Yesterday, I Forgot to Worry

Yesterday evening I went to visit a group of old and new friends who meet regularly at a local cigar lounge. It's maybe 25 - 30 miles from home, depending on the route. And on the way back to my house, a strange thing happened ... It was a beautiful evening. About 65 - 70 degrees, low humidity, and mostly clear skies. I had the windows up and the top down. The breeze was cool, but not cold. Following some recent maintenance, my car has been running very nicely, and last night was no exception. While the Northway isn't quite the Autobahn, my 996 and I were in our element, cruising effortlessly in the outside lane. We even drew a few admiring glances from fellow motorists -- who obviously didn't know, or care, that we have radiators. The strange part? I actually forgot to worry about my car. For a brief, shining moment I didn't think about my metal impeller water pump. I didn't think about the temperature gauge, and whether the needle was going to stay between the "8" and "0". I didn't think about a single one of the 27 documented modes of failure. I didn't wonder if every noise was a lifter, a cam chain tensioner, a scored cylinder, that idiotic bearing -- or the truck next to me. I didn't even think about wheel bearings, or window regulators, or cabriolet top hydraulic cylinders, or any of the other zillion and seventy-three parts that'll go bad sooner or later. I didn't think about the declining value and incipient worthlessness of my 996, or that it's a cab -- which I'm told that nobody in their right mind should want -- and how pretty soon if a bird poops on my car the insurance company will probably want to total it. I just drove my car and enjoyed the hell out of it. Deployed the spoiler a couple times on the highway, made a brief detour down a curvy back road, and got home with a big stupid grin on my face. It was almost as if my 996 -- which we all know is a money pit, a rolling heap of misery, a disaster waiting to happen -- had somehow been replaced by a fast, comfortable, exciting, modern sports car. Who knew?

Ha!! Excellence! I hate worrying, yet I bought one... what was I thinking! Once I stop thinking about all that, it is pure driving enjoyment.

And you somehow made it home without the required fun-draining hypervigilance? No way. Maybe it is possible, and they are real cars! We took mine camping in the Gulf Islands last weekend. Full of stuff. The car was perfect, as always.

Same here. I was doing some "testing" and did some runs up into 5-6k in 2nd gear. Just let the car lift my spirits. And lift me off the ground damn near. Which makes sense, cuz I just looked at the rpm/speed graph, and it looks like 2nd gear is logarithmic. And the sound! Reverberating off the buildings and trees, with that high rpm sound I like. And that's just stock exhaust. Honest to God, I never knew you had to get it up into those ranges to hear the exhaust. Whatever happens from here I'm driving it hard. With assertive maintenance of course. But I'm gonna let her show me what she's got till she's taken away from me.

I love second gear...the needle nears redline, the exhaust is screaming, and I'm already passing people on the freeway though I'm still only halfway down the onramp. Second gear near redline in a tunnel with the Tubi exhaust and the K&N intake...if angels were made of internal combustion engines, my car in a tunnel is what a choir of them would sound like.

Very cool!

Life, is in fact, too short, just enjoy the ride for once!

Nice to hear an owner who actually enjoys driving and being in their 996. Lots of fear and over the top concerns on the forums of late, doubt it will ever subside. Thanks for the 'positive' feedback for a change.

I think I am the complete opposite, I feel very complacent when I drive my car. I don't worry about a damn thing, the car feels solid. Is that good or bad?

I have found that the enjoyment of my car is inversely proportional to the amount of time I spend reading about the problems other people have with their car.

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I agree.... I drive mine hard, take it to redline through the gears at every opportunity, put kids in the back to take them to school or baseball practice and never worry about what the internet tells me is wrong with my car.

omg, how many times do you guys need to make posts to convince yourselves that your cars aren't **** boxes. You had a fun drive in your car...congrats. Does that really need to be discussed?

Why don't you go find some other bridge to hang out under? We've already got plenty of trolls here. Run along and go start some really important threads...like printing up "wall art" of engine diagrams.

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"omg" Ha, Ha, Ha!

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I seriously read that as "too short to enjoy the ride" I must be reading the 996 forum too much. Maybe I need to restrict myself back to RLOT and the Cayenne sections

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Get a life! It's a forum about the love and respect we have for our cars. A good drive is something to write about. I thought it was good and a reminder of why we love our cars so much. Quit trolling our forum and making disparaging remarks.

It feels great not to worry - extremely well written OP! I wonder why so many of us (car guys, not just P-car owners) get a vehicle because we "fall in love" or because "it's what I've always wanted" and then we turn it into some sort of baby that can't be touched or a tool that can't be used. Don't put the P _ _ _ _ on a pedestal! (hopefully you completed that as P - C A R) Use it for what you bought it for - fun driving! Just reading the OP makes me want to go for a drive - and not think about anything else in the world. Hey, for what it's worth, KoB - I think once you go cabriolet there's no going back!

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Once again Quad, you add so much with your memorable comments.

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I echo these comments. It's pure driving bliss that while German made gets an Italian tune up every time I get a chance to drive it .

i agree with the OP,it's so much fun when you drive it without worry about it,this is my weekend car(no by choice) but every time i get in it and just hear the rumble, bring smile to my face,if the motor goes,well a least let have fun with it

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Someone needs to offset the fear mongering assclowns that frequent these forums. If Al Gore hadn't invented the internet, 95% of us would live in blissful ignorance and actually enjoy our cars (God forbid).

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Major FAIL, worrying is part of the ownership, start worrying or get a different car and don't bother us normal folks.

Nice post Bri. Sometimes you just have to disconnect and enjoy the ride =)

Dyslexia rools KO? and so does Prochse..there is 'On Subtitsteu'.. Seriously.. I don't worry. I am always observant and that's a good thing.

Sorry to inform you KoB, but TINSTAAFL. It will catch up with you. Maybe a day.... maybe a week.... maybe a month from now.... you will be soundly dozing in your bed... then it will hit. You will burst awake with terrifying night tremors, sweat spouting from every pore.... and will suddenly have an unquenchable urge to start replacing random parts on your car. I feel sorry for your poor tortured soul....

I forgot too. But then I read this and remembered again and wait, just then I forgot again.

I think all 996 owners have something in common. We are all crazy. Anyway got to go. Have to be back in the Nut House before dark lol.

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Are you kidding? With all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that gets disseminated in here, night tremors and cold sweat is my default state. Most days, my hands shake so badly it's all I can do to stay in one lane. Word is, Documented Mode of Failure Anxiety Disorder (DMFAD) will be included in the next edition of the DSM.

Another reason to love the 996: The 70-100 time in 3rd gear. In the same way I have a pretty good grasp of chemistry and physiology and yet I have no clue how the female brain functions, the 996 does things with "only" 300hp that don't always seem to make sense. The 996 may be a little too...seasoned...to still be part of the supercar club, but it can cruise @ 100+ all day long, with the best of the GT cars. 100MPH in a 996 feels like riding a cruise missile, 100MPH in a Ferrari feels like being a drug dealer in a bad cop movie, and 100MPH in a Bentley feels like driving a runaway locomotive. "Damn, I hope nobody pulls out in front of me." Still the best car I've ever owned, and I still have NO urge to go car shopping.

Cannot agree more, when I worry about my 911, I want to sell it. When I drive my 911 I am never going to sell it. It's a hate love relationship, a bit like owning an Alfa Romeo, just that those do not start. Heart and soul kind of thing, and what a size of that heart and the soul. Just love it, and hate it, but just a little bit. My reasons for owning a Porsche. 1. It sticks to the road 2. It's got hips 3. Did I mention the hips 4. Decent performance 5. When five year old boys stop at the pedestrian crossing and point asking their dads, then you know, you just know it is a special car 6. Chicks call it a frog Reasons for not owning a Porsche anymore 1. As long as those above weigh more it does not matter. You change your mind when you go in it anyway.

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It sneaks up on you! Driving on Hwy 101 on the Oregon coast today, I dropped it into 3rd to get by some RVs in one of the passing sections... next thing I know, I look down and I'm doing 105. It surprised me quite a bit. I slowed down... a bit

I'm really cutting loose now. This morning I'm packing for a laundry run and grab the bleach. "No, no, no" instantly comes to mind. "This is your Porsche, think about it, bleach stains for the rest of its life." Bottom line, I'm taking the bleach. It has a lid on it. I can be spontaneous, but not crazy. Not just any lid. I poured it into a more fail safe container. I call that a healthy compromise. Rest assured I'm not entering the beater zone. Tomorrow I start some serious detailing. Been driving around for weeks with no front bumper cover (fixed both rad fans).

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I've taken some mulch home from the home improvement store in my 996 before. As long as you clean it up afterwards then it won't become a beater.

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Porsches make great work horses!

If any of you start getting overcome with worry, just crack a beer and go read on the Ferrari 328/348 forums. You'll be back to normal in no time!

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He's not kidding. I've been seriously considering buying an F355 and they have a similar issue with the valve guides/headers which can cause a catastrophic engine failure. Rebuilding a Ferrari motor can run you up to $45K easily. The average cost of maintenance for a driven F355 is between $7 - 10K annually. As bad as it sounds, I still want to take the risk of buying one. Case and Point, the 996 IMS crap got nothing on a $45K repair bill.