modification, I'm not ready to pay $20,000+ for a new engine.

The guy is a true believer and probably has seen a few butchered Porsches due to modifications. I don't think the de-snork does anything but add a bit of noise and ego boost but there are too many that have been done that did not result in any problems to believe that catastrophic results will occur. I'd say if you want it do it.

As I understand it the engine cooling duct is on the passenger side and has a fan (which BTW can suck up a female passenger's skirt on entry if you catch it just right ). The duct on the driver side has nothing to do with engine cooling but rather is the port for the air intake for engine combustion, which is why we remove the plate. Must have been a very junior technician.

Would it not also suck up a male passengers skirt were he so equipped? Brian

What dealership was this at so that we may avoid taking our cars to someone who doesn't understand the difference between the intake side of the car and the engine venting side of the car... if this mod caused overheating I would have melted down long ago..

I just drove my desnorked CS home in heavy traffic in a 110 degree heat and my temp gauge hasn't moved off of 175 since I got it. If I smoked in the car I might not tempt fate but otherwise that guy is clueless.

You sure you werent talking to the porter or the detail guy or something.I once had an argument with a tech at a honda dealer that did not have a clue what aspect ratio was on a tire,i never went back

I think techs are like horse trainers. There are some that enjoy their job and consider themselves among the lucky to be working on a better "breed". Then there are the others who think it is some cruel cosmic joke that they are the guys working on these pure-breds versus collecting prize money. I think guys in the latter category go out of their way to show their "expertise", when they are really showing that they are still learning. I am a scuba instructor, but I haven't taught in a long time. I don't claim to know all there is to know about diving, sea life or boats. I have traveled a good bit diving and logged more dives than I can count (stopped counting around the 800's--yes, wisenheimer, I can count past 800). My wife (who is also an instructor) and I always get a good chuckle every so often when a scuba "expert" takes it upon him/herself to give us lesson. Best to let the guy say his piece and move on. As a de-snorker myself, I can tell you I have 7,000 de-snorked miles on my car without incident. Interestingly, about the time I de-snorked, my gas mileage dropped by 2-3 MPG. There was no power bump that I could feel. You hear it more than anything. Might be worth popping it back on for a couple of tank fulls to see what happens

Jerk comes to mind This Bozo falls into that special category that everyone has one of I ran another track day today. I probably have put in 400 miles on the track out of the 1600 on my car. No problem with engine temps. If I needed to put my car back stock to save an issue at the dealer it wouldn't take long. Fortunately, I have a knowledgeable helpful dealer that like to have his cars showcased in the winners circle. Do it :dance:

About this desnork, the main legislation covering it is probably the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. A dealer's sales representative may tell customers that if he uses third party components or modification in the car, the warranty is voided. Through this ploy, the sales representative attempts to coerce customers into purchasing components only from the car manufacturer, rather than to compete on the basis of quality and price. These tie-in provisions are often illegal, specifically prohibited in the consumer market by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. In short, the manufacturer's warranty CANNOT be voided by a desnork. However, if there is a problem which can be specifically traced to the desnork, the dealer's position is correct in this issue - CP - customer pays.

Santa Fe, I asked the service scheduler/adviser (whatever it is) about this mod and he showed me a Cayman (non S) the dealer had prepped for the tracked with number stickers and all. He told me they had just de-snorked it and showed me the black plate on the floor next to the car. More than one person at this dealer has told me that doesn't affect the warranty, of course as long as nothing gets ingested. The grill we all installed will prevent the infamous cigarette buts from getting in there. One other seemingly very knowledable dealer rep told me it takes the computer about 36 miles to adjust to the added airflow. Lots of signals from this P dealer that this is an acceptable practice.

All noted is interesting. But well over a year ago a service manager here in the LA area suggested that I mass fabricate my de-snork job for their dealership. It might had been in jest, but not harmful to our CS’s. zornet :burnout:

dealer also says lowering your car is bad.

Apparently we know more than him! Its clear that he's never seen the intake side with the deflector plate removed or he wouldn't have said something so silly. Also, you've got to wonder about technicians at a Porsche dealership going off about "rich people." Where is this dealership again?

However ... this is sometimes touted as the end-all for vehicle modification complaints. If you read the warranty manual, you must first go through Porsche arbitration. The act of desnorking itself voids nothing. If something is damaged by the act, then you end up paying If you see seek remedy via MM ... I have been on a quest to find a single court case, just one, where a consumer has won based on an performance enhancement not performed by a dealer and cannot find a single one. If you have a reference, please provide it. MM is touted all through many auto forums as the quick answer. It might not be and might be and expensive remedy if you lose.

It was at a Lenstoler Porsche dealer in Reisterstown Maryland

I am positive it was definitely not a detailer guy. This was also not a guy who they pulled off the street just yesterday, since he's owned and modded a handfull of his own Porsche 's before.

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Hey, which dealer do you go to in MD? I usually hit up Valley Motors in northern Baltimore County since it's only a 3 min. drive away :dance:

Problem Solved! De-snork your car but make sure you carry around your restrictor plate,perhaps on a chain around your neck,blingin! so in the event that your engine catches fire,blows up,whatever you can just slap that plate back on just before you run for your life before she blows. That way Porsche tech will say "Yep i was sure this was the guy asking about desnorking voiding the warranty,his engine blew,LOOK THE PLATE IS OFF...OH WAIT.... i see the plate is on....darn i thought we had him *cue evil laugh*"

Me, too. How much for one shipped to FL?

The plate does two things. It quiets the intakes and prevents foreign objects from getting into the engine. Period. As far as brains are concerned, I'll bet on the rich guy over the grease monkey every day of the week. Regarding Cayman Clubsters: Our combined experience and knowledge far exceeds that of ANY tech. My local dealership had never replaced the brakes on a 2.7 Cayman before I called to order pads. I gauran-damn-tee you we will uncover endemic problems before techs are aware of them.

This is interesting indeed! I have been wondering why I can't average better than 17mpg. I'm not worried about it as this is a recreational sports car but anyone else notice a similar decrease? As for power, it's been a while since I had it on, but I noticed immediately that the engine was much more responsive to a stab at the go pedal. I think I noted here that it felt like you got about 50% of the more aggressive throttle mapping in SC.