Porsche 996 The Essential Companion

I just Saw Adrian Streather's (fellow Rennlister) book is published and for sale on ebay for $86. I can't wait to get a copy. Has anybody else read it yet? Any idea where to get it for a little less $$$? Thanks.

I just answered one of my own questions....http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-5747376-7997448?asin=1845840968&afid=yahoosspplp_bmvd&lnm=1845840968|Porsche_996 _The_Essential_Companion:_Supreme_Porsche_(Essential_Companion)_:_Books& ref=tgt_adv_XSNG1060 $62.97

Nice find Mark. Does it come with a free engine?

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I wish...

Wow!! did not know Adrain was writing this one.

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Cool, amazon has it for the same and I have a 50 credit! ...

He solicited pictures for the book here about one year ago. I was hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of my purple project car in it.

Thanks Marc, I just ordered it from Amazon. It will be here in two days!

Cool, I gave him some pics of my car. Great find Mark!!!

Also available at Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...ther&x=10&y=13

Ordered! Canada dudes, Chapters doesn't stock it online, but Amazon.ca does.

What a great reason to use a 4 year old $50 Borders gift card I found in my wallet - ordered it this AM.

I wonder if he put my car pics in there?

If this book is even remotely close to his 993 book, it will be outstanding. The release date is not until May 15th, I can't wait... And hope to see a few pics of my car in there too.

OK, I just ordered the book from Amazon and it is scheduled to ship on Friday since it's "in stock"- yet the book description indicates that the release date is May 15th, WTF?

I just ordered mine. Thanks for the heads-up!

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That is cool! I just PM'd Adrian last week asking about this book. He said that he heard it would not hit our shores until the end of May? Amazon.ca it is!

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Just today, Amazon sent me a $50 credit for buying an HD DVD player from them way back when...seems like it might be a good use for it.

I ordered mine with the two day shipping. I will be sure to post more when I get the book....especially if I recognize fellow Rennlister's cars.

My car is in it along with some detail pictures I and my wife did for him so we both have a credit mention...so off to Amazon to get my copy to see what we did?

Ordered mine first thing this morning.

Got my copy this morning.

I just received my copy. I am in Porsche heaven. 656 pages with hundreds of pictures. You guys are going to be really happy when you see the pictures. Several of them are yours. Apparently some of you guys have some gorgeous wifeys to go with your beautiful cars. I'm only up to page 189 (just looking a pictures first) and I recognized an old friend...my vesuvio 996 as the engine was coming out. Thanks Adrian, for the hours of pleasure your book is going to give me. It appears to be the bible for the 996. Great job!

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Mark... I was wondering if he ever used my pics, if you see the stock millenium pics please let me know... if so I will put my order in. Thanks Mark!

On order - can't wait to see if I have any pics in it! I Emailed him to ask, but he said 'wait and see.....'

Just ordered mine! Looking forward to reading it next week.

Redridge, your car looks gorgeous in the book. There are 1500 illustrations. I lost count at about a dozen pictures of my vesuvio 996 and my current iris blue 996. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Thanks Adrian! This is the best $62.97 that I have ever spent on my Porsche addiction.

Mark... thank you sir, just ordered!

I'm up to page 90. Very easy read. No 996 owner (or potential owner) should be without this book.

You're killing me Mark, my delivery date is not until next Wednesday... I have been waiting for this book for years, I bought Adrian's 993 book (which is outstanding) when I originally started looking for a P-car about 2 yrs ago, and I have been patiently waiting for the next book in the series ever since. Hopefully there will be a few pics of my car as well, which makes the book all that more special.

Looks great ! Just ordered Thanks for posting

You guys are welcome. Don, I don't want to spoil the fun....but you wife is beautiful and your daughter adorable.

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Thank you for the very kind words Mark, I am truely blessed with my family, but the anticipation is killing me!

I'm through the first 120 or so pages. This book is an incredible reference for any Porsche 996 owner!! Furthermore it's HUGE (over 600 pages)! The first chapter lays to waste a number of misconceptions and rumors that many "moldy figs" try to stick to the 996. There is a lot on info here....

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+100! Excellent source of information for anyone who wants to know more information, particularly facts, about the 996. I got my copy last night, I think I will be up late again.

was hoping this was avail locally at the store, but no go - i dislike waiting for things !

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Amazon will overnight it. Ben this is a very cool book.

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Facts?! There are facts in there? Oh, man, what are we going to talk about in here if people get their hands on facts ... I wonder if it's too late to cancel my order.

I have read over half and skimmed the rest. Adrian did a great job on this one. He addressed some misconceptions about the shortcomings of our engines. His opinions were based on common sense and fact (an interesting combination). No 996 owner should be without this book. I thought that I was pretty familiar with the engine in our cars, since I stripped one down to the long block. I had no idea that the AC system helps cool the fuel before it goes into the injectors. I should probably get my AC charged before it gets up to over 100 degrees here. I got mine from Amazon. I couldn't wait either and selected the two day option. I was pretty happy when it arrived two days later. Thanks again Adrian, for the hours of pleasure your book brought me.

Ray, I'll eventually end up getting it. Thx for the recommendation. Mfletch, I wonder how the M96 stacks up against other engines out there from the motorsport divisions of BMW (S54), Audi (RS4 V8), Benz (6.3), Honda (F22C), Toyota (ISF V8), etc. It's certainly cool to know the details of things given how big a fans we are of this particular line of car, but what would be more illuminating for me is how much more or less special the base flat6 is relatively speaking from an innovation standpoint. What's so special about it or maybe it isn't? What does it do better, more efficiently than the competitior's products? Shortcomings? I don't know. Cuz it's not like Porsche has a motorsport division - it is all motorsport with the 911, right? You've got your GT3/GT2s, but at the end of the day, it's a 911. So the basic M96... should be able to compete fairly well with the celebrated engines from the other manufacturers or so I would hope.

Wow. That is one awesome looking book. Does he get into the actual statistics on engine reliability? Definitely ordering a copy. Hmmm... looks like it will be Amazon - not available at all locally.

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If you're looking for 'better' bragging rights, you might go hungry, amigo. Some of the cars and companies you mention have far more sophisticated and complicated engineering pyrotechnics, if that's what you're into. Porsche is more ingenious than it is sophisticated. They've always had their own quirky engineering aesthetic, one part legacy, one part German stubbornness, one part racing focus, one part limited development resources and old-fashioned production techniques. You either love it or you don't get it at all. But you'll never win an argument over it. I think the S54 is a masterpiece, but it just doesn't light my fire. It's all about soul, bruh. And slowly but surely, I'm converting you...

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Then if that is how it is, then if there's a book or someone can share with us why one should appreciate Porsches "ingenuity" over the competitor's sophistication, I'd love to get at the info/analysis/story so I can learn to appreciate or laugh or both. You should know better that I couldn't care less about bragging about stuff I have in any way shape or form, especially my car. But yea, pls man I don't wanna become like you guys. I will not give in to the dark side.

Mark, thanks for the heads up on this book... looks like the 996 isnt as automated production as some of the aircooled guys think it was... according to the book... the 993, 986 and 996 shared the same assembly line and was hand assembled the same way.... I think 20 years from now the 996 is gonna be a special car. Im keeping my car and passing it on to my kids.

Adrian didn't get into comparing our engines with the competitors. He has a great section on modifications including: engine, suspension, body, and wheels. He didn't have much from American tuners. According to him, it wasn't for lack of trying. He would have published the failure rates of our engines, but Porsche was not forthcoming with the information. Back to what Ben said about comparisons...I think our engine is one of the least aesthetically appealing engines out of all those you mentioned. Granted, you can't see much from above. A nice exhaust system and a good cleaning can improve the underside appearance. Adrian had several pictures of the X51 intake manifold. It really looks nice compared to the plastic version that sits on top of our engines. The CF CAI for the Turbo really improved the appearance of the engine bay. He had a couple supercharger pictures on NA cars. That is the ultimate improvement for our drab engine compartments. The only engine modification that he discussed as having a significant positive impact on our NA cars is the supercharger. The only one that he went into detail on is the RUF SC. At almost $25,000 it looks great, but isn't very feasable as an alternative to a TT. I have done almost every modification on my NA 996, that is available, in a quest for more power (knowing full well that the money would have been better spent on driving instruction at the track). A local Rennlister has a 40th anniversary edition that is stock except for the muffler hack and RSS plenum. I hope to eventually do a rolling side by side comparison to see if all my mods make up for his having the factory power kit and being a 3.6. That should answer my question about the benefits of NA mods on our engines (other than the improved acoustics).

Redridge, I was impressed by the same thing. It was neat to see the factory pictures of the 996 and 993 being assembled (by hand) on the same assembly line. The factual information is incredible. If any of our 911s is ever going to be collectable, it's your's. Want to adopt me? My favorite aspect of the book, is the fact that Adrian also owns one. It shows in his passion for the subject matter.

As much as the engine bay doesn't look cool from under the lid, I must say, from the bottom of the car, it's stunning, especially the GT3 view. My inquiry was less about mods to the M96, but more about its relative strenghts/weaknesses to that of its competitor's.

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The beauty of our engine is its simplicity... no wonder that you dont rebuild these engines. There is such few pieces that Porsche can build it cheaper than a shop can rebuild it... I mean look at the rebuild cost of a 993 or any aircooled engine. That sh*t aint cheap.

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I know... just a figure of speech. But I will convert you. You're too rational, too objective. You need to get in touch with your more romantic side. When you're a geezer like me, you won't look back fondly at all the cars you drove that had no flaws. You'll look back fondly at the ones that got your "panties in a bunch". I should warn you that you will have this same experience with women and horses, by the way.

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cool, never knew that the flat6 (water) was known to be simple and cheap. how so when porsche parts are kinda pricey? i ran into some prices on audi's 1.8t and that sucker is like $15-18K retail? pls excuse the questions, just trying to get my learn on

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horses? wtf LOOOLOLOLOLL you are a gentleman... and a comedian. and i see some wisdom in what you so stated above. i remember, and i posted this here, when my battery icon flashed while i was in heaven driving on hwy 1 right outta san fran in my new to me c4s, sunny glorious 70s pacific ocean, scenery straight out of a super bowl worthy porsche commercial.... and then my steering went dead and i pulled over to the side of the road near stinson beach.... first porsche had concerns about reliablility, didn't buy the warranty yet.... bad bearing so serpentine belt was thrown off... $300 at sonnen porsche, $100 for the tow.... what an experience that i will never forget and will be an old man retelling it to my grandkids should i be so blessed to live that long and find a woman who i actually want to impregnate and my kid(s) same thing etc. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA it def got my thongs in a bunch, but oh the memories! that was like last year. LOL

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Volume. People gotta keep this in mind... Toyota sells roughly 10 million vehicles a year. BMW sells roughly 1.5 million vehicles a year. At the time our cars were built, Porsche was surely selling less than 70,000 units annually, all models combined. This why I laugh when people describe the 996 as 'mass produced'.

I'm going to buy this book (sorry about the somewhat off-topic) So I looked up the BMW S54 list price at a pelican parts equivalent in bimmer land: http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...04&catalogid=1 looks like $18K new, 10 reman

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Ok, relatively cheap... the engine is still hand built... and thats where the cheap part comes from. Porsche has learned a lot from japan and has efficiency down packed. Yes parts are expensive, but they are very good at building these engine fairly quick (simple design = reliable and quick to assemble = cheap). Another example of this philsophy is the headlights. Light, blinkers, fogs, etc... all built in one package, assembly for all these lights is like 5 min for these guys. Im thinking the indie (mostly aircooled guys) shops dont like the 996 cause they would rather rebuild than R&R... rebuild is more labor intensive = more $$$ for them.

so these $100K retail prices for your typical 911.... simple design aiding efficient assembly, JIT perhaps copied from the japanese..... is this where porsche is getting part of their killer margins as compared to rest of automotivedom?

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I think Porsche earned it, simple design is not easy (BTW Im an Engineer as a profession) and takes alot of R&D. Take for example the crankcase... its a very complex design, but because of it, the assembly makes it simple and reliable (if the process is done correctly). To engineer and manufacture something like that... must've cost Porsche a pretty penny and they are just reaping the rewards from it.... Also the fact that its a "PORSCHE" they can charge whatever they want and people will pay.... look at the people that bought the 997 GT3RS/GT2 and are flipping it on ebay...

Thanks for the heads-up Mark. Just ordered it.

just ordered it... $68 shipped from the big river company

You guys are welcome, I guarantee you will enjoy it.

Got mine in yesterday...very nice. I particulalrly enjoyed the section on special editions (Millenium and 40th Anniversary). I know my car is awesome; but, now the book confirms it! I predict 40th Anniversary prices will double overnight! Seriously, this book should be required reading for any poster asking questions such as, "should I buy a 996?" or "what should I look for when buying a 996?".

Got mine yesterday and found my pics first Now to start reading! BTW The 928 used the AC to cool fuel a looooong time ago. Probably before the so called sophiscated guys even considered it

The buyers guide is fantastic. Steven, I recognized all the pictures of your cars. My favorite is the one of your incredible garage. Pretty cool huh?

Yes Mark, I am very proud of those shots. That is 30 years of dreaming...completed! I even put a Ferrari in there last weekend but I am not sure how long I will own it?

Just skimmed my copy of the book - it's incredible and truly "Essential" for the 996 owner!

Steve, congratulations on the Ferrari. I would love to see some pictures if it and that gorgeous Alfa of yours.

Book landed today, looks very very promising. I really like that it puts the enthusiast first with lots of real and useful info in the book and not just another coffee table book.

I got the book today. Thanks, all, for the recommendation. I'm looking forward to reading it front to back. I see some familiar names in the opening pages. Looks like I am in good company. Makes the book all the more special, relevant. Thanks, again.

Just ordered mine off amazon. Looking forward to it!

I have had the book since earlier this week and finished reading the entire book last night aorund 1:00 a.m. Wow...what a great book! If this book gets out to the "Porsche" masses we may even see our cars appreciate in value! On a serious note, Adrian does a great job dispelling many popular myths including ones that I believed when I owned my 993 C4S a few years ago. If more people read this book they would understand how radically different the 996 is from previous 911's and some of the superior features (as well as potential problems) it offers.

Ordering now. Is it really paperback?

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yes, i was surprised at this for some reason expected hardback.

Just got it yesterday. What a book. The only thing that I'd rather do than read the book is drive my car.

Finally got mine. Just outstanding work, a real gift to us. I'll add that there are a few debates I won't bother joining anymore. So refreshing to see an even-handed, well-researched account of some of the 996 bogeymen. I'd have happily paid double, Adrian.

Just ordered my copy today - should be here next week. That gives me about a week to read it before my PCar arrives. This week has really been dragging by...

typical - I placed an order w/Amazon today before I saw this thread!

Wow! I just got mine in the mail today. What a fantastic book. Based on the amazon site I was expecting a history of the 996. This is much more extensive than I was expecting. This is a great book!

Just got mine today too - the sucker's huge. -