My new "not a real Porsche"

[campbellcj]

That is a really sweet 996, congrats!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks all! Now the first question, should I stick with the black wheels or go with the turbo twists? Personally the black wheels are growing on me rapidly, but I love the twists.

[Embraer]

black wheels. turbo twists are nice, but those black ones (with the ride height) just look spectacular.

[porsche4life]

Twists.... Twists all the way....


And guys.... Matt won't tell you... He will be selling this soon....

[gprsh924]

Black wheels all the way

[rnln]

Yeah, it's not a real Porsche. I am jealous
Please come back to tell us your experience after several months.
About the wheels, I wouls tick for at least several months before you have the feel of every corner of the car. By then, you might like these wheels, or know exactly which wheel you like.
Very nice car. I love it.

[speeder]

They are phenomenally great cars, 10 times tougher than an older air-cooled 911. I love them all, from the 1948 prototype 356 w/ all VW mechanicals to the latest 997 GT3RS but I have to call a spade a spade.

[tabs]

God and Ferry Porsche RESTED in 1974.

Nice car but I don't fit..

[mca]

They are phenomenally great cars, 10 times tougher than an older air-cooled 911. I love them all, from the 1948 prototype 356 w/ all VW mechanicals to the latest 997 GT3RS but I have to call a spade a spade.

How is it 10x tougher than an air cooled 911?

Nice car btw. Some 996s look really cool and others don't. Yours looks cool. Congrats.

[Sarc]

Well played sir. Well played indeed!

[speeder]

Originally Posted by mca

How is it 10x tougher than an air cooled 911?

Nice car btw. Some 996s look really cool and others don't. Yours looks cool. Congrats.

I've owned and loved them all. I had a 1982 911SC, arguably the best air-cooled car they ever made in terms of toughness/durability/etc...

At just over 100k miles and a pretty mundane life w/ normal maintenance, it needed a complete (top end) rebuild due to broken studs, shot valve guides and several broken valve springs. The 915 transmission needed rebuilding. (Synchros were shot). The stock suspension was usable as a commuter but the CV joints were toast. The CIS needed a complete going-through to perform as intended w/ many parts replaced. (WUR, etc.).

My experience was the opposite of unique. Virtually every single one of them need the exact same work at the same (relatively low) mileage. I have something like 6k posts on the 911 tech board, all from when I owned that car, and I know what I'm talking about. I've read the service history on more early 911s than I could ever recall and I can't remember one that had not had a complete top-end job at under 100k miles unless it was a smoke-spewing, oil-puking POS that sounded like there was a crazy hobo playing the banjo and pounding a hammer in the back seat. I still love them, partially because I know how to rebuild them stronger than the factory but this is reality. They are as far from a bomb-proof motor as it gets. When they are in spec, they can be raced for 100 hours straight but they go WAY out of spec from normal street use.

The 996 motor, even with its known design flaws, is a turn-key/put gas in it and drive engine. I never even opened the hood on mine other than to change the Mobil 1 every ~8k miles. And I drove the piss out of that car. On the street, in traffic w/ AC on, took it to Willow Springs on a hot day and thrashed it, etc., etc... The rest of the car, (other than the motor), is absolutely bullet-proof. It could withstand a nuclear blast. Mine had 205k abused miles on it, (year-round use in MN. on salted freeways), quite a bit stiffer than stock suspension and it was almost as solid as new. Freaking unbelievable cars those krauts build.

[mca]

Great info Speeder. Thanks.

Funny thing us that I have a 82 SC. I rebuilt the entire engine at 130k miles. Motor had a broken valve spring. I'll argue that the POs in the 80s didn't know how to care for air-cooled engines. Hence the early rebuilds. Of course Dilivar would have failed regardless of the care.

996s have a bad rap. But I'd love to have one as a daily driver. And you made a pretty convincing argument.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by mca

Great info Speeder. Thanks.

Funny thing us that I have a 82 SC. I rebuilt the entire engine at 130k miles. Motor had a broken valve spring. I'll argue that the POs in the 80s didn't know how to care for air-cooled engines. Hence the early rebuilds. Of course Dilivar would have failed regardless of the care.

996s have a bad rap. But I'd love to have one as a daily driver. And you made a pretty convincing argument.

Actually, virtually all 911s were dealer serviced for the first several years of their lives and if anything, received *overkill* maintenance. This is true of any expensive new car. Nobody buys a new German sports car that costs as much as nice house in middle-America and then skips all the service intervals. I worked at a Porsche dealer in the 1980s. Porsche had a massive batch of bad valve springs in approx. 1981/82 that were destined to break, there was/is no maintenance that could prevent it. Of course they have double-springs and will still run with a broken spring or two but they run like **** at high rpms.

I had all of my machine work done at Competition Engineering, Walt is arguably the best and most experienced air-cooled Porsche engine surgeon in the USA. (Certainly one of the most expensive). He correctly predicted EXACTLY what I would find when I tore-down my engine including the broken valve springs. (After I told him the production date). There were also incredible wonders of toughness and over-engineering in other areas of the 3.0, (bottom end), plus the pistons and cylinders were like brand new @ 115k miles. Here is one of my threads at the time if you're interested:

Typical "while you were in there" story:

And a sentimental photo:

[speeder]

Sorry for the hijack, Matt. I really like the looks of your car!

[austin552]

More like unreal. Love the wheels too. More pics please.

[Jagshund]

That car has the right look; I love the reliability of the 996s- I've never met an owner who had bad things to say about them, and the '03 4S was the quickest car I've ever driven. Could be why I'm dropping an M96 in my car!!

[porsche4life]

Dang Matt.... Found the ad... Your lucky my pops didn't find it first....

[David in VA]

Not a Porsche.....right. That is as much a Porsche as anything else on this board. Ours has been dead reliable on street and track, extremely fast too. I would suggest keeping those wheels on it, they look great and are very light. Replacing the stock suspension will transform the car for the better, not just on the track either. We got a good deal on PSS9's, those or PSS10's work great on a dual purpose or street only car. Here's a picture of my wife thrashing it last weekend.

[Tim Hancock]

I hate you Matt.

Great car. I almost pulled the trigger on a nearly identical one this winter, but it got sold out from under me. Good ones at fair prices seem to sell.