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YOUR RESEARCHI just couldn't stay away
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Reported cause · Original poster
I totally remember your car, it was the car that made start liking the mkVI Jetta.
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Reported cause · Original poster
Holy hell, I'm pretty sure it was the first time it had ever been done.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I think I cleaned enough crap out of there to qualify as a weight reduction.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Also, my steering rack is leaking, so I ordered a new (used) one yesterday.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I just bought a good used standard OEM 997 shifter for a bit more and felt pretty good about it.
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About as soon as I signed the paper work to sell the C4S, I already missed it. Five months later, I'm back with another 996. I just couldn't stay away.
The new toy is a '99 (build date 6/99) C2 in the fairly uncommon (at least from what I've seen) L555 (Paladio Metallic); or as I like to call it "Toyota Camry Beige".
The car has 88k miles on it, is in superb condition inside and out and drives amazingly. The color almost prevented me from purchasing the car, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's classy and understated, just like me.
For the most part, the car is stock save for the aftermarket Pioneer DVD/navigation stereo and the headlights and tail lights that have been upgraded to the non-orange versions.
In terms of driving dynamics, the car feels and drives much different than my old C4S. You can really feel the weight difference and it's noticeably more nimble feeling. However, this one has factory suspension, which is a lot softer (and higher) than the coilovers on the C4S. I'm excited to get some suspension on it this spring and see how it really feels.
The car is pretty well optioned out, but the highlight for me was seeing option code 220 for the limited slip differential.
Code Option Description
9991 Manufactured from the Exclusive Programme
139 Seat heating, left
220 LSD 40%
222 Traction Control
224 Automatic LSD
236 ???
288 Headlamp washer
340 Seat heating, right
413 18" 993 Turbo-look wheels (not hollow spoke)
425 Rear window wiper
436 3-spoke steering wheel
437 Electrically adjustable seat, left
438 Electrically adjustable seat, right
446 Wheel caps with colored Porsche crest
490 Sound system
537 Left seat with positrol and lumbar
580 Non-smoker package
586 Lumbar support, left seat
601 Xenon headlamps
659 On-Board computer
662 PCM screen
692 CD changer
939 Seat covers, rear, draped leather
981 Full leather interior
982 Centre part of seats in soft ruffled leather look
X54 Stainless steel tailpipes
X70 Stainless steel door entry guards with logo
X71 Alu-look instrument dials
X97 Gear lever **** with aluminum inlay
X98 Handbrake lever with aluminum inlay
For now, I don't have a lot of plans for the car, I just want to enjoy it as-is for a few months. This spring I'll definitely be installing coil overs (probably Bilstein's or H&Rs), and I'd like to locate a GT3 front bumper and side skirts for it as well. Eventually, I'd like to do a little weight reduction and make it a "poor man's GT3" or my take on what a 996 RS America would be like.
Congrats. I think that colour will look great, and even better with an aero package and painted bumperettes. I was expecting worse considering how you were describing it in the other thread ! We'll optioned, Enjoy it Darrick.
What option drove the 9991 classification, which normally indicates it has an option not in the normal catalogue ? The colour or LSD ?
Looking good!
FWIW, the change to clear lenses from the amber was a production change. Mine is a 5/99 production and it came with clears, so yours may be factory.
Those might be stock head and tail lights. My '99 are like yours (built 12/98). My buddy has a very early '99 (1/98) and his tail lights don't have orange but the headlights do. I think Porsche did some weird things when it comes to consistency of the lights.
It's growing on me quickly, the more I look at the car the more I like the color. The main idea for the car is to make it a "poor man's GT3": aero kit, suspension, some weight reduction, etc.
Cars don't necessarily need to have weird options or special colors to be an Exclusive build. A buyer simply wanting to choose precisely what options he wants for his car is enough for it to be an Exclusive build. Basically, it's ordering your car from Porsche, rather than selecting one that's already on the lot.
I've driven air cooled 911s and I love them, and I love the history of the 911. But, there's just something about the water cooled cars that I love. Ideally, I'd love to have been able to pick up a 997, but it wasn't worth the additional money at this point in time.
I think you may be right. I was thinking the '98 and '99 models had the fried egg headlights, but it looks like they phased them out for '99. The tail lights do look like they are original to the car in terms of relative aging. However, the headlights look like they are brand new still, so perhaps they were just replaced or refurbished fairly recently?
Yup, this is that one! I almost didn't even go look at the car because of the color, but that lot is only a couple minutes from work so I went and checked it out during lunch the other day and I quickly got over the color after realizing how pristine the car was.
Also, a question for those of you with the full leather interior option on your mkI cars: What does that entail on the earlier cars? On my C4S, the headliner and pillars were Alcantara, but they look to be the standard faux leather on my '99? Also, not that much seems to really be covered in leather?
To tell you the truth, the pictures you've posted here aren't that bad at all. Maybe you should hint the dealer to post a better pictures when selling cars in general.
I can't give you a list of what's leather-covered from memory, but I can confirm that "full" is a very optimistic description of what's actually leather-covered on a '99.
Nice! Reminds me of a Zermatt Silver 944 I used to own.
The full leather means almost any leather looking trim you see is, well, leather (at least it is on my 2000 with a '99 build date). Door panels, dash, under dash, airbag covers. There's a diagram out there showing all the tiny bits that are covered in leather.
I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about performance between the RWD-converted 4S vs. the non-drive-by-wire '99 RWD. Does the analog throttle feel much different than the C4?
I imagine that paint color will help stretch the time between washes by a few days...
I've only driven the car about 75 miles so far, most of which has been on the freeway, but here are my initial thoughts so far:
While the 3.4L has a little less power and torque than the 3.6L did, my C2 weighs a good 300 pounds less than the 4S, and you can really feel that when you drive it, and it "feels" much faster and more nimble. You can also really feel the difference between the mechanical LSD in the C2 vs. the PSM in the 4S creating the artificial LSD. The C2 is definitely much more analog than the 4S in terms of control that the driver has over the car instead of fighting electronic nannies. If you turn off the traction control on the C2, the car is "all yours".
It could be all mental, but I feel like the throttle response on the C2 is also better, since it's a cable throttle and not drive-by-wire. I also feel like the 3.4L sounds a bit different than the 3.6L did, more like an air-cooled motor.
In terms of handling, besides feeling more nimble and lighter, it's tough to compare the C2 to the C4S because I had a very dialed-in suspension on the 4S with wide tires and the C2 has factory suspension still with the standard 225/265 tire sizing.
Even "full leather" for most 996's with "full leather" is optimistic compared to my millenium, so its hard for me to comparee.
What of yours is not in leather?
Ah, I guess the alcantara headliner was just a C4S/Turbo thing. Everything else in that diagram is leather on my car. I guess the difference in plastics between the mkI and mkII just makes it seem less "leathery".
Nice pick up Darrick. We all say "no mods just gonna keep her stock for now...."
Good luck
Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve.
I like the color by the way.
Good looking ride. Color is nice. How you feeling about the straight slab side vs. the C4S curvaceous wide body rear end?
2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red
Congrats!!! I actually like the color. I had an 83 in a very similar color. Did not show dirt or paint chips. I like the alumi-look trim package. I especially like the e-brake handle - wish mine had that.
Welcome back!!!
Ray
+1^ The aluminum trim on the e-brake, shift boot and the upgraded gearshift **** with the Porsche crest really upgrade the black interior. I bought both of them for my '99 with black interior. They weren't cheap, but I think were money well spent. ECS Tuning gave me a deal on both, but I don't think they have them in their catalog. I think you need to e-mail them as they can special order them, but it was worth it as ECS was about 15% cheaper on these items than everybody else, even on sale prices.
Thats awesome. I am creating my own short shift kit that raises the **** closer to the steering wheel. I am stoked and glad you have already started messing with it. I am surprised that was your first mod.
I really, really, dislike the factory shifter in these cars. I also made it the first mod because I stumbled onto a good deal.
Next up will be a Gundo hack on the mufflers to tide me over until I get real exhaust, followed by coil overs.
Ray, thought I saw a post about your exterior mods, don't remember the darker wheels of your avatar. Lookin good too!
2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red
Darrick, thanks for posting the comparison to your old car....very interesting. I have a similar car with LSD. I wanted to do the same thing with mine....poor man's RS. I have been very happy with my mods. I can not imagine ever selling mine. I really love the unusual colored Porsches. Yours looks fantastic in that color. Great find. Have fun with the mods.
I'm so glad Porsche borrowed their sunroof drain design from Volkswagen.
My first adventure with the new car:
The car was outside during the torrential rain we had on Saturday. When I got in the car to drive it to work yesterday I noticed the rear windows were really fogged up, especially on the passenger side. I reached back and felt under the seat cushion and sure enough it was soaking wet. Son of a...
Today I tore the back half of the interior out and stuck it in the basement to dry. I checked all of the sunroof drains and three of the four were just fine, with the one that was not fine being the passenger rear drain. However, the reason the right rear drain wasn't draining is what surprised me: it has probably NEVER worked! The drain tube was definitely a few inches too long and
whoever assembled that part of the car just crammed the tubing in the C-pillar, causing it to kink!
I'm surprised this issue wasn't found and corrected a long time ago as it was obvious this wasn't the first time the car had had some water intrusion. How in the world there was no mold under the carpets is beyond me.
To fix the drain, I cut the tube just before the kink and used some 1/4" air brake line I had laying around (it fit into the existing tubing nice and tight) then extended it back to the drain hole in the wheel well, without any kinks this time.
Capt...sorry to intrude....Dave, thanks for the shout out on the wheels!!!
Capt sold me that Porsche lettering by the way......Thanks Capt...mixed feedback on it, but, I LOVE it!!!
you're welcome, I happen to think your mods are tasteful, especially compared to the pumpkin and Kermit and horrible Boxster conversions in the other thread. Some guys just go too far. Play too much need for speed on the x box I guess.
2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red
I wasn't planning on buying much for the car yet, but I stumbled on a good deal for a set of wheels, so I snagged them.
They're 19x8.5/11" Work VS-XX. They're technically a widebody fitment, but I think they'll fit my car if I roll the fenders (which I was going to do anyway). If not, I guess I'll just restore them and sell them.
Specs: I can't imagine they are wider than mine and I made mine work. I rolled my fenders and hvae an 18x11 +30 however those are 19s so IDK. You can make it work haha, gorgeous pickup.
I run that size wheel but in a 18x11 with 275/35 nt05 on v3. I did roll my fenders for it but I consider it a perfect fit. I do favor my 99 996 for driver input feel. I wish this snow would leave so I can install the winter mods I've accumulated and drive!
I remember when I started looking for my 996 I wanted a c4s bc I too came from the audi awd and loved it. But now I'm happy I stumbled on the 99 c2 bc the power for the c4s isn't enough to accommodate the weight and there isn't much more power you can squeeze from these engines naturally aspirated.
Enjoy her!
That OR..... you could drop whatever you are doing, go to the closest tire store, buy tires and put them on now and post pics so we can all see
just a suggestion...
Great car Darrick. I had stayed up with your earlier posts and was just wondering what caused the change of mind in replacing your C4? It hit home in a way, as I up and sold my Boxster after 6 or so years and am now looking for a 996.
Anyway, enjoy the car, it's beautiful.
Bruce
The main reasons for selling the C4S was because I wanted to free up some cash for some remodeling projects around the house and because my wife was going back to school and was reducing her work hours.
However, I missed the car before I even handed the keys over to the new owner, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before I couldn't handle it anymore and wanted another one.
I wasn't exactly planning on getting another one yet, but I was feeling particularly annoyed with daily driving my F250 in late December and I happened upon a pretty good deal for my car, so I figured "hell, why not?" and picked up the C2.
I must say, for being pretty much the same car, the driving experience in the '99 is much different than that of the C4S. The '99 just feels more raw for some reason, it reminds me of driving a very smooth running air cooled 911. I don't know if it's the lighter weight of the car, the traditional cable throttle, or the sum of the minor differences between the early 996s vs. the later 996s, but I just love it.
My friend Craig has a list of stuff for sale on the internet, and I stumbled upon some low-mile OEM GT3 coilovers off an '04 yesterday for a great deal, so I snatched them up.
Also, my steering rack is leaking, so I ordered a new (used) one yesterday. So while I have the car torn apart for that, I'll toss the GT3 suspension on too.
They came with a complete set of OEM GT3 links. They are missing the monoball mounts for the front, but I know a few tricks to keep the springs from binding with the standard upper mounts. I'll eventually get some Tarret mounts for them, but this will tide me over in the meantime.
Nice as the end links can set you back some more change. Anywho, you can get the 997 monoball mounts if you want. They are the same as the 996 GT3's and can still be found at the dealers. You can drill the alternate holes too if you want slightly more negative camber up front as well. IIRC, they are cheaper than Tarret and also OEM so the quality is definitely there in terms of spherical bearing durability.
Nah, not this car. It's going a hair lower than standard GT3 height. The C4S was slammed and it was a pain in the ***: wicked bump steer, tapping the road with the exhaust tips on big dips, etc. It took a lot of the fun out of driving it.
If you wanna further protect the rear pistons from the elements, I recommend Rancho Shock boots from Summit or Jegs. ~$15/pair. I just cut the length down some. It's weird why Porsche only used it on the fronts but neglected the rears.
I don't know about you guys but a nice intact oil pan helps me sleep at night. I'm jealous of the Cali boyz that can slam their cars and not have to worry about such things. It's really sad that I have a gt3 aero but higher than gt3 stance due to the terrible roads around here.
well that was fast...so what's the plan? I have some RS mounts, sport design wheels, gt3 shifter, cup car brake ducts, spare tire delete, if interested....man I need to clear out the garage... leftover from the old car.
Anything else laying around? Considering you and I have/had the exact same car, if there are any millenium pieces laying around I wouldn't mind having spare. Obviously since its Caps thread he gets first call on anything but just let me know.
Cappy, once your wheels are refinished how much you going to sell them for? A friend just bought a 996 toyboh and may be interested.
I might be interested in the RS mounts, shoot me a price. And what's the spare tire delete, a panel to cover that area or something?
In other news, my replacement steering rack arrived yesterday and appears to be in good condition, so I'm hoping to have time to install that this weekend, along with the coilovers.
Well, sometimes things don't go according to plan...
I got out all my tools, jacks, etc. yesterday to install the new steering rack and coilovers. All was going well for the first ten minutes, but then I got to the point where I was going to break loose the lugs before I put the car up on the jack stands. Apparently The Hulk was the last person to work on the car because I had to really crank on the breaker bar to get the lugs loose. I got one wheel loosened up and moved onto the next wheel. I'm trying to get the factory wheel lock bolt loose when all of a sudden
the key shattered
! Son of a...
Luckily, my friend Rob was able to weld the pieces back together well enough for the key to survive breaking the remaining three wheels locks loose.
So, yeah, that wasted about two hours of time all said and done, so I only ended up having enough time to get the rear suspension installed.
My suspension was a two day ordeal as well. My lugs the first time I took them off required me using the handle off my jack plus the breaker bar to get them loose. Then pulling the wheel carriers out of the axles took a long time, but thankfully you don't have to worry about that. Ditch the wheel locks
The wheels locks are in the recycling bin.
When I get nice wheels again, I have another set of factory locks that I can put on the car that will be torqued to a reasonable tightness.
Been chatting with MTechnica wheels about the possibility of offering their Turbo model in 911-friendly fitments.
One-piece forged wheels, 19 pounds each in 18x8.5, 21 pounds each in 18x10, functional brake cooling vents (a la the 935 Kremer cars), available in multiple finishes... and under $2000 a set.
Anyone possibly interested? I have no financial stake in this, just gauging interest on their behalf to see if this is a product they should move forward with.
[img]http://blog.guerillaracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/technica-turbo-side.jpg
I love those wheels, just not on the 996. 964 is probably the latest I'd put it on personally. With that said, I wish I had an older porsche just so I can run these.
I finally got the chance to finish installing the GT3 suspension, along with installing a new steering rack that doesn't leak.
I gotta say, this suspension is AMAZING. It drives beautifully. I ended up adjusting it a hair lower than the factory settings and it's sitting right where I want it now.
Now I just need to get my hands on an Aero kit and some wheels.
It's finally starting to look like spring around here, so I gave the ol' girl a little love this weekend in the form of some cleaning.
The car had clear bra on it when I bought it, but it had obviously been on the car much longer than its intended life span, as evidenced by the fact it was cloudy, yellow and cracking. Removing it was a real joy...
The worst section of all was the hood.
Luckily, I had plenty of beer on hand.
After that ordeal was over, I gave the car a good wash and a quick wax. In another month or two when summer is on the way, I'm going to do some more serious paint correction.
And I just realized I didn't get any "after" pics. I'll have to fix that.
Oh, and I also got the factory mufflers PSE-modded to give the car a little more growl until I get around to doing the real exhaust.
Hey Darrick, nice seeing the progress, I remember seeing your 996 at WWOTG a couple summers ago on the Rotiform TMBs
You might remember me, I had the bagged red MK6 GLI on Twists. I was in front of you in the judging line! I made the leap and picked up a 996 recently. Glad to see and follow your thread
I really dislike the standard mkI front bumper. GT3Tek makes a mkII GT3 style front bumper that I want, with mkII side skirts to go with it. Nothing too fancy.
I had some free time the other day, so I took the opportunity to yank the front bumper off the car and clean out the radiators. Holy hell, I'm pretty sure it was the first time it had ever been done. I think I cleaned enough crap out of there to qualify as a weight reduction.
I also removed the headlight washers, piping, and pump while I was at it because they are stupid.
