A positive 996 post

I was gone for quite a while from Rennlist forums. When I came back, I was surprised at the number of negative posts on the 996. So, I thought I'd post a positive one I've been tracking my 996 C4S every year, multiple times a year, since I bought it new in 2002. In the last 15 years, the car has been bulletproof. I've recently posted videos here taken in 2015-2016. Here's a few older ones, from 2004. Quality is not as good as the recent ones, but they should prove that the 996 is a bulletproof car that thrives on the track!!! Enjoy. You Tube You Tube

Awesome. Palting, aren't you the one with stock oil system?

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LOL, yes. The stock system is just fine, as is the stock oil Mobil 1 0-40W oil. Been using it for 15 years. Not the same oil for 15 years, replaced once a year of course

I love to see this kind of post... 911's are one of the few cars on the market which can be used as a daily driver and then taken to the track without modifications needed. 996's are 911's and your experience is exactly what makes this car legendary.

Nice to share the positive experiences for a change.

Palting: Thanks for the ride along. Must have been amateur day at the track! Viper brake-checking you in the middle of a corner. Nissan pulling out of the line, slamming on the brakes then waving you by. Air cooled guy running off the track. BMW(?) sedan all over the track. SUV glad we didn't have to watch the end of that encounter. Maybe best of all was the vette you let by then he couldn't shake you! Nice driving! Hope you had nerf bars on the car that day. BTW I couldn't agree with you more on the 996. I love mine even with all it's "warts" and the "800" modes of failure.

LOL. Yep, that's in the second video, taken back in 2004 when I was in the intermediate run group. They were all still a nice bunch of guys, really, just trying to figure out the rules of the game and still have fun. The key was to keep an eye out, and be ready for anything. I moved up to the black advanced group shortly after that video. The top video, the one about passing fun at Watkins, was with the more advanced group. Here is something scary. Starting about 2-3 years ago, the national PCA allowed open passing in the more advanced run groups. Here's a vid of a bunch of us trying to figure out what that meant: You Tube

That wasn't so bad! A lot of guys were still doing a wave by. That happens even in the professional ranks. I will say this group looks a bit more polished than the previous groups!

Always good to get positive news.

I used to be a 996 hater...until I bought a 2001 c2 and now can't believe I waited so long. Best driving experience (and affordable) plus wealth of aftermarket mods make it fun to tinker with. Happy to play my part in reversing the negative trend.

I'm with "roguiethegiant". Got my 2002 c2 vert last August. Had only 36K miles so I did change the IMS and ancillary stuff as a precaution since my experience is that 36K miles in 15 years was probably not enough. Cars need to be driven! I've put 4K miloes even here in NJ in about 11 months so that should keep her happy. I love this car. Even though my other 2 cars are great ('15 Chevy SS DD and wife's '16 Vette vert) my biggest smiles are reserved for the 911.

great to hear! too bad there isn't more of this.

Im in ohio too. Where you at and are you going to P2O? I have a 03 C4s got it last july and had vettes for years. Love this car. Its a blast to drive and puts a grin on everytime. Lovingly cared for and updated by Kraftwerks. Healthy, happy and will give me years of fun.

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I'm in the Canton area. Have not made it to P2O yet. Heard it is a blast. Maybe next year. Congratulations on the new to you C4S!

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Sounds like a typical open track day. Be careful out there!

Even though I'm doing more work on mine than I'd like, it's unquestionably the most fun I've had behind the wheel. It fits what's important to me - handling, sound, smooth transmission, excellent pedal placement (pinky toe throttle blips for the win!), etc. My girlfriend occasionally asks for a ride in it & has had no complaints on several long weekend road trips. There are some deals surfacing in the Turbo & air cooled markets right now, but I don't have any desire to replace what has turned out to be a nearly perfect driving experience. My dog even fits

Thanks for posting! Always enjoyable to read a positive 996 thread! Mike

Great thread and videos. I'm approaching approximately 10-12k fairly aggressive track miles on my 996 (current total mileage at 91K). These cars are extremely capable on a road course. They also have near perfect driving ergonomics when on track - having spent some time driving and instructing in other cars, it's always refreshing to get back in a 996. Keep it up!

The 996 is also a great GT car. Have driven it from Cleveland to Hilton Head and back, to Watkins Glen, to VIR, to Mosport. Wife was passenger, and she would sleep in the car during the long trips! Here's another positive for the 996: the glorious sound of the Porsche flat 6 engine, with the PSE mated to Fabspeed 200 cell sport cats. You Tube

I've said it before, but your car sounds fantastic. Any tuning needed for those cats to ensure no codes are thrown? Thanks for sharing.

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The Fabspeed cats come with attachment points for the O2 sensor. So, no, there was no need to tune anything. It was a pain to screw in the sensors, though.

Thanks again

Enjoying my 01 C4 for a few years !!!

How is it you havent experienced an engine failure on the track? Thats amazing especially with once a year oil changes.

LOL! That's what I meant when I mentioned the negative posts. The 996 has gotten a falsely negative vibe here at Rennlist, with posts about how to prevent the apparently inevitable failure of the M96 engine or the 996 at the track. This car has 66,000 miles, all trouble free. About half or more of those miles are track miles. So, that means at least 33,000 miles of being pushed hard on the track, 33,000 miles of being driven as a Porsche should be driven. All the upgrades done were of the go-fast kind, none of the better-do-it-or-it-will-fail kind. The people I go on track with have similar stories with their 996, though there are indeed a few who now start showing up with the deep sump etc "upgrades". The failure stories I've personally seen and verified are due to driver error or maintenance errors. All cars will fail eventually, given enough time and enough miles. The 996 model has been around for almost 20 years, and I'm sure lots of them have more than 100,000 miles. Even my bulletproof C4S will eventually fail. But it will fail because of age and mileage, not of design nor because it is prone to it.

I say it since I spun a rod bearing at the track driving very carefully. Rod bearing number 6. Its a common problem. Jake said it was due to the oil not being good enough. I had less than 2 thousand miles on the rebuild when it happened.

Bad things can and do happen, and I'm sorry to hear what happened to your 996. I don't know who or what Jake is or what his basis for his conclusions are, but IME and living the life of a track rat I can honestly say the 996s are as bulletproof as they come. BTW, I use Mobil 1 0W-40, and have used it since I bought the car brand new, replaced just once a year. In 15 years, 66,000 miles, at least 33,000 track miles driven hard, this factory recommended oil has been good enough. Have never used anything else, never even considered anything else as being better than what the engineers and designers of the engine recommend

Local race shop full of 996 cars. Only oil they use in street and race cars is 0W40 Mobile one. I like blondes, over brunetts, brunetts over redheads. Not that there is anything wrong with any of the three. Some oil is better than no oil. I forget which brilliant 996 engine builder told me this.

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Enough said