Road to the 996

First post here� yep, another noob. Today I find myself combing through the 996 forum, just trying to find interesting discussions about the dream car I bought last August. Winter is long here Up North, and with the C4S in storage, I attempt to drive vicariously through others. I feel like I�ve read through everything that a human being possibly could about the 996, including Adrian Streather�s �Essential Companion�. Ours is a fascinating, quirky car. The road that led me to the 996 is probably not that unusual, but I certainly hadn�t planned for it. After completing 2 years of full-time studies while I was also working, I felt like I needed some sort of grand finale, an exclamation point to close this very busy chapter of my life. I have always been into cars and motorcycles, having owned my share of vehicles. I particularly enjoyed owning a 2006 RX-8 a few years ago, which was my first foray into the world of sports cars. Well, sporty might be a better word here, but despite certain well known drawbacks the RX-8 was a great handling car and I had a lot of fun with it. But I digress. On a fine August day last summer, on my way home from work, I noticed that the dealership near my house had a 911 Carrera in the showroom. I couldn�t help but stop and walk in to take a look. It was a somewhat rare (I learned later) 2005 Carrera 4S in Seal Grey, with 67k km / 42k miles on the odo. She was in pristine condition and looked fantastic. This is where I need to mention that aside from the 911 being my dream car since I was a kid, I had never driven one or even known anyone who owned a Porsche. Now I am usually a fairly reasonable kind of person and not particularly irrational; I tend to do a lot of research prior to making a major purchase. I think you know where this is going� 2 hours after having walked into that showroom, I was the proud owner of the beauty in grey. No PPI, no comparison points from previous test drives. Just had to have it. Yikes. As it turns out, Carrie (Huh. I named her just now� weird) was taken to a local specialist shop a few months later for some preventative maintenance, namely IMSB, RMS, clutch and flywheel � thanks to all my reading on Rennlist � and was given a clean bill of health. Not only that, the shop I took it to were very familiar with the car and had serviced it ever since it was imported from the US in 2010. They didn�t know the car had exchanged hands, and confirmed my gut feel that she was well-cared for. No funny stuff in the oil filter, or anything that might indicate impending doom. Just a very minor RMS leak, which I decided to remedy for peace of mind. Thinking back about how badly I could have been bitten by buying a Porsche 996 without a PPI, I realize I may have been lucky. She is so much fun to drive, I barely get on the bike anymore. To be honest, I feel like I am still learning to drive this car the way it should be driven. That�s not to say I don�t regularly visit the upper 6�s or that I drive like a granny, but it just feels like my C4S has more to give. I may consider doing some DE sessions in the future. I�ve done a few minor cosmetic improvements since August, and am now thinking about what I could do to the Sport Techno wheels. I�ve seen some paint mods that look interesting. Now I know these threads are worthless without pictures, so I�ve included a few below. I am no professional photographer so keep your expectations low! In the dealer�s lot, minutes after purchase A few weeks later, with new �knock-off� center wheel caps. The color is a bit off, but they look better than the old ones, a couple of which were missing the emblem. Graphite Grey interior Bad pic� on an epic road trip to Newfoundland, when I realized the rears wear fast. Had to replace them in Sydney, NS! Preventative maintenance, slight RMS leak On winter wheels (Victor Equipment Lemans 18s) and tires, off to the storage facility for the long winter to come Is it Spring yet? Cheers

I have to admit, I do feel bad for some of you guys who have to deal with winter. Winters in Vegas consist of snow in the mountain tops around the valley and a few days of wet. This winter has been unusually wet, and that just makes me want to drive more. Hopefully this is the last week in the 50's and we can get in to some top down weather next week!

I have a 996.2 C2 and it still gets used (on Summer tires) here in Colorado winters.... It only takes the road crews about 48 hours after a snow storm to have everything cleaned up and drivable. Prior and during snow storms I obviously garage my car.

Wow, another one. Congratulations on the purchase. Looks like you lucked upon a well cared for example and have done the right preventative maintenance for many thousands of miles of fun.

I envy you guys who live south of me - which is pretty much anywhere lol. I know I could drive it here in the winter, but there's a lot of salt on the roads in the city and corrosion would be a concern. Btw - forgot to say hello to all in my first post! I'll try to avoid asking dumb questions... but it's probably only a matter of time.

Congrats. I traded my 2005 RX-8 (Rex) in on my '03 C2 (Carmen) two years ago and am amazed at the differences. Don't forget autocross as an option to learn the car in a controlled environment at lower speeds. Hope you and Carrie have a great time.

Great color, looks awesome, congrats!

Thanks for the nice comments so far. I hadn't thought about autocross, I'll need to inquire and find out - there used to be regular events not too far from where I live in the parking lot of the local sports arena (Ottawa Senators, anyone?). I thought I'd share another pic, which shows the result of repainting the center console. there were some scratches near the e-brake handle when I bought the car, and upon closer inspection I realized what is well known here on this forum: the paint is quite fragile and comes off easily. I decided to use Dupli-Color Vinyl and Fabric paint and give it a shot myself. I found a charcoal grey color that suits the interior fairly well, while not an exact match (it is darker). Initially, I was going to do the center console only but then thought it would probably look better if I matched some of the other trim pieces in order to give the interior color scheme some balance. I ended up doing the center console, the dashboard trim surround, the ignition key surround, and the round screen cover on the passenger side. I used a mixture of alcohol and simple green - and a lot of elbow grease - to remove the original finish once the parts were removed from the car. I then started off with some paint primer (2 coats), then finished with 3 coats of Dupli-Color. I think it came out pretty nicely. I do not know yet how it will hold up, but it seemed to be ok after a couple months of use. Before After

Looks great! Welcome to awesomness. BTW what floor mats are in there?

Good question, they were already in the car when I bought it, so I'm not 100% certain as I don't have access to the car right now. That said, they look identical to black/natural Sierra Madre COCO floor mats (just did a Google image search): http://www.sierramadrecollection.com...oor-Mats-c723/

Beautiful C4S & nice work on the console. Looks like you are well on your way to enjoying the car; have a good driving season once it arrives. It will be worth the wait! Cheers p.s. Also bought my C2 after doing some research and stumbling on "the one" with the right mix of condition & maintenance records. I'm a believer in buying condition rather than spec X,Y,Z. So far it has worked out. Best of luck with yours.

Good find, this car is really in good shape, both exterior and especially the interior, the leather seats look brand new with no sign of any wears at all, nice... I have the exact same interior supple seats and also color. I also love the Techno wheels; for sure you will enjoy driving this car very much. Cheers,

You can tell a lot about the previous ownership by tires they mounted. I see you have PSs in N rating. (that's good)

They look like coco mats https://www.cocomats.com . I had a set made for my 2004 c2 . You can order them right from the manufacturer . Heaps of colors . They lift the interior look

Again, thanks for the nice comments everyone. When the rears went, I replaced them with the same Michelin PS2. I don't have any other point of reference being a noob 996 owner, but I enjoy the traction and didn't feel like experimenting with a different brand. Brand new tires sure do make a difference though, and they are also quieter than the old ones that were on the car. I noticed them getting noisier as I progressed on my road trip last summer, but I thought they were ok until I thought to bend under the car to look at the inside threads... they were down to the metal. That'll never happen again now that I know what to look for. Botsy: you're right, the interior seats are in near new condition, except for the driver side bolster that's getting "shiny". I tried deep cleaning with Lexol cleaner + conditioner and a horsehair brush but haven't yet managed to bring it back to a matte finish. I've read that a magic eraser works, but I'm not about to take what amounts to sandpaper to my seats... I thought Lexol would do the trick based on reviews and comments I'd read, but no dice. There are so many products and recommendations out there, I'm sure I'll find something that works eventually.

Winters are great, being on the north side of Detroit, my car gets to sit from around the end of Oct to April. Just makes it that much better when you do get to bring it out

That's a great outlook m3. Stoicism, however, does not come naturally to me so I wait for spring from storage day 1. Need to be more like... well, maybe not exactly like that ;-)

March 4:Outside temperature this morning is minus 21 Celsius (minus 34 with the windchill...)

Try Leatherique. Not inexpensive or quick but it's the best I've found. Botsy: you're right, the interior seats are in near new condition, except for the driver side bolster that's getting "shiny". I tried deep cleaning with Lexol cleaner + conditioner and a horsehair brush but haven't yet managed to bring it back to a matte finish. I've read that a magic eraser works, but I'm not about to take what amounts to sandpaper to my seats... I thought Lexol would do the trick based on reviews and comments I'd read, but no dice. There are so many products and recommendations out there, I'm sure I'll find something that works eventually.[/QUOTE]

Hmm I might try it. Seems to have worked very well for the guy who made this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su1M10TW0Dk Now that I've seen the product and its application, I think it's the same stuff Mike Brewer used in a recent episode of Wheeler Dealers, where they restored/upgraded a Maserati electric car. He rubbed an oil product on the seats, then covered them in plastic bags and put them out in the sun for a while.

That's the stuff. I definitely wouldn't put them in direct sun, however.

Quotes source post: 14003210

I knew global warming was a hoax...

I'll be working on a couple of small projects soon: 1. Painting the wheels ( I started another thread about it here: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...photoshop.html ) 2. Restore / refinish the headlights. They have a slight yellowish tinge and I'd like to bring them back to what they should be. I've seen some good DYIs that show how to sand and polish the lens, but nothing definitive on what or how to apply a UV coating that lasts. Ideas or recommendations would be welcome!

Quotes source post: 14019241

Regarding your headlights I would recommend taking it to a body shop and having them do it. They can sand, buff and then actually apply clear coat which will last so much longer. I have had the DIY done and it lasted a couple 3 months and was back to yellow. I then had them done at a shop and also had them apply a clear bra vinyl over them and they look like new and I have a feeling will stay like that for a really long time. Might take a little longer and cost more (I think I paid $150) but it was worth it to me. Makes the car look so much nicer/newer when the lights are clear.

I've been debating doing it myself vs getting it done. Do you know if they applied a UV protector prior to applying the 3M? Or is the film UV treated to prevent future yellowing?

Here's what they look like. Not the worst I've seen, but definitely not 100% clear/white either (easier to see it on the passenger side because of the angle).

FINALLY got her out of storage. 350km and many twisties later, I am alive again!

Beautiful C4S, always loved that colour. Where abouts in Eastern Ontario are you?

I'm in the Ottawa area. A drive from Perth to Calabogie is a nice way to start the driving season

Enjoy the driving season!