Worst "Up" - grades Under $200

[oldE]

Ok, I'll confess, since I have gotten over the sick feeling in my stomach.
When I got the E, several years ago, it had cloth Recaros with a Rube Goldburg type arrangement under the passenger seat to allow it to tip forward. I hated it as: the seatback folded forward anyway, it cut into headroom, so if the missus was driving and I was riding shotgun my head was into the sunroof and it had two fore and aft ajustments. On top of everything else, the thing weighed about 15 lbs. It had to go.

A friend of mine makes metal sculpture, so I went to him, got some angle aluminum, drilled it to bolt into the car and bolted the Recaro sliders to that, which lowered the seat and saved a pile of weight. I gave the steel abomination to my friend and told him to make something 'interesting'. End of story.

Until I saw a link on Pelican the other week to an Ebay auction in which a fellow had sold his old Recaro seats for several thousand and the bases for about $500.00 each!!!!!

Yep, the thing I had thrown on my friend's scrap heap was a Recaro base.

Oh crap. Oh well.

Les

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by Crachian

Set of Kingsbourne plug wires for my 73. Total junk.

Now that's funny!
afaik, Kingsborne uses the same Beru brand wires and ends that Clewette, Porsche, and other brands use.

[Porsche_monkey]

Sound pad. And very close to $200 inlcuding delivery duty, glue, etc.

[jonbot]

Lowering a Porsche on to the bump-stops just because it "looks cool", talk about making a car useless at any speed. And what a shame to do it to a 911 with Bilstein struts! That's how my car was when I got it, and it's the first thing I undid.

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

Now that's funny!
afaik, Kingsborne uses the same Beru brand wires and ends that Clewette, Porsche, and other brands use.

Ditto on Kingsobourne. I bought a set and they did not last 6 months without putting on a light show at night.

[onlycafe]

ok. a few of us have stepped up to admit to painted calipers, has anyone got curb feelers? how about a set of fuzzy dice or a raccoon tail?
i did see a 997 in jersey last night with undercar neon! good grief!

[Porsche_monkey]

My 2.7 had a Ford Mustang 5.0 fuel filter....

[RWebb]

Many of the giganto brake "upgrades" are really downgrades, since the extra wt. harms handling and provides no improvement in brkaing beyond a placebo effect. They often cost thousands tho, not $200, so I will nominate...

1. putting the braided steel hoses on the brakes. This does little for pedal firmness and significantly decreases the safety of the system. The early ones were subject to catastrophic failure, and the later ones - which may or may not be free of that - cannot be inspected. Thus, they must be replaced every year. This is one of the worst examples of taking a racing part (which is tossed as quickly as every race) and perverting it for use on the street, or periodic DEs.

2. The installation of RS style door panels "to save weight." In fact, this saves an insignificant amount of wt. and the minimal savings is in one of the worst places on the car (near the CG). It exemplifies the "all show and no go" ethic that is exactly the opposite of what Porsche has always stood for. If someone does it understanding that is it really about the look or aesthetic of the car, then that is a bit different, but many have deluded themselves. Those map ockets are going to be worth big money someday.

[Porsche_monkey]

What about drilling holes in the intake box?

Maybe turbo tie-rod ends? I'm not sure they did much for me.

[theclaw]

Thanks to all who prevented me from painting my calipers.

[coolngroovy]

I guess it's my turn to admit stupidity...........

When i bought the car, & was trying to fire it up, i checked the dip stick for oil level.
Note: i knew less about the Porsche then than i do now,which still isn't much!
I noticed the oil wasn't even registering on the dipstick.
7 litres of super slippery high quality oil later it finally started to register on the tip of the dipstick.
Guess what happened when i finally started the car?
"It's got a dry sump m8!"
" No it hasn't, i filled it up!"

[RWebb]

"What about drilling holes in the intake box?"

- That actually makes a neat noise. If someone did it for more power, well, that is a different story...

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by RWebb

"What about drilling holes in the intake box?"

- That actually makes a neat noise. If someone did it for more power, well, that is a different story...

I heard a rumor that the 911 engine makes a neat noise the way it comes from the factory!

[porsche930dude]

Oh i got one! Sheep fur seat covers. Iv seen those in one too many porsches. One or two actually and that was too many

[MichiganMat]

a full MotorMeister rebuild

[Christien]

A turbo tail on a longhood. That's what was on my car when I bought it. And to make matters worse they didn't bother with the rubber gasket, so the decklid is all scratched.

But for my own "downgrade", I'd have to say the Bursch muffler. I needed a new one, and this on is pretty cheap, and I heard claims of 8-12 hp gain. Bull*****. It probably cost me 5.

[RWebb]

"I heard a rumor that the 911 engine makes a neat noise the way it comes from the factory!"

They later motors were quited significantly. Holes in the Carerra air box were actually offered by the factory )motor sound pkg) and are a common acoustical - but not power changing - alteration.

Yup - lots of muffler hurt more than help. The engine dyno tells the story...

[the]

this should be a long thread, as just about every aftermarket part under $200 is a downgrade from the factory part on a 911.

[coldstart]

My previous owner has got great pedigree for this thread:

He folded down the rear seats and placed a 4 ft x 6 ft x 2ft subwoofer box on top. Not only was this tacky (it's a very original 1972 targa!!!) but he only put two miniscule speakers-- and no bass woofer-- into the box AND the stereo system was a POS tape deck.

[paulgtr]

Originally Posted by PBH

What about drilling holes in the intake box?

Maybe turbo tie-rod ends? I'm not sure they did much for me.

I like the sound after i drilled the air box cover.
didn't cost me anything though....
worst money spent so far has been after taking it to any shop that "specializes" in porsches...
man I have learned that the hard way