Daily driving a cheap Porsche 911 (996) - what could possibly go wrong?

BoxheadTim wrote: Some updates, after a period of quiet. The secondary air pump is getting a little noisy, so I had the shop check it out and install an LN Engineering spin-on oil filter conversion and uprated oil baffles at the same time as it was due for a service. The uprated baffles are mostly for peace of mind if I want to go and autocross the car. The really good news is that oil and filter are clean so the engine is in good shape now. It was all rainbows and unicorns until a couple of days ago, when I managed to use it to collect a gas can somebody had lost. At 65mph, no less. The good news is that there was no gas in it, but rather some frozen liquid. Great. Back to the shop to get it checked over, fortunately the damage is only cosmetic but the car will need a front bumper cover and one of the air guides to a radiator replaced. Plus paint, looks like a cool $2k-ish fix for some asswipe not securing their E36 M3 in the back of their vehicle. Yeah, I'm a little upset about this. Currently trying to figure out if I just write a check for the damage and be done with it as I don't necessarily want to involve the insurance. I may just try to get a good used bumper cover off the 'bay, fit it myself and then have a shop paint it. While I had it at the shop they noticed that one of the CV boots had let go so I get to get those changed out, too, before driving it through more winter storms. Yay me. At this point I'm thinking about selling both this car and the MR2, then get an EVO VIII or IX if I can find a good one (yeah, I know that's going to be a problem). That way I've got the track vehicle and winter driver[1] covered in one car rather than two and I know I do fit the earlier Evos better than an Evo X. Of course there's the little issue of finding a mechanic that'll work on one and doesn't awfully look like me. [1] Yes, I need AWD in winter for various reasons. Let's not warm up that discussion again...

Sell everything and get a Focus RS?

From my perspective, hardly anyone buying cars in this class finds a real bargain. Which is another way of saying hardly anyone just 'barely affords' them. More often than not, attempts to find that bargain result in a car that gets sold and usually at a significant net loss to the buyer. When the big stuff isn't tended to by previous owners, the little stuff falls into the same category -- and those things tend to keep biting subsequent owners as the car ages.

My counsel is buy a newer car without the known problem areas with low miles and preferably from mature previous owner(s). Go overboard on maintenance (do it yourself if you can....I've found it's not any harder than any other car....just different) and keep your fingers crossed. Mine soldiers on entering year 3 with me and year 6 of its life. Nothing but maintenance (more than required by Porsche at my option) so far.....holding breath and smiling.

[URL=http://s937.photobucket.com/user/MichaelYount/media/Cayman/FullSizeRender_zpswp1swad1.jpg.html][/URL]

I wanted so badly to buy a CPO Cayman, but the numbers wouldn't work with even considerable fudging. It's either get a CPO a few years old for $45k, or roll the dice with a first gen car for $25k and come to terms with a potential major loss should the IMS say sayonara.

MichaelYount wrote: Mine soldiers on entering year 3 with me and year 6 of its life. Nothing but maintenance (more than required by Porsche at my option) so far.....holding breath and smiling.

So, what's on your maintenance list?

MichaelYount wrote: Seems that sticking with the later 9A1 engine is the best bet for avoiding a variety malady's that potentially afflict the M96/M97 line. Back in the day when I had my first 911 (air cooled), even minor repairs came in $1000 and $3000 sizes; major repairs = more. Today's water cooled engines come with $5000 and $15000 sizes. No substitute for cubic dollars.

Of course, there's always the grassroots alternative. I was in traffic last night next to a guy driving a 986 Boxster S that had an LS swap. The engine was running a hot cam and glass pack exhausts--the thing sounded like a Harley at idle and a Late Model circle track car on throttle. It was pretty badass.

In the middle of pulling the 5.0L Ford out of my Volvo 242 and replacing it with an LS3 - so I can appreciate that.

Adrian - simply more frequent fluid/filter changes than recommended. I've found keeping all the fluids fresh/clean solves lots of problems before they happen and it causes me to frequently be under the car looking at things -- another good thing if you want to catch something before the problem becomes a bigger one.

Yeah, the engine builder at my local Porsche specialist was pretty adamant that the whole engine rigamarole would've been avoidable had previous owners kept to 5-6k oil changes. Amazingly enough the problems really only affected the plastic parts (and the intermediate shaft, possibly), the rest of the engine was in very good shape. Like, it didn't need new rings or bearings after 115k...

CV boots are done, for once even the mechanic was surprised they didn't find anything else.

I haven't had the damaged bumper cover replaced yet - I think I'll just take the hit if I sell the car, or fix it in spring if I decide to keep it. Bodyshops around here are really busy this time of year and we get weekly snow storms at the moment so I do need an AWD vehicle.

Having owned it for a bit more than a year, I've done close to 8000 miles in it. At this point in time, the running cost (ex-purchase) sit at 1.83/mile. That includes gas, repairs, two sets of tires with mounting costs and the engine work.

Ah yes, driving on snow. Well, there are no two ways about it, the Evo X is miles ahead when it comes to snow driving. The 996 gives more feedback in typical 911 fashion, but the reaction delay until the viscous center diff sends power to the front wheels is noticeable. When doing some research on the AWD system I came across a thread on Rennlist that suggests this is normal. A poster from Norway suggested that one really wants to turn off the stability management in snow unless you want to understeer into the nearest ditch. Having run into that issue myself (albeit not into the ditch), I'll try that later in the week after the next snowstorm.

Mitchell wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote: At this point I'm thinking about selling both this car and the MR2, then get an EVO VIII or IX if I can find a good one (yeah, I know that's going to be a problem). That way I've got the track vehicle and winter driver[1] covered in one car rather than two and I know I do fit the earlier Evos better than an Evo X. Of course there's the little issue of finding a mechanic that'll work on one and doesn't awfully look like me. [1] Yes, I need AWD in winter for various reasons. Let's not warm up that discussion again...

Sell everything and get a Focus RS?

Tempting, but I don't have that sort of cash right now, not with the loan on the ND Miata and the plans of building a garage for next year. Plus, a brand new car isn't something I take to the track, not until the warranty has expired.

And with all that -- mine just got sold! In the middle of the car build, and about to embark on a house build. I have to have a DD with more utility. All in operating costs including depreciation was about $.50/mile. Not bad. And the new owner got a great car.

Thanks for this whole saga. It adds some good information to those of us that are 996 shopping.

mazdeuce wrote: Thanks for this whole saga. It adds some good information to those of us that are 996 shopping.

Dude, you're after a 996 now? What's wrong with the:
964
CTSV
Civic
Rx7
Fergus
Rally KArt
The Grosh of Awesome

You sir are getting greedy. No new toys until all the current ones are running perfectly

OK, not actively shopping, but always looking? I have certain cars I keep my eyes on just in case. You never know when the fleet will suddenly fall below 7 and you'll have to stock back up.

Don't you really need eight? One for each day of the week!

Kia_Racer wrote: Don't you really need eight? One for each day of the week!

He can't drive the Grosh, so we wont count that

Well, the dude from Norway was right. Turning off PSM made a big difference when driving it in snow. One actually gets a working AWD system if the PSM isn't constantly trying to brake one or more front wheels.

As someone who really wants a P car, this thread makes me crave a 996 ... with an LS1 already swapped in.

MichaelYount wrote: In the middle of pulling the 5.0L Ford out of my Volvo 242 and replacing it with an LS3 - so I can appreciate that. Adrian - simply more frequent fluid/filter changes than recommended. I've found keeping all the fluids fresh/clean solves lots of problems before they happen and it causes me to frequently be under the car looking at things -- another good thing if you want to catch something before the problem becomes a bigger one.

We demand pictures of said Volvo. I have a serious itch to stuff an LS somewhere it doesn't belong and can use the motivation...

And today, I had one of those "I'm glad I get to type this out" days.

I'm running Blizzaks on the car that have maybe 4k-5k on them. Plenty of tread. Drives OK on snow - not great, but OK. But on slush - fuggedaboutit. It's like piloting a drunk elephant on rollerskates. Like, gently swaying from side to side when you're trying to go in a straight line, and any corner is an excuse for swapping ends.

Makes me feel like I'm Walter Röhrl having another go at the Rallye Monte Carlo until I notice I'm doing twenty-freaking-mph and the dude in the SUV behind me is getting pissed because I'm holding up everybody. Right until I elegantly piroutte across both lanes of the road, headed ass backwards for oncoming traffic with visions of a totaled 911 bouncing around my brain.

Fortunately I managed to keep it out of the ditch and the traffic (see, this track crap is useful occasionally) and I managed to get home in one piece, even though I had to pull over four times on a ten mile stretch of road to let other people go past. That's after I had to drive back three miles towards work for the first safe spot to turn around...

Now, I'm no Tanner Foust (I'm neither short not a driving god) but this is close to the worst experience I had driving in winter conditions. Especially on a piece of road that is, while stunningly beautiful, also not without its hazards - emergency services just found a missing person (in her car) two weeks after she went missing when they tried to recover another car that had gone over the side of that road. Neither drivers survived.

Heck, my E36 M3ty old Alfa 75/Milano was better in snow that this, apart from its inability to keep any window from fogging up.

Current plan is to talk to my local tame Porsche specialist tomorrow to see if they have any ideas that don't involve buying a WRX. I'm >< this close to parking this thing for the winter after tonight's brown underwear moment.

Wow, sorry to hear that since winter driving was one of the big'motivators' in getting the Porsche 4x4 (like anyone needs another reason to want one of those cars MORE.)

And FYI, we don't live in the mountainous part of the Carolinas, but a buddy of mine is in a really hilly neighborhood, and he claims that his N/A 15 year old Outback wagon is pretty much unstoppable in the snow/slush/ice/whatever on the rare occasion that we get some.

84FSP wrote: We demand pictures of said Volvo. I have a serious itch to stuff an LS somewhere it doesn't belong and can use the motivation...

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2237/

Or - go here ( http://forums.corral.net/forums/southeast/14792-anyone-east-tn-corral-759.html ) and back up to page 752.

I really do not understand why you are having issues. It's a carrera4 right? Is the fwd working? My 350z with blizzaks on it was a winter dream. I could handle everything but black ice with those tires.

Heck listening to the few on rennlist that actually use their cars the normal 2wd is a dream in snow as well... (rear engine pushing the tires down into the slush... or something)

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

Agreed. I have trouble understanding how any AWD car on Blizzaks could behave like this.

Tire pressures out of whack? Has the alignment been checked recently? Sounds like you almost have rear toe-out.

How old are the Blizzaks? On our minivan, swapping from all seasons to Blizzaks and turning off the traction control makes it go from unusable to unstoppable on snow/ice.

Even as our last set of Blizzaks were old and the tread depth was getting marginal, they were still solid.

One other thing to watch is if they're mounted correctly. Blizzaks are directional, and when they mounted our newest set, they mounted them all the same way. I just took it back to the tire shop last weekend to have them remount the tires on the driver's side. The directional tread is more subtle with the later version (WS-80, I believe). I'm guessing you're running a more performance-oriented version of the Blizzaks in your application, though, so YMMV.

Yes, the Blizzaks on the car are directional. I doubt the shop would have put them on the wrong way around, but that's an easy fix if that's the case. I'll check the tire pressures before I set off this morning. They should be correct, I'm generally pretty anal about that.

@PMRacing, now that you mention it, it does feel like it's got slight rear toe out. I'm going to call my local Porsche specialist this morning and book it in for an alignment check as that's about the only thing I can think of. That said, I drove it on snow last year with a fresh alignment to factory specs and even then, it felt a little unstable. But at least it wasn't going backwards.

Yes, it's a Carrera 4, and yes, the AWD is working in slippery conditions. I've had the traction control kick in on the front more than once when pulling from a standstill .

Re the age of the tires, they're on the car for the second season but the rears are of slightly older manufacture. That said, I would expect tire rack to store them correctly and they're not giving me grief on snow. Plenty of tread left, too.