Suggestion for "Newbie guide to 996s"

When I was first thinking of buying a 996, it took me a while to figure out a bunch of stuff. Not just what the acronyms (IMS/RMS/AOS etc) meant, but also where to even go to find answers. As much information as there is on Rennlist and Renntech, message boards aren't really organized for easy discovery of unchanging information. So, I'm thinking about taking some of what I've learned and posting them to a site for others who are just getting into the 996. Here are few of the things I would include: * List of quality forums: Rennlist, Renntech, Planet 6, etc. * Where to get parts: Pelican, FCP Euro, Suncoast, etc. * Glossary of terms: 996, IMS, AOS, etc. * Repair and maintenance resources: Pelican guides, 101 Projects book, Renntech, etc. * Other resources: Youtube videos, magazine reviews, blog posts, etc. What else do you wish you had known about on day one of your Porsche 996 journey?

The 33,000 modes of failure. Concerns of low mile examples. Importance of service history.

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Those are good points. I think I might lump those into a "Buyers Guide" section. It would probably also be useful to include a "where to buy" list that includes the PCA classifieds and forum marketplaces.

You should take a look at the 997 forum, they have 997.1 buyers guide that is extremely well done. Thanks for taking this on.

Great! I will chime in once you have a draft.

Me as a newb I would have found very useful to read about differences and the practical use of the different 911 models, mk1 v. mk2 upgrades, etc. I did do a lot of reading, google searches, etc. and still couldn't find all that I should have found to make the best possible purchase for my wants/needs. I'm at a point where I put more, lots more money to change my car to what I want it to be or sell it and wait until I can afford the one I should really get.

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@ricardofors Interesting! Would you mind elaborating on the differences that matter from your point of view?

I did basic research after watching a few YouTube vids and bought the cheapest example I could find. Have bought most parts used and haven't looked back.

I threw together a skeleton of the website with some initial content. It still needs to be styled and needs a ton more information in the Guides section, but I'm using this as a starting place and looking for helpful comments and suggestions as I continue to build it. You can check out a preview at https://dazzling-leavitt-29884d.netlify.com/

Bookmarked for future reference.

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The modes of failure is a good idea. Most attention gets paid to the IMS bearing but there are many other expensive points of failure and I feel you really have to dig in order to find them. Also, might want to include the prices that fixing these failures can cost. I feel right now the allure/belief of 996 ownership is that it's cheap and as long as you fix the IMS bearing you are good forever. I strongly believe as a service to potential buyers it should be noted that a $20,000 engine rebuild is a very real possibility.

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I think a "Changes by year" would be helpful, as would be a part highlighting any issues that a particular year (or years) have. For example, I didn't realize when buying that the 2003 is the most troublesome year when it comes to upgrading audio. Not sure what is meant by "practical use" of the 911 models, other than maybe it's highlighting which are best for daily driver duties, or track days, or what not?

I think changes by year makes a lot of sense. I know some of this, but I would need folks here to help complete it. As for modes of failure...just include the catastrophic ones? If so, I think I only know of four: IMSB, bore scoring, d chunk, and main bearings. What else am I missing - do we count water pump impeller failure or AOS failure?

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I think both should be included. One item of emphasis for the water pump might be what type of replacement impeller to buy. My understanding is that composite impellers are preferred because buying a metal one can cause damage to if/when it breaks off. This is actually is the opposite of other cars I have owned, and I imagine others will be in the same boat.

A lot of what you seek is already well documented in Adrian Streather's Porsche 996 The Essential Companion book.

I agree there is perhaps a lot of information is out there all ready, it is the age of the internet. I for one think the project is neat and I cheer you on with your endeavor. Plus it never hurts to add more resources or different points of view. I always thought it would be neat to create a 996 version of the old "How to keep your Volkswagen alive" book which was my bible of sorts back in a pre-internet information age when I had an air-cooled VW Bug.

I finally get some time to come back to this project and wanted to give a quick update. I'm still working on writing content based on the suggestions in the this thread, but I wanted to get the shell of a layout designed before publishing anything else. This is my first crack at establishing fonts, colors, layouts, and even a little logo (that needs a lot of work). I'm hoping to get these styles added to the site in the next week. Happy to hear any suggestions or feedback.

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Sorry for the late reply (I started a new job right around the time I posted this, then the holidays, then life...) That's great if the book contains a lot of the info I'm talking about, but it kind of illustrates my point. I've been pretty involved on the forums, own several books, and have done a few projects on my car over the last two years, and this is the first time I've heard of this book. I'm going to add this under the resources section of my site so others might find it more easily than I did.

Great project! I would expect the “resources” section to get VERY long. Maybe a “ranking” to give people a away to sort?

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I�m going to start with the basics and add to it over time. As it gets larger I�m sure I�ll need to change how it�s organized. Ranking is a good suggestion, but that means coming up with some system for deciding the rankings.

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I don't think the main bearings are more problematic than most engines, rod bearings can be.

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Good catch. I was thinking about rod bearings failing due to piling issues, mostly in track use. I�m going to rely on this community to fact check the whole site as I work on it. Thanks.

Here's a draft design for the glossary page. If I can figure out an easy way to do it, I'll add a search function to this page as the list grows longer.