Porsche Owners Thread - If you own one or just like or hate them! :)

[Gibbo]

Millers also sponsor Hartechs racing team. It seems they are recommending a 10W-50. If bore scoring is the issue then viscosity is what is going to help here for sure but there are other products.

I'll ask Porsche next time I am there why they don't approve 10Ws. But I think a 5W-40 with Porsche A40 approval would be sensible if you are concerned about scoring.

My advice is a warning in case of problems in the future:
You will have issues with warranty if you are not using an approved oil. Porsche have a huge database of oil 'fingerprints' to check the oil from engines that are in for warranty claims. Will be very easy for them to decline a warranty claim.

Not under Porsche warranty any more m8, so won't be making any future claims with them.

So I shall ask you the question, with the worries of bore scoring with these cars would you carry on using the Mobil One 0W-40 and changing every 5000 miles or would you use a different oil make or grade and if so what would your choice be m8?

 

[Gibbo]

The mobil is a good product but very thin. I think a Porsche A40 approved 5W-40 would be the right direction to take, their approval test is tough and, up to very recently, ran on an M96.

Base oil viscosity is important for avoiding bore scoring. If you are out of warranty and really dont care for approved oils then the 10W-50 could be an option. Although the -25C pour point suggests its pretty thick and then you may as well go for the BMW M 10W-60 which is one of the best oils on the market IMO.

Changing often is a good idea on hard driven cars as they seem to suffer from fuel dilution which will thin the oil and compromise film thickness on the cylinder bores.

Seems like quite a few options with Porsche A40 grade at 5W-40, though there is no Porsche approved 10W-50 product:-
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-913-porsche-porsche-a40-engine-oil.aspx

Anyone in particular you'd go with, they all have good marketing spiel, don't suppose you know which one is the best or if there all pretty much the same?

 

[Gibbo]

Porsche seem to acknowledge the issue with Gen 1 997's and I believe, according to our local OPC, that the Gen 2 seems to have the issue licked. It would be interesting to hear what they see as the route cause as that tends to be a little grey area. I would also like to get their perspective on the Gen 2 oil's usage as I believe they suggest a litre every 600 miles is within reason.

Mine is pretty good on oil, maybe 1/2 litre per 1000 miles or less. In US a class action was won where 997.1 engines which failed or will are cover by Porsche even if out of warranty, so obviously an issue, it's rumoured to be upto 5% cars effected.

Got AM to dremel the bellow of my old Airbox and it fits perfectly over the X51 snorkel, so now it's only getting cold air. Noise and power vastly improved, get to dyno next weekend.

Looks almost OEM

 

[Gibbo]

Gents, need some advice. If you buy a car from a 3rd party dealer or privately, can you still get a Porsche warranty on it? Is there a mileage cut off? I read somewhere you need to get the 111 point check done and wait 3 months or something before it will begin?
Was looking at this, seems like a nice example for the money but the mileage is a little high:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif....4/radius/60/postcode/rg13dp/page/1?logcode=p

Id not bother with a warranty. Just get the bores inspected, if no sign of bore scoring go for it and then maybe put it under Hartech maintenance plan, or just look after it. Bear in mind these engine can suffer from bore scoring and IMS failure, bore scoring you can check, but an IMS can fail at anytime with little to no warning, though in reality its a rare occurance. An OPC warranty is good by the fact it covers everything.

 

[Gibbo]

What about things like PASM, roof motors etc? An OPC warranty would be good to cover those sorts of things. I'd probably pay for an inspection on the car beforehand so bore scoring should be highlighted during this?

It does cover such things yes, its the best option.

 

[Gibbo]

Thanks for the offer Peerzy but looking for one with PASM and a sports exhaust; preferrably a sport edition. Its either that or a Z4 35i. Having a nightmare at the moment trying to decide on a car. I might have to start a thread

Make sure you get the bores inspected!!!
111 point check does not do this and its quite easy for any decent garage to do, best to always look at cylinder 6 as its the last in the cooling loop and is typically always first to suffer. So still a camera down it and get them to check, if its heavily scored, walk away!

 

[Gibbo]

How much does a proper inspection usually cost?

Same amount of labour as changing plugs, just needs to be a specialist who knows what to look for so expect circa £200

 

[Gibbo]

I just had a look at my tyres.

I have done 3000 miles on the rears and they only have a couple of mm left on them. Whats going on?

Crap tyres or something wrong!

 

[Gibbo]

nop they are proper N1 tyres. I will get a 4WA done and see what they say.

N rating does not mean it's a good tyre, there are some pretty average n rated tyres. There are some far superior tyres which unfortunately don't carry Porsches tax rating.....

 

[Gibbo]

Looking at the specs and tech data you can get an idea. It's hard to say which is best as I don't know how the other brands do in the test. However the products with VW 505 01, dexos2 give an idea on what they are based on, ones with mb229.51/5 too are ideal. It's hard for me to reccomend an oil without sounding bias/giving too much away

I use edge turbo diesel in my S2000 at the moment which meets Porsches approval

Clarkey, yes could be worth a try, sounds like the oils getting to thin and draining from the hydraulic tappers (assuming you have hydraulics on that engine?)

Got a link to that edge oil m8?
Also found this oil based on those specs you mentioned:-
http://www.top-oils.co.uk//default.asp?product_id=60

Ever heard of it m8, seems to be ultra expensive but also very highly regarded, interested in your thoughts on it.

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

An update!
Went Powerstation Friday, had gearbox oil changed, idler and tensioner pulleys changed, result gears no longer notchy when cold and cold start squeak has gone, result.

Now to the dyno:-
Run 1 = with x51 air box and 82mm tb and plenum = 375BHP, 5 up, but less torque/power under 3000rpm, car very lean at WOT.
Run 2 = with x51 air box and stock tb and plenum, same as last time 370BHP and still lean.

Investigating it the stock air box aperture where maf sits is 86mm whereas x51 aperture is 91mm. So for the same air speed over maf the x51 air box flows 12% more air which is not fuelled for.

Remember maf works on air speed based on the pre-loaded map, so as the X51 air box has a larger aperture it means their is more air volume for same maf speed and hence mixture is leaned out.

Short story stock air box would have made more power with larger tb as it would have being Fuelling correctly.

Spoke with Porsche who confirmed the X51 map does have a different pre-determined setting for air box aperture to account for extra volume. Also potential a local OPC could be willing to upload to my car for me.

Being in touch with the map supplier in US kudos where due he has taken a map from an official X51 equipped car and re-written the file for my mods and UK fuel. Now that low-down response is back and it feels a lot more eager and seems more powerful up top, just better everywhere, but more fuel would do that when running too lean. So back to the dyno next weekend to check Fuelling and see if it is making more power and where.

 

[Gibbo]

You must put some mileage in going back and forth to PS all the while lol

Yes, but the price they charged for me meant I was saving even accounting for fuel as they did me a great price and did not charge me for power runs due to me having wait a couple of hours as Rich was playing on his new toy.

Need to go back now and hope all is well, as I don't want to go on a track day if car is lean at WOT, would not be a good idea.

So hopefully next weekend will be my last visit until next official RR event.

 

[Gibbo]

You missed a 997 GT3 at Tom Hartley for £39K with 45K on the clock. It went this morning I believe, the advert wasn't even a day old.

Seen it, I considered buying it 6 months ago whenit was 47k, if it went for 39k bargain.

 

[Gibbo]

Pure skill:-

Skill, maybe luck:-

 

[Gibbo]

Hi there

Got the new wheels refurbed and painted gloss black, fitted the Michelin Cups:-

Also viewed this last night.

 

[Gibbo]

A lot of car for the money!

I would love one, but I couldn't even imagine insurance at 23....

It was an honest clean car, few stone chips on the front, including quite a big one which can be seen in photo. Interior was un-marked and spotless. Brake disc had a sizable lip on them so would be due for replacement. They wanted £33,950 which for a 32k mile car with 1 owner and standard is a fair price for what seemed an honest car. It passed Middlehurst inspection and they will only sell it to someone who also takes a Nissan extended warranted, addition 1k cost for 1yr, so in essence 35k for a car with warranty.

Not bad.

Trade offer against mine was a joke though, they just went of CAP value and after some negotiation they agreed to just short of 25k considering they were selling a 911 with higher miles, lesser spec and tiptronic for 35k. But they admitted to having very little profit in the GTR and as such if they were gonna trade against it they wanted a guaranteed profit on any car they took.

I walked away, simply because I want some more enjoyment out of the 911 now its perfect, but over the next few months I am gonna start selling all my add-ons, which even at half price should fetch circa 7-8k and then probably sell the car privately for circa 28k towards end of the year or very early next year. Then I can buy an immaculate 09/10 GTR for about 35k pretty much outright.

Is it bad I've pretty much got my mods pre-planned for it if I do buy a GTR?

 

[Gibbo]

It's worse you're thinking selling the 911 when you've just got it "perfect"!

Hence why I am gonna enjoy it now for another 6 months or so and try not to spend any more money on it, if I spend any more on it, I am keeping it pretty much forever, LOL.

I find it odd that you'd want to change to a GTR when you enjoy proper track driving. GTR gets canned by everyone as a track car because it's heavy and boring, the polar opposite of tuned NASP 911.

Is this just an elaborate excuse to end up in a GT3

This indeed could be an issue and it could be one huge mistake, the GTR I love its performance, modding ability for power, auto for town use when stuck in traffic (guess I'm getting old) and its outright pace on the road. The downside is as you say track use and its size means some narrow backroads would be off the cards.

GT3, problem is a gen1 is 45-55k still and a gen1 will simply not offer me much improvement at all now over where my car is, would have to be gen2, were talking 65-75k money, there is no way I am spending that on a car.

Think of a GTR as this, I get a clean UK 09/10 car at a good price (low-mid 30's), will it loose much, I can't see a UK GTR dropping much sub 30k in the next year or two, R34's are still selling at 25k+ for clean ones, as such I can see 30k being the holding point for a while, be crazy if they start dropping sub 30k..........

 

[Gibbo]

Chaps

My friend is looking at a 07 Cayman S on the weekend, it has Turbo wheels, PCM,PASM, Xenons and has done 74,000 miles

What shall i tell him to look out for

Cheers

IMS and Bores scoring. IMS unlikely!
Bores very likely, could be scored, get a specialist to inspect bores, if all clean buy for bargain price due to high miles.

 

[Gibbo]

Cheers Andy

I will pass the above on

He might find the inspection reports some minor scoring, this is fine but to ensure it don't get worse use 5W-40 or 10W-50 oil, Porsche approve both grades. Also fit a low-temp stat.

Unfortunately the 3.4 and 3.8 engines will all suffer scoring at somepoint in their lives, design/cooling flaw of the engine design. The 3.6 and smaller engines are effected to a lesser extent.

IMS was a major issue on 05 and earlier cars, 06 built cars got a stronger IMS.

 

[Gibbo]

That does make for really terrifying reading! It's almost put me off the Cayman as my next car.

Pre-inspection purchase is everything.