Road Trip in the 996! 6000 miles - Crazy?!

Hey all, going on a road trip in a 996tt cab. Any tips? Here is my route-ish. The order I'm hitting NM, AZ and CO are TBD, I've always wanted to take a trip like this and I will be doing the majority of the trip, solo. The ol' gal has about 60k miles on it, fresh oil, and a new lease on life, lol. I will be packing an Osprey farpoint 40 and perhaps another overnight bag. Plan on bringing tent, camping stove, hammock, sleeping bag, the whole 9 - but very minimalistically. Hoping to find some whitewater out west and hoping I can rent a hard boat. I'll be taking my helmet as I have a unique shaped noggin. Quasi-inspired by this guy - https://www.instagram.com/996roadtrip/?hl=en , Except I'll be in a cab and he's way more hardcore and artistic than I am. I have Triple A plus and plenty of credit cards. Tips? Comments? Questions?

Not crazy! Take your time and smell the roses. Have an awesome time! Consider adding to your route and taking 90 up and through Yellowstone. Then come down 15 and stop at Bryce in Utah. Post many pictures so we can be jealous.

As encouragement for your trip, I have 147K on my 99 C2. Yes, have replace many of the normal things, but you should be okay. Enjoy the drive!

that's quite a trip! Glad you have the ability to make it. America is a great big country with lots of good people in it. Go connect. My concerns would be break downs. what is the plan for engine repair along the way, especially when out west? these cars seems to be pretty particular when it comes to engine servicing. Maybe a few check points with known Porsche repair shops along the way? Have fun! Best,

Start with brand new oil and filter. If anything on the car is currently in questionable condition or may need repair soon, get it down now, ahead of time. This includes tires and brakes. Check your insurance and registration papers, bring emergency water and fuel (they do make emergency fuel). Check your wheel tools - that you have the jack and security key for any lugs. Check the lug bolts for looseness. Maybe have a suspension shop perform a quick look over. For solo trips, I recommend using a GPS tracker that logs your waypoints to a website. Just in case someone needs to find you.

From Ohio, I strongly recommend going up through Michigan to the UP. Then you can come down and follow 90 into Yellowstone. It takes more time, but every bit is worth it. And you don't miss much by skipping Indiana or Illinois. It's a truly singular experience to drive your own awesome car on a roadtrip through Yellowstone. trust me.

Having lived in IL my whole life, I agree here.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a beautiful road that would be a perfect Zen like end to your trip, then Route 50 through West Virginia and back to Ohio...

Threads like this make me happy. I've just completed a much shorter 1500 mile road trip and these cars do an incredible job at this task. I'm not familiar with much of the route but if you can hit up WV that would be awesome. One of the least populated states and lots of great driving there. Looks like you won't be far from the Smoky Mountains. Go ahead and cross the Tail of the Dragon from your list, if you haven't done it before. There is other nice driving roads in that area too. If you can, try to avoid highways. Yes, it will take longer but you're already doing a 6k mile road trip and sitting on a highway with cruise control on for hours on end is not too fun. Also, higher chance of traffic. I hope you update this thread with photos and a story. As for the car, it looks like you already got the oil taken care of. Bring a quart or two just to be safe. Other than that, I'd go over brakes and tires and do an overall visual inspection looking for leaks or anything out of place. You'll probably have a spare tire in the frunk but I also always carry the tire plug kit. It won't fix a blow out but will take care of a nail or screw you just ran over in a parking lot. Ask me how I know.

Not crazy!!! Enjoy it!!! Schedule a stop at 4K miles to change your oil/filter using DT-40!!!

Please bear in mind that Javan will be driving a 996 Turbo Cab. I wouldn't sweat the details. I would take an oil change kit: filter & the crush washers for the oil tank and engine drain. Those won't be to hand otherwise, unless you hit up a Porsche shop for an oil change.

Having lived in Cave Creek, AZ.....you may want to go over your cooling system, Phoenix posted 118 degrees and 53 deaths as of June 17th. When you get closer to all of that heat, remember to stock up on some extra drinking water. The good news, should you have any vehicle problems there are a couple of good Porsche shops in the Phoenix area, and they are the best place in town to take a leak ( no pun intended ) or fix an issue....so it wouldn't hurt to put their numbers in your directory as a precaution. Enjoy the trip, and enjoy the expansive night sky in the desert.

Enjoy your trip! I am in the middle of what's looking like a 10,000 mile road trip in my C4S that has 129k miles on it. Before I left I brought it in for an inspection and oil change. I ordered a few small parts (mostly replacement bulbs) and packed a light tool bag. I have a Thule roof box on the car, which has been clutch to add more space for the camping equipment -- but we're also 2 people so might be less necessary if you're just going solo. We're 4k miles in and haven't had a single issue with the car (knock on wood!) -- although my suspension has started creaking a bit more. So far we've gone from Madison, WI to Seattle -- via Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Olympic National Park, etc. About 50 miles have been on dirt roads, which the car handled just fine. Car also handled the 100+ degree heat here in Seattle like a champ (AC was blowing cold!). I am planning to get an oil change when I get to Los Angeles, because I think I'll be around 7500 miles around then. Might have them verify the creaking is more of an annoyance than issue while I'm there too. I've been pleasantly surprised by the reception from others that we've encountered on our trip. Lots of thumbs ups on the road and people coming up to us to tell us that they love seeing a car like ours at a campsite. FYI, here's the route we're covering. Taking a few extended stops, so in total expecting it to take about 16 weeks.

I love the idea! Best of luck. I am originally from the East coast and I live in Utah now. The sheer emptiness out west can be a little intimidating at first, even in a new car. Just make sure you have plenty of gas and water!! There can be long distances between service stations.

I recently bought mine in Louisville, KY and flew from NorCal to get it. I drive my C4S 4 days with stops in MO, Denver, Salt Lake then back home. Before I left I made sure PCCM+ was installed, CarPlay was awesome to have, piece of mind and not needing to fumble with my phone in the car to get to the next place was awesome. I had the oil/filter air filter, cabin filter and diff fluid changed. My car is slow to turn if warm and thinking it was the battery I bought one of those battery pack chargers just in case, small and should fit in the spare tile well in case you need a jump and no one is around, definitely a good to have. Also check the wipers, I ran into rain in my way back and previous just changed those so that was helpful.

Not crazy. In 2015 I drove from Milwaukee to Olympic National park, down the Pacific coast to LA, then back to Milwaukee. It was about 6,500 miles. I was by myself and camped almost every night. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Nice! I thought my similar trip was going to be 6500 miles... but with all of our detours I'm estimating it'll be closer to 10k when it's over. Any stops or roads on the Pacific coast or the way from LA to Milwaukee that you consider a must see/drive? Also nice to see another Sconnie on here

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I drive my 1972 911E and 2002 C4 Cab long distance often and cross-country occasionally, usually solo. I have found Life360 App very good in tracking my movements down to exit numbers, and letting my family members stay abreast of my whereabouts..

Agree on BRP; just know that it takes twice as long as a highway due to reduced speed (30-45mph for 400 miles)

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Avoiding Iowa and Nebraska is another plus with the suggested route.

Also recommend blue ridge parkway. Should spend a night or two in Louisville, KY. Skipping Nashville?!?

@ Nashville, I'm not sure! So many choices! haha Thanks guys for all of the responses, was expecting this to fizzle out and get buried..ha. But I took index of every single thing that was said and made a list roads and locations to check out. The route I'm taking is very fluid, as is the start date (to a point) and I'll be getting the car sorted before I hit the road as well. As @Eurocarguy911 suggested, I'm going to call (what I hope are) reputable Porsche shops along the way and any appointments in advance, such as installing the PCCM that's in my cart..hmm! @996fried, good tip on the drinking water as I get closer to out west. I've heard about the mega drought out there and I can't imagine what's right around the corner.. Will have plenty of h20 on my approach! @theprf - mighty words of encouragement, appreciate that! May end up taking the kit also. @plpete84, @245ster, @dimetime, @DK570 - big ups and congratulations on your previous, current and future trips as well! 245 that's quite the trip and sounds like you guys are having a kick *** time, best of luck to you and perhaps we'll cross paths out there someday! DK, I'm not good at camping but I'm going to force myself to become accustomed to it. Perhaps not every night, but definitely here and there. What tent did you have? Thanks again SO MUCH for the awesome responses peoples. I hope to make us all proud one day

Tip one is make sure the coolant lines are pinned at the minimum.

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I�ve done quite a few 2000+ mile roadtrips in my MY 98 C2, either solo or with my wife or a friend. I�m currently writing from a hotel room in Ely NV, after driving �the loneliest highway in America� aka Highway 50. Despite thunderstorms and rain, the car performed flawlessly going 90+mph for miles. One tip for you, besides to trust that these cars can handle a lot of ****, is this website: https://scenicbyways.info/ It�s most useful for spontaneous road trip planning and did extend our first 996 roadtrip by about 2 weeks and a 70/30 split of non-highways vs highways. Enjoy! These cars are fantastic roadtrippers!

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Fantastic website, thanks for sharing.

Great route, gonna be fun. Hope you post along the aay, always interesting to hear experiences like that. Maybe some of us could tag along when you pass thru. I'm in N Az, lots of great roads if you want to tweak the route. Phoenix is just a big city with lots of traffic, there are nice routes to bypass that if you want.

As long as you are in Georgia, Tail of the Dragon is a hop skip and jump from there.

I wouldn't dream of taking a road trip like this without planing to include at least a few hundred miles on Route 66... An iconic route originally from Chicago to Los Angeles .. Growing up as a kid in the 1960's watching the TV show Route 66 it has always been a dream of mine to take a road trip down it. Many many businesses and small towns who relied on the Road Trip traffic on Route 66 have been abandoned and dissapeared when they got by-passed by the Interstate System, but some sections survived, some got state protection, some are now preserved as "Historic Route 66" others sections are being historically restored..So it is very "broken up" now, but would still be worth a few hundred miles to get the flavor of the Iconic Route 66.. While on the west coast, I wouldn't skip the California Route 1 up the shore of the coast. I flew to Los Angeles on business with some time to spare and rented a car and drove up to Santa Barbra . It was absolutely breath taking and it probably wasn't even the best part of the 600 mile long Route 1. While in the east Appalachian Mountains as been mentioned, the Blue Ridge Parkway ,the Cherohala Skyway, the Tail of the Dragon, Mooshinner 28 and other roads in the area are a MUST. They are great fun driving roads with beautiful scenery. As far as things to pack to take along on a 6k miles road trip, I would take a small multi-purpose tool kit, some extra fuses, roll of wire, duct tape, 12ft jumper cables (good ones that cost at least $75 )

In fact, rather than driving down to Phoenix, when you get to Flagstaff you can catch a great section of Route 66 starting at Seligman and ending at Topock at the CA border on the Colorado River. That's a great route than passes thru some existing small towns, past abandoned roadhouses, etc. Historic restaurants, ice cream parlors, etc. You get on it from I40 and off it back on I-40. Of course you'll be in a Porsche, not a Corvette.

I'm alive! Barely gotten started..in NC now, heading towards GA and the Tail now .. Hit the millionaires playground a bit earlier today and got to let it loose that was pretty fun ​​​​anyhow, will detail some things a bit later on but I did unfortunately create an Instagram (lol) and I will post the link below. Thank you for all the recommendations on your trip and once I get out west I'm most definitely in modifying the route!! Oh and my good buddy Jesse and his son decided to tag along the first leg of the trip so that's been great as well 😎. Definitely looking forward to getting [back on] the 1 and the 101, it's been too long! Talk soon! https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6svTasAYD/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Slightly modify the route so between NY and GA you hit the Tail of the Dragon looking forward to seeing the pics, awesome trip!

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​​​​​​On the way to the tail now! And the NYC stop is all the way at the end of the trip. I'm local from Ohio and started from up east, haha

I did a similar trip in a track prepped e36 m3 about ten years ago and it was a lot of fun. You don’t realize how big the Midwest is until you drive it. My route I went up through Chicago to Milwaukee and then out to SD and MT Rushmore. The down through Denver. It was pretty incredible to go through Denver in a early fall snow storm then cross into Utah in a desert. I’d consider hitting WV as there are some great roads there.

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Hey thanks much for the intel and vote of confidence. Sounds like you had an awesome trip! And yeah WV has some awesome roads - I actually get down there pretty frequently so know it pretty well 😊. In NC now and loving it! Hitting Atlanta tomorrow so if anyone knows anything super fresh please shoot me a holler! Getting the P checked out tomorrow. Eager to see if they find anything particular gangster with the car. Seems fine so far besides the random rough idle every odd start or so. Well that and the passenger window not rolling itself down Everytime when it's up. Maybe they can fix! Oh and attached a few pics, the firework pictures were taken from the car mid-stop in the middle of downtown Asheville. (Everyone was stopped, don't worry dad &#128521 ​​​​​

Ahhhhh....that's why the Ohio to GA leg...I was thinking you were NYC and was really wondering why you didn't include Blue Ridge/Shenondoah. Unless there is some urgent reason to do NYC, skip that leg....that's a boring round trip! Would have been best to do that bit first then go down to VA and the Shenandoah/BRP. Have an awesome trip, very jealous.

Excellent thread. Glad you are taking the time to make the trip. Please keep us updated. The scenic pix are beautiful. Travel safe! Best,

Hey all! Sorry for the late update. Had some cool pics, then I broke my phone on a natural waterslide, you know how it is Picked up a new budget phone outside of Asheville, but it's not my note20 so my productivity is severely lacking. Called insurance and they said they dind't have any phones in stock but call back in a few days and they may...ugh! Might have to get the new one sent to my friend in CO, we shall see. Got the car checked out in Atlanta, here are the issues they saw wrong with it. Open to any and all thoughts. Front Axle leaking grease - said it was going to need a front axle replacement eventually. Said it wasn't too bad but also said it wasn't going to get any better. Rear brakes are about 50% Clutch grabs at the top - they REALLY didn't like this and kept saying it was indicative of the clutch needing a replacement. Even though it had a brand new clutch, 997 flywheel and clutch accumulator a few weeks before I bought it. I've seen the papers! I may call the shop that did the job and ask them about it...The clutch does grab at the top and is kind of touchy as hell but after learning how to drive i've done 1200+ miles now with zero issues whatsoever. After doing some reading on here and elsewhere, it seems the clutch can grab anywhere and people say if it grabs at the top it can be close to failure, other cats say that because of the electronic nature of the clutch, its impossible to adjust or know when it's close to burning out. Passenger side window not rolling down when door is open 100% of the time - $875 fix. Will be pre-rolling the window down until I get back..lol. When I told the guys that it had a minor stalling issue when I first started it sometimes it would idle slightly rough - they told me I more than likely had a MASSIVE air leak and that something was very wrong. Well they then checked it out and said they couldn't get it to stall nor did they find any air leaks. Said the car seemed to be in pretty tip top shape besides the issues mentioned above and they really really liked it. Oh and the car squeaks a very small amount when turning at very very slow speeds (like under 5), they said it was probably the control arms or the bushings. Might replace those in a wal-mart parking lot! ha. Anyhow - the trip has been great! Stopped in the following: Fayetteville, WV Asheville, NC Atlanta, GA Nashville, TN and now we're on the way to Denver! Trying to make "decent" time and wasted a lot so may take the dreaded ride through kansas - ugh! But doing really well! Loved the blue ridge parkway in/around Asheville and was a lot of fun driving on the twisty's in WV as well. I have a lot of experience driving down there, just not in this car. I loved every second of it, especially some of these awesome motorcycle routes we took w/ twistys. Anyhow - loading up now and going to hit the road, wishing a good day to all! Scenic lookout Asheville hit 1000 miles! Saw my good buddy Mike, in Atlanta! Dan was getting fresh with a latex mannequin The Road (tm) The Road Cont. (tm) Open Swirly Dan and his black dad Black dad Black dad, flying with Dans thumb on the camera Best buds Dads Dad pointing Dan, stunting Top of Pisgah, high. Beaut Homies Dan's unicorn made it to the top! Happy July 4th! Joy!!!

Oh and to all those who are wondering - my buddy Jesse and his son, Dan - decided to go on me for about 50% of the trip. they're flying out Tuesday and I'm going to continue on solo until the following Tuesday.

Hope I didn't turn anyone off with my "antics", lol. Anyways, heading into Denver now! Will be checking out some scenic spots, changing the oil and fluids and taking it easy for a few days until another adventure on one of the wonderful recommendations made, with another friend of mine. Lost the front skirt today. I said a prayer. Damn hidden dip @ the Kansas spray and wash.

Didn�t lose me. Sorry to hear about the front skirt. We stopped in lower downtown Denver and had a few beers and a pizza here, https://mellowmushroom.com/location/...ite-108-80202/ Touristy and active part of Denver if you�re into that, but overall good pizza.

Makes me wanna do it again but I don't know if I could do it in the 911. Need one of those conversion vans so I can sleep in the back lol.

Nothing like driving 75mph across flat desert type land for hours and hours in 100F* searing heat (while in a 69F climate-control car) and looking at a snow covered mountains all day long, and wondering what it would have been like on foot, wagon, or horseback.

Thanks for the positive vibes fellas, and going to grace y'all with a bit of a photo dump and discuss a slightly harrowing experience between my front bumper and a racoon @ the end...! Anyhow, here's the update: Currently in Fruita, CO. Since I posted on here last I made it to Boulder, Denver and Estes Park, CO. My buddy Jesse and his son Dan and I tooled around Estes, had some amazing Indian food, and hiked in and around Rocky Mountain National Park - was a gorgeous time and trip all the way around! Unfortunately Jesse had left back home to Ohio last Tuesday and it was actually kind of emotional seeing him and Dan off. I will see them when I get back to Ohio however and we'll have plenty to talk about Glad we were able to get Dan into climbing and he now wants to join a climbing club around NE Ohio where we're from so I'm super stoked about that! Now here comes the fun and weird part...So I had another friend in Denver - I picked her up and we headed west towards Bryce Canyon. Made a pit-stop in Vail, CO that night - stayed in a hotel - and poked around Vail for a few hours the next day. I'm telling you: coming from an inner-city black kid from NE, OH - it was quite the experience haha. I've been out before, traveled from time to time but boy was I extremely surprised to see even 3 other black people out walking around in that town, haha. Anyhow - I picked up some new Merrell Trail Glove 6's @ the Colorado Footwear in Vail and off we were to Utah. Utah & Bryce in general - were absolutely gorgeous and magical all the way around! I didn't even mind the mistaken 3 mile road that my GPS took me to (semi-painful for the 911, even at 8mph) or the off-beat hiking path that we took that almost swallowed us up as turned dark. The next day we were able to do the full Peek a Boo loop trail @ Bryce, got caught in the rain - saw some horses stumble, a lady flip off, she lost her shoes - we were hiding underneath a tree shielding ourselves form the freezing rain and hail - it was quite an experince! But all in all we were fine, and I really felt for the shivering t-shirt wearing people that were on horseback. They likely had no thought in their mind that rain could come barreling down on them - and that is exactly what it did. We even befriended a trio of young women who were too afraid to continue the hike because of the hail and the falling rock. I told them it wasn't too much to be concerned of - as long as they were able to gain footing and look out for large chunks falling. They said I gave them confidence and waved @ me as I turned the path. I was sad to see them go. Anyhow - at the top of the loop I was almost completely dead and I was never before more excited that I had purchased brand new socks the previous day and had my extra pair of Mishmi Kameng hiking boots in the frunk. ANYWAYS (here comes the fun part!) after we left Bryce and checked out of out Airbnb @ Brians Head - we started to head East to drop my friend off. I was about 10 miles outside of Grand Junction when tragedy stuck - in the form of a raccoon, which crawled into the right lane around 11pm at night and got totally and completely annihilated by my car. At first I thought it ate it just fine and I was going to be able to keep going - THEN I saw the coolant light turn on and the flashing lights letting me know I was losing it - and fast. Thankfully the next exit was about a 1/4 of a mile away so I drifted to a gas station leaving a trail of coolant the entire way there. Anyhow - I am now a resident of Fruita, CO . I was able to tow my car to Wicked Auto (on a Saturday nonetheless) and talked to the Father & Son combo that own the joint who told me that they are going to do everything they can to get her fixed and back on the road as soon as possible. Said they *might* be able to get the radiator Monday, or it could be Tuesday. I talked to a local parts store in town and they said Thursday - so we shall see... I have insurance and Progressive is going to take care of it, but I've never done an insurance claim like this before. Questions for the class if you read this far: 1. Anything I should mention to the shop to check out besides the radiator? The raccoon was as big as a large ****ing dog - but as far as I can see - only the front radiator seems to be affected. 2. Should I have them replace all 3 radiators and 2 intercoolers just to be safe? This would surely take longer and would mean I'm an western Colorado resident even longer, but I hate to hit it w/ the band-aid fix especially when I'm approx 2000 miles from home. 3. Don't hate on the paint of my car! If you can see from the "changing oil" picture above - she WAS washed that day in Denver, it's just been a while. She looks like crap now and that's what driving through the desert for a week will get you, ha. All in all - still super positive and eager to finish out the trip. Damn Raccoon but thank god for insurance and leftover reefers. Have a great day all! PS. If the shop is unable to get the part for however long - any company or even ebay listing that someone could recommend that I'd be able to get a 996 turbo radiator next-day air'd to me? Thanx!

" thank god for insurance and leftover reefers." Words to live by Thanks for this. I'm living vicariously through your posts

Glad you enjoyed Utah! My adopted home state

Glad your not hurt. Cars can be fixed. RIP Nuclear Racoon. They grow 'em big there. I live by a nuclear facility and it seems all the wildlife here is bigger than normal, hence the Nuclear Racoon. Buddy of mine took out a coyote late at night in the Arizona desert. Totaled the relatively new big Ford. Glad you got to see Bryce. It's an amazing place. Hang out and enjoy the time. Thanks for all the pics.

Center radiator is the same for all 996's so you may be able to get a used one from a C4 or a C4S, the tiptronic C4/C4S came with the center rad. I would not change any other radiators unless they are damaged. The intercoolers are behind the rear wheels, so no need to worry about those. The air condition condensers are in front of the side radiators. There is nothing in the front center of the car other than the front radiator. Oh, the horn is just on the passenger side of the center radiator so you might toot it to make sure it's working. There has been bad availability issues on radiators lately. Some guys on the Turbo forum needed to get replacements from Canada. You can also try CMS, they have good quality aftermarket radiators. Some like the CMS radiators better than stock.

You may be interested in those radiators for Porsche 996 turbo https://offerup.com/item/detail/1112...he+996&cid=5.9

Central radiator available: https://offerup.com/item/detail/1246...orsche&cid=5.9