Aquaplaned - Page 22 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hit a big puddle and car went light. Rotated slightly and then exited puddle pointing towards central reservation. I was initially in lane 2 before puddle but then when car gripped again I crossed lane 3 quickly. Managed to prevent impact with central barrier but had right wheels on the grass or whatever it is. Went back towards centre of motorway but too much momentum in the back of the car / angle for me or my skill set. I think I did a bit of a swing one way then the next and then started heading towards the verge and the grass. That's when I decided I was out of time and slammed on the brakes. When car stopped after a bit of cross country I honestly thought I'd saved it and was thinking I was lucky. I was thinking I could drive or limp the car to somewhere a bit safer until I got out and saw this

I don't want to be that guy so will refrain from stating the obvious. Could have been much worse though.

Ouch. I was out and about yesterday in the pouring rain and there was a LOT of standing water about due to the sudden and large amount of rainfall. You were lucky no-one else was involved and you survived unscathed. Repairs shouldn't be too bad, probably just bolt on bits and the left rear wing?

Ouch, sorry to hear op, but clearly could’ve been much worse. Out of interest what were the tyres ? I found P-Zeroes to be an absolute liability in the wet.

Goodyear Eagles. I was actually deliberating last week if I should switch to my winter wheel and tyre combo but decided it wasn't quite cold enough yet. I'm going to guess that they would have been the better tyres on the day. I think the rear of the car clipped a sign post which is what ripped the wheel off. Possibly at a bit of an angle as the front of the car was fine. If I had been a few inches further to the left then I could have hit that same post with the front corner and either spun round or flipped the car over. Both of which make me think yes, I definitely feel lucky.

Bad luck mate. Had an incident on track where I aqua-planed straight into a farmers field earlier in the year You're just a passenger/victim when something like this happens. You're fine and no-one else hurt thats the main thing.

The main thing is you are OK, the car can be fixed.

Sounds like you got off pretty lightly there. I hit some pretty deep standing water yesterday in our Cayenne....could go round it due to oncoming traffic...I thought to myself as I hit it “thank f k I’m not in the 911”....pretty sure it would have ended badly

Bad luck. Could I ask a couple of questions, as GY F1 A2s are my tyre of choice and have never faltered in the wet. What is the tread depth on the tyres? That rear looks to be pretty low, but it may be the photo. Also, what speed are you doing just before you saw the puddle? Thanks.

Few years ago I passed two cars in the ditch on the A43 near Brackley. One of the dips in the road was partially flooded. I managed to squeeze into lane one a bit and just catch the edge of it so was OK. In the dark you wouldnt have seen it to the last minute. I’m always wary of big puddles now. Easily done. Everyone safe and just the car to fix. Regards Ian

Those tyres look lethal to me - as there are no lateral grooves where is water in the middle of the contact area meant to go?

Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation.

Ayahuasca said: Those tyres look lethal to me - as there are no lateral grooves where is water in the middle of the contact area meant to go? If they are Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2/3 then they are *superb* in the wet, A rated wet weather performance and rated best wet weather tyre by Evo magazine in 2018. I suspect here they've been ran down to low tread depth and there just hasn't been enough depth to clear the standing water.

I've not measured the depth recently and would have had a good look at them if I had switched to the winter setup. Goodyear Eagles don't really have lateral grooves across the whole tyre - there are some. When new they have some lateral slits which are not deep and don't go from groove to groove. Google image below of a slimmer tyre. But yes they are worn a bit. They've been on the car for maybe 3000 to 4000 miles. We can't all have new tyres all the time. Any car will aqua plain with whatever tyre given the right variables of speed of car and weight (maybe down force) and depth of water. These light sports cars with fat tyres are more susceptible.

Olivera said: If they are Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2/3 then they are *superb* in the wet, A rated wet weather performance and rated best wet weather tyre by Evo magazine in 2018. I suspect here they've been ran down to low tread depth and there just hasn't been enough depth to clear the standing water. if they were N spec which I would say they were, they would not be a new style tyre, so cannot go on 2018 tyre tests people still fit PS2's !!! tread looks ok in the pics, just to fast for the conditions, it seems. Also Good years go of even with over 3mm left, I binned mine on my R after a while as I just got fed up with no traction when the 1st few mm had worn off them Unlike a PS4S most tyres are poor below 3mm. A PS4S works to the legal limit very well a big selling point. Edited by Porsche911R on Monday 10th December 08:56

Porsche911R said: Olivera said: If they are Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2/3 then they are *superb* in the wet, A rated wet weather performance and rated best wet weather tyre by Evo magazine in 2018. I suspect here they've been ran down to low tread depth and there just hasn't been enough depth to clear the standing water. if they were N spec which I would say they were, they would not be a new style tyre, so cannot go on 2018 tyre tests people still fit PS2's !!! tread looks ok in the pics, just to fast for the conditions, it seems. Also Good years go of even with over 3mm left, I binned mine on my R after a while as I just got fed up with no traction when the 1st few mm had worn off them Unlike a PS4S most tyres are poor below 3mm. A PS4S works to the legal limit very well a big selling point. Yes n0. The tyre tests are never performed with an n0 so they will use the standard eagles. We don't know what Porsche n rating does to affect the wet weather performance but like I say if you hit deep water it's almost irrelevant what tyres are on the car.

Tyres, blooming expensive at sports car levels, should not give below par performance after losing their first few mm. That is terrible. My Mustang GT came shod with Pirelli Zeros which were a lethal liability in the wet and cold on a RWD 400 odd bhp car. A few first owners smashed their cars up thanks to these. I quickly changed mine to Michelins and then the car was brilliant wet and dry. How one tyre can do the work and the other can't when they both cost the same is beyond me. Weirdly the far cheaper than the competition Falkens that I always fit to my e36 have never let me down in the wet, unlike the Contis and Avons it has been shod with before. Sorry to see this OP. That is s t3! But at least you walked away.

So, how fast were you going?

I wasn't speeding. It was really peesing it down so poor visibility.

ATM said: I wasn't speeding. It was really peesing it down so poor visibility. So, does that mean you were doing 70?

Sorry to see the pic of your damaged car - awful. Gutting to see nice cars damaged. I aquaplaned in a friend's XKR a couple of years ago... 50mph on the A3, it just suddenly went. I caught it - sheer luck, not skill. It really freaked me out. There is not much you can do, although I was told once that letting go of the steering wheel lets centrifugal force correct the wheels. I was told this by a Le Mans driver... not sure I'd have either the nads or the presence of mind to try it.

If your skills are rusty, or you've never done one, I'd recommend a session at PEC.

daddy cool said: ATM said: I wasn't speeding. It was really peesing it down so poor visibility. So, does that mean you were doing 70? I was doing 215mph. Happy?

It is the width of the tyre that is the issue in deep standing water the tread pattern does not have that much effect . Had a few big Aqua plane moments on full wets racing at areas of poor drainage , Spa has some notorious places and SS at the beginning of the Hanger straight . So guess the only solution when driving in heavy rain with big standing water at speed is to be alert and oddly stay in the middle lane wherever possible as the standing water is often at the edge especially the overtaking lane which is less used .

IMI A said: daddy cool said: ATM said: I wasn't speeding. It was really peesing it down so poor visibility. So, does that mean you were doing 70? I was doing 215mph. Happy? Who the f k are you?

colin_p said: Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation. Why are we not discussing this? What makes you think this? I’m interested.

Thankfully I've never been caught out yet, had some scary moments in company cars where the car has went light but was over in a flash and back to full grip. I have driven the roadster in really heavy rain and although taking it fairly easy it managed fine. I keep meaning to book some skid pan/advance lessons to try and be better equipped should anything happen but like everything it gets put to the side. Scary to see how easy it is to loose control though!!

daddy cool said: Who the f k are you? your daddy?

Ahbefive said: I don't want to be that guy so will refrain from stating the obvious. Could have been much worse though. I so desperately wanted the thread title to be a clever play-on-words relating to a paint colour or something...

IMI A said: your daddy?

nickpan said: colin_p said: Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation. Why are we not discussing this? What makes you think this? I’m interested. Are suspension components designed to sheer now like this if given a sudden impact with enough force. If the wheel had not come off then maybe the car would have bounced or behaved differently. I don't want to go on about F1 but the suspension on those is designed to snap rather than send the force into the cockpit right?

hunter 66 said: It is the width of the tyre that is the issue in deep standing water the tread pattern does not have that much effect . Had a few big Aqua plane moments on full wets racing at areas of poor drainage , Spa has some notorious places and SS at the beginning of the Hanger straight . So guess the only solution when driving in heavy rain with big standing water at speed is to be alert and oddly stay in the middle lane wherever possible as the standing water is often at the edge especially the overtaking lane which is less used . Tread depth makes a huge difference - I have ploughed at speed into standing water with my BFGKM2 mud terrains with tons of tread depth and never lost contact with the road. Granted, those tyres would look a bit silly on a Boxter. OP - we’ll done on missing that steel post and not getting hurt!

colin_p said: Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation. The damage in the photo does not really match your description of what probably happened. Driving through standing water is scary, but the front wheels tends to clear water for the rears, so you would need to be accelerating or braking quite hard to seriously defeat the stability system. Aquaplaning normally causes front-wheel loss of grip. Loosing a rear wheel makes you a passenger.

Don’t think any of us are in a position to speculate. It’s totally possible that only the drivers or near side wheels lost grip because of depth of water etc which would cause the car to veer in one direction or another. Also the safety systems only do so much....as anyone knows that’s been to the PEC....they’ll help you but not do the job for you. Most important thing is that the OP is fit and healthy.

Twinfan said: If your skills are rusty, or you've never done one, I'd recommend a session at PEC. The 'Ice' hill @ the PEC is great, there is definitely a level of skill required to 'catch' the car once it loses grip, and it is interesting to see the impact of the different traction control settings. But that was @ low speed in a controlled environment, losing it at motorway speeds I'm sure would be something else..

rdjohn said: colin_p said: Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation. The damage in the photo does not really match your description of what probably happened. Driving through standing water is scary, but the front wheels tends to clear water for the rears, so you would need to be accelerating or braking quite hard to seriously defeat the stability system. Aquaplaning normally causes front-wheel loss of grip. Loosing a rear wheel makes you a passenger. They were my thoughts. The OP in the OP didn't mention actually hitting anything other than doing a bit of off roading. The impact marks / dent on the rear wing look like they were caused by the wheel swinging round and hitting it. Quite what would would cause the whole rear suspension to be ripped off a car, without an impact is a bit baffling. In my mind the damage does not match what is decribed as what happened but does look more like a falure (at just the wrong time) of a major suspension componet. In that vein, I'd speculate by saying that I'd expect to see the CV joint ripped apart on the driveshaft and not what looks like the bare / splined end of the driveshaft. There is also not enough body damage to coincide with the forces needed to rip the wheel and complete suspension setup off of the car. Again, all pure, total and utter speculation. And again, OP I'm glad you are ok and that is all that really matters.

colin_p said: rdjohn said: colin_p said: Glad you are ok, but.... Looking at that damage, it just doesn't look quite right. Complete speculation but something major may have let go on the rear suspension and caused this rather than aquaplaning. Again, complete total and utter speculation. The damage in the photo does not really match your description of what probably happened. Driving through standing water is scary, but the front wheels tends to clear water for the rears, so you would need to be accelerating or braking quite hard to seriously defeat the stability system. Aquaplaning normally causes front-wheel loss of grip. Loosing a rear wheel makes you a passenger. They were my thoughts. The OP in the OP didn't mention actually hitting anything other than doing a bit of off roading. The impact marks / dent on the rear wing look like they were caused by the wheel swinging round and hitting it. Quite what would would cause the whole rear suspension to be ripped off a car, without an impact is a bit baffling. In my mind the damage does not match what is decribed as what happened but does look more like a falure (at just the wrong time) of a major suspension componet. In that vein, I'd speculate by saying that I'd expect to see the CV joint ripped apart on the driveshaft and not what looks like the bare / splined end of the driveshaft. There is also not enough body damage to coincide with the forces needed to rip the wheel and complete suspension setup off of the car. Again, all pure, total and utter speculation. And again, OP I'm glad you are ok and that is all that really matters. This was in my follow on post - I think the rear of the car clipped a sign post which is what ripped the wheel off. Possibly at a bit of an angle as the front of the car was fine.

I used to never aqua plane in my golf.. it had 205mm width and it used to cut through water like a speed boat. Ever since i got 265mm on my porker i always lose grip haha

Obviously when you don’t see the standing water it’s difficult to prepare yourself, but as long as you don’t brake and don’t steer you should be able to handle an aquaplaining experience without too much fuss. Once you upset the car’s momentum one way or another, you’re heading for a world of pain!

Hit standing water in the dark once. Just one of the front tyres but the force almost tore the steering wheel out of my hands. It was like hitting a kerb at speed.

From the crash aftermath I saw in Brackley, it was hitting deep water on the front offside wheel that put the cars in a spin as that side slowed suddenly and subsequently put the car into the nearside scenery. Anyone who has done a belly flop or water skiing will know water is pretty solid when you hit it at speed. Ian

Paynewright said: Anyone who has done a belly flop or water skiing will know water is pretty solid when you hit it at speed. Ian Like hitting concrete.

Ooops indeed, hope there is no big damge ATM glad you escaped safely. Perhaps, wrong car for the Wrong time of the year!

ATM said: This was in my follow on post - I think the rear of the car clipped a sign post which is what ripped the wheel off. Possibly at a bit of an angle as the front of the car was fine. Anything that is not behind a barrier is intended to collapse on impact - I imagine that it was not stood upright when you looked back? The end of an Armco could rip your wheel off as well as the whole rear of the car. The marks on the rear wing look to be about the height of the top of the tyre - but that could also be parallax in your photo. These assemblies are not like F1, they need huge forces to be torn away from the chassis and do that amount of damage. It will be interesting to know what your insurance assessor and repairer think.

100% agree a write off would be best outcome

To the OP glad to see your ok, and the insurance company no doubt will cover th majority of the costs. I've been there and it's not a nice experience, some 9 years on I'm still quite a nervous driver in the wet. No doubt your wondering what you could of done to prevent this and to be honest I have asked quite a few different people pros and very competent drivers and you never get a clear answer everyone one has there view, but they never match up. The one thing I would say speed is key, and by that I don't mean speeding just that the tyre couldn't clear the water from the foot print of the tyre at the speed you hit the standing water. The thing with our cars is they are relatively light have wide tyres which aren't always in direct line with the fronts and this is the main cause for aqua planing. Tread does help the more the better but as soon as the standing water is deeper than your tread pattern then the width of the tyre comes into play as the tyre just can't clear the water from underneath it and starts to float. The heavier the car the better as this will help expell the water from underneath the tyre, but as you own a sports car the main elements to quau planing are against you i.e light weight car, wide tyres. Therefore the only adjustable we have to counter aqua planing is speed. I've spent may a happy hour following HGV,s in heavy rain traveling back from Spa at 50mph trying stay in the foot print of the lorry as I have FA tread left.

garyhun said: Obviously when you don’t see the standing water it’s difficult to prepare yourself, but as long as you don’t brake and don’t steer you should be able to handle an aquaplaining experience without too much fuss. Once you upset the car’s momentum one way or another, you’re heading for a world of pain! Agree the less input the better but if the car starts rotating while it's still aqua planing, your in the hands of the gods and need a big chunk of luck to catch it.

Firstly, happy you got out in one piece. Sorry about the damage... My first Porsche was a 2009 Cayman that lost grip going 10mph on ice, smashed the rear suspension on the kerb, but not totally ripping the wheel off. No body work damage, just ended up with a new alloy and suspension pieces and cost c. 4k to fix under insurance. So I reckon you might be into 7 or 8k damage there. Surely not a write off given the overall value of the car. I have always suspected, following that experience, that the Cayman and Boxter with their 50/50 weight distribution and general light-weight made it prone to scating over the road surface rather than quickly getting grip back. I have never felt any of my (3) modern 911s behaving in the same way, as the back end seems so much heavier. Might be rubbish, but I lost a bit of faith in my Caymans bad weather stability following that.

jackliebling said: Firstly, happy you got out in one piece. Sorry about the damage... My first Porsche was a 2009 Cayman that lost grip going 10mph on ice, smashed the rear suspension on the kerb, but not totally ripping the wheel off. No body work damage, just ended up with a new alloy and suspension pieces and cost c. 4k to fix under insurance. So I reckon you might be into 7 or 8k damage there. Surely not a write off given the overall value of the car. I have always suspected, following that experience, that the Cayman and Boxter with their 50/50 weight distribution and general light-weight made it prone to scating over the road surface rather than quickly getting grip back. I have never felt any of my (3) modern 911s behaving in the same way, as the back end seems so much heavier. Might be rubbish, but I lost a bit of faith in my Caymans bad weather stability following that. Agree with this, my 997 C4S was very planted on wet roads. I thought it was due to the AWD but actually it was the weight of the engine over the back axle. My Boxsters & R8 simply don't have the same grip in the wet. Think the 911 is pretty phenomenal in this area Think tyres play a big part too and when I switched my recent cars (Granturismo & a 987S Boxster) which came with Pirellis, to Pilot Sport 4S's, the wet grip was very noticeably improved

Thanks for sharing. I am used to drive heavy cars (Jags, Mercs, BMW.) so have never suffered. I could be the next one as it is my first winter with the Box.

Glad you're OK. I've experienced some unpleasent moments in the wet in a couple of 911s and my Cayman but only where there has been a decent depth of standing water. Pirellis seem much worse at dealing with the wet than the Michelins.

African Grey said: Thanks for sharing. I am used to drive heavy cars (Jags, Mercs, BMW.) so have never suffered. I could be the next one as it is my first winter with the Box. I've had a few cars where all the weight is in the front, nothing in the back and fat drug dealer tyres. It's not a great combination in wet weather. Aquaplaning happens so suddenly, no warning... and you're off the road. All very quick. The trouble is that if you're on a motorway or dual carriageway, you let the speed build up - nobody is going to drive at 45mph.... and that's when it could happen. Nasty. I feel for anyone who goes through it.

Still no word on speed at the time of the episode. There's a lot of over-confident driving around. Was this an example?

A friend of mine went off-roading in his car once, and the grass verge had drainage channels cut into it, that caused similar damage, so may be similar in this case?

OP hope you get sorted easily enough. But yes aquaplaning is a major concern in the Cayman when it's wet, on a bad day I'm not even sure I'd want to go full speed down a main straight on a track day.

ATM said: Hit a big puddle and car went light. Rotated slightly and then exited puddle pointing towards central reservation. I was initially in lane 2 before puddle but then when car gripped again I crossed lane 3 quickly. Managed to prevent impact with central barrier but had right wheels on the grass or whatever it is. Went back towards centre of motorway but too much momentum in the back of the car / angle for me or my skill set. I think I did a bit of a swing one way then the next and then started heading towards the verge and the grass. That's when I decided I was out of time and slammed on the brakes. When car stopped after a bit of cross country I honestly thought I'd saved it and was thinking I was lucky. I was thinking I could drive or limp the car to somewhere a bit safer until I got out and saw this So, one-week on. Have your repairers, or insurance come up with an explanation for why the wheel is not still attached to the chassis? I am sure it is not a typical failure. Or caused by hitting a marker.

Maxym said: Still no word on speed at the time of the episode. There's a lot of over-confident driving around. Was this an example? He’s already said he wasn’t speeding. Moreover it’s a public forum and he’s got an hefty insurance claim so even if he were he’s hardly likely to say anything, Personally if I had been speeding and had an accident like that and was claiming I wasn’t the last thing I would do is start a thread on PistonHeads. Would you ?

rdjohn said: So, one-week on. Have your repairers, or insurance come up with an explanation for why the wheel is not still attached to the chassis? I am sure it is not a typical failure. Or caused by hitting a marker. No news yet. I've shown the pic to some people who deal with damaged cars and they say this is not uncommon. Parts will fail given the right force. I didn't hit a marker I hit a 6 foot high sign post.

jakesmith said: Agree with this, my 997 C4S was very planted on wet roads. I thought it was due to the AWD but actually it was the weight of the engine over the back axle. My Boxsters & R8 simply don't have the same grip in the wet. Think the 911 is pretty phenomenal in this area Think tyres play a big part too and when I switched my recent cars (Granturismo & a 987S Boxster) which came with Pirellis, to Pilot Sport 4S's, the wet grip was very noticeably improved Rearward weight bias doesn’t help stability. If the 911 is phenomenal in this area then it is down to how it has been engineered, rather than the basic weight distribution. I’ve driven a few mid engined cars, the fundamental agility they have comes at the price of stability.

It would be interesting to try an experiement on a track somewhere with half width tyres Posted this in a similar thread on and evora a few weeks back Here's how to spin on a straight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQYm0MDpxo https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Yes that's what happened to me. Car just rotated. It's hard to explain if you don't have a video - thanks.

saaby93 said: It would be interesting to try an experiement on a track somewhere with half width tyres Posted this in a similar thread on and evora a few weeks back Here's how to spin on a straight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQYm0MDpxo https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Wasn’t there a slight lift of the throttle just before rotation ?

Yes little motions like coming off the drive at the wrong moment can affect things in standing water ..

David W. said: saaby93 said: It would be interesting to try an experiement on a track somewhere with half width tyres Posted this in a similar thread on and evora a few weeks back Here's how to spin on a straight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQYm0MDpxo https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Wasn’t there a slight lift of the throttle just before rotation ? more than a slight lift - sounded like he was up to speed, thought that would do and eases off From that point he was floating on water with the wheels rotating but not the same speed as he was driving along the road If there was some way of harnessing it as an energy saver The prototypes are unstable

I'm agreeing with the mechanical failure angle. If the car had hit something hard enough to rip a wheel and associated parts clean off i'd expect there to be damage behind the arch from the wheel being pushed backwards (due to direction of travel).

anonymous said: [redacted] Very valid point. Shame we'll probably not find out. There is the dent in front of the arch that shows an impact with a pole but it looks like it bounced off the body work rather than the wheel. OP you don't have any more photos do you? From what I can tell on that picture the wheel isn't damaged on the face but obviously we only have a partial view.

LukeSi said: anonymous said: [redacted] Very valid point. Shame we'll probably not find out. There is the dent in front of the arch that shows an impact with a pole but it looks like it bounced off the body work rather than the wheel. OP you don't have any more photos do you? From what I can tell on that picture the wheel isn't damaged on the face but obviously we only have a partial view. It didn't spin. My modest driving skills kept it pointing straight-ish. It did fish tail a bit that's all. No more pics. The Highways agency people wanted to move me on asap so I sought refuge at the services. By the time the truck arrived it was dark.

ATM said: It didn't spin. My modest driving skills kept it pointing straight-ish. It did fish tail a bit that's all. No more pics. The Highways agency people wanted to move me on asap so I sought refuge at the services. By the time the truck arrived it was dark. In that case i genuinely think there has been a mechanical failure then, looks like you hit the post with the body work and it bounced off and not even that hard. I'd be tempted to try and get porsche involved if it's in warranty. I'd imagine if it's enough to rip a wheel off you'd feel it and have mentioned it. Edited by LukeSi on Sunday 23 December 09:39

LukeSi said: In that case i genuinely think there has been a mechanical failure then, looks like you hit the post with the body work and it bounced off and not even that hard. I'd be tempted to try and get porsche involved if it's in warranty. I'd imagine if it's enough to rip a wheel off you'd feel it and have mentioned it. Edited by LukeSi on Sunday 23 December 09:39 I disagree. I genuinely believe that the car hit the post at a small angle and the brunt of the force impacted on the tyre tread just inside the arch which ripped it clean off. The car didn't glide along the grass smoothly. It was a bumpy ride. Adrenalin made me remember some heroic driving but I was just a passenger on the grass. I did see a bent post further up the road behind me and it was bent in the direction I had travelled.

Having hit standing water in my last car, Cayman GTS. On the A5, straight bit of road and the car went light and drifted over to the left all on it's own. I just did nothing, kept my foot where it was and didn't move the wheel to try and correct. Lucky I came out the other end all be it near the Kurt bit all fine, my wife was behind me in a golf, doing the same speed and it didn't even affect her in that. Car was less than year old, done 1300 miles on the standard tyres, golf 21000 miles on first set of tyres, so guess the size of tyres and weight of the boxster/ Cayman makes for the issue and if the standing water was on a bend I wouldn't have wanted to guess the out come Sorry to see the pic, but at least no one was hurt and that's all that matters once the dust settles or in this case the rain stops

I've hit standing water at 50mph on an a-road, much deeper than it looked (expecting to splash through puddle, it 4inch deep) and I just passengered into the ditch finding the telegraph pole which stopped between the engine and rhs wing just behind the front axle line. No injuries but that damage and slightly bend up roof, clear write off. Can't speculate on mechanical failure, but I could well imagine said sign post took the wheel off. Hopefully a reasonably smooth ride through the insurance process. Daniel

Car definitely a total loss according to assessment of body repair place. Not talked numbers with insurance company yet.

DuncGTS said: Having hit standing water in my last car, Cayman GTS. On the A5, straight bit of road and the car went light and drifted over to the left all on it's own. Effectively, on a single carriageway, that's nearly always what will happen, simply because that's the way the camber generally falls. My GT3 did this, accelerating uphill past Ramshaw Rocks on the way toward Buxton. Front stayted gripped, but the rear of the car floated on the tyres and 'dropped' toward the nearside edge of the road. Was no big deal as there was nothing coming the other way and I was ready and prepared for a loss of grip, due to the water running downhill. Also, it being an A road and very wet, I was not doing more than 40-50 at the time. Speed - anything over 50mph - really does add to the problem of aquaplaning. ATM said: Car definitely a total loss according to assessment of body repair place. Not talked numbers with insurance company yet. Surely not? We oinly have the one picture to go on, but it does not look that bad.

Digga said: ATM said: Car definitely a total loss according to assessment of body repair place. Not talked numbers with insurance company yet. Surely not? We oinly have the one picture to go on, but it does not look that bad. Quote from body shop for work to repair what is visible adds up to almost 20 grand. Then there is the unknown of what else.

ATM said: Digga said: ATM said: Car definitely a total loss according to assessment of body repair place. Not talked numbers with insurance company yet. Surely not? We oinly have the one picture to go on, but it does not look that bad. Quote from body shop for work to repair what is visible adds up to almost 20 grand. Then there is the unknown of what else. And they'll probably expect to get more for it as salvage so why bother repairing

saaby93 said: ATM said: Digga said: ATM said: Car definitely a total loss according to assessment of body repair place. Not talked numbers with insurance company yet. Surely not? We oinly have the one picture to go on, but it does not look that bad. Quote from body shop for work to repair what is visible adds up to almost 20 grand. Then there is the unknown of what else. And they'll probably expect to get more for it as salvage so why bother repairing What are you guys thinking the salvage value would be then?

Saw this and thought of you: https://jalopnik-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/jalopn... Seems like a neat idea. I've aqua planed on wide tyres in the past when I should have known better and backed off.

Zarco said: Saw this and thought of you: https://jalopnik-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/jalopn... Seems like a neat idea. I've aqua planed on wide tyres in the past when I should have known better and backed off. video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK3_hw79xA8 forum http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?p=1118251&s...

Went to see the wreck today and collect my belongings. Car looked very sad sat on the ground missing a wheel. Even the good side is almost on the ground due to anti roll bar etc.

I've created this pic to illustrate the damage or how the wheel came off. This is / was a pic of the correct part from eBay. So this is looking from inside the car outwards. There were 3 points of failure only. 1. The strut snapped where the rod narrowed to enter the top mount. I've tried to illustrate this in black - badly. I think this is called a McPherson setup but I'm not definite. 2. The section which juts out to the left failed, it snapped off roughly where the red line is. I'm not sure what the arm is called which connects to this. Is it tie rod? 3. The mount for the bottom ball joint snapped - again I've tried to illustrate in red. The nut is still on the ball joint and holding the broken piece of hub. All arms which held the hub to the car are still connected to the car and feel solid. The strut piston / rod snapped flush where it enters the top mount. I think that explains everything. Does this make sense?

So to reconnect the wheel to the car I think all that's needed is - 1. new hub carrier as per that pic 2. new strut / shock 3. Spring - which has gone missing 4. Brake pipe/s 5. Handbrake cable 6. Drive shaft looks ok but rubber boot has split - not sure if the shaft and half shaft is salvageable. So assuming the rest is ok - Arms + tie tod Brake caliper, disc and handrake parts Whatever sensor/s for abs and psm Wheel itself - could be buckled So in parts I think that's less than a grand and the wheel is on. Then we can answer the question of will the car drive - is the engine + gearbox + everything underneath the car ok. Then all that remains is question of if car is straight or needs jigging. Then bodywork. Done

Wheels come off or race cars all the time. As a driver you just kinda get used to it. Load points are engineered to take consistent loads in certain directions. They can fail easily in a load is applied in another direction. Once a corner duds into softe earth and the car is not travelling in a straight direction it is compromised. In a potential aquaplaning scenario, a driver needs to see the potential danger in advance and load the steering wheels before entering the standing water. If he doesn’t, to a large extent he is a passenger and his options are limited. There is nothing about this incident that I can see that’s unusual. Things are even worse in a mid engineer car as you have less options once the cars entrees the standing water. In wet conditions, a driver needs to be very vigilant and be constantly scanning the road surface for standing water.

Steve Rance said: Load points are engineered to take consistent loads in certain directions. They can fail easily in a load is applied in another direction. There's a video on YouTube (can't find it currently) of an AMG Merc hitting a gentle kerb at Adenaur Forst at a relatively low speed but with the front wheels at a right angle to the kerb. The suspension instantly and completely fails and the wheel is flopping about while the confused driver attempts to drive off in random directions

Years ago, competing in a sprint on the Goodwood circuit, I had a spin exiting the chicane - a very common place, judging by the perennial tyre marks there. Just merely spinning through 360 degrees with wheels crossing from Tarmac onto the grass (no contact whatsoever) was enough to bend a front, lower wishbone on my TVR Griffith.

Digga said: Years ago, competing in a sprint on the Goodwood circuit, I had a spin exiting the chicane - a very common place, judging by the perennial tyre marks there. Just merely spinning through 360 degrees with wheels crossing from Tarmac onto the grass (no contact whatsoever) was enough to bend a front, lower wishbone on my TVR Griffith. Ouch. Yes that's a regular spot for hitting the grass - with very little room for error.

I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that?

ATM said: I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that? If youre that keen on keeping it why dont you tell them not to repair it, not to pay out against it and you'll have it back. Then get the few bits and fix it yourself - assuming it hasnt bent any chassis work

ATM said: Went to see the wreck today and collect my belongings. Car looked very sad sat on the ground missing a wheel. Even the good side is almost on the ground due to anti roll bar etc. Has someone swiped the wheel centre caps already?

saaby93 said: ATM said: I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that? If youre that keen on keeping it why dont you tell them not to repair it, not to pay out against it and you'll have it back. Then get the few bits and fix it yourself - assuming it hasnt bent any chassis work I'm not necessarily keen on keeping it, I'm just curious and want to know their asking price. If it's super cheap I'll have it. Otherwise they can just pay me and that's that.

ATM said: I've asked the insurance company about buying back the wreckage. Has anyone here done anything like that? I did. Maybe not a representative example as the figures involved were much smaller. The car was a run of the mill Ibiza 1.2, worth about £1250 at the time. It was written off and recovered to my home (shell was stuffed in a bit at drivers footwell). Insurance company allowed me to buy the car back for £150. It had a tank full of fuel worth £50! If the percentage values are similar it could work in your favour. It’s worth asking I’d have thought.

ATM said: I'm not necessarily keen on keeping it, I'm just curious and want to know their asking price. If it's super cheap I'll have it. Otherwise they can just pay me and that's that. When I wrote my GT3 off, I bought the salvage off the insurer for 10% of the amount they paid out (which was less than the car’s worth) doing so enabled me to sell the salvage at a profit and effectively regain the full value of the car pre-accident. I suspect your insurers will have grave concerns as to the damage done to the transmission in this case. Additionally they seem to be very averse to taking risks with ANY suspension and steering components these days, all the more so as your car will be considered a high performance vehicle. If in doubt they’ll replace everything, and in the process the costs ramp up drastically.

Slippydiff said: When I wrote my GT3 off, I bought the salvage off the insurer for 10% of the amount they paid out (which was less than the car’s worth) doing so enabled me to sell the salvage at a profit and effectively regain the full value of the car pre-accident. Thanks I'm a bit concerned about insurance or insuring the wreck. Many many years ago my Renault 5 turbo was damaged and while outside my home waiting for the insurance to figure out what to do the wreck was stolen by some guys in a truck. They had the balls to knock on my neighbours door and explain they had been asked to collect it. Someone told me once you are paid out for a write off your insurance policy is then cancelled. I'm presuming it's the same if you buy back the wreck too.

ATM said: Thanks I'm a bit concerned about insurance or insuring the wreck. Many many years ago my Renault 5 turbo was damaged and while outside my home waiting for the insurance to figure out what to do the wreck was stolen by some guys in a truck. They had the balls to knock on my neighbours door and explain they had been asked to collect it. Someone told me once you are paid out for a write off your insurance policy is then cancelled. I'm presuming it's the same if you buy back the wreck too. Yes. They'll want your logbook and the relevant certificate of insurance returned to them. The policy is then cancelled upon receipt of them. I'd leave the car/salvage with who whoever recovered it or wherever it was taken to be assessed. Only when you've agreed terms with your insurer (and decided to purchase the salvage) would I move it, and as you've highlighted, it needs to be moved somewhere safe away from prying eyes and scrap merchants looking to make an easy few quid !

I've just spoke to the insurance company. They gave me a compelling number to buy back the wreck so decided I'll have it back. Now the saga of repairing it begins.

ATM said: I've just spoke to the insurance company. They gave me a compelling number to buy back the wreck so decided I'll have it back. Now the saga of repairing it begins. Congratulations! Photos of the damage please when you’re ready and full step by step updates as and when they happen. I hope you get it back to where it was before the accident.

Do they just subtract it from the total loss payout? Would you mind giving the rough percentage of what the buy back price was vs it’s undamaged value just out of curiosity? Will you part it out or repair and keep the difference?

It was cheaper than I thought. I didn't even need to think about it. And yes you get the difference. Over the last few weeks I've been thinking about what to buy next even though I don't really need another car but to be honest there isn't that much exciting me. So fixing up and keeping the Boxster is better the devil you know. But I've got my thinking hat on - as much as you can buying Porsches. I want to try to get the wheel back on first and then answer the question will the engine and box and everything else work. If they do it's plain sailing - or is it plane. Then body work quotes or I could still sell as is. I think it's a better sale with 4 wheels on and driving. If the car doesn't drive then it's probably a breaker - maybe. But I can't be arsed doing that myself.

I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it. The fractures caused to the cast steel hub carrier probably required tremendous forces. Unlike the wishbone of a TVR. Tearing the top mount off does not, once the strut is no longer in compression and attached at the bottom. As a Cat D car, it is unlikely to ever be worth what it was before the accident, but good luck.

rdjohn said: I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it. The chance of the insurers releasing it from their yard without payment and taken to a specialist for jig checking is probably zero.

Olivera said: rdjohn said: I am probably stating the obvious, but I trust you will have the chassis checked out on an alignment rig before you buy the bits to repair it. The chance of the insurers releasing it from their yard without payment and taken to a specialist for jig checking is probably zero. Sorry, I have assumed the OP has already bought the wreckage from his insurance company. My thinking is that Dave’s garage round the corner could probably get the wheel back on, but a decent body shop would check the chassis alignment before putting the wheel on and quoting for the necesary body repairs. It is the total cost that will determine if it should be broken for bits, or rebuilt as a Cat D repair.

That is rather gorgeous

Great choice on the colour - that looks stunning!

stunning ..have been following its progress since the start ...you have been a patient owner. Just don't take it out in heavy rain now !

Looks very good, well done. I've also been following from the start, well done with you perseverance.

Looks incredible! One question though, how far did you go with the respray? Did you do door shuts, boot, etc?

Looks great! But will you be driving it through the winter wet weather?

ATM said: Thanks lads It's got a bit of an army combat green to it but just feels like a good green to Me I think this shape suits brighter colours especially with all the black accents on the car Congrats, it does really look pretty cool now!! You do have the true "Porsche Perseverance"

cervezaman said: Looks incredible! One question though, how far did you go with the respray? Did you do door shuts, boot, etc? No Kept it cheap and cheerful. Was looking at wraps for a colour change and leaving the bodywork unfinished underneath. So bodywork guy to make everything flat and smooth. Then wrapping. But full wraps seem to cost upwards of 2500 on top of the bodywork price. I managed to get the car looking like flat, smooth and green for a bit less just using good old fashioned paint. When you open the boot, bonnet or a door it is not so pretty but I dont care about that. The car will always be a worthless right off to most but now it doesn't look like a complete wreck and from some angles it actually looks quite good.

ATM said: No Kept it cheap and cheerful. Was looking at wraps for a colour change and leaving the bodywork unfinished underneath. So bodywork guy to make everything flat and smooth. Then wrapping. But full wraps seem to cost upwards of 2500 on top of the bodywork price. I managed to get the car looking like flat, smooth and green for a bit less just using good old fashioned paint. When you open the boot, bonnet or a door it is not so pretty but I dont care about that. The car will always be a worthless right off to most but now it doesn't look like a complete wreck and from some angles it actually looks quite good. Fair enough! From the photos it looks brilliant certainly not a wreck! Would have thought it still has quite a bit of value to be honest. Lovely cars though - my 981S will be 10 years old in October!

cervezaman said: ATM said: No Kept it cheap and cheerful. Was looking at wraps for a colour change and leaving the bodywork unfinished underneath. So bodywork guy to make everything flat and smooth. Then wrapping. But full wraps seem to cost upwards of 2500 on top of the bodywork price. I managed to get the car looking like flat, smooth and green for a bit less just using good old fashioned paint. When you open the boot, bonnet or a door it is not so pretty but I dont care about that. The car will always be a worthless right off to most but now it doesn't look like a complete wreck and from some angles it actually looks quite good. Fair enough! From the photos it looks brilliant certainly not a wreck! Would have thought it still has quite a bit of value to be honest. Lovely cars though - my 981S will be 10 years old in October! It is a good car. I'm just being realistic that written off cars have low value. Therefore I tried to keep the spend low rather than going all in. The idea behind me buying the car back form the insurance was just that. To make a usable cheap Porsche by doing as much work myself as poss and then farming out whatever bits to people at the cheaper end of the scale. I have no idea when it comes to bodywork although I would like to try. Once I got the car rolling I basically ran out of skill and had to get some professionals involved for the brake pipes, PDK fluid leak and Bodywork. But now its all done I will try to enjoy the car.

ATM said: It is a good car. I'm just being realistic that written off cars have low value. Therefore I tried to keep the spend low rather than going all in. The idea behind me buying the car back form the insurance was just that. To make a usable cheap Porsche by doing as much work myself as poss and then farming out whatever bits to people at the cheaper end of the scale. I have no idea when it comes to bodywork although I would like to try. Once I got the car rolling I basically ran out of skill and had to get some professionals involved for the brake pipes, PDK fluid leak and Bodywork. But now its all done I will try to enjoy the car. Absolutely, enjoy it it’s lovely!

2Btoo said: AyBee said: NEED. MORE. PHOTOS!! This. +1000.

What a great attitude. Enjoy your car

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Filibuster said: Ooooohhhhh ...... I do like that!!!! Dare I ask how much such a respray with colour change is? I'm tempted to have my black 997 repainted in a dark green for ages. Also very interested in this. Would love to get my 996 resprayed, although maybe not green although ATM's motor looks incredible...

shalmaneser said: Filibuster said: Ooooohhhhh ...... I do like that!!!! Dare I ask how much such a respray with colour change is? I'm tempted to have my black 997 repainted in a dark green for ages. Also very interested in this. Would love to get my 996 resprayed, although maybe not green although ATM's motor looks incredible... Already got plans underway to paint my 996, just thinking about colours. I don't think I would go for such a bright and bold colour like Olivia on a 996. Although there is a 996 GT3 in Zanzibar on eBay right now which looks great. Don't forget that a convertible is soooo much simpler but my job involved some pulling and panel work. Also Olivia is a solid colour which is none metallic and that also simplifies things - I believe. Bear in mind I was leaving the windscreen surround in black and the mirrors, so once you have removed the driver door window seal then this doesn't really leave any window joins to worry about. Plus painting no roof simplifies things. A roof is probably the biggest panel on a car and possibly a pain to reach with the spray gun. But a 996 is a small car so the roof is possibly smaller than the bonnet. All I know is when I was talking turkey with my guy he kept saying hhmmmm there is no roof. Also I'll keep saying it, up close the job isn't amazing, far from it. But from 15 feet away it looks great. I honestly didn't think I would be so pleased with a change of colour. But the amount of attention the car gets now has really surprised me. And so far its all been very positive.

Centre Caps

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If you told me that was some special PTS model I’d believe you - it’s brilliant. More power to ya!

ATM said: Having followed this on and off since the start and only just caught up, when that photo came up just now I actually smiled. This is so amazing to see, well done. You must be over the moon with it!

BS62 said: ATM said: Having followed this on and off since the start and only just caught up, when that photo came up just now I actually smiled. This is so amazing to see, well done. You must be over the moon with it! Thanks a lot I am Even more so if I can bring a smile to people's faces I've had lots of positive feedback both on the internet and in the real world Still feels a bit like something bad must happen soon because I've been so lucky

ATM said: Was this picture at Longridge / Blue Bell Services. I thought I saw it when I was pulling in for fuel

xxxx5 said: ATM said: Was this picture at Longridge / Blue Bell Services. I thought I saw it when I was pulling in for fuel Yes I was only getting a drink.

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I went out in Olivia today for the first time in a while. As I was parking a couple commented on how they like the colour. I'd forgotten how much positive attention this car gets. And it's not even clean. It's not been cleaned since it was painted.

£365 Road Tax It's creeping Up and Up

ATM said: £365 Road Tax It's creeping Up and Up I was wondering what might explain the immaculate condition of UK roads, it must be all the funding they take from us... Liam

MOT Passed

Changed front discs and pads on all 4 corners. Random selection of pics.

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good to see your still enjoying it.

trantorman said: good to see your still enjoying it. I still get strangers commenting on the colour but less so now its a bit dirty.

Colour is still wonderful looking

nebpor said: Colour is still wonderful looking It's taking all my determination to not gone down the car cleaning rabbit hole. I get the sense that if I start down that road I'll be discussing foam guns and water repellents instead of errr not that.

ATM said: It's taking all my determination to not gone down the car cleaning rabbit hole. I get the sense that if I start down that road I'll be discussing foam guns and water repellents instead of errr not that. It looks great, ATM. You’re right to be wary of going down the detailing rabbit hole. In the last 6 months I’ve had both my U.K. based 981 CS (basalt black) and my Dubai-based Macan S (dark metallic blue, not sure of the w ky name) professionally detailed and I am staggered. The 9 year old 981 was worked-over by a very talented chap and quite literally looks brand new. It’s only on 20k, so the rest of it looks new, too. The 2016 Macan had a few nasty stone chips in the bonnet, and a fairly poor match on a smart chip repair. The rest of the car had general ‘Dubai rash’ from sand, parking lots etc; so I had the bonnet resprayed and the whole thing machine polished. Again, it’s like brand new. I can certainly see how it is a potential journey into a new pastime because the first thing I thought when I got them both back was “right how do I keep it looking this good”. After a cup of tea I reverted to type and still continue to get professionals to do it, thankfully. Enjoy the car. Great journey and a great result in the end. Out of interest, did you tot-up your total spend getting it into what (I presume) is it’s final state?

Royal Jelly said: Out of interest, did you tot-up your total spend getting it into what (I presume) is it’s final state? Yeah I've done OK if you ignore paying road tax and insurance for 3 years while it was a work in progress. That's a grand a year. I'd like to think if I sold it I'd see some profit but then I'd probably buy something else so why bother. Its easily my most sensible grown up car. All the others have a list of to dos. This one just works and is the easiest to live with.

Got the cover off today and took her out for a spin

ATM said: Got the cover off today and took her out for a spin Careful - that's how this all started.

Sheepshanks said: ATM said: Got the cover off today and took her out for a spin Careful - that's how this all started. No rain forecast

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Sheepshanks said: Careful - that's how this all started. ;)

Lovely lovely car that and some great pictures. Been following on and off since the incident, hats off to you for bringing her back. Love the colour

dgswk said: Lovely lovely car that and some great pictures. Been following on and off since the incident, hats off to you for bringing her back. Love the colour Thanks It's kind of a double edged sword because now we have so much history it feels totally wrong to think about not keeping it for as long as poss. I see a lot of people talk about keepers but to me that's just a self justification for spending too much on a car. Either on repairs or mods or the outright purchase price. So I don't want to start talking about keepers and anyway my spend is low so i dont really need to justify anything. The problem for me is different. I can't think about buying a spyder version because I already have this one. So it sort of boxes me in when I start dreaming about what's next. I know I shouldn't but I just can't help it. That's what we all do right. Always thinking about what's next.

Yeah, I can imagine! reckon what you've got there is pretty special though, so much of your own time and emotion invested, and you can drive it without worrying about racking the miles up etc. Every car I have is a keeper..... for about 2.5 years anyway.... my current 997 C2S will be the same I'm sure, although only 6 months in, and still very definitely in the honeymoon period, I feel the distant calling of a 996 Turbo....

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Car dead Gear lever refusing to move out of Park

Having followed this story since 2018, all you can say is “Oh, S4IT” Hope you can get it sorted. Good luck!

D’oh. That’s a fairly abrupt message. I hope it’s something treatable - have you had the prognosis yet?

?

stanlow45 said: ? Is there a question here?

ATM said: stanlow45 said: ? Is there a question here? Just wondering if they can help? Where is Slippy when you need him. Would hope is just a sensor or other minor issue.

stanlow45 said: ATM said: stanlow45 said: ? Is there a question here? Just wondering if they can help? Where is Slippy when you need him. Would hope is just a sensor or other minor issue. I don't think it's a gearbox problem. I'm hoping it's just the shift lever or maybe the battery. So right now I'm trying a different battery and so far so good.

ATM said: stanlow45 said: ATM said: stanlow45 said: ? Is there a question here? Just wondering if they can help? Where is Slippy when you need him. Would hope is just a sensor or other minor issue. I don't think it's a gearbox problem. I'm hoping it's just the shift lever or maybe the battery. So right now I'm trying a different battery and so far so good. I think it was just a weak battery, been fine with a better battery.

Battery flat after being left unused for a while. This is the procedure for accessing the frunk [or for us Brits the froot] with a flat battery.

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ATM said: I think it was just a weak battery, been fine with a better battery. Phew Another reason to have a manual on a keeper

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Always a nice feeling when it gets a new ticket for the year.

M11rph said: Always a nice feeling when it gets a new ticket for the year. I do have some maintenance jobs to do as there were advisories Rear Discs Driver side Coffin Arm - front It's a busy time now for me in Spring as I have other cars all need MOT.

Ordered rear discs from Autodoc Same TRW to match the fronts

ATM said: Ordered rear discs from Autodoc Same TRW to match the fronts

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I've got one of those hood covers, they're rather good and luckily I put it on before the torrential downpour. I've had one side skirt off to properly clear the drain holes as there was resistance blowing down it. The other side sounded clear but that will be another job to make sure and get rid of the stupid one way valves.

Nice to see its still going strong

You’ve mentioned not spending too much on the car due to the accident. Out of interest what do you think it owes you? As in what you paid the insurer and then the costs to get it looking shiny and green. I had the chance to buy a crashed car (not nearly as interesting a car) but didn’t as it was the Covid era so too much risk with parts issues etc. I’ve always suspected it would have been worth buying and repairing as it was a great car to start with.

Shinyfings said: You’ve mentioned not spending too much on the car due to the accident. Out of interest what do you think it owes you? As in what you paid the insurer and then the costs to get it looking shiny and green. I had the chance to buy a crashed car (not nearly as interesting a car) but didn’t as it was the Covid era so too much risk with parts issues etc. I’ve always suspected it would have been worth buying and repairing as it was a great car to start with. Every car is different. I got my wreck cheap because the wheel and related suspension from that corner had been ripped off but I still had the missing parts so could reuse the wheel and brake caliper and the shaft which goes through the gearbox. That little lot was worth a few grand. The insurance repair estimate was something like 17 thousand minimum and I can't remember if that was plus VAT. If you can use 2nd hand parts and do some spanner work yourself you should come out on top if you get the car cheap enough. You need to go into it with your eyes open and make sure you keep costs down. But there will always be surprises. I had a few glitches with the driveshaft because it turns out there are 4 different driveshafts for this type of Porsche. Then the gearbox sprung a leak which cost me about 1200 to fix but could have made the car uneconomical to repair if the gearbox was toast. Most specialists I spoke to didn't want to go near the car when I mentioned the PDK box had a problem. So I've rambled on a bit. Not sure if that helps at all.

Gary C said: Nice to see its still going strong I might have to get it MOT'ed soon as I sold one of my other Porsche so now down to 2 and surely sunshine is coming

Happened to me too one NY’s day. Driving home on M1. Hit a bank of water in fast lane, spun three times. Finished facing opposite direction. Started car again, escaped oncoming cars and made it out just in time

ATM said: ATM said: Ordered rear discs from Autodoc Same TRW to match the fronts It appears I bought the wrong discs ... in April 2024. These are 4mm thicker for the 986 and 987. They do not fit my 981. Doh

Easy with the correct discs

ATM said: I do have some maintenance jobs to do as there were advisories Rear Discs Driver side Coffin Arm - front These are both done now. I had to invest in a new fork type ball joint splitter. And I had to give it some unbelievably hard whacks but I got it done. So it's MOT test next.

ATM said: These are both done now. I had to invest in a new fork type ball joint splitter. And I had to give it some unbelievably hard whacks but I got it done. So it's MOT test next. Those bottom ball joints can be a b d. I recently had to split them on my 997 and the drivers side was stuck fast despite having been apart for lowering springs only a year or so ago. I resorted to the same fork type splitter and then found the evidence of it being used before, with trashed boot and boot location on the coffin arms meaning I had to replace both sides.

MOT passed

Oil change next

How often do you change the oil?

SkinnyPete said: How often do you change the oil? Whenever I feel like it

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ATM said: I know that fuel station, about a mile from me. Odd I’ve never seen your car knocking about

Armitage.Shanks said: ATM said: I know that fuel station, about a mile from me. Odd I ve never seen your car knocking about I don't use it much

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