Back to "The Dark Side"

I was an active member on here a few years ago, between owning a few different 944's. Have bounced around in quite a few cars since, but am finally back. I guess this is just to re-introduce me to Rennlist, and to get my first introduction into the 996 world. Car's I've owned in the past: 1989 BMW 325i 1989 Porsche 944 1995 BMW M3 1984 Porsche 944 2001 BMW M3 1992 BMW 525i 1995 Mustang 5.0 1996 BMW M3 (still currently own) and Finally my recently purchased 2001 Carrera... It's a 2001, Speed Yellow with Gray interior and Manual. Here are a few quick shots from last night. I'm normally a big picture poster, so I'm sure you will all be seeing more of it. My plans for the car: The clutch was replaced less than 5k miles ago, but in the paperwork from the Porsche dealership it does not mention having the IMS bearing, or RMS touched. I figure the Porsche dealership would have at least taken a quick look at these parts while the transmission was off, since in all of the receipts for the car they always list what they reccomend being replaced. So I think I'm fine with that for the time being, but down the road I plan on replacing the IMS with the upgrade, and the RMS. The interior... I was actually shopping for another E46 M3 on island before finding this 996. I think they are very comparable cars performance wise, but my biggest negative going to the 996 was the interior. My plan to help this out a little is swapping out my gray interior for black, (I did the same to my E36 M3) and I have a huge hatred for gray interiors, I personally think it makes the 996 interior look even more dated, and cheap. Black interiors, always cover up cheap materials more, and in my opinion always just appear nicer overall. To aid in this I also plan on replacing the 4 spoke stock wheel with the T96 Steering Wheel upgrade, with 3 spoke airbag. I also need to replace the worn out shifter and e-brake handle, and think I'll be going with the GT3 alcantara option. As far as the seats, I plan on just recovering them in new Black Leather, and replacing most of the panels, or Dying them. I'll post a thread of the interior "update" down the road. Performance... The M3 is my autocross toy, and has quite a bit of modifications to it that makes it less than a comfortable daily driver. I plan on keeping the 996 mostly stock, as it is my "comfy" daily driver. I don't think I'll be able to resist throwing it around the cones once or twice though, but I know I won't do it too much as the stock platform will understeer badly and just make me want to start messing with the suspension set-up. Exhaust... This 996 is WAY too quiet. It's my daily driver, and quiet is nice, but I can't even hear it until it's in higher RPM's. I plan on doing the Sport Exhaust mod, where you just weld a bypass pipe to give a little more sound. Speakers... I enjoy high quality audio, and am already working on upgrading the speakers, and stereo equipment, I might steal one of the amps I have running in the M3, to help this out. So far plan on doing the Kenwood KDC-X996 (best head unit I've ever owned, plus it can match the interior colors/ lights perfectly), stealing my Morel component speakers from the M3 to put in the dash, and got a good deal on a (new) old set of Boston Acoustic Pro series components for the doors. Plan with this is to just obtain an increase in sound quality... which will be easy since nearly all the paper speakers in the car are shot. My review of the car (after a week of owning it): You read earlier my previous car list which includes some old 944's and a handful of M3's. I'll make most of this comparison to my 2001 E46 M3 I used to own, because they are very comparable cars, and I've read many people that were considering both. (Like I was) The 996 overall has a very "refined" feel to it. The steering feel, overall handling, build quality (despite the cheaper interior materials.) The power delivery builds slowly as you gain in RPM's. It doesn't feel very torquey, but as the power builds it almost feels like a turbo car, the power doesn't hit you with a big punch, it slowly eases on. The E46 M3 on the other hand, feels much like it has a lot more torque (Which isn't the case), the throttle response is more crisp, and the power delivery is more abrupt, as it screams to 8,000 rpms. Overall, I'm assuming the 996 is a little quicker, as it's about 400 lbs lighter, and isn't down by much HP. The shift linkage is much improved from all BMW's I've driven, (BMW's are notorious for vauge shift feel, even with all new shift linkage parts) and going back and forth from my current E36 M3 and the 996 makes this very apparent. My one complaint in this department though is the clutch engagement of the 996. It is hard to describe, but was the hardest car to learn how to drive smoothly. It's only been a week, and I've gotton more used to the clutch engagement and throttle, but rev-matching and my shifting still needs to improve on this car. (Normally I become accustomed to cars a little quicker, as practically every car I've owned has been a manual.) The 996 isn't as practical as an E46 M3, but I think the boot has plenty of room, and I'm able to fit any of my short surfboards in the front seat if I need to. Brakes, wow... I am impressed with the 996 stock brakes. A slight improvement over any of the brakes on my previous M3's, and they look great. The 996 is a comfier daily driver overall, but less practical. The M3 is a little more "twicthy" handling wise, and a little more crisp feeling, both are very comparable cars, and the desciscion to buy the 996 this time around was purely from what cars were available on Island. Anyway, I have already fallen in love with the 996. It is a great car, and at the prices they are going for these days, if you can find one in good shape... it's a great bargain. The next few months I'm going to be concentrating on maintenence, making sure I'm confident in how the car is operating. Then I'll slowly be upgrading the car a little with the plans I listed above. I'm a DIY home wrencher, and am a little intimidated by the 996. It's a different beast than any of the previous cars I have worked on (I know very little about the H-6 engines) and 911 chassis overall, but I'm sure I'll learn with the help of rennlist.

Boy racers were out last night coming back late from the north shore. Felt kinda bad passing them.

Welcome to the dark side Luke. (starwars reference unless your name happens to really be luke) I, like you, came from 3 BMWs between my last P car and my 2001 996. I agree with your overall review BUT my car is very easy to pull out smoothly and drive smoothly. I have heard others complain about this but I found it a very easy transition. I would say to check your clutch but you said your car got one 5K ago? Give it some time you will adapt quickly I am sure. Concerning the interior maybe you can have a deviated interior with mostly black but some other smaller bits left gray? Just something to consider. Beautiful car congrats and good to have you back.

Welcome back! I'm in Hawaii on business many times every year. Lets have a beer sometime!

Quotes source posts: 9989108, 9989188, 9989197

Hahaha, are you going to make the Cars and Coffee this Sunday? Thank you! The last few days I got much smoother, I know the previous owner had to replace the battery (car wasn't driven much the last year) so I had to do the radio code etc... maybe the car just had to adapt to me? Definitely! PM me before you come and I'll give you my number. If you make it at the right time you should head to cars and coffee here, it normally has a decent showing of P-Cars.

Aloha nui loa. Looks like a great car and should be loads of fun. I wish I loved there when I owned a P-car. I had an MG B that was fun, and my wife had a Mini Cooper at the time. Great times lapping the island.

Great color...dont see it much. Welcome back!