Lightweight 40th Anniversary #251 logbook and modifications

Hi, I can't seem to sleep tonight so I finally decided to post about my car. Part of the reason I do it is for me to remember what I have done, and part is that maybe some of the info can be helpful for other. My car is a 2004 996 40th Anniversary, #251 It is the one triode used to own: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...g-hi-long.html I am the 4th owner: - 1st owner got most of the expensive mods done and kept the car about a year - triode bought it as a CPO in July 2005 - I am assuming triode traded it in when he got his GT3, then previous owner (a doctor) bought it and brought it from Florida to Dallas, TX - I bought the car last year in July 2012 after falling in love with it. Since I have owned the car, I have been doing subtle (at least trying to keep it subtle) modifications to the car, most of them targeting weight reduction. I also want to keep the car looking like it could have come like this from the factory, kind of a "special edition" where Porsche would have told a group of engineers to build the best street 911 they could. "Street" is important because I am trying to avoid the car becoming a pale copy of a GT3. So no big wing in the plans, and I am keeping a full interior with almost all comfort features. I am also very demanding in terms of handling: weight distribution, brake bias, grip balance and so on. Here is a list of the modifications done to the car. Note that for weight reduction I weighted everything myself and it matches what has been posted by others before. I am rounding to the nearest 1/2 pound for simplification FRONT WEIGHT REDUCTION CD changer ---------------------- 5 lb. spare wheel and tools --------- 31 lb. Owner manual ------------------- 3 lb. center console delete ----------- 3 lb. custom lower center console --- 1 lb. (from 6.7 to 5.8, inc. custom ashtray delete) lightweight AGM battery ------- 33 lb. (from 54.4 to 21.5) battery tray delete --------------- 2 lb. front plastic covers -------------- 4 lb. (inc. cabin filter delete) bose amp delete ---------------- TBC Total front weight reduction = 82 lb. REAR WEIGHT REDUCTION rear wiper delete ---------------- 4 lb. rear seat delete -------------- 22.5 lb. rear bumper bar delete -------- 19 lb. rear bumperette delete -------- TBC subwoofer delete -------------- 14 lb. rear seat belt delete ---------- 5.5 lb. rear fender insulation delete - 4.5 lb. rear speaker delete ------------- 3 lb. exhaust tip delete ------------- 4.5 lb. custom engine hatch ---------- 5.5 lb. (from 25.9 to 20.3, inc. purge fan delete) Cat heat shield delete -------- TBC Total rear weight reduction = 82.5 lb. TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCTION = 164.5 lb. As you can see the balance of the car has not been altered so far, even though I would have preferred to remove more weight from the back. OTHER PERFORMANCE MODIFICATIONS 19x? front + 19x11 rear Champion RG5 (235/35 and 295/30) Front Brembo brake upgrade: 8 pistons/380mm Rear 996 Turbo brake upgrade: 330mm RBF600 brake fluid H&R lowering springs Torque Solutions semi-solid engine mounts Torque Solutions stainless steel clutch line "home depot" clutch spring mod 997 shifter (15% reduction vs. 996) Custom helmholtz intake resonator delete Tarett engineering underdrive pulley ON GOING MODIFICATIONS Lightweight head unit (~1.5 lb. savings) Dashboard speaker delete Replace door speaker boxes Side Airbags delete Passenger Airbag delete SAI delete + ROW DME maps PLANNED MODIFICATIONS Front brakes "downgrade" to 6 pistons and 350mm Rear tires "downgrade" to 275/30/19 Lightweight exhaust Manual seat brackets HomeLink mod Alcantara sunvisors Sunroof delete (maybe... one day) Electro-hydraulic power steering pump conversion

Have you corner balanced the car yet? curious to see the overall weight you've achieved. I've removed about half of the items you did. But, as my daily I want to keep stereo, airbags and definitely the rear bumper bar. If you swap stock seats to the GT3 buckets you can lose another 50+ lbs alone. Any plans to track the car?

What battery did you go with and has it been effective for daily use? -shawn

Subscribed! More pics would be nice!

That is a damn fine looking narrow body.

That is a very thorough list! Curious how the car drives/handles now when compared to delivery July '12?

can't really corner balance the car since I do not have a coil-over suspension but I plan on getting the car weighed next time I get an alignment. I know... but a) $$$ and b) the GT3 seats are borderline for the "spirit" I am trying to achieve yes, definitely plan to find time to track the car and get some lessons to learn to drive it better. I will probably need to change the brakes before that. Not sure what the original owner was thinking but with 8 pistons/380mm fronts and 4 pistons/330mm rears the bias is way off. Car stops very well in straight line but anything involving trail braking gets frustrating I have a Deka ETX30L which is the pretty much the same as the Braille 3121 (?), just without the pricing premium and added weight of the carbon fiber cover the braille has (stupid, no?) I have had it in the car for >6mos now with no issue, and the car has stayed 2wks without running and still started without any problems. I have some "supporting mods" with LED lighting (all interior + side markers + running lights), simplified stereo and purge fan delete that help a little bit making sure that I limit the draw as much as possible. It also makes sense to have a smaller battery coordinated with the underdrive pulley so that I do not burn the alternator more pics coming, I will try to give some insights on some of the custom mods done I would say the first 100 lb. have been done in a matter of a few days about 2 months after I got the car. Definitely felt a slight difference, car being more lively. After it's more been removing 5 lb. at a time so hard to tell. But if you think about it, I am now at the weight of a small passenger. Anyone who's driven hard with and without a passenger knows that there is a noticeable difference. The airbox resonator delete gave the car a very sexy sound at full throttle but probably no perf improvement. Then the underdrive pulley was actually fairly noticeable with the engine "freer" in the mid-range. Calculations would tend to say that this is something like ~5hp. You take 20-25hp to run accessories, on which you have now reduced the drag by 20%. Obviously it's not that straight forward as the hp loss is probably not linear with the accessories belt speed, but somewhere in that range

For the engine hatch, the starting point was to remove the engine purge fan. To allow the engine heat to exit the engine bay freely, I cut some additional holes in the engine cover. I also removed the decorative plate under the engine cover and removed the "accordion" under the wing here is a pic as I was priming and color matching the bottom of the hatch. none of this is visible from the outside

Now... this is the stupidest thing ever as it was probably 4hrs of work and gave me only 1 lb., but I have a custom lower center console (on top of GT3 center console delete) It's made by cutting plastic away, here again none of this is visible after all is put back together also the armrest is double sided... well not mine any more. This pic was before finishing it, you wouldn't be able to tell it's been modified now (plus you're really not able to see it!)

And here is a view of the custom ashtray delete (window switches are moved to the dashboard instead of the blanks)

great numbers! I ran a Deka small battery in my Viper for a while (was too small to try and turn the 8.0 if any accessories were on); but it's definitely a better value than any other lightweight battery and is the same as Braille. When I deleted the bumperettes, I filled the holes with some sheets of carbon fiber. If you're not going to fill the holes at a body shop, it might be worth the effort for you. Pictures are before a wash: Do you have any pictures of the accordion delete?

Seems like it all adds up to a good amount. I'm sure your Champion RG5 helps quite a bit as well. I have the same and IIRC, tire and wheel combo came in around 37lbs. BTW, what's with wanting alcantara sun visors? I don't really understand that one. I like your idea of relocating the window switches. Eversince I got rid of my comfort seats for non-heated sports seats, I still have the seat heater switches in the batwing. I might just swap those out and relocate the window switches there.

The gt3 seats are absolutely street able unless you're a bigger person. I understand the cost though. Definitely at least 20-30lbs per seat. Also, muffler bypass? That is another 60-70 pounds. I love the sound on the track and deal with it on the street based solely upon the weight loss, which unlike most of what you've done, is legal for my auto cross class. I weighed mine at an event once, it was 3159 or something like that. That was with muffler bypass but stock seats and about half a tank of gas.

The other 1962's resale value just went up. J/k really cool jove to see the finished product. My car can lose some weight to most of it coming from me

yeah, probably not helping my resale value... oh well, at least I enjoy her more like this. Some additional pictures of the wing and hatch: Notice the 50cts wiper plug this is the angle I like best - it looks very clean like the newer models slightly more awkward angle, I have to admit from the inside

Took me a while to find a mechless (=lightweight) head unit with SD/USB/AUX that would look ok in the Porsche

So where about in the Dallas area are you? I'm up in Frisco...#395. :-)

thanks for the pictures of your trunk.

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I am in Richardson, George Bush Turnpike and HW75

Cool project. What about these ideas: Drive with half a tank of gas - max. ~60lbs savings? Remove spare tire Remove trunk carpeting

You'll laugh but the really serious autocross guys drain out all of their windshield wiper fluid to save weight.

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I have even heard of a guy that would run power steering oil, brake fluid and motor oil at their min levels to help... but yeah, half gas tank would be good if I race the car. I also have the part behind the steering wheel that could stand to lose a good 5-10 lb. spare is already out. trunk carpeting is where I draw the line. I thought about it but removing it would annoy me every time I have to put something in there. I like getting new ideas though, keep it coming!

I noticed that the GT3 console is a little off-color. Is that just in the pic? Just curious!

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not as noticeable in real life but yes, it's slightly off color. That's the joy of the 40th anniversary, the interior color is hard to match. so the center console is metropole blue. For a very long time I thought was my interior color until I realized it's more of a very dark grey. But I still think metropole blue is the closest I could have picked, probably better than going black.

19lb savings for the rear bumper bar delete doesn't seem worth if it if you street the car - one gentle "tap" from a car in the rear and especially off-center will cost a LOT to repair: the muffler gets hit, bends/breaks the headers, possibly cracks the engine heads... worth the 19lb weight savings?

lots of weight to loose with exhaust parts. you've mentioned before but seats. intake parts.

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In an impact the exhaust will crumble, it has virtually no rigidity. I doubt that there would be head damage. Arguing the safety aspect, I understand the argument and agree with it. But for the damage aspect, if the rear 1/4 panel gets wrinkled, a n/a 996 is totaled.

update on the status of the car FRONT WEIGHT REDUCTION CD changer ---------------------- 5 lb. spare wheel and tools --------- 31 lb. Owner manual ------------------- 3 lb. center console delete ----------- 3 lb. custom lower center console --- 1 lb. (from 6.7 to 5.8, inc. custom ashtray delete) lightweight AGM battery ------- 33 lb. (from 54.4 to 21.5) battery tray delete --------------- 2 lb. front plastic covers -------------- 4 lb. (inc. cabin filter delete) bose amp delete ---------------- 5 lb. TBC lightweight head unit ------------ 1.5 lb dash speaker delete ------------- 3 lb door speaker conversion ------- 5 lb (from 4.5 to 2 each side) side airbag delete --------------- 5 lb (2.5 each side) front center deflector ----------- 8.5 lb (!!!) front bumper bar reduction --- 2 lb (from 8.6 to 6.8) Total front weight reduction = 112 lb. REAR WEIGHT REDUCTION rear wiper delete ---------------- 4 lb. rear seat delete -------------- 22.5 lb. rear bumper bar delete -------- 19 lb. rear bumperette delete -------- TBC subwoofer delete -------------- 14 lb. rear seat belt delete ---------- 5.5 lb. rear fender insulation delete - 4.5 lb. rear speaker delete ------------- 3 lb. exhaust tip delete ------------- 4.5 lb. custom engine hatch ---------- 5.5 lb. (from 25.9 to 20.3, inc. purge fan delete) Cat heat shield delete -------- TBC afterhours exhaust ----------- 23 lb (from 21.5 to 10 each side) LED tail lights -------------- -2.5 lb (from 1.7 to 2.9 each!) Total rear weight reduction = 103 lb. TOTAL WEIGHT REDUCTION = 215 lb. (up from 164.5 lb.) I am still about balanced in the weight reduction OTHER PERFORMANCE MODIFICATIONS 19x? front + 19x11 rear Champion RG5 (235/35 and 295/30) Front Brembo brake upgrade: 8 pistons/380mm Rear brake upgrade to 330mm using front stock calipers RBF600 brake fluid H&R lowering springs Torque Solutions semi-solid engine mounts Torque Solutions stainless steel clutch line clutch spring mod 997 shifter (15% reduction vs. 996) Custom helmholtz intake resonator delete Tarett engineering underdrive pulley Function First transmission bushing Note that previously I thought my rear brakes where the stock 996 turbo rears but after further examination I have realized that they are indeed the stock fronts mounted on 330mm discs (with a spacer on the caliper mount) This is actually a good thing as this means larger pistons and a better bias with my very large fronts. ON GOING MODIFICATIONS Passenger Airbag delete SAI delete + ROW DME maps (this is proving very difficult to get done) PLANNED MODIFICATIONS Front brakes "downgrade" to 6 pistons and 350mm (not sure I still want to do this) Rear tires "downgrade" to 275/30/19 (should happen soon) Manual seat brackets HomeLink mod Alcantara sunvisors Sunroof delete (maybe... one day) Electro-hydraulic power steering pump conversion

Heh why do all these lightweight threads end up being so incoherent? Biggest, most obvious bang for buck - get rid of those 19s and get some forged 17s. I had a set of SSRs on my old M3, came in at 15lbs each. Will make for more difference than a seat delete or drilling holes into the console.

Your weight reduction is interesting and must be a fun personal challenge to you. But, wouldn't you be better off (as mentioned above) to target unsprung weight reduction ie, wheels, tires, brakes etc.? Removing say 33 pounds of unsprung weight is equivalent to losing 198 pounds from the body of the vehicle, according to Manthey racing in Germany.

i would go coilovers, gt3 seats or racing seats, smaller lightweight wheels, carbon fiber roof panel, carbon front hood, momo steering wheel, all interior carpeting delete, and i would leave the rest alone. i did remove the rear spoiler's accordion thing, and i removed the bumperettes and filled the holes and it looks much much better. i always run my car with a little more than 1/4 of gas, took out the spare tire, rear seats,rear seat belts, change the rear engine carpet for the gt3 lighter weight carpet, didnt do it for weight savings at first, just to have the carpet with the gt3 logo on it, and when i compared both the gt3 was at least 1 pound lighter. my 2cents, hope that someone would benefit from this,

thanks, always appreciate feedback of course unsprung (and more importantly rotational) weight would have more impact. the wheels are not necessarily the bigger issue - the RG5s are among the lightest 19" wheels available, should be something like 18 lb front and 20-21 lb back. the brakes are where the overkill is - those front discs are probably not much heavier than stock (alu hats) but the weight is a lot further from the center of the hub which makes it a lot worse. I have been trying to sell those mammoth brakes for a while. Until I sell them, I can't fit anything lower than 19" for the wheels. While we are talking about rotational mass, I've skipped the idea of lightweight flywheel for now as it seems that single mass is not very streetable from what I read. One thing I have been looking at is titanium fasteners (for the wheels and driveshafts), trying to figure out if it's safe or not. Last, please keep in mind that my goal is not to build the lightest 996 out there. My goal is to have a lighter full spec / full interior 996, that looks stock to the untrained eye (rear seat delete actually make the rear seat more usable for short distances, lol!) So far the only thing people notice is the rear bumperette delete (still trying to find a nicer looking solution) and the mods have not been a constraint driving all year round as a semi daily.

Engine mounts and pulley are slightly lighter than stock, right? Did you actually go by weight when shopping for stereo components? A big weight savings would also be the seats. I'm not sure if you've already swapped those out. FRP or CF deck lid as well. Forgot if you had at least the rear gt3 bar but that is pretty light as well. Cup car halogen headlights are noticeably lighter than Xenon. You running stock cats?

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This is exactly what I'm talking about. Every single person* I've seen going nuts about weight by drilling stuff out or taking off safety equipment has oversized wheels on the car. Dump the 19s, get some 17s (you have narrow body) and save 5-7 lbs per wheel. Taking off bumper rebars or drilling plastic pieces before doing that is just asinine, imo. Rotors won't make as much difference, the center mass is closer to the axis of rotation. *I've seen like 5 threads on various boards about this. Edit: Doh, just re-read this, you have 19s to fit the brembos in the front. I retract my comments.

Halik, also the 19's he has is actually lighter or close to the lightest 18" OEM alloy combo available depending on what tires he's running. Even most forged 18's aren't that much lighter than the 19 Champion RG-5's. But I see what you're saying. I too see a lot of stupidity amongst enthusiasts. The other pet peeve I have(mainly the VW/Audi crowd) are the ones running $4k wheels but using Federal or Nankyang tires or some $hit like that. At least 6ta1 isn't running 4 12" subs in the back. lol

I tend to agree with Halik on both points - wheel size/diameter and thread incoherence. The Champion RG-5 is a very good lightweight wheel. To me, the bigger issue is the increased gyroscopic stabilization force generated by the larger wheel. Larger diameter wheels have more mass further from the center of rotation than smaller diameter wheels. This creates additional stress on suspension and brake components. It's not a significant issue unless the car is used on the track or driven very hard on the street. For me personally, I'd take the smaller diameter wheel with the associated weight savings and decrease in stress on the car. That being said, the list of modifications to decrease weight is pretty impressive!

As OP said and Halik later noticed, it's really a moot point as the brake system that OP is running will not let him run 18's. 19" Champion RG-5's are the best that can be done from that standpoint.

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yes, there is an overall "pad" section of pluses and minuses. Like I have a very, very light (like less than .5 lb) home made battery bracket that I am not counting. Need to go weight the car and see what is the actual total is now Yes. And I probably have the lightest head unit on the market (half din, no cd player, has SD card and USB instead). For the speakers I wanted neodymium magnets but I ended up giving up as I could not find any at a decent price. Where I got crazy was that since I had a bose amp but did not want to cut the stock harness I ordered an aftermarket harness from UK. When it came in I decided it was too heavy (.75 lb), so I modified it down to I think .2 lb (before and after pictures attached). Someone local has Rottec seats for sale... a bit high for my budget but definitely considering are you talking about the bumper bar? if so I don't have one in the back anymore, kept the front one mainly for towing purposes if ever needed never thought about this... good idea indeed yes, don't want to mess too much with this but might have to if I run ROW tune As someone pointed out, it's a fun project to me even though I am getting somewhat OCD on some aspects. And for the most part it was free!

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bottom line, I should really get rid of those brakes. But they do look super mean - the car is very sexy from the profile view

keep in mind that removing the front tire impact the crash worthiness of the car. they engineered the front crash test with the spare in place if i recall well. nice to see that you track each weight saving precisely, good thread for the rest of us. what about the secondary air pump ? this must be the most heavy piece in the engine bay that you can remove. they sell plates to close off the engine opening, but nobody documented this mod yet.

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I understand and I agree in this case. I was just making a general point about wheel size.

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In regards to that, yes I think we're along the same lines but even more importantly when it comes to the 996 chassis, quite a few "pro" drivers tested the 996 with a 18" vs 19" wheel option and they ultimately went faster around the track on 18's as it was more stable and confidence inspiring. So even if the combo weight(tire + wheel) is the same between both setups, the stiffer and less forgiving sidewall on the 19's could prove to be less stable around the track if you are capable of even driving remotely close to 10/10ths. Cruisers need not apply and can run 20's for all I care.

get rid of the carpet... its heavy.

I have my carpet out now but plan to put it back in. You'll want to leave it in if you plan on driving it at least 75% on the street and wanna listen to the radio and have some level of civility on the inside. I'll see if I can weigh it this weekend.

Update on the car: I have now added Gt3 seats in carbon fiber as well as weighed again some parts to confirm that the car has lost a total of > 288lbs. I just did a GT3 alignment today (possible on stock 996 control arms, by the way), and the car handles like a go-kart. weight manuals ------------------- 3 spare wheel & tools ----- 31 cd changer ------------- 5 center console delete --- 3 lower console ----- 0.9 front coil covers & filter --- 4.2 lightweight battery -----32.9 battery tray ----- 2.2 door speakers ----- ------ 5 door airbags ---------- 5 dash speakers --------- 2.6 bose amp ------------- 3.5 lightweight headunit -- 2 front deflector ------- 8.5 front bumper bar ------- 1.8 alarm horn -------- 0.7 GT3 seat - driver -------- 32.4 GT3 seat - passenger 31.2 front total --- 174.9 weight rear wiper ----------- 4 rear seat ------------ 22.5 rear bumper bar ---- 18.8 subwoofer ------ 14 rear seat belts ----- 5.4 rear interior insulation 4.5 rear speakers ------- 2.6 rear exhaust tips ------ 4.5 engine lid ---- 5.6 exhaust tips ------ 3.6 exhaust -------------- 22.8 tail lights ------- -2.4 cat heat shield ---- 2.8 exhaust heat shield out 2 exhaust heat shield in 1.6 rear bumperettes 1.2 rear total ---- 113.5

Excellent thread that I've somehow missed thus far. Great job documenting the individual weights. A little data that I was able to find on the wheels: Champion RG5 19x8.5 = 19.2 lbs Champion RG5 19x11.5 = 20.8 lbs If you dropped down to 18" OZ Alleggerita (light, cheap): OZ Alleggerita 18x8 = 17.8 lbs OZ Alleggerita 18x10 = 19 lbs You could probably sell your Champion wheels for $3k or so, based on what I've seen them listed for. New Alleggeritas are about $400/ea at Tire Rack. You could pocket some cash and save 6.4 lbs, plus get better ride quality. As for the brakes, maybe you could find someone semi-local willing to give you $2k and swap directly for their OEM brakes? Stock 996 brakes are more than adequate for street and autocross use.

Great thread indeed. Thanks for taking the time to document so thoroughly.

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Although techinically 18's have been proven to go around the track faster on the 996 platform, I personally like the look of RG-5's and would gladly take the very minimal weight penalty for the looks. 4lb difference is where I draw the line though between form and function. I will be switching over to my 19" RG-5's this summer from my 18" BBS RS-GT's.

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Wheel size is obviously one of those "different strokes for different folks" things. Personally I think 18" is perfect. I just removed my 17" winter twists and installed my 18" Alleggeritas, much better.

From the back it lools like he car got rearended and you don't have the money to fix it.

I do love the RG5s... front brakes have been for sale for a very long time with no one serious interested. By the way I recently mounted some Pilot Super Sport on the back in 275x30 and those tires are amazing. More grip on the dry than with my previous 295x30 Pirelli As I was doing so I double checked my wheel sizes: front are 19x8.5 J49 and rears are 19x10 J58. Other interesting fact is that the PSS tires are ~2.5lbs heavier than the P-Zeros. (wheel+tire ow at 45.3lb vs 42.7lb before) I shaped the aluminum to have the 3D shape of the holes so it looks a little bit more finished now but still not my favorite part of the car. It does help getting a lot of heat out of the bumper which I need since I have no heatshields left.

You should get some of that gold heat reflecting foil for the inside of your bumpers to replace the heat shields. I think you can get it from JEG's or Summit.

AN updated picture as I am putting the car up for sale

All that work and you are selling it?

lol, it's probably the car I have kept the longest in my life, I have had it for 2 years Usually I average more like 6 to 12 months of ownership before I move to the next thing.

ok, so before I sell the car I wanted to see if all of these mods gave me some advantage. Let me start by saying that I usually never launch the car hard - but this was for science! I took a few measures with a GPS: 0-60 = 4.37s vs. stock 40th anniversary 4.8s (and 996.2 at 4.9s / 996.1 at 5.1s) 0-100 11.32 vs stock 40th 10.5s / 996.2 10.8s (???) 1/4 mile at 11.98s vs 40th 13.1s/ 996.2 13.5s / 996.1 13.1s So a) weight loss does a $hlt load to help performance and b) I guess my tire package makes my final ratio a tidy bit shorter and I must have shift right before 100 which would explain the times. These performance numbers put my 10yr old 996 in the ballpark of brand new high performance cars :-)

6ta1 any more upgrades since last post?

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no, my wife and I just adopted 2 kids so the Porsche has been for sale for a while. first I tried to sell it as is but the Porsche buyers aren't much into modifications as I quickly realized (I knew that, but thought that there would be an audience for my car) Car has been parted out and is almost back to stock, I have many parts for sell (OEM center console delete, afterhours exhaust, carbon fiber seats, and so on) I am seriously pondering buying a four door beater (e36 m3, e39 M5 maybe) and keeping the Porsche - I would then pour more money into it to bring it to the "next level"... dreams...

Do you have a FS link?

I just have to ask. Why would you F#$% up a 40th AE? Possibly the only collectable 996 (other than GT2, GT3). Are you just crazy or what? No offense but you could have bought a POS 996 to strip and saved the 40th.

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Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. At least he's not "Krazy"...

I don't think I was the only one puzzled by this fiasco.

Hmmmm all that work for what? And now you are selling it? ...... lol Hopefully you saved all the parts you took off.

As a proud new owner of a beautiful 40th (Nr. 1377), I echo some of the recent posts. Just dumbfounded that someone would take a limited edition car and rip it apart. There are plenty of 996's offered up for sacrifice. As you've learned, you certainly can't pass it off as a 40th anniversary 911 anymore. Part it out? Man, just puzzling to me. But, to each his own. Good luck selling your Porsche...

this is how the car looks today, completely ruined...

Did you sell it?

not yet... but I do not have any ad up either :-D it's now my DD and does it very well (better DD than when it was modified)

where did the window actuators get relocated to? are they up in the dash? yep,.. just read post #10, again

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That's the best way to enjoy it especially considering all the custom touches you did to suit your tastes/needs.

bump for onewhippedpuppy

Let me publicly display my ignorance, in the form of a question: Would it not be more cost effective to simply secure more HP, rather than whittling the vehicle down? I understand the utility of lightness, but: ignoring the intrinsic pleasure of 'fiddling' with one's automobile, it seems exceptionally labor intensive, rather than adding 20-50 HP by whatever means. I agree with the concerns about cut 'n pasting a 40th Anniversary 911, although it's neither my car nor anyone else's but yours. If you want to cut holes in the outer panels like swiss cheese and saw a permanent sunroof into it with a Sawzall for that matter, it's nobody's business but your own. Feel free to educate/flame/agree or disagree. Thanks.

very old topic... I'm back on rennlist actively since I have bought a 928 that needs to be restored. on the question above: it wouldn't be more cost effective - even ignoring the handling benefits, the roughly 10% weight reduction is worth the equivalent of ~30hp. To get that much power you would need to supercharge the car - which would take ~$7k once sorted correctly. The time and effort spent on the car is quality time to me - but I understand it wouldn't be the case for everyone. I still have the car - and it is still in stock form. Now that it is way off daily driver duties, I actually regret putting it back to stock and I am looking for carbon GT3 seats again. Everything I had done was made to be reversible and/or invisible - the car as of today is a low mileage 996 in better condition than most 996s out there, sleeping under a car cover most of the time. Also - my concept for the car was to get closer to GT3 performance, without the outlandish aero bits... way before a 911R or GT3 touring. Not by any mean trying to draw a comparison, just saying the idea is not that crazy.

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I personally appreciate the revival and the effort to make the 996 more engaging to drive. No question that the reduced mass improves the driving experience. More hp is good also, but this motor proves to be quite difficult to make significant gains with bolt-on parts. "Simplify, then add lightness "

Great thread, I'm keen to take weight out of my 40th AE, not sure I will be going to the levels you did One question, how was the Deka ETX30L?, I searched it and it looks like an MC battery, did it last ok? Also how did you mount/secure it?

I feel like now that a few years have gone by people will take to this project a bit more openly.

Hi all! The original idea for this thread was a logbook of #251 40th AE, so here is a quick update: The car now has 79,577 as of 07/04/2024 and had 79,082 as of 01/13/2020 - let's say she spent the last 5 years under her car cover and earned her "Sleeping Beauty" nickname. Reason for this is first I went through a divorce, then I was an expat for a few years, then COVID, ... It was also one of the very first cars to sell on Cars&bids in July 2020 - but between the car throwing a PSM code on the way to the PPE and an overall bad experience, it ended up staying home. Last year I did a "renovation" of the under carriage (changed aero bits, fixed broken studs) and as of 2 days ago it was still in full "OE" interior spec. I am about to buy a whole new front (bumper cover, spoiler, center grill, wheel wells) to fix all the nicks and dents accumulated over 20yrs. I have also started to bring it back to "911R" interior spec with one of my son, with the same idea as 10yrs ago: a lighter full interior version of the 996 40th AE.

Nice to see you still have it. This thread was a nice read. Sorry to hear about the life changes!

Cool read and reminds me of building road bikes where you try to lose weight with super light bits. Good times. Look forward to seeing what you do with the interior. Do you have the sport seats by any chance? #1111 owner here.

I found the Cars&Bids auction for your car. What a sh!tshow.

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oh wow - I had never realized there had been all those comments after the sale. Even though that was 4yrs ago I thought I'd post an update there as well to set the record straight. Saying the ad is misleading and that I was hiding things when I could have very well deleted this thread before selling the car to make it appear more "original" is a bit... anyway. To be honest I thought in this case Cars & Bids blindly sided with the buyer and offered me very little feedback.

Quotes source post: 19535421

I would have loved to have the sports seats, but unfortunately I do not. I am looking for carbon seats again, but not sure I can still fit in the current equivalent of the "maxspeed" replica seats 15yrs later :-) For now I am starting with Numeric Racing pedals (mostly because my dead pedal cracked) and shifter (excited to get on that bandwagon) By the way, my experienc @Numeric Racing customer service was good: they gave me the 4th of July sale pricing even though I had placed my order on the 3rd, and shipping was super fast Numeric Racing Pedals and shifter