Updated Porsche Option Decoder

[tig]

Hi all!

In 1997 when I got my first Porsche, I had to figure out what those codes on the option sticker meant. Back then the only way to do so was to find one of several lists that had been posted around the 'net and look up your codes manually.

I took it upon myself to write an online decoder and it's been the most popular and used Porsche Option Decoder since. The decoder ran on a server in my home almost continually (well over 99.999% uptime) since then. I used to have a use-counter, and at last count the decoder had been used over 600k times. Tons of people have sent me new codes, fix suggestions, and kudos over the years and to all of you: Thanks!

Last week, I finally moved my personal website out of my home an onto modern Internet hosting. In the process I had to update the decoder because the technology I used originally is now completely defunct (the original Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP)).

The decoder had a very simple UI that was focused on just the classic 911 (although I've expanded the database over time). Since I basically had to rewrite the whole thing to move it to modern web host, I updated the UI to allow searching across all Porsche models and years. I've also made sure to update the database with all the suggestions people have sent me.

Please check it out and don't be shy about providing feedback. Cheers.

https://www.kindel.com/porsche/options

[tig]

Several folks have asked:

Why did you need to rewrite it to host it elsewhere?
What was the old architecture and the new one?

The original implementation ran on Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack 2 and was based on Microsoft's IIS 3.0 and the 'original' Active Server Pages (ASP). The code was written in VBScript and the database was in Microsoft SQL Server. Over time I had migrated the web server and SQL Server (2008) to Windows Server 2008 R2. All of that technology is defunct and unsupported. In addition it was all running on a server (in a VM) in my home, which is a really bad practice in this day and age.

I was on the IIS team (helping design ASP) at Microsoft at the time and writing this was really an excuse for me to dive-deep into the technology first hand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Server_Pages

The UI itself, while built on HTML, was generated by ASP which (as noted) is defunct and not supported. As a result, making any changes to it was painful. For example I've wanted to add the ability to expose other Porsche models other than just the 911 forever, but doing so would be just too hard using ASP.

Finally, the database design was stupid. The schema for the option codes is actually very simple and the amount of data (~22k rows) is not large enough to justify a full blown SQL Server Instance.

The new architecture is super simple: I'm using Azure Static Websites to host a Hugo (an open source static website system) to host all of www.kindel.com now. The Porsche Option Decoder itself is now just a HTML web page with Javascript (using jquery). The database is now, effectively, just a flat JSON file that gets sliced and diced w/in the web browser using Javascript.

I get folks sending me new option code info all the time. It's a pretty grueling task to incorporate these right now, but someday I will build some tools to automate it (ha!).

[Arne2]

I ran the 6 codes from my early '72 911T. It got 3 correct, 1 wrong, and 2 'unknown'.

• Correct - 453, 470 and 559. (Although 470 should probably note "Comfort" or "Appearance" package for 911T.)
• Wrong - 404 for early cars (through '73 or so) is 15mm bars F & R
• Unknown - 400 is 6Jx15 forged alloy wheels for 911T & 911E (Fuchs). 568 is tinted glass on all windows.

[ClickClickBoom]

Can it be had as a ring?

[tig]

Originally Posted by Arne2

I ran the 6 codes from my early '72 911T. It got 3 correct, 1 wrong, and 2 'unknown'.

• Correct - 453, 470 and 559. (Although 470 should probably note "Comfort" or "Appearance" package for 911T.)
• Wrong - 404 for early cars (through '73 or so) is 15mm bars F & R
• Unknown - 400 is 6Jx15 forged alloy wheels for 911T & 911E (Fuchs). 568 is tinted glass on all windows.

Awesome. Will fix asap.

Do you know any online source that has early 911 codes that show this information correctly?

[Arne2]

Info for early cars is not centralized. I've got pictures of factory docs with numbers for '69, '71 and '72.

In '69, numbers were 4 digits, pretty much all starting with '9'. In '70 they simplified and changed to 3 digits. 1970 options should be the same as '71. Similarly, '73 are almost totally the same as '72.

PM me your email address, I'll send you what I have.

[djpateman]

I gave up on anything online many years ago. My options list is organized by year since many codes get repurposed over time. In addition, some codes are model dependent, and content varies per model. M470 is one such code, and it sure varies from year to year.
I need an accurate option code list to be able to provide a report similar to the old CoA for clients. Generally that means additional research nearly every time. At least I get the codes, but then I need to determine exactly what each means. My list was begun some 30 years ago, and I still do daily updates; added a big bunch to 1968 today. Best of luck.

[tig]

Originally Posted by djpateman

I gave up on anything online many years ago. My options list is organized by year since many codes get repurposed over time. In addition, some codes are model dependent, and content varies per model. M470 is one such code, and it sure varies from year to year.
I need an accurate option code list to be able to provide a report similar to the old CoA for clients. Generally that means additional research nearly every time. At least I get the codes, but then I need to determine exactly what each means. My list was begun some 30 years ago, and I still do daily updates; added a big bunch to 1968 today. Best of luck.

It would be easy for me to incorporate your updates into the database if you are willing to share. I can easily tag options by year; the schema fully supports that.

If you want to share with the community please send them to charlie (at) kindel (dot) com. I'd be happy to give you credit.
Cheers!

[tig]

FWIW, the decoder has been updated with some MY2021 codes.

[tig]

Another update. No new codes, just a UI refresh.

Enjoy.

https://kindel.com/porsche/options

[tig]

Major Update

First, the option decoder is now much smarter about Porsche models and types, making it easier to filter results:

Check it out here: https://kindel.com/porsche/options



Second, I've added a NEW Porsche Type/Model Decoder. It's gotten crazy trying to remember what type-code relates to what model / year. The new Porsche Type Decoder makes it easy!

https://kindel.com/porsche/types



I'm sure there's bugs and issues... Please let me know what you find!