Clutch Recommendation

jhg41977 · jhg41977's Garage

I am picking up my first Porsche this weekend and it needs some work. It is a 1996 C4S with 64k on it. PPI revealed a leaky rear main seal. 60k service was performed but I will check wires and plugs anyway. I am planning on doing the valve cover gaskets since the engine is out anyway. The big item is the clutch. I was told it is fine. With 64k on it, I may as well replace it anyway. Suggestions for a light weight flyweel and clutch? Someone had mentioned that it may need a chip as well to idle properly with the LWF. Thoughts?

earossi · 04-03-2012, 10:16 AM

First off, you cannot chip a 96 993 (only a 95).

Second, at your mileage you will soon need a clutch. So, a great upgrade is the LWF and the RS sport clutch. Do this at the time you are replacing the rear main seal and the labor is exactly the same, so the cost of the upgrade is just the parts. Chances are that the original dual mass ywheel is close to end of life as well; so, the parts cost for the upgrades is reat very little over replacement in kind (perhaps a couple hundred).

It takes a little getting used to to drive a LWF car but the advantage is a faster revving engine, a weight drop of about 20 pounds and a flywheel that will never experience a failure of the rubber hub.

jhg41977 · jhg41977's Garage

Thanks for the reply. I also posted in rennlist and got many similar replies. I ordered the Lwf, rs clutch package as well as rs shifter, engine mounts and a few other goodies.

can't wait to get it all installed! Also scheduled an alignment and corner balance over at blair Talbot for Monday next week.

earossi · 04-03-2012, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhg41977

Thanks for the reply. I also posted in rennlist and got many similar replies. I ordered the Lwf, rs clutch package as well as rs shifter, engine mounts and a few other goodies.

can't wait to get it all installed! Also scheduled an alignment and corner balance over at blair Talbot for Monday next week.

OK. You are on it! The shifter and the new engine mounts (suggest getting the RS mounts due to lower cost and they are a little tighter).

If the motor is out, you should do the wires. It's a rather easy job to do with the motor out. A royal pain with the engine in the car. The price of a replacement OEM set of wires is high ($400 to $600) depending on where you source the parts. Many folks have found that the Beru spark plug connectors show little if any signs of age, so only replace the wiring. You can purchase the wires precut with the Beru screw connectors for about $150. Several folks over on the Rennlist 993 BBS actually have purchased the tooling to make the wiring. So, I would suggest you check that out. Do a search on the 993 board for spark plug wires and you will get a quick education. I did replaced the entire wiring set on my car at the time the PPI was done and the dealer charged me 4 hours labor to do the install. And, I paid $600 for the wiring set.....but, I did not want to drive the car since the PPI disclosed that several wires were completely cracked through to bare wire. So, let my lesson be your savings. I did save the old wires and when I got the car home, I checked the connectors and everyone of them was dead on for impedance, so I could have reused them.

If you are going to align and corner balance the car, you should give some thought to dropping the ride height to ROW specs. It's about an inch lower than the US version, but there is a substantial improvement in handling with the car at ROW height.

Welcome to the world.