traded my '02 m3 in on this 996

Thanks for the advise on the '99 996. I picked her up after work today. I love this car. I thought I was going to regret it as I was signing my M3 away but as I drove off the lot I completely forgot about the M3. This car rocks!!!

Congrats on your new 996(love my car since day one and it's my baby)!!! You're right it is a bit large- couldn't wait for it to load the pic but looks like a dark color(black or blue with beige interior?) Let us know what options you have and please feel free to ask if you plan to do mods later(love mods!!!)Regards. Mike

I've already got a list of questions: 1. Which short shifter should I get. I have been looking through the archives and it looks like the B&M is a good choice. Any others that are worth looking at? 2. Is it worth adding the OEM cd changer or should I save the money and go for an aftermarket setup? I am already disapointed in the stock sound so I am leaning towards aftermarket. 3. The car came with a cold air intake which I am not sure what brand it is. It has a K&N filter on the end. Anyway the check engine light is stuck on and the dealer says that a factory airbox will eliminate it. They are putting in the factory airbox next week as part of the deal. Should I look into the coldair intake manufacture and see if there is anything that can be done about the check engine light? Is it likely to add any HP that will dissapear when the factory airbox is put on? 4. I am not planning on tracking this car but would like a lower stance. Is it ok to go with aftermaket springs to lower it a little and stiffen it up? Should I just go with a full setup, springs and shocks? 5. What are some popular mods for these that add HP without a hugh investment? Thanks, Kerry

Congratulations! 1. How much money fo you have? Really the B&M is great street/track shifter unless you want to go all out for the GTR race shifter. 2. The OEM type cd-changer is a Becker or Sony both are good. I think I paid around $435 for a complete install kit from Becker. The rest of the sound system does not get much praise. Check the archives Reus (expensive), Paris Audo and Money Auto come to mind. Check with your local Porsche folks -- where are you located? 3. Hmmm... I went through this a while back. I opted for the standard box with restriction screens removed and a BMC filter (similar to K&N but more flow -- used on Porsche's race cars). As long as you don't over oil these filters they work fine. Never gotten a check engine light with my setup... and better intake sound as a bonus. 4. If you read the last two issues of Porsche Panorama (PCA) you will see an excellent article on suspensions for the 996 Carrera. Their recommendation (and mine) is go with a Porsche tuned suspension like the ROW M030 Sport Suspension. This will lower the car 20mm in front and 10 mm in the rear and give an incredible improvement in handling. Board sponsor <a href="http://www.carnewal.com" target="_blank">Carnewal.com</a> has some great prices on the complete kit (all Porsche parts). 5. This last one is tough. How far do you want to go and how much money do you want to spend? IMHO a good performance option needs to include a low restriction air intake, sports exhaust, headers, cat-backs (if legal in tyour state) and a chip tuned for this setup. All of this will not yield more than another 20-30 HP... which is a lot on this car. Other things you can do is reduce some of the weight (there goes that high end stereo system). Lighter wheels, remove the back seats, have the driver lose weight (oops.. that's for me), etc., etc. Hope this helps some. Some folks have learned from mistakes and can help you not make the same ones they (I) did. Lots of opionions here... so keep asking your questions and then make informed decisons.

From looking at the FAQ it looks like the intake I have is the Powerflow. There seems to be a spacer that will fix the check engine light problem. I think I will get it and see what happens. Thanks for the other info I will keep doing research.

The FAQ has not been updated in quite a while (over a year I think). There are many more options are the market today. I personally had a bad experience with PowerFlow and I can not recommend it.

Good luck! You'll really enjoy the car. As the owner of a MY99 996 my only advice to you is buy an extended warranty contract from somebody.If the car is still under factory warranty make sure all of the usual problems have been addressed and corrected. Its about an 800 dollar job to replace the rear main oil seal. With about three months remaining on my factory I needed a new trans-$7730 and that doesn't include labor.Go and drive it! you won't miss the BMW.

Yea it has one year left on the warranty and there is no way I will hit 50K in that time frame so I'm safe there. I will definately be getting an extended warranty. Do you have any suggestions for warranty companies? I have Warranty Gold on my X5 and they seem to be pretty good. They cover everything.

I found most were competitive in price and coverage. Believe it or not my dealer offered the best plan. API is the company.It is imperative that you get the warranty with the factories still in effect. Also double check the "in service" date with Porsche to be certain exactly when the warranty expires.I've been really happy with my car,it is a daily driver. The usual problems were a major concern of mine but have been dealt with promptly by my dealer.The trans failure was sudden and catastrophic with no warning. No DE events or autocross either. The car will remain absolutely stock other than a change to 285 tires in the rear when required.