Just purchased my P-car... Few questions.

Hi everyone, I have been on here for a long time but always just lurked around. I originally made this screen name when I working at TRG back in 2006 and thought why not just keep using it. When I left there I didn't have the time to frequent the list so I've been gone for a while. Anyways I just bought my first P-car, a '99 C2 Silver/Black and I am loving it but I have a few questions for you porschephiles. When the sunroof is open and I hit a bump it makes a loud rattle, is this normal? I am also getting vibration at idle, it feels like a massage when sitting in the seat. The ide was a lot rougher until the MAF was replaced which really toned it down but there is still a vibration, normal or no? any help you guys can give me would be great. Thanks in advance

The sunroof should not do that, but it is normal, most of the 996's do that, there is a TSB for it from 2003. The massage as you so nicely describe it is normal too. These cars idle a little rough, that and hard motor mounts leads to a constant vibration at idle, you will see the back of your passenger seat move back and forth about 1/2 an inch. Congrats!

uhhh, mine doesn't idle that rough and my passenger seat does not move back and forth a half inch that's a lot of movement. i'm talking more like 1/8 of an inch and no vibration in my sport seats.

Try cleaning the throttle body and idle control valve: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ght=idle+speed Oh, and congrats on your new (to you) car!

Thanks for the help guys! I'll try to clean out the throttle body and idle control valve. Besides those little things the car runs great. I might need some new struts up front, but with 75k thats not a suprise. PSS9's maybe

Quotes source post: 5163003

And plugs, maybe. Mine had a lumpy idle when I bought it, but there's no vibration inside the car at all. Besides cleaning everything that could be cleaned in the fuel system and switching fuels, the only other thing I did was install fresh plugs. I really felt that it made the car a lot smoother, in my case. FWIW.

Congrats Geoff. I was wondering why a guy from TRG would need our opinions, ha. What did you do with TRG? Your car sounds close to mine, but mine was a bit lower miles. Check your sunroof, mine doesn't make any noises. If you turn the a/c on, the idle picks up and is smoother. Well, that works in summer. Where are you located? (We'd know if you added it to your profile.) If you've been lurking for a while, then you should know that TTIWWOP.

Quotes source post: 5161534

My '99 C4 with a reman 3.4 engine makes the passenger seat vibrate the same way. I've put about 10k miles on the new engine and it appears to be perfectly normal, from what I can tell. I stopped worrying about it 10 miles into my first drive!

After driving an air-cooled 993 I like the vibration the engine transfers to the cockpit at idle, it replaces the tapping of the valves the gurgle of the oil and slapping of the pistons. The engine smell is also different after you park it...but it stills smells like...victory.

My '03 is virtually vibration free at idle. I would look for a cause. Congrats on the car.

Quotes source post: 5161534

1. Yes, normal, it is the wind deflector smacking the roof. Next time, hold your fingers under the wind deflector and it will not make the noise. 2. Yes, there is a slight vibration at idle with these cars and the passenger seat (no one in it) will slightly shake a little, normal.

Wow guys, thanks again for all the information. I will try some things tomorrow since it will be my first day off since I bought the car. I started out at TRG as a shipping manager and ended up as the sales manager. I took over for Paul when he left and was there for a while, trained Austin then left and worked for BRITS in Sonoma. If you are not familiar with BRITS they are the US AP Racing importer and the sister company of Motorsports spares in Indy and Essex part services in N.C. I got out of the auto industry and got into construction, whole different world! I am located in Santa Rosa, Ca. about an hour north of S.F.

Geoff Congrats on getting the P-car. If you have been hanging out here for a while you know that it is customary for "Newbies" to tell us a little about their car and to post some pics. So.... come on, Newbie.... post the !@#$%^&* pics! Again, congrats!

I know I know, I need to get a camera since my old Digi died... Hopefully tomorrow I'll take some pics and post them up with some info on the car.

Congrats on the new ride! - On the idling question. 2 things I've noted: 1) 996 Idles much happier when the AC is on - kicks up the revs a little I guess 2) 996 Idles much happier when the battery is fully charged, i.e. It's just come off the Porsche trickle charger - must be something to do with alternator load perhaps?

Congrats on new ride. My 99 also vibrates. At first I thought it has a misfire. But that is not the case. Perhaps it has something to do with balance shaft (internally in the engine). I have driven other P-water cooled cars (boxters, 996,997) and vibration was not as big ( 1/2inch vibration on passanger seat ). It is idle only just like yours. I have to say that I'm glad that it is not only my car that vibrates. Just drive it.

I noticed the vibration in the passenger seat and just told myself that it was normal. Now I feel better knowing there are others with the same vibration.