My 99 Carrera Progress Thread

Hello Rennlist, I just picked up a 99 Carrera and wanted to start a build thread to document maintenance and modifications. This is my first Porsche so I will be leaning heavily on you all for feedback and advice. Love all the parts suppliers available and certainly no shortage of ways to spend some coin personalizing. I also own a 99 BMW M3 ( build thread on Bimmerforums ) which is nearing completion in terms of its restoration. I had previously owned a Z4M Roadster and was looking to pickup a Coupe, but when I came across this 996 in my personal perfect spec I could not pass it up. I purchased it last week from Midwestern Auto Group in Columbus and drove 400 miles back to home without a hitch, although I probably lost some hearing. It's an early 996 build so cable throttle, no traction control, and no onboard computer. Literally the only 2 options is the factory aero kit and Sport Design II wheels. Previous owner installed a Beluga Racing muffler bypass (LOUD), H&R springs, wheel spacers, Function First shifter, GT3 front spoiler, GT3 rear seat delete, and GT3 center console delete. It is an absolute blast to drive. I know I will need to take care of the usual 996 foibles but fortunately it's spent its entire life in the garage so the interior, paint, and trim all are in great shape. First plans of course is to get the maintenance all up to date. Definitely would appreciate input here- on my E36 M3 everything rubber/plastic was perished and needed to be replaced, but my 996 seems to have held up much better from what I can tell so far. Here is what has been done so far that I know of within the last 2 years: -window regulator -crankshaft sensor -clutch save cylinder -refinished headlights w/ new gaskets -spark plugs -"upgraded" coilpacks -fuel pressure solenoid -fuel pump -battery & battery cables -fresh Mobil 1 0W-40 oil change courtesy of the selling dealer Here's what I got on the docket for this weekend: -transmission fluid change with OEM 75W-90 fluid, new OEM drain plugs & washers -replacing the missing fender liner clips -brake fluid flush with Motul 660 -take wheels off and get car up on my QuickJacks for inspection, go from there Going to take my time with this one as it's in pretty great shape as is and won't see too many miles. Anything worth doing on the car is worth overdoing. Once I address anything immediate, will be looking at doing the following -replacing entire cooling system (all hoses, radiator, water pump, t stat, etc). -engine and transmission mounts -go through any rubber in the suspension, control arms -brake lines -UAOS, clutch, and IMS solution at some point -tires have good tread but 2017 date codes As far as mods go- this is going to be a fun street car only. I like it to be capable of doing a track day but don't think I will track this one. Thinking of adding Ohlins R&T coilovers, BBS E88 wheels, a nice intake and calling it a day. Not sure if any other suspension changes would be needed. I generally like to stick with rubber bushings over poly. Anyways, I'm getting too far ahead, here are some pictures! pictures

Congrats! Love the aerokit 996s. Hows the interior? Sounds like you have a well thought out maintenance plan. Look forward to following along.

HaHa the same thing happened to me last year surfing the web for E30 M3 and this popped up now she looks like it should for me good luck love your cars specs enjoy the ride

Wow that's a solid car to start building on. Congrats and good luck.

Congrats on the acquisition! She�s a beauty� the only thing I see on your want list that I would jettison is the intake - if anything, get a stock 3.6 or 3.8 air box with a good quality hi flow filter�

Welcome to the 996 club. Car looks fantastic. It is great to see that you have done your homework and are planning the right preventative procedures to bullet proof the car. The 996 is really an exceptional classic. Enjoy.

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Counterpoint: My car came with K&N intake. Reading the forum opinions, I swapped it out for a stock air box. Did not like it so all. It lost that beautifully intoxicating intake sound, especially at WOT. My butt dyno also felt a noticeable loss of power. I understand it may be placebo effect, but it definitely felt that way to me. I put the K&N back on after about a week of my experiment and never looked back. In fact, I�ve considered getting a Fabspeed carbon fiber intake as an upgrade. Will never go back to stock.

Was looking at the Evoms or fabspeed intake....more for noise reasons than performance to be totally honest. After having the carbon airbox on my roadster I must have induction sound!

I love my carbon box and just bought the IPD plenum to go in next

Congrats!! I�d add replacing the AOS and fuel injectors to the list.

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Got AOS on the list for sure but we have to proactively replace injectors too? Good grief, I'll add it to the list.

Got the car up in the air and as expected learned a lot. Think I can start putting together a big parts order. Here's what I found: -Front rotors/pads look to be new but I am guessing rears are original and will need to be replaced. -Slight seepage from valve cover gaskets and rear main seal. Not leaving any drips on my garage yet so that's good. -No play in tie rod ends, suspension components, wheel bearings as far as I can tell -Not really surprising but just about everything except mentioned in the first post is original -Need to replace rear decklid and frunk struts -Coolant looks pretty old. Brake fluid and power steering fluid look pretty fresh Gave the wheel wells and underside a pressure wash and scrub. Always fun watching 23 years of grime just fall away. Also- any of you got a part number for this hose? It is basically disintegrating. Is that part of the air injection system?

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Yep, new fuel injectors especially if they are originals to help mitigate one of the causes of bore scoring, as well as do yourself a favor and go with the UAOS track version. It will solve for alot of problems as well as mitigate risk if you accidentally overfill your oil since it can handle an extra quart of oil over full. You mentioned that the car is running alot of original parts that are over 20 years old. Rubber and plastic bits deteriorate so don't be surprised what you find. imho, you want to get all of the engine stuff done first to bullet proof your engine. After all, no engine, no fun.

The 99 - 996 was a fun project, I did everything Suspension, IMS, clutch, motor/ trans new mounts- get the repair manual

The leak might be just a bolt not torqued to spec if your going to do the “solution “ order a clutch kit RMS and all the rubber hoses you can

Roadblock is that arena red the looks are stunning

That oil leak may also be a dripping spark plug tube. The rubber line is unique to the non e-gas cars so u may want to check a dealer pet drawing. I dont see it on the autoatlanta site

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Yep. Seems like it makes sense to just drop the trans/motor and do everything, repeat 20 years later. Arena red is one of the best colors for these cars for sure Got it, thanks for the input. I think it's part of the secondary air pump system, which is about as useful as an appendix, so hopefully I can delete down the road.

What a fantastic looking car. Watching that video of you taking delivery�the start up, the exhaust note, pulling out of the dealer bay door, maybe it�s just me but wow, that gave me such a great feeling to watch. I have learned Porsches tend to evoke emotion from those that are passionate about them in a way that can�t be replaced by anything else. When I see a fellow 996 on the road my heart nearly skips a beat I get so excited. Best of luck with it and eager to follow along with you

Truly will be a lot of fun as you learn, with that low mileage your car looks great, photo734.jpg

Sorry meant to send you motor n trans out

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I really enjoy my BMWs but there's nothing like a 911. Driving this Carrera feel like taking 10 shots of espresso. I can only imagine what a GT3 is like.

Got the good stuff in: Coated the car in Ammo Reflex Pro:

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Your smile just gets a little bigger.

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with a turbo your teeth 🦷 don�t even fit in your mouth 👄 no more , even if you look like the jocker

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I really enjoyed my GT3, but honestly a modified Carrera 2 is more fun to drive on track. They're lighter, and feel it.

Beautiful car- you’re off to a great start on the maintenance items, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the 996.1 with the aero kit. Did the car happen to come from the Columbus Ohio area? I saw nearly an identical one listed and it was at a fairly well known dealership a few hours from me.

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Indeed it did, I purchased it from Midwestern Auto Group in Columbus

Coolant decided to overflow out the expansion tank yesterday, making a steamy mess. I supposed I shouldn't put off doing a coolant system overhaul any longer...

Eek!

Alright, was hoping to wait a bit, but I am going to go ahead and bulletproof the engine now. Normally I would prefer to DIY, but it sounds like for LN IMS Solution it makes more sense to have a shop do it for the warranty and prequalification steps...and then since the gearbox is out anyways, you might as well have them do a few other things. Fortunately, the shop I use (GTPeace) is excellent and charges very reasonable rates. Here is the current working list. Let me know if you think I should add anything? Car is at 38k miles now. - LN IMS solution - Ultimate AOS -rear main seal -OE Water Pump & low temp thermostat -coolant expansion tank -every coolant hose in the engine bay -Clutch (aftermarket or stick w/ OE?), throwout bearing -clutch slave cylinder -transmission mount -transmission detent spring -engine mounts -fuel injectors -oil fill tube Worth it to go after timing chain guides and vario cam pads? Concerned more about age than mileage with these I suppose. Maybe inspect and replace if necessary.

I might have missed it further up but did you scope the cylinders through the sump to check for bore scoring? Before spending thousands of dollars on anything I'd check the overall health of the crankcase. If you have, then find a friend with a Durametric and check for over revs, cam deviations, etc. If you get a clean bill of health then spend away. I have no doubt this car will be fine but you never know. My 911 was as ugly as they come but the engine was strong so I'm restoring it. Otherwise I would have cut my losses.

I have not a scope but it is part of the LN Engineering IMS solution prequalification, so it will be done. I'm not too worried....it's a 3.4 that has been in a hot climate for 90% of its life.

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So are you going to wait to buy the other stuff until after the inspection? How many miles on the car anyway?

38k

I would consider replacing the oil cooler as well. Yogi's suggestion makes sense. Any shop can put on a IMS Solution or Retro kit. The question is whether you want the warranty hence qualification. Either way... 1. Test your oil first to see what it says. Porschetech3 recommends OilVue do to its comprehensive analysis. Good time to start a baseline. 2. Drop the sump to see what's sitting in there. Also check your oil filter. 3. Scope thru the sump to see how the bores look. Whether it's been a warm weather car or not, most previous owners didn't change their oil enough. Bad lubrication means the potential for bad bores. If all checks out, spend money on the car. If it doesn't, then your next step will be prevention until you figure out a rebuild.

If the vario cam numbers (deviations) r good dont mess with them.

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Excellent list- also as DeJeeper mentioned I’d wait and see what the variocam deviations are before doing the guides and pads. Also, the deviation readout is another pre qualification for LN IMS Retro or Solution- so kill 2 birds with one stone. I did my pads and tensioners around 60k for reference.

Question for the peanut gallery....do you all think rubber Clubsport Motor Mounts would still provide enough damping to not trigger the knock sensors? Definitely do not want to run poly or solid motor mounts, but would like to take a bit of slop out of the drivetrain if I can. I saw Jake Raby's dyno video of the impact of stiff mounts, and have seen the same thing in the BMW world as well.

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Why not get yourself a set of Rein engine mounts and call it a day. You can also change your trans mount as well. FCP Euro has both.

That's what I have on my car. I think they're the 993/964 RS mounts. I felt they were the happy medium between stock and stiff poly mounts which I did not want. Pretty happy with the decision and the car feels exactly as before power wise but a bit "tighter" if you will. I say go with OEM like GC996 suggested or these if you want something stiffer but I'd stay away from poly stuff, especially for the added NVH.

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Thanks for the feedback. Yeah poly or solid is out...I figured these would probably be a safe step up since it is still an "OE" type mount.

First round of parts is on order. I will check for bore scoring when the sump is off. Might as well upgrade in the process. Shoutout at Rhonda@FVD for the discount. FVD Brombacher motorsport oil pan kit FVD Brombacher stainless steel brake lines "Clubsport" rubber engine mounts "Clubsport" transmission mounts "Heavy Duty" rear deck lid shock (figure with the aero kit wing a stronger might not be a bad idea) ​​​​​​996 106 641 62 - water return hose ​​​​​​996 106 640 56 - coolant hose

Also ordered this from, most of it from Porsche of Silver Spring. I will say attempting to track down all the part number for the coolant hoses in these cars is an incredible exercise of patience and I presume there will be some trial and error here. First step is to replace the entire cooling system in the engine bay. Cooling system: 996-106-147-56 - expansion tank ​​​​​​999-512-348-02 x 8 hose clamps ​​​​​​PAF-008-512 - hose clamp connector ​​​​​​996-106-136-54 - breather tube ​​​​​​999-512-554-00 x 5 hose clamps ​​​​​​999-512-552-01 x 4 hose clamps ​​​​​​996-106-850-05 - coolant hose (updated version) 996-106-243-54 - updated coolant hard pipe 999-512-551-01 x 4 - hose clamp ​​​​​​996-106-501-56 - coolant hose ​​​​​​996-106-502-56 - coolant hose ​​​​​​996-106-212-60 - coolant hose 996-106-233-51 - coolant hose ​​​​​​996-106-222-65 - coolant hose ​​​​​​999-512-655-09 - hose clamp ​​​​​​997-106-251-01 - breather tube 999-512-669-09 x 2 hose clamp Rauch & Spiegel - Connection For Coolant Hose To Oil Separator Pierburg water pump, gasket BorgWarner 71 degree C thermostat, housing, gasket ​​​​​​900-378-013-01 x 5 water pump bolts 900-378-177-01 x 2 water pump bolts ​​​​​​900-378-030-01 x 4 thermostat housing bolts

chart of coolant hoses: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post17952801

Thank you ^^^ your chart has been super helpful and is what I used to piece together my order

Putting together the final list. Will boroscope when I drop the pan to install the FVD kit and planning on ordering this. Anything I missed? So many different iterations of the 996....so many different part numbers...so many diagrams...gotta say BMW's parts lookup for us normies IS FAR SUPERIOR I promise more interest content soon! Need to get the boring stuff out of the way. Brakes: Pagid front and rear rotors Brake pads (still deciding which ones) 99907340201 x 16 caliper bolts Engine: Mahle OEM oil cooler N10546403 x 4 oil cooler bolts 99970740940 x 2 - oil cooler o rings 99970738940 x 2 oil cooler o rings OEM Fuel injectors from LN OEM Bosch knock sensors x 2 LN Engineering Chromoly oil pump hex drive 99611011353 x 6 Fuel injector clips 99938500401 x 4 Crankcase bolts around the rear main seal 90038527501 x 3 AOS bolts...I think...now I can't remember 90007550601 x 3 bolts for...uhh..something 99710712501 - upgraded 997 oil pressure valve 99610710551 - oil pressure relief plug 99610712753 - oil pressure relief spring 99610712350 - gasket for oil pressure relief plug 99610715061 - oil filler tube 99970734840 - oil filler tube gasket 90037816301 x 2 oil filler tube bolts 99911347540 - Kaco rear crankshaft seal OEM Camshaft plugs and tensioner seals 99611031752 - throttle body gasket OEM intake manifold gaskets OME exhaust manifold gaskets and nuts 00004330573 - fancy Porsche grease for output shaft/pilot bearing 00004330013 - fancy Porsche grease for O ring/seals 00004330560 - fancy Porsche sealant 00004320593 - ultra fancy Porsche cooling system lubricant Transmission: OEM Sachs clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing OEM Luk dual mass flywheel OEM *** pilot bearing 9P1141143 Clutch release spring N90366301 x 2 Clutch release lever bolts 9P1141181 Guide tube 99611571604 Ball stud teehee 90006713103 x 6 pressure plate bolts 99907309202 x 8 flywheel bolts GBox 2nd gear detent fix seem unnecessary if there's no issue 99630180500 - Kaco transmission main shaft seal 99630351700 - shift linkage seal Miscellaneous: OEM Stabilus hood struts 99611025052 - sealing ring that goes in the decklid for the air intake snorkel 99662890108 - windshield wiper blade set Mann charcoal cabin air filter Spark plug tube seals....anyone running the Rauch and Spiegel billet aluminum ones? Hopefully everything I need for my 37k mile car LOL. I suppose if there is cam deviation will determine if timing system components need a refresh too. Once drivetrain preventative maintenance is complete will finish replacing the rest of cooling system and move on to suspension.

Was planning on finishing the M3 before diving into the 996, but no it's no fun having a new Porsche you can't drive in the summer time because your cooling system is strong as glass. I guess somewhat fortunately for the Porsche parts for my M3 project are on backorder- waiting on 3.5" MAF and Supersprint midsection. M3 is totally sorted, but I will be pulling the head to do a refresh and mild upgrade, then an interior overhaul (waiting on Recaro Speeds and a new passenger side door panel). I do like having both as road cars- they are practical and roomy enough for road trips and grocery store trips alike, but still fun for back road carving.

Just had a thought....the E36 is to M3s as the 996 is to 911s

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I had a 95 or 96, I believe that was the first year that you could get a manual transmission on the M3. Anyway i put 70,000 miles on that car and other than regular maintenance a battery and front brakes I had no issues at all with that car. Mine was darkar yellow, I even got a body shop to paint the middle of the sides black piece yellow as the car. After I sold that one I went back in time and got an 85 M635CSI, I loved that car. Those 80s BMWs specially the euro versions in my opinion are the best cars bmw have ever produced. Ayrton Senna drove the M635CSI on the track when it was revealed, like I have said before I should have never sold that car.

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I had a final year 1999 E36 M3 and it was a great car. BMW really lost it after the E46 M3 when the M-cars became just another trim level.

Mine is a 99 as well. So I have two black on black German cars from 1999.

Been a few weeks since an update. I dropped the car off at GTPeace late last week. I stopped by today to clean up the engine bay and snapped a few pictures. They were just starting on the LN IMS Solution when I got there. Water pump, thermostat, expansion tank, RMS, clutch, fuel injectors, oil cooler, and Ultimate AOS are already in place.

Picked the car back up from GTPeace who installed everything in posts 44 and 47 (though I ended up doing installing the Clubsport engine mounts from FVD myself). They did install new knock sensors as well and the FVD Brombacher Motorsport oil pan with their X51 style baffles. Engine runs phenomenally, and although in theory nothing installed should impact this the coolant temps have dropped a few degrees as well. With IMS addressed I can move on to less pressing issues. Next up is overhauling the brakes: Installed: Textar pads (front and rear) Pagid rotors (front and rear) Sebro brake pad wear sensors 99907340201 x 8 - caliper bolts 99635195901 - brake pad clip 99635295901 - brake pad clip 99635208602 x 4 - 28mm rear brake pad damping plate 99635208600 x 4 - 30mm rear brake pad damping plate 99635108802 x 4 front brake pad shims 99635511901 - brake fluid reservoir cap FVD Stainless Steel brake lines Motul RBF 660 brake fluid

I was missing a few of the underbody pieces, so I took time to add those back: 99650450300 - front left rubber strip 99650450400 - front right rubber strip 99907306102 x 6 - screws for above 99959169901 x 6 - u nuts 99650460300 - air duct left 99650460400 - air duct right Also added the transmission cooling duct from the GT3: 99650452902 - air duct 94450325500 x 2 trim spacer 99950734801 x 2 - speed nut forgot to order the Porsche screws, so it's held in by BMW gold zinc bolts for now....

Didn't take a lot of pictures, but I pulled the front bumper off to clean the radiators and adjust the alignment as it was a bit off. Also replaced a few screws on the GT3 front splitter.

Passenger window regulator decided to fail on me. Not terrible to DIY, also took the time to replace the door panel clips: 99654207604 - window regulator 99950758240 x 8 door panel clips This video was easy to follow along with: You Tube

It's always a pleasure reading these build threads. Great job!

The Sport Design wheels are my favorite OEM wheel offered on the 996, but the ones my car came with were a bit rough for my taste, and had 7.5" front instead of the 8" fronts from the 996.1 GT3. I also needed new tires, and who wants to mount fresh rubber on old wheels? I found a set of beautifully refinished wheels in 996.1 GT3 specs, and ordered the OEM 996.1 GT3 tire accordingly (yes they still make it!): 225/40R18 & 285/30R18 Pirelli P Zero Rosso Collezione in N spec. Pirelli claims to use modern day rubber compounds in this. PTuning handled the mounting and balancing. Swapped the colored crest center caps in favor of my old black crest ones, and changed from black to silver OEM style wheel bolts. Lastly I ditched the 15mm spacers and switched to 7mm on all 4 corners. Just too big of a spacer for my taste, and with the wider front wheel and wider rear tire the stance is just right for a car on OEM wheels and lowering springs.

Car is in a pretty good spot right now. Still some elective preventative maintenance I want to do before calling it "done" (not that these cars are ever really finished): -Replace front radiators and add a center radiator -Replace cooling hose forward of the engine (everything in the engine already replaced) -sort out the remote lock/unlock on the key fobs. Probably just need to bite the bullet and get new ones -I've got the floppy sunvisor issue, need to sort out -Install a nice shifter. Installing the Clubsport transmission and engine mounts made a massive improvement in shift quality, so this can wait. I do have Phenix Engineering metal bushings ready to go in. -Overhaul suspension with new arms, bushings, and coilovers. The stance is decent with the H&R springs but I would like a tad more forward rake. -Replace front windshield. It doesn't have any chips or cracks, but it is quite blurry and scratched which compromises visbility. It is an Arizona car, and having lived there it is common for this to happen to windshields. it rains very infrequently, so sand and dust build up on the wipers and just scratches the windshield when it does rain. -Replace the tire on the spare -Complete missing factory tool kit -Replace the 3 timing chain tensioners

I somehow knew you would have a thread over here. Congrats again on the car, awesome progress!

Hahaha hey jayson, good to see a familiar name over here!

Bit overdue for an update, been making steady progress. Installed the following: 99634306904 & 99634307004 - TRW front sway bar links 99908444501 x 2 - front sway bar link nuts 99633306904 x 2 - TRW rear sway bar links 99908464301 x 2 - rear sway bar link nuts FVD had a 20.7mm M030 rear sway bar listed on clearance that I purchased. However I am not so sure it is an M030 one as it had a strange part number - 115333805 and my digital caliper measured slightly thicker at 21mm. It came with new bushings as well and bolted right up. I will add the matching front sway bar once I complete the rest of the suspension overhaul. Unfortunately a muffler delete won't fly to pass MD state inspection so took advantage of Supersprint's 30% off sale and picked up a set of their race mufflers. I have their full exhaust (headers, mid pipe, cutback) on my E36 M3 and am a big fan of their quality. They also just look fantastic. Haven't mounted it just yet as I am waiting for the hardware for the muffler brackets to come in from the dealer. With the muffler delete being done by the previous owner I had to order some used brackets off eBay to be able to mount the new mufflers. I also purchased a used EvoMS intake from a forum member. Forgot to take a picture but I'll add one. The exhaust overpowers it right now due to the muffler delete but it does howl at upper RPMs. Lastly installed a new yellow oil cap, dipstick, and a fancy Genuine Porsche oil bag for my DT40. 99610703550 - oil cap PNA0001000D - oil bag 99610701454 - dipstick

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I used TRW parts in that location too. Real nice quality IMO.

Got the Supersprint mufflers on. Despite it being the "Race" variant it is pretty quiet for an aftermarket system or maybe I have hearing loss from the muffler delete. Pros- looks great, crisp sound on full throttle, I can hear my EvoMS intake, and absolutely zero drone on highway. And a SIGNIFICANT increase in low-mid RPM torque. Seriously feel like I picked up 30ft-lb. Probably lost some top end hp but pretty shocking the difference. Cons- no longer sounds like I am hammering down the Mulsanne straight 24/7, no longer sets off car alarms in parking garages, +20 pounds or whatever it is Like any normal 996 owner, took the time to clean and ceramic coat while the bumper is off (this before I tightened down the clamps so ignore orientation). Install was fairly straightforward, you could probably leave the rear bumper on. Annoying part is to get everything lined up properly you really need the bumper on to align the tips, but then accessing the clamps is more challenging but it is what it is. Think I will want to add their headers and 200 cell cats later on, but this should get it to pass inspection which was the point. Also installed new hardware for the muffler brackets 90038000501 x 10 - nuts for bracket 90037810501 x 2 - bolts for bracket 90008211801 x 2 - bolts for bracket 99611122002 x 2 - clamps for muffler to cat will upload a sound clip shortly since I wrapped install very late and it was raining.

You can put on Historic tags (20 yrs or older) and not have to deal with any emissions in MD.

The 996 will pass emissions just fine. This isn't about that.

I know I have been slacking on the updates, but there hasn't been a whole lot to report. Just been enjoying the car, it has been incredibly reliable. I changed the oil back on 3/24 at about 41k miles, and will be doing another one shortly as the car is approaching 45k miles already thanks to a long road trip through the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Parkway. I also replaced the tires at 44k thanks to a vandal who punctured my Pirellis while I was at work. Fortunately no other damage was done, and I now I have N spec Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s which are an upgrade in every way over the Pirellis.

Beautiful car. I just ordered a set of PS4S, passed on the N3 PS2's thinking they were older tire tech. Hope I don't regret it.

I have the PS4S on my M3- great tire obviously. My understanding is Michelin uses their modern rubber compounds in the PS2 (as Pirelli in their N Spec Rosso which is a 25 year old model at this point). Unfortunately my M3 has been off the road for several months so I can't properly compare, but they feel similar.

Couple quick updates. Changed the oil again at 45,631 miles. Changed the brake fluid with Motul RBF660 as well as it had been just over a year. I gave the car a paint correction and ceramic coating with Ammo NYC's newest version of Reflex. Looks absolutely phenomenal and this coating is a lot slicker to the touch than the first. Showed it off at a local PCA meetup: Did an autocross with PCA Shenandoah at Richmond International Raceway. Superfun to be able to drive (gently, of course ) on a Nascar track. Haven't really done much wrenching besides the fluid changes- still wrenching on my M3 and getting that finished. will focus on the 996 once that is done, but besides the initial investment last year it hasn't needed anything.

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Im nearly done doing the UAOS in my garage and I definitely want to replace this hose. Did you end up ordering this? I saw a long list of parts ordered, hopefully this was one of them

I did, but the shop (GTPeace) replaced it at the same time we did the IMS bearing with engine out. As they ordered it I don't know the part number, but I'll see if I can find it.

More updates as I get the car ready for driving this spring. Knocked out a few checklist maintenance items as well as began the suspension refresh. I noticed an oil leak coming from the driver's side spark plug tubes so naturally used it as a chance to also refresh part of the suspension since the car was in the air...car guy logic. Anyways: The basics: -oil change/filter w/ Drive DT40 -transmission fluid change w/ OE Porsche MTF I decided to remove the entire exhaust system. It made access to the spark plugs/coilpacks a breeze, and I wanted to replace those notorious header bolts before they became too far gone from corrosion. Fortunately my car spent most of it's life in California/Arizona. I safely removed all but 1 bolt- fortunately I was able to dremel a slot and use a flathead to get it out. But glad to have them changed and not have to worry again. Also refreshed the rest of the hardware/gaskets in the exhaust system. Installed: Bosch FGR6KQE spark plugs x 6 Febi spark plug tubes x 6 Rennline coilpacks + included hardware x 6 The driver's side spark tubes came out easily with the coilpack, but no luck on the passenger side. I bought this tool from Stoddard and it did the trick. Note the missing o ring on the tube in the far left - FCPEuro sent me a free replacement, but double check! Next up was the suspension refresh. The car had H&R springs installed by the previous owner, but on the original shocks. I went with Bilstein B8s to better match the springs. FYI - the front Bilstein struts have an internal bump stop, but the rears do not. I ended up cutting my original bump stop up front just so I could run the factory dust boots (seems many do this). There's several videos/methods on removal of the front struts, and some debate on whether you should remove the wheel carrier. I ended up loosening both control arms where they attach to the subframe, and completely removed the front sway bar as I was replacing this. I did not touch the tie rod ends, nor the brake caliper (be very mindful you do not stress the brake lines - it might just be easier to remove since it's 2 bolts), and was able to lower the wheel carrier with a floor jack- the strut slide out with a few mm to clear the fender. Now mind you this is with H&R springs, which probably gave me more clearance than OE. The lower rear shock bolt is a fight, but straightforward. Installed: Bilstein B8 struts/shocks 99634350500 x 2 - Febi front dust boots 99734301801 x 2 - Lemforrder front strut mount 99634351100 x 2 - front strut mount reinforcement (the 3mm one) 99634351701 x 2 - front strut mount support ring 99634351505 x 2 - front strut mount bearing 99634351300 x 2 - cone washer (wasn't needed - came with Bilsteins) paf003923 x 6 - front upper mount nuts 99333310701 x 2 - rear dust boot 99633310503 x 2 - M030 rear bump stop 99902524002 x 2 - washer 99733350400 x 2 - rear spring retainer 99633351102 x 2 - compensating plate (.5 mm) 99633305903 x 2 - rear shock mount 90038000801 x 6 - rear shock mount nuts 90037813901 x 2 - lower rear shock bolt 99908444501 x 2 - lower rear shock nut To round out the suspension refresh I finally installed the ROW M030 front sway bar (installed the rear last year). I replaced the front endlinks about a year ago so left those alone. 99634370121 - front sway bar (24mm) 99634379212 x 2 - M030 front sway bar bushes N10404306 x 4 - front sway bar bracket bolts Last, but not least, new OE996.1 GT3 front lip to replace my worn and battered one. 99650598694 - GT3 front spoiler 99950749740 x 11 - clips for above Some more posts to come shortly as I finish the exhaust system up and a couple other goodies.

Update- found a beautiful set of updated 996.1 headlights from a very low km Canadian market car. Prefer these over the amber lenses. Got some photos now that I have the look dialed in the way I like on both my 911 and M3. Photos courtesy of Joseph Whetzel IG: https://www.instagram.com/whetzel.photo/ Give him a follow if you can! Great guy & hope to do some more stuff in the future. Met him at a PCA event last year. Enjoy some of Pinky Lai's work

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