My new to me 2004 Targa and impressions on 1st drive to emissions

I finallly got my 2004 Targa today and I felt like a littke kid when it was coming off the loader, underneath was clean as far I could tell. I need to drive it more to relearn 6sp and how this shifter is. The Hatch is up as I am checking everything out I noticed that I dont have the PSM button on my Targa? Interior seems very clean and the german leather smell is still there. Driver seat leather feels stiff though, may need some conditioner Stock engine and no MODS.....Engine feels strong and nimble, no weird sounds or issues when ****fing, other than my downshift misses and upshift delays from 1, 2, and 3...I forgot how this shifter is very loose... And now to the Targa, I havent opened it up yet as its 96 in Scottsdale today, but the sunshade looks brand new and unsure of its the upgraded 997 model? And the options decal is still there, so no resprays the hood Not a great intro but we all know we love these 996s I went to get emissions and it passed easily. Driving back home gave me some more time to drive it more. I feel the 1st mods will be to the shifter and brake lines, these brake felt spongy, they reminded me my 1983 SC cab I had a while back...The clutch is also stiff and because I didnt depress it all the way down, it didnt want to start. I didnt freak out but laughed lol I think someone posted , Drive it for about 300 miles or more to see what you want to do 1st to make it even better PS filled it up with gas at 91....$80 to the tank .....yeah I didnt buy a Toyota I bought the dream

Drive it for a bit before you make a ton of changes. Recommendations: 1) Brakes are pretty good on these, but the feel isn't always great. You can start by upgrading to the GT3 M/C and SS brake lines, and then look at more grabby pads and other options before going further. 2) Numeric shifter will change the sloppy shifter feeling. 3) I've bypassed the clutch switch, so I don't notice any pedal feel on startup

That's the original 996 targa shade. The 997 unit is a much tighter weave. Here's the original one from my car: And the 997 version: Be glad you don't have a PSM button. A PSE button (Porsche Sport Exhaust) on the other hand would be nice! I can't read all your codes on the frunk tag, do us a favor and list them in a post. Or look them up and list them for us. My car has PSE but had no button. I added it, simple as pie in my case and I suspect others.

The brake pads and rotor are easy to measure to see if they need replacement. The lack of firm brake feel may be old fluid. Indeed, you should consider replacing all fluids. The clutch may be different on mine, but it engages with very little movement off the floor. I installed stainless brake flex lines and I thought it felt better but I have no measurement to prove it mattered. Sadly, mine goes into professional storage next month.

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Driving more and yes I need more responsive feeling brakes in foot only, I am getting use to the shifter now...only stalled 2 times lol Thanks for the recommendtions

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Thanks for the comparison, lucky for me the AC is cold at the moment so the sun wasnt really hitting me fully. I love my Targa the glass view is amazing. Honestly if my 83 didnt have any PSM saviors, I guess I'll never know what PSM will do in the 996 ....How did you find out you had PSE? My codes are at as follows: 326 Cassette-radio Becker Porsche CR-21 ROW, 411 18" Carrera 5-spoke wheels, 437 8-way electrical seat, left, 438 8-way electrical seat, right, 446 Wheel caps with colored Porsche crest, , P537 Seat memory, left, 680 MY1998-2001 DSP Digital Sound Processing, MY 2002-2005 Bose sound system (analog), 936 Leather rear seats, 981 Leather dashboard and door panels, 983 Leather front seats, 985 Internal production code, 692 6-disc CD changer Becker Porsche CDC-3 (Gone) ( I think this is the 1st code?) I would like to add heated seats but its no biggie I am happy with the options on my Targa

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Hennessy Porsche in GA did the 60k service, I am trying to get paperwork for it to see what was done....The guy I talked too, said it had a clean bill of all greens when they checked it.....You must have harsh winters, in Az the weather just about to get good here

Adding heated seats isn't too awful, depending on how you want to do it. I added the heated seats via an upholstery shop to my 4Runner and it seemed like it wasn't a big deal. I bought heated sports seats to replace the regular sports seats in my Turbo and it was a good move - I really like it. However, if you go this route, just remember that all the wiring and elements are 20 years old now and may necessitate replacement. May be worth putting new ones into your current seats and wiring it up so you know it's all fresh.... -Matt

Missed upshifts - I was having this issue with my 2000 C2 with a rebuilt trans, I asked the prior owner and he said he was told by CMS to use whatever gear oil he wanted so he went with Walmart generic stuff. I changed to Porsche OEM trans oil, night and day difference. I was skeptical but it appears to have actually solved my 3-2 grinding issue. I have PSM on my car and have yet to see it activate, and I have driven it VERY hard. Seems like it must only activate past the limits, the car would have to be driven stupidly reckless.

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I am getting used the shifter its getting better, its the downshifts from 3 to 2, yesterday and 1 missed upshift from 2 to 3...I am just going to keep driving until I get use to a 911 again ....and trying to remember what gears = mph lol

I have a question on start up I realized after reading the owners manuel, I should let the psm read the oil level? But it should really be done when its at operating 180+ ..... Does this look right? This was level and after a 20 minute ride to get some food at 180, to me it looks full of oil? shouldnt there be a middle indictor?...I forgot about the druck press how it moves up and down...at idling its in the middle at 3 and 3rd to 4th and 5th gears its been at 4 and at 5.....Can someone educate if this is normal and what to look for? Also I think I screwed up my Targa hatch, I was getting groceries and put in the back and was putting the hatch down and it went down like hard thump and now it wont open? the drivers side button or keys wont make it unlatch...I can hear the mechanism working but the windown wont depress up?

Always check the oil with the dash after it has been sitting or at least 8 hours...( no matter what the manual says)..checking when hot will usually read low and cause you to overfill. Yours is overfull which is a big no-no unless you have the UAOS ( upgraded AOS)...you need to remove a little oil, removing the oil filter and emptying once or twice usually does it.. As far as the Targa Hatch, have someone hold the button while you press down hard and release on the Hatch, that may unlatch it..

I didnt like the 996 shifter and was gifted a 997 shifter. It was a worthwhile upgrade and not a crazy DIY job. Most of the improvement likely came from the fresh shifter VS the worn 100k mile unit. Still an upgrade I liked. I drove one with a Numeric and loved it, but it was a few levels up on the tight & notchiness feel of the OEM units. Might upgrade someday, but for now I like what I have

I can’t speak for every 911 but my 996 is not and will never be on a list of great shifters. Tighten it up with Shift Right or whatever, but also slow down a bit. This isn’t a Hurst lever directly connected to a giant gearbox. It’s got 2 feet of flexible cable.

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If your Targa roof is open, the hatch will not open, and vice verso. Also, +1 on removing some oil.

Thanks guys the Targa htach was not fully despressed down, quirkly thing that I am not used too. Now I am Ok so Porsche Hennessey did the oil change, I looked at the records and it was recent, cant believe they would overfill. But I guess they did

The rear hatch should have a motorized closure. You don't slam it you just drop it gently, then the motor pulls it closed.

I will drain some oil over the weekend, I am so glad to be back and in a 996 Targa, I feel its the last of the true analog feeling

Just realized looking at the 60k service, they did a brake flush....Thinking I need to change out the brake lines to more response ones

Took the car over to Stuttgart Southwest in Tempe Az and Finally got to meet Jack, hes a character man for sure. He ended up putting it up and removing the r emoving the oil filter and emptying some oil out of it. He wanted me to see if there was any metal in the oil, which there wasnt. But will get fully inspected on the next oil change when he does it. He found zero leaks and even ran it for a little bit the his asstitance give it some rpms. Underside looks clean. The engine feels tight and nimble for its age. Will start preparring to get parts for future upgrades for preventative maintance..

Congrats Dreamer. Car looks great and you will have a blast. Regarding the shifter, four things may help. (1) if you haven't already, consider replacing the engine mounts with a new set of Rein mounts. It tightened mine up. (2) Top of the line fresh trans fluid helps as well. (3) consider replacing your trans mount as well. Will help further. (4) as was mentioned, it's not a Hurst muscle car shifter so don't force, jam or hurry it. Best way to look at it is it's a "rythym" shift. Take your time and develop an accurate rhythm. Yep its a longer throw, but once you get the rhythm it shifts easily amd accurately. A buddy of mine is a muscle car guy and the shifter miffed him. Once he got the rhythm, he was golden. Quite frankly I never had a problem with the shifter on the street or track. So I never changed it. Figured I would spend the money on other things. Enjoy the car!

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The more I drive it, yes the more I notice is diff is a longer shifter. I am getting used it more as I drive and I think I just need to keep driving it. I am going to go for simple mods for now (short shifter) and take it from there. I dont want to take it the wrench just yet on mods, as I am still getting used it and driving it more to see what I want to change

I have a question about memory seats, I think the dealer said the seats had a werid going on. But I tried to reset the memory 1 and 2 to my liking and per the owners manuel, turned the key to acc, I set mem and at the same time pressed 1, but the memory position goes back to whomever set it? Anyone else had this issue?