Bday Present for 996 Fan(atic)

Hey all, Apologies in advance as I admit to knowing not that much about Porsches myself - hence this posting. My hubby's birthday's coming up in a few weeks, and besides us there are few things he loves more than his 2001 996. I've gotten him driving gloves and hat in past years, but as this is a bigger birthday (35) I wanted to do something more special. Any ideas? We live in the Bay Area. Thanks!

Show your love by sending him to the Porsche Driving Experience. Here's a link with the info: http://www.porschedriving.com/ He will always know you're the coolest "996Wife" out there... without question.

05' 997

How does your husband use his car? Is it a daily driver? A weekend car? Is it modified? Here are a few ideas regardless: - a driving education event at a track ( www.ncracing.org , www.tracquest.com , http://www.trackmasters-racing.com , http://www.unlimitedlaps.com/ , etc..) (300-600) but register him for an event next year to make sure it won't rain. - new suspensions. (a few K) but make the car much better. www.tcdesignfab.com or www.devek.net are both great installer. - a very good radar detector (Valentine one) http://www.valentine1.com/ ($400) - a CD changer if his car does not have one http://porsche.niello.com/tequipment - or even better, a phatnoise system: http://www.phatnoise.com/ I hope this helps. It is awesome you do this! Arnaud

I've thought about the Driving Experience - but beyond being expensive it requires a multi-year wait. Was hoping for something with a more immediate payback. On the '05: believe me, he thinks about it probably every day. He promised me this one would last for a while (his first was a 1992 C2). He's thought about the track idea. He once told me that insurance won't cover an accident (and we cannot afford that) but I recently heard elsewhere that as long as it's a "safety" course insurance will cover it. I have no idea what phatnoise is, but will check it out. What quick response. I actually used this list to help him decide on his last car (I cannot believe the things I do sometimes). Thanks so much!

Most insurance companies will cover an incident on a race track, as long as it is not a timed event. Some companies have explicit exclusion. One of them is AllState. The best way is to read all the fineprints on the policy. If this is the only thing preventing him from learning how to drive fast on a race track, another option is to purchase an insurance policy specificly for track driving. ex: http://www.americancollectorsins.com/de_quali.htm Phatnoise is a cdchanger that can store/play MP3. AW

One other item. If his car is a 6 speed, consider a B&M short shifter. Best mod you can do to the car for about $200. Brandywine Porsche sells them for that. It's an easy do-it-yourself install or about another $100 if you take it to the dealer.

Check out the Porsche Driving experience site, March '05 looks open for the 2 day course... You're looking at the low $3K range for class + trip expenses. Might seem like a lot but it actually is a great value. And besides you'll get lots of love in return Everyone wins!

i agree, for such a 'midlife crisis' event, the porsche Driving experience is a great event. the wife will enjoy it too however if that is out of the budget, then anything in the 100-200 dollar range from the porsche selection store should do the trick, some of the carbon fiber items are great, however they are not as nice as the Driving experience.

One of the presents that I got for my birthday was a scale model of a 911 C4S. I love it and it has pride of place in the office. Relatively cheap (compared to some of the other options). The important thing to remember here is that it should be exactly the same model as the one that he has - same color would be even better. That would show that you cared enough to know that much about his passion. Barry

A blown up framed picture of him in the Porsche. Nothing like memories. Cheers and safe driving.

Wow, can you talk to my wife? I can definitely vouch for the sport suspension, and you can get the Porsche factory sport suspension if he doesn't want the car modified beyond factory spec. A few other ideas, in random order (and a wide range of prices)... - Sport exhaust system: makes the car sound better, although it doesn't improve performance (I don't have it, but everyone that does loves it). Again, there's a Porsche factory version to keep the car "stock." - New wheels - A model replica (I saw a thread on this a while ago, you could probably do a search to find it) - A Porsche book (my favorite is "The Porsche 911 Story," by Paul Frere) - Waxing/Detailing stuff if he washes and details the car himself (e.g., the Porter-Cable Random Orbital polisher) -- check out www.properautocare.com/index.html - A high-end detail if he doesn't do it himself (although this isn't a very "permanent" gift) - A new/upgraded stereo system (I have the basic stock system, and this is one of the things I want to upgrade on my car) -- check out www.soundinnovations.com - they're local and have a good rep. Good luck...

Please check out the Tracquest.com site. It's a low-cost alternative to the Porsche Driving Experience, and Todd runs these events on tracks that are convenient to your location (Thunderhill, Sears Point, etc.). Instructors are with you the whole time, if you want, and it's an extremely safe way of learning how to drive your own car, um..."properly." Generally, you'll have no more than 10-15 cars on a 2.5 mile track at the same time, no passing except on straightaways, and then only when the driver in front of you signals that it's OK to pass, and he'll get a lot of track time and quality instruction for a very reasonable price. (Plus, the food's pretty good, too!)

I would think a day driving on the race track followed by a nice dinner out would make the ultimate birthday. Here is the calendar for Laguna Seca and Sear Point: http://www.laguna-seca.com/TrackRental/ http://www.infineonraceway.com/track...dule/schedule/

i wonder if theres some way of reserving holidays, since they are apprently empty.

Send him to the Porsche Driving Experience , it's the best gift you could get him!!!! And he will have the best time of his life Their schedule shows three November dates and one in December available!! No multi-year wait Call them now (888)204-7474

the only problem with PDE is that its only held in Alabama @ barber, so for some people its a bit too far to travel for just a 2 day event i'm plannnig to do it sometime in the spring, looks like a blast.

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions! The PhatNoise thing is really intriguing me. One of the ways he justifies his car is because he has a long commute. I only wonder whether it's a little too bleeding edge (ie: whether the technology will change or get significantly cheaper relatively soon). And the racetrack suggestions are a very good back-up choice. I like the photo idea... maybe save that for a future BDay.

996Wife, Here are some other suggestions. You could get him a subscription to Excellence for $23 if he doesn't already subscribe. Or, you could get him a custom illustration of HIS CAR from Steve Anderson. This is a bit more expensive ($325 and up) than a magazine subscription but it is something that he could hang on his office wall. You can find information about this here: Steve Anderson Illustrations Good luck in your shopping.

Your limiter is your wallet/ purse..... I'll even throw in an issue of Excellence or Porsche & 911 with your purchase! But you got to contact me directly for that offer. [email removed] http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...tec-detail.htm -Eli

I need to have you talk to my wife!!! I think its great that you are on here looking for ideas. I don't think you mentioned your budget anywhere, but it would help a lot to know what range of cost you are thinking about.

PDE would be great. There were some wives there when I did it 3 years ago. They had as much fun as those enrolled in the course as the instructors took them for rides. Huge smiles all around for both spouses. If you do something local, go to a Thunderhill (off I-5 near Chico) event. It's a much safer track for a newby than Laguna or Sears Point/Infineon. Another excellent club is NCRC, they're very safe and have excellent instructors (T-hill uses them for their HPDE's). See http://www.ncracing.org/

you didn't really mention a budget, however, this IS his 35th, take him for the Porsche Driving Experience, its an experience that you won't regret, and for 3k, its actually reasonable , which porsche isnt known for in terms of pricing.

You were already given lots of ideas. A cheap one is to give him clear side amrkers ($30) if the car still has the amber/orange ones. Clear side markers are std in Europe and look sharper w/ certain body colors.

Splurge...Exercise that credit card.....Do PDE

This is a monster book about Porsche written by the legendary Karl Ludvigsden (sp?) and costs about $300 and you can order it from Amazon. It really is THE book about Porsche and if he doesn't have it yet should be top of the heap. In euphemistic terms it's the perfect guys bathroom book...

Will a Phatnoise system work in an 03 with the fiber optic bus? Alain

I'm not sure. Mine is installed in a non P car. Phatnoise, however, appears to be very good at delivering the system with the right cable or cable adapter for your car. They also have an FM modulator based adapter but obviously the sound quality is likely a problem. Arnaud