New '03 C2 Coupe owner with questions but not a newbie

(X-posted from 6speedonline) Morning guys(and gals). Just wanted to introduce myself and ask a few questions. Sorry for the grainy picture, but wanted to have a pic of me with the car and the sun went down here in CT before my girlfriend got home last night. I turned 26 on 2 weeks ago and as a birthday present to myself I picked up my first 911, after trading in my Audi TT and Honda S2000. My father has an '84 C2 Cab and my brother had a '77 Coupe with wide body kit on it, so I'm no stranger to Porsches or sports cars. I've spent lots of seat time in a friend's Boxster and run both my TT and S2000 at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, NHIS as well as the local PCA club autocrosses as a guest on my father's membership. I went with a '03 Coupe in Seal Grey metallic with black interior. It has the stainless steel dual exhaust tips, aluminum gauges, shifter, and ebrake, 18" Carrera lightweight wheels, bi-xenons, heated seats, PSM and rear window wiper. This car just blows me away. I could go on and on about how amazing this car is to me, and I only have 350 miles and haven't gone above 4200 rpm yet. So that brings me to my first question: Salesman said below 5000 rpm for first 1000 miles. Owners manual says 4200 rpm for first 2000 miles. Other sources say drive it how you normally would from the start(which is pretty aggressive for me). What is the consensus here? Second question, I picked up some PIAA H3 55w fogs to replace the factory ones so they match the bi-xenons better. Are these the right ones: It says 55w -> 110w but other posts I read said it should say 55w -> 85w. Next has anyone removed or replaced the plastic(?) that surrounds the gauges with aluminum look or carbon fiber? How hard is this to do? Last, is an exhaust question. I know I still need to hear what the car sounds like at full rpm, but I can't decide between the Fabspeed GT3 bypass pipes and their Maxflow exhaust. I have the special tips on my 911 and I could keep those if I got the Maxflow, but I love the way the GT3 bypass sounds in the video. I'm just afraid the GT3 bypass will be too loud all the time. So far I've installed the clear side lights and ordered bumper plugs and the fogs. Clear bra and tints go on tomorrow and GT3 side skirts, stainless door sills and an aluminum pedal set are on the way from Carnewal(Gert was incredibly helpful!) Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

well, the break-in has been debated alot on this forum. just use the search button on top to find it. There are many different views on that topic. There are Aluminum Trims that goes on top of the existing one. They're just glued on. I personally had the regular fabspeed exhaust on and IMO they're too loud I can just imagine what the GT3 Bypass pipes would sound like. But to each his own. Porsche Sport Exhaust is a good alternative. Congrats on the car. I just got my 1st Porsche 4 month ago and I still can't wipe off the grin on my face everymorning when I drive to work. Peter

Congrats on the new car, you are going to love it. The Fabspeed bypass pipes may be a bit loud and might garner some unwanted attention from the neighbors and the local enforcment agency. I would suggest the Fabspeed Maxflo exhaust. I had them on my 99 C2 and loved them. Pretty subdued at idle and cruise, but a nice throaty sound under load. It really starts to scream as redline approaches. The The Porsche system sounds nice too, more of a raspy sound. Some advantages I like about the Fabspeed exhaust... cheaper and lighter. Installation is about the same unless you do the electronics with the Porsche system. Try to hear them both as a good sounding exhaust is highly subjective. Enjoy!

Check with Eric (the plug guy) www.bumperplugs.com or www.performanceproducts.com for the AS rings for instrument cluster.

I don't want the rings. I want the part behind the gauges. I already have the aluminum gauges and I want the large carbon fiber piece that goes around the whole gauge pod(the hood sort of). I would buy it, but only if I can install it myself. I found a picture. Not the silver rings in this picture, but the carbon behind them:

Another

Hey Jenner - long time no see! Good to see you took the same step I did (except I went for the '03 cab - lapis/natural brown) from the TT to the C2. I didn't have to read too far to know you were already thinking about mods. Even though you won't be able to extract the same ratio of power over stock like you did with your TT 180 QC after modification, the C2 is a different animal - better in every way. There is no way you can realize just how powerful the car is until break in is over - at 4000 rpms the motor is just warming up. Enjoy the new car! - George (saxguy from Audiworld) BTW: Weren't you getting a 996 TT at one point?

Jenner and Dr.G, I, too, came from an Audi TTR to a 996 Cab...I remember someone asking me which one I liked better...the simple answer was- they can't be compared, they are completely different. Congrats on the 996 Jenner!

Agreed, they are both great cars in their own right. I definitely notice the difference between the RWD C2 and the Quattro. I guess the only thing that "disappointed" me when switching from the Audi to the 996 was the steering wheel - the steering wheel on the TT is probably the most comfortable I have experienced. Renoir - did you happen to attend any of the Audi events at Ira Porsche/Audi over the past few years, we may have crossed paths.

The Instrument surround in carbon is a Tequipment item.. 000 044 801 07 8YR Black interior is 8YR or VRJ The exchange is very easy.. about an hour job... Basically.. Two screws: One behind the speaker grill in the left and the other behind the Hazard flasher button on the right. Once these are removed the whole "pod" lifts up. You unplug the instruments from their wiring harrnesses. The instrument are screwed to the surround, you unscrew them, and install on the new surround and then reinstall the "POD" to the dash.. NOTE: Place lots of towels on your dash and the surround so you do not damage the leather. If you need more detials let me know. You can order the surround from Gert ( www.carnewal.com ) or any Porsche dealer.. Sunset and Hendricks charge 15% above cost plus shipping.

another TT->996 convert! i've had mine for almost a month and there's no comparison.

FYI on the fabspeed bypass pipes... if you are worried about them being too loud... they are too loud for many tracks! I got black flagged at limerock for my car being too loud with them. Thats at a RACE TRACK!

Hey Saxguy! Yes, I had a 996TT on deposit ready to go, but I changed my mind/budget because of something that came up at the last minute. Can't wait to get finished with break in. 1500 miles to go... I'm shocked to see so many TT to 911 owners. I wonder if AoA and PCA know about this....seems like marketing potential. Shape, seating capacity, AWD availability and other options are very similar so I can see why. I do find it hard to swallow that the TT has real aluminum and in the 911 it is paint when the 911 is double the cost. I also find it sad that my girlfriend's $23,000 Honda Accord Coupe has a far better stereo from the factory then my Carrera. What's up with that?! There are some other little issues like the climate control having no off button, or two way heated seats vs. the TT having 6 temperatures. But I can live with all that for the driving experience this car offers.... Ed, thanks for the info. That's all I needed to hear about how loud they are. Yikes!

Who cares about the radio anyway. My car has a Bose system, but I find that most of the time I have it turned down low, so I can hear the real music coming from below the rear deck lid!