GT3 Bumper Air Vent Question...

so i installed the bumper on my car. after getting it out of the shop, i'm looking at the front bumper head on. the bottom, middle air vent is solid, meaning there is no cut out. its solid. for pics of what i mean, check this link out: <a href="http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/kfong22/lst?.dir=/My+Photo+Album&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/" target="_blank">http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/kfong22/lst?.dir=/My+Photo+Album&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/</a> the bumper is OEM, bought from a dealer. but the other GT3 bumpers I have seen have this portion cut out. so do all the bumpers come this way, and then I was supposed to tell the body shop to cut it out? does it look weird? i know a 3rd radiator goes there so i don't need it functionality wise. thanks for your input.

That's the difference between automatics and manual transmissions, one has the middle piece cut out the other doesn't, at least if you order it from the factory that way that is how Porsche does it. If you don't have the third radiator no need to cut it out other than if you want it for looks.

kfong, this is the same issue I had that Loren cleared up for me in the other thread you started about the "spoiler lip diy". I am gonna go have la porsche dismantlers who installed my bumper remove that piece since my car is a tiptronic and has the 3rd radiator. Like you I thought that piece must be cut out. Mine is also factory gt3 bumper. I doubt there is a difference between buying the aerokit installed from the factory or getting the part afterwards. In the pic Loren has in his diy site it is clear that the piece can be removed with a putty knife. This seems much easier than having to cut it out. I will tell you how it works out tommorrow. If you have a manual transmission and are not intending to add a 3rd radiator I would advise painting that piece black as it helps keep leaves and other junk out. It will make a significant improvement aesthetically.

The aero kit on regular 996s comes with the black plastic piece installed in the middle of the bumper, so if you bought a 996 aero kit bumper, what you got was the correct part. The C4 gets a third radiator and therefore has the center hole opened up. The GT3 is the same, so if you had gotten a GT3 or C4 front bumper, it would have had the center hole opened. It's not a big deal to remove the black plastic piece but unless you install the center radiator, there is no reason to do this. Karl

Interesting... I had a 99 C4 coupe with aerokit (from factory), which I bought as a new car. I remember that the front section on the front bumper was not a hole but was a seperate black piece (not painted yellow) that gave the impression of there being a hole!!

msindi, it appears as if that from the factory the manual transmission comes with that piece left black. Other cars like tip or gt3 with the center radiator have a hole for cooling. The problem is that when people get the bumper after they buy the car and send it to a bodyshop without this knowledge the whole thing gets painted the same color.

I'm preparing to have my Aero front painted and put on. The front is solid with only 2 side vents for radiators. I'd like to "not" cut anything, and instead somehow remove center plastic thingy from my original bumper and then glue it in the Aero after it's been painted. This way I have the center piece blacked out without cutting the opening. I've seen other cars with the center painted it isn't bad looking but I like the look of it being blacked out or cut. Without a 3rd radiator cutting it out really will only gain me a collective of frogs and leaves...hehe. I'm going to try to reuse that part off the original if possible...

Look for Loren's DIY on the installing the 3rd radiator. He details how to remove the center piece, without cutting it. I think Its just glued in there...

We took the bumper off today and after looking at that piece for a few minutes figured it would probably be easier to cut it out. It really looks like it is one piece. I trust everyone who says it should pull out but it must be difficult. Or maybe some of the bumpers have it as one piece? Anyway it came out great, very clean. I have to reccomend Gary at Zap automotive in burbank, LA. He does mainly electronics but also conversions, suspension, etc, specializing in porsche. he was also doing a 99 conversion to turbo nose and headlights and complete interior in leather today. he is a perfectionist and did an excellent job.

it's not one piece. Look from behind just remove the plug ala lorens diy it is just glued in. wow got any pics of that conversion in and out?

it looked exactly like kfong's pic before removal, painted silver. now it looks like Lorens after he removed it in his diy page, except i guess i left it alittle longer since i didnt pull out the plastic piece, i guess i could still pull out the plastic plug since i cut less than neccessary. i really felt for a place where it was connected. I wish i took a pic of lorens page to show the other guys that didnt believe it was a separate piece. but like i said it came out excellent. i am not sure how to post pics but i will email them to you if youd like.

oh, i just realized you wanted pics of the turbo conversion. i didnt take pics sorry. i remember you were thinking about doing a conversion. i think he also told me he was gonna do wider fenders on the car. hes doing all stock parts so he had to change the headlights. you should ask him about the price im sure he will be very reasonable.