Porsche 911 997.1 Daily Driver
Discussion
10 month update
So iv had the car for 10 months now and have driven about 7k miles.
The car hasn't been faultless but it also hasn't left me stranded. For a 15 year heavily depreciated high mileage old car ill take that as a win.
In regards to trip[s with the car iv not really managed any road trips. Iv brought it to the lake district and peak district etc for day trips but it is a shame I haven't been on a 'proper' driving holiday. Its solely been used as a joint daily and a car to go on days out at the weekends. These are scenarios in which the car is perfect for, I can commute to work on open limit windy roads and love every second of it - I still get excited for my drive to and from work everyday.
The car is also really good for long motorway distances, it can sit at silly high speeds and feel stable and just eat the miles. A lot of the time you look down at the speedo and are shocked at how quick you've just been going. My initial annoyance with the car was tyre noise on the motorway but a new set of PS4S'S did sort it out - its still not a quiet car on the motorway but it doesn't annoy me anymore.
I do get asked a lot about running costs etc. I don't keep track of how much petrol goes in it, I just fill it up and enjoy it - if I thought about this too much I think id cry myself to sleep every night.
However I do keep track of every penny spent in maintenance/mods, I love YouTube channels that buy high mileage cars and track the costs of owning one and I guess that's what attracted me to getting my car - best way to know how much it will cost to run is to do it myself.
Maintenance/Mod Costs
Here is my breakdown of maintenance/mod costs that I keep track of on a spreadsheet. Yet again iv blurred out the purchase price as it doesn't affect the running costs and I don't want anyone's opinions about the price I paid.
So that sits me at over 3k spent in the last 10 months - iv saved a lot doing my own labour. Even without mods it sits me at 2.5k to maintain - was to be expected with a car like this.
Future plans
Main plan is to drive it! Iv got the car to a place I'm pretty happy with it so its now time to enjoy it - I'm fetching it on a camping trip to Cornwall next week so that will be a good trip for it
Plans for more mods and maintenance is:
-Get seatbelts re done red or possibly just red edges - this would lift the boring black interior
-Maybe install a nice headunit - would be nice but iv not felt the need for this yet, I use my phone for satnav and I'm happy listening got the radio most the time
-Reupholster the steering wheel, gear gaiter and handbrake boot with alacantara with red stitching - this will lift the interior like the seatbelts
- Possibly a nice black forest industries shift knob - these are expensive but seem to be the go to ones for 911s
-Install a smaller 'under drive pulley' along with a smaller drive belt. This is meant to reduce drag on the drivebelt . Probs makes no difference but id enjoy fitting it.
- Install the larger turbo brakes (same as what I did on the front) to the rears when the time comes for rear brakes
When I bought this car I promised myself I wouldn't modify it as it helped me work out my man maths. Oh well, what a shame, ill just have to keep it now and never sell it
Thought it would be good to do a post to review the mods iv done - it may help out another 997 owner
Ill list the mods and write a summary with them of how I feel about them
-Engine Mounts
Slightly more vibration that oem, however the back end of the car feels more together - maybe its in my head but I did feel the difference.
-Intake Bypass Pipe
Produces a lovely noise at higher RPMS - IS a must for 997 owners
-GT3 Brake Ducts
Will probably make no difference at all but was fun installing them and they were only a fiver from my local OPC
-Grille Mesh
Essential to prevent the front rads getting debris in them and rotting.
-Maxton Splitter
Looks cool - still not keen on the colour so might get it resprayed one day. It makes the car lower but can still get over speedbumps etc
-Turbo Brakes + Brake hoses
Brakes feel better and bite sooner - may just be the fact they are new and probably a combination of new flexi brake lines and new fluid
Ill list the mods and write a summary with them of how I feel about them
-Engine Mounts
Slightly more vibration that oem, however the back end of the car feels more together - maybe its in my head but I did feel the difference.
-Intake Bypass Pipe
Produces a lovely noise at higher RPMS - IS a must for 997 owners
-GT3 Brake Ducts
Will probably make no difference at all but was fun installing them and they were only a fiver from my local OPC
-Grille Mesh
Essential to prevent the front rads getting debris in them and rotting.
-Maxton Splitter
Looks cool - still not keen on the colour so might get it resprayed one day. It makes the car lower but can still get over speedbumps etc
-Turbo Brakes + Brake hoses
Brakes feel better and bite sooner - may just be the fact they are new and probably a combination of new flexi brake lines and new fluid
AyBee said:
I think your man maths needs some work - I'd definitely be classing the exhaust as a mod, or at the very least, classing £250 (replacement second hand OEM?) as maintenance and the rest as a mod 
That's the best thing about man math's though, I can just class the exhaust as maintenance Cars running great now after the work iv put in over the last month or so, I'm embarking on a trip to Cornwall in it in the early hours of the morning so will be interesting to see how it is for 5 hours in the car, I'm going in convoy with a friend in a campervan so I'm hoping to make the 350 miles there in one tank of fuel.
The roof bars have gone back onto the car and iv got to say, I do think it looks fantastic with them.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/tdxjDAFH[/url
Since the car has freshly been serviced I thought id pop over to a local Porsche Specialist (Unique Porsche) to plug their computer in to read over revs etc. Granted if anything did show up bad then there wasn't much I can do but I was curious to see what it would show. Unique Porsche is like heaven when you walk in:
Here are the over revs results: (for non Porsche people the ECU stores data on the rev ranges that the car has hit - its a good way of seeing if any mis shifts have happened. )
So the car has never hit rev limit 4 or above which was great to see. Ranges 1-3 are common with hard driving and hitting the limiter. Anything range 4+ is associated with a mis shift. This shows that the car has never had a "money shift" and i'm pretty happy that ranges 4,5,6 are clear.
The other thing the computer did was check the mileage to see if its ever been clocked - it shows circa 160000 as its in KM. This was also nice to see that the car had never been clocked.
Whilst the computer was plugged in we made it so the sports chrono clock illuminates when the side/head lights are on - this looks great at night and its such a shame it doesn't illuminate with the lights from factory.
Iv got to say the guys at Unique Porsche are fantastic and friendly and for anything I cant/wont do myself my car will be going to them. Darren had all the time in the world for me and answered loads of questions I had and I cant thank him enough.
The roof bars have gone back onto the car and iv got to say, I do think it looks fantastic with them.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/tdxjDAFH[/urlSince the car has freshly been serviced I thought id pop over to a local Porsche Specialist (Unique Porsche) to plug their computer in to read over revs etc. Granted if anything did show up bad then there wasn't much I can do but I was curious to see what it would show. Unique Porsche is like heaven when you walk in:
Here are the over revs results: (for non Porsche people the ECU stores data on the rev ranges that the car has hit - its a good way of seeing if any mis shifts have happened. )
So the car has never hit rev limit 4 or above which was great to see. Ranges 1-3 are common with hard driving and hitting the limiter. Anything range 4+ is associated with a mis shift. This shows that the car has never had a "money shift" and i'm pretty happy that ranges 4,5,6 are clear.
The other thing the computer did was check the mileage to see if its ever been clocked - it shows circa 160000 as its in KM. This was also nice to see that the car had never been clocked.
Whilst the computer was plugged in we made it so the sports chrono clock illuminates when the side/head lights are on - this looks great at night and its such a shame it doesn't illuminate with the lights from factory.
Iv got to say the guys at Unique Porsche are fantastic and friendly and for anything I cant/wont do myself my car will be going to them. Darren had all the time in the world for me and answered loads of questions I had and I cant thank him enough.
800 miles completed successfully in the last 5 days. As a group we had a small convoy down to Cornwall with rather varied vehicle types:
At least with the presence of the MX5 it was nice to know we had a mobile hairdresser if needed.
The T4 has less power than my pedal bike and has the aerodynamics of a large brick so progress was slow but steady, I normally try and make progress as quickly as possible but it was nice in this instance to sit back and chill at a steady speed and enjoy the scenery.
Its the longest journey iv done in the 911 and I have no complaints with how it ate up the miles. Its my first car with cruise control and was a blessing through all the 50 and 60 roadwork zones.
The weather in Cornwall (Perranporth to be precise ) was spot on, however more drinking happened than driving so the car didn't move much in Cornwall.
I was finishing my trip in Plymouth to meet a friend so I went via the coast roads and there was some fantastic views.
My favorite part was the Bodinnick ferry in Fowey. Its a small little ferry to cross the river Fowey. My first attempt at getting on it came to an end when my front splitter looked like it was gonna be ripped off when getting onto it. I had to wait till high tide so the angle was better to drive on.
After this ferry it was more coast roads until I got to the Torpoint ferry crossing. This ferry interested me a lot, its chain driven so its basically a floating bridge in a way.
After spending a day and a night in Plymouth it was time to head home, there was one issue with the car on the way back. At certain rpms and under certain loads the clutch appears to slip a few hundred rpm. Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't so there is definitely something up. I took it easy going home and made it home without breaking down. I'm a keen mechanic but I don't trust myself doing a clutch on my driveway so I'll pop into Unique Porsche Specialist and have a see what they think.
I do worry that the flywheel will want replacing aswell due to the mileage of the car, bit of an unexpected cost but atleast once its done its then sorted for many years to come.
At least with the presence of the MX5 it was nice to know we had a mobile hairdresser if needed.
The T4 has less power than my pedal bike and has the aerodynamics of a large brick so progress was slow but steady, I normally try and make progress as quickly as possible but it was nice in this instance to sit back and chill at a steady speed and enjoy the scenery.
Its the longest journey iv done in the 911 and I have no complaints with how it ate up the miles. Its my first car with cruise control and was a blessing through all the 50 and 60 roadwork zones.
The weather in Cornwall (Perranporth to be precise ) was spot on, however more drinking happened than driving so the car didn't move much in Cornwall.
I was finishing my trip in Plymouth to meet a friend so I went via the coast roads and there was some fantastic views.
My favorite part was the Bodinnick ferry in Fowey. Its a small little ferry to cross the river Fowey. My first attempt at getting on it came to an end when my front splitter looked like it was gonna be ripped off when getting onto it. I had to wait till high tide so the angle was better to drive on.
After this ferry it was more coast roads until I got to the Torpoint ferry crossing. This ferry interested me a lot, its chain driven so its basically a floating bridge in a way.
After spending a day and a night in Plymouth it was time to head home, there was one issue with the car on the way back. At certain rpms and under certain loads the clutch appears to slip a few hundred rpm. Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't so there is definitely something up. I took it easy going home and made it home without breaking down. I'm a keen mechanic but I don't trust myself doing a clutch on my driveway so I'll pop into Unique Porsche Specialist and have a see what they think.
I do worry that the flywheel will want replacing aswell due to the mileage of the car, bit of an unexpected cost but atleast once its done its then sorted for many years to come.
Cars being dropped off at the specialist tonight for them to investigate the issue - gonna have a check of the RMS and IMS aswell whilst gearbox is out. My IMS does have a slight weep so I imagine this will be changed.
There's also some brake lines and coolant lines and starter cable that are all known to need replacing at my cars age so we are going to have a look at them aswell. These go over the engine so if the engine was to be lowered to do these now would be the time to do it.
Probably a big bill incoming but atleast the car will be sorted
There's also some brake lines and coolant lines and starter cable that are all known to need replacing at my cars age so we are going to have a look at them aswell. These go over the engine so if the engine was to be lowered to do these now would be the time to do it.
Probably a big bill incoming but atleast the car will be sorted
Edited by adean22 on Tuesday 30th August 14:04
Edited by adean22 on Tuesday 30th August 14:05
Update from the specialist
Clutch is dead and worn down a lot but flywheel is fine so that's a relief.
There's an oil leak from the RMS / IMS area - I picked up on this when I serviced it. So the RMS and IMS housing seal is being changed. In good news though the IMS looks to be fine and no issues whatsoever with it - from a visual inspection
There's also a badly corroded cable connection to the starter motor so that's being replaced which may solve the slow start issue. However they have also said it may be the starter that's the issue - we are going to do the cable and go from there.
I'm really impressed with the service from the specialist , in just over 12 hours since dropping my car off they've got the gearbox out and have diagnosed my issue, aswell as documenting it with photos.
Plus a phone call to check what work can be carried out before they do it is always a nice gesture. Hopefully ill get the car back in the next few days.
Clutch is dead and worn down a lot but flywheel is fine so that's a relief.
There's an oil leak from the RMS / IMS area - I picked up on this when I serviced it. So the RMS and IMS housing seal is being changed. In good news though the IMS looks to be fine and no issues whatsoever with it - from a visual inspection
There's also a badly corroded cable connection to the starter motor so that's being replaced which may solve the slow start issue. However they have also said it may be the starter that's the issue - we are going to do the cable and go from there.
I'm really impressed with the service from the specialist , in just over 12 hours since dropping my car off they've got the gearbox out and have diagnosed my issue, aswell as documenting it with photos.
Plus a phone call to check what work can be carried out before they do it is always a nice gesture. Hopefully ill get the car back in the next few days.
Edited by adean22 on Wednesday 31st August 14:20
Matt-88h42 said:
What a fantastic owners blog you have written, it has been really interesting reading about your issues and mods to date. It’s so nice to see someone using and enjoying the car daily and fixing / upgrading the important parts, not just worrying about looks and depreciation.
I also daily drive a MY07 Atlas Grey 997.1 C2S with turbo wheels from the factory, main differences to your car are the sand beige interior and rear wiper.
Like you I also think the turbo wheels suit this car and look 10 times better in the flesh than in any photos. They’re not bad to keep clean either as you can’t see the brake dust on the insides.
Mine came with a Designtek switchable exhaust which sounds great in both standard and loud modes. I also have a Mobridge fitted to the original PCM which works well enough and the Bose system sounds great but the controls are very dated and not so user friendly.
I bought mine in May and have driven around 2k miles so far with no maintenance to report other than a punctured rear tyre which could not be repaired, luckily I found a matching P Zero N2 spec with the same 6mm tread depth on eBay for just £35.
After reading this I might change the engine mounts soon to see if it improves the gearshift. I also have a weep on the IMS/RMS which I will investigate when the clutch gives up. The larger turbo discs are another appealing mod but mine are all new so won’t be getting replaced for a few years yet.
Please keep posting, it’s been a brilliant read so I far and for me, an education for what I might have to come as my miles pile up, I’m currently at 66k.
Thankyou for your positive, your car looks stunning but I may be biased I also daily drive a MY07 Atlas Grey 997.1 C2S with turbo wheels from the factory, main differences to your car are the sand beige interior and rear wiper.
Like you I also think the turbo wheels suit this car and look 10 times better in the flesh than in any photos. They’re not bad to keep clean either as you can’t see the brake dust on the insides.
Mine came with a Designtek switchable exhaust which sounds great in both standard and loud modes. I also have a Mobridge fitted to the original PCM which works well enough and the Bose system sounds great but the controls are very dated and not so user friendly.
I bought mine in May and have driven around 2k miles so far with no maintenance to report other than a punctured rear tyre which could not be repaired, luckily I found a matching P Zero N2 spec with the same 6mm tread depth on eBay for just £35.
After reading this I might change the engine mounts soon to see if it improves the gearshift. I also have a weep on the IMS/RMS which I will investigate when the clutch gives up. The larger turbo discs are another appealing mod but mine are all new so won’t be getting replaced for a few years yet.
Please keep posting, it’s been a brilliant read so I far and for me, an education for what I might have to come as my miles pile up, I’m currently at 66k.
Edited by Matt-88h42 on Friday 2nd September 01:01
Edited by Matt-88h42 on Friday 2nd September 01:02
In regards to engine mounts Its not uncommon for them to break and leave half your engine dropped which no one wants so its worth doing them for piece of mind. The way the mounts are mounted, the engine hangs off them as oppose to sitting on them so if they do fail your engine is literally dropping down. If I was to change them again I'm not sure if I would stick with oem or semi solid mounts, the semi solid mounts have more vibration at idle and when the aircon is on the vibration gets worse, just something to bear in mind if you go for them.
If you read my next post you'll be able to see the IMS and RMS when the gearbox is out
Collected my car last night from the Porsche Specialist, was a nice surprise to see they had cleaned the inside and outside of the car and it was spotless throughout.
Car ended up with new clutch kit (clutch, pressure plate and release bearing), new IMS flange seal, new RMS seal, new timing bungs (the engine has to be timed up before removing the IMS flange or something like that) and a 12v power cable was fixed as it was badly corroded.
Here is the view of the engine with the gearbox out
You can see a lot of oil build up from either the IMS or the RMS - hard to tell which one it is. However the choice was to replace both seals as the gearbox was already out and the parts costs next to nothing.
The wire that was fixed was heavily corroded and was barely making contact with the terminal anymore
The old clutch was very worn down and was close to being down to the rivets in some parts
What's interesting is the wear on the clutch isn't perfectly even and the clutch pressure plate housing wasn't sitting flush with the bit where the release bearing sits. Its like something within the pressure plate had broken or bent causing the clutch to be sitting about 1 degree out of parallel to the flywheel. This explains the judder I was getting through my clutch pedal.
The clutch feels way way way better now, its a lot lighter and way smoother, only know do i realize how bad the clutch has been for the last few months.
Here is the box of old parts that came off the car:
Iv got to say Unique Porsche Specialists in Bolton are great, they are so knowledgeable on these cars and their customer service is the best iv ever had. They gave my car a full valet, did all the work and even programmed in my windows to open and close with my unlock/lock button. All the work came to a very reasonable price aswell, and the fact they took picture's of the work and kept the old parts to explain and show me what had gone wrong is fantastic.
Ownership cost update
So after the clutch etc has been done I'm now sitting at spending £4,412 on fixing the car plus a few mods (about 800 quid of mods). Ill be honest, that's more than I expected in less than a year - not a complaint just an observation. Think the purchase price of these cars is probably the cheapest part about them compared to running one.
Since I have new tyres, clutch, exhausts and all the other work that's been done I'm hoping for the next year to cost less than this year. It may not and I'm fine if not as its worth every penny.
Now time to save up for and plan a trip to the Nürburgring next year.
Car ended up with new clutch kit (clutch, pressure plate and release bearing), new IMS flange seal, new RMS seal, new timing bungs (the engine has to be timed up before removing the IMS flange or something like that) and a 12v power cable was fixed as it was badly corroded.
Here is the view of the engine with the gearbox out
You can see a lot of oil build up from either the IMS or the RMS - hard to tell which one it is. However the choice was to replace both seals as the gearbox was already out and the parts costs next to nothing.
The wire that was fixed was heavily corroded and was barely making contact with the terminal anymore
The old clutch was very worn down and was close to being down to the rivets in some parts
What's interesting is the wear on the clutch isn't perfectly even and the clutch pressure plate housing wasn't sitting flush with the bit where the release bearing sits. Its like something within the pressure plate had broken or bent causing the clutch to be sitting about 1 degree out of parallel to the flywheel. This explains the judder I was getting through my clutch pedal.
The clutch feels way way way better now, its a lot lighter and way smoother, only know do i realize how bad the clutch has been for the last few months.
Here is the box of old parts that came off the car:
Iv got to say Unique Porsche Specialists in Bolton are great, they are so knowledgeable on these cars and their customer service is the best iv ever had. They gave my car a full valet, did all the work and even programmed in my windows to open and close with my unlock/lock button. All the work came to a very reasonable price aswell, and the fact they took picture's of the work and kept the old parts to explain and show me what had gone wrong is fantastic.
Ownership cost update
So after the clutch etc has been done I'm now sitting at spending £4,412 on fixing the car plus a few mods (about 800 quid of mods). Ill be honest, that's more than I expected in less than a year - not a complaint just an observation. Think the purchase price of these cars is probably the cheapest part about them compared to running one.
Since I have new tyres, clutch, exhausts and all the other work that's been done I'm hoping for the next year to cost less than this year. It may not and I'm fine if not as its worth every penny.
Now time to save up for and plan a trip to the Nürburgring next year.
rob1234 said:
Great thread - I've had a similar 997.1 C4S since March and am loving it.
Silly question, but what mesh did you use for the bumper? Trying to to decide metal vs plastic and mesh size...!
I used plastic mesh, I think it's made for gutters to be honest but It does the job, metal would be harder to work with and get to shape Silly question, but what mesh did you use for the bumper? Trying to to decide metal vs plastic and mesh size...!
Cars running better than ever with the new clutch and is coming up to 102,500 miles. The MOT is due in a few weeks so I need to get that booked - its always nerve racking fetching a car to its first MOT in your ownership but it should be fine, fingers crossed.
When my car was in at the specialist for the clutch, it was noted that the exhaust clamps were the wrong kind - they were for a 996 not a 997.
On inspection you could see some black around the clamp so they were leaking slightly. The specialist recommended that I go for OEM Porsche clamps as they find all the other start to rust away after a few years but the OEM ones don't. Plus the OEM ones are about £70 as oppose to about £40 for aftermarket so they are only £30 extra .
Luckily I knew everything would come undone easily as it had only recently been in bits when I did the exhaust.
New VS Old
Setting about swapping them out:
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/1TQqt2aJ[/ur]
New clamps are on and no more leaks, the car is also a bit quieter so that shows it was leaking slightly before. I also added some copper slip to the new clamps to prevent them getting stuck on the exhaust in years to come. I also orientated the clamps the correct way this time. When I fitted the exhaust I installed the clamps back to how they were when I got the car but when my clutch was done it was noted that the clamps were the wrong way round (didn't change the function - just annoyed peoples OCD) .
So the clamps are now the correct clamps as well as being installed in the correct orientation.
When my car was in at the specialist for the clutch, it was noted that the exhaust clamps were the wrong kind - they were for a 996 not a 997.
On inspection you could see some black around the clamp so they were leaking slightly. The specialist recommended that I go for OEM Porsche clamps as they find all the other start to rust away after a few years but the OEM ones don't. Plus the OEM ones are about £70 as oppose to about £40 for aftermarket so they are only £30 extra .
Luckily I knew everything would come undone easily as it had only recently been in bits when I did the exhaust.
New VS Old
Setting about swapping them out:
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/1TQqt2aJ[/ur]New clamps are on and no more leaks, the car is also a bit quieter so that shows it was leaking slightly before. I also added some copper slip to the new clamps to prevent them getting stuck on the exhaust in years to come. I also orientated the clamps the correct way this time. When I fitted the exhaust I installed the clamps back to how they were when I got the car but when my clutch was done it was noted that the clamps were the wrong way round (didn't change the function - just annoyed peoples OCD) .
So the clamps are now the correct clamps as well as being installed in the correct orientation.
Edited by adean22 on Tuesday 20th September 12:09
The car has finally been brought into the 21st century with a double din android auto/carplay. Id become fed up of using one of them FM transmitters and knowing i want to go round Europe in the car next year it only made sense to install a proper android auto/carplay radio.
I went for the Pioneer SPH DA360 DAB Radio. For around 430 quid I believe its good value as it has wireless car play/android auto. This way i can keep my phone in my pocket and when I sit on my car it will automatically start android auto without me even needing to plug the phone in.
I needed a double din fascia to go around the radio so I ordered one from ebay and it was only about 35 quid.
Radio install was really easy to wire up as the standard ISO plugs off the old radio plugged straight into the new ones. Plus as the previous owner had a double din radio installed at some point there was already a dab aerial wired in and a 12v from an ignition feed. Also as my car doesn't have the bose system no expensive adapter leads are required so that made life easier.
Here is the radio installed and I think it look's great, looks fairly stock in my opinion. Far better than the old PCM unit that looked like something out of the 90s
The radio has been great so far and its great having sat nav+ bluetooth all built in. Next job is to upgrade the speakers as the speakers aren't the best in the car. Only slight annoyance is the fact that the surround is ever so slightly a different shade, this could be due to the texture. In most lights it looks the same but in certain lighting and photos it does look a little different. It doesn't annoy me too much and i can hardly notice the difference anyway.
Another annoyance is the lack of a volume knob, I knew this before installing it but i reckon I have a solution that ill give a go in the next few weeks
Iv also got a alcantara gear gaitor with red stitching coming this week - im gonna try and go with a subtle red theme inside the car to liven up the boring black interior.
When I get time ill also install a reversing camera, I have sensors so its not needed but it would be a nice little touch.
I also attended a Porsche day at Jamine Porschalink on sunday, the owner turned up in something rather special, the first time I had ever seen one in the flesh.
I went for the Pioneer SPH DA360 DAB Radio. For around 430 quid I believe its good value as it has wireless car play/android auto. This way i can keep my phone in my pocket and when I sit on my car it will automatically start android auto without me even needing to plug the phone in.
I needed a double din fascia to go around the radio so I ordered one from ebay and it was only about 35 quid.
Radio install was really easy to wire up as the standard ISO plugs off the old radio plugged straight into the new ones. Plus as the previous owner had a double din radio installed at some point there was already a dab aerial wired in and a 12v from an ignition feed. Also as my car doesn't have the bose system no expensive adapter leads are required so that made life easier.
Here is the radio installed and I think it look's great, looks fairly stock in my opinion. Far better than the old PCM unit that looked like something out of the 90s
The radio has been great so far and its great having sat nav+ bluetooth all built in. Next job is to upgrade the speakers as the speakers aren't the best in the car. Only slight annoyance is the fact that the surround is ever so slightly a different shade, this could be due to the texture. In most lights it looks the same but in certain lighting and photos it does look a little different. It doesn't annoy me too much and i can hardly notice the difference anyway.
Another annoyance is the lack of a volume knob, I knew this before installing it but i reckon I have a solution that ill give a go in the next few weeks
Iv also got a alcantara gear gaitor with red stitching coming this week - im gonna try and go with a subtle red theme inside the car to liven up the boring black interior.
When I get time ill also install a reversing camera, I have sensors so its not needed but it would be a nice little touch.
I also attended a Porsche day at Jamine Porschalink on sunday, the owner turned up in something rather special, the first time I had ever seen one in the flesh.
Edited by adean22 on Monday 26th September 12:42
Edited by adean22 on Monday 26th September 13:28
With new regs out it was the time of year to sort out new company's cars etc, anything that's not fully electric is crippling in company car tax. An electric car doesn't suit my work, I may go in expecting a day at the office and end up travelling up to Scotland etc. Don't want the stress of charging points or range anxiety. I also don't personally belive electric cars are the way forwards but that's a whole other discussion. So me being naive and stupid opted for car allowance and to run the 911 for work.
So now we have a highway maintance 911 : ). Not sure 45p a mile is gonna cover fuel but I'll have a fun time finding out. Can always reaasses the situation in a years time. Just need to get my orange flashy lights wired up now.
1 year with the car
Today marks one year with the car, this post will breakdown ownership costs for running the car over a year.
First off here's a pic of the car earnings its keep
I keep track off maintenance/mod costs on an excel spreadsheet, iv tried to attach it but the quality ends up really bad each time so ill sum it up below.
Iv spent £5076.24 in total on mods and maintenance. £3801.93 of that is in maintenance and the rest is mods. This is over 10,000 miles
I am aware that its a lot of money, a hell of a lot just to maintain a car over a year. Especially when factoring in i'v done most the work myself, I dread to think how much it would be if I wasn't handy with the spanners .
These costs could of been lower by not opting for a valved exhaust or not installing larger brakes etc.
Now lets move onto insurance and fuel etc.
So over the year the following has cost:
Road Tax : £600
Insurance : £2000 (I'm still young, glad to know when it renews next month though its only £600. I think this is rather good when it includes business aswell)
Fuel: £3810.05. Thats assuming 21mpg average and using 476.19 gallons of fuel at just under £8 a gallon.
So let's add everything together. That gives us £11,486.29.
Now, that's a lot of money don't get me wrong but that includes absolutely everything. It just shows that when running an older highly depreciated car the purchase price is probably the cheapest part of the car.
Your probably thinking was it worth it or how do I feel about that cost. In my opinion it has been 100% worth it, iv enjoyed every second in the car and you cant put a value on that. Even when I turn the key to start it every morning it has me smiling away, no matter how stressed I am or how many things have gone wrong at work or in my homelife. I can always go for a drive and have it put a smile on my face.
Iv also loved working on the car myself, everything is logical and fits together exactly how you would expect (coming from mg ownership this wasn't something I was used to)
So here's to another year with the car, hopefully it will be a cheaper year as iv got a lot of maintenance done this year - but we will have to see.
Today marks one year with the car, this post will breakdown ownership costs for running the car over a year.
First off here's a pic of the car earnings its keep
I keep track off maintenance/mod costs on an excel spreadsheet, iv tried to attach it but the quality ends up really bad each time so ill sum it up below.
Iv spent £5076.24 in total on mods and maintenance. £3801.93 of that is in maintenance and the rest is mods. This is over 10,000 miles
I am aware that its a lot of money, a hell of a lot just to maintain a car over a year. Especially when factoring in i'v done most the work myself, I dread to think how much it would be if I wasn't handy with the spanners .
These costs could of been lower by not opting for a valved exhaust or not installing larger brakes etc.
Now lets move onto insurance and fuel etc.
So over the year the following has cost:
Road Tax : £600
Insurance : £2000 (I'm still young, glad to know when it renews next month though its only £600. I think this is rather good when it includes business aswell)
Fuel: £3810.05. Thats assuming 21mpg average and using 476.19 gallons of fuel at just under £8 a gallon.
So let's add everything together. That gives us £11,486.29.
Now, that's a lot of money don't get me wrong but that includes absolutely everything. It just shows that when running an older highly depreciated car the purchase price is probably the cheapest part of the car.
Your probably thinking was it worth it or how do I feel about that cost. In my opinion it has been 100% worth it, iv enjoyed every second in the car and you cant put a value on that. Even when I turn the key to start it every morning it has me smiling away, no matter how stressed I am or how many things have gone wrong at work or in my homelife. I can always go for a drive and have it put a smile on my face.
Iv also loved working on the car myself, everything is logical and fits together exactly how you would expect (coming from mg ownership this wasn't something I was used to)
So here's to another year with the car, hopefully it will be a cheaper year as iv got a lot of maintenance done this year - but we will have to see.
Edited by adean22 on Sunday 16th October 16:49
Edited by adean22 on Sunday 16th October 16:51
Firstly, happy new year everyone
Iv been quiet on here recently, hasn't been much to report on the car. Nothing mechanical has broke or needed sorting.
However there was a mishap towards the end of last year - I do feel its important to also share bad experiences with the car on here.
So using the magnetic beacon on the car up on the A66 travelling at about 45mph , the wind caught underneath it and blew it off the car. This is connected to the cig lighter with a wire through the sunroof so when the light came off it simply bungeed on the wire and started repeatedly hitting the roof of the car . I didn't have a clue what this noise was at first until I looked in my wingmirror and saw the light had moved to the side of my car and started hitting that as well . Luckily this stopped when the wire snapped.
So here is the damage:
The pictures make the damage look less than it was.
So yeah, that was a great end to the year.
I managed to get a paintless dent guy to get the two big dents out the side aswell as a few little ones near it. Massive praises to Dent Detail PDR in Leyland who did this, a few places had some they couldn't get them out (they were bad and deep) nut he managed to get them out - very impressed with him. Also really happy that this avoided the side of the car needing paint
Next up was sorting the roof and the c pillar - these would require pulling and painting - what a pain.
However I got the roof and the c pillar painted and the car is back to its former glory, I'm annoyed that the roof had to be repainted but it cant be helped. I guess its a 15 year old car at the end of the day so you can expect it to have some paint done to it. I am really impressed with the paintjob as well which was a relief.
As daft as I am; I have learnt from my mistakes. I'm now getting the beacons installed in the front grilles and under the rear spoiler so there is no need to attach anything to the car.
Things like this happen and you've just got to take it on the chin and sort it - id rather fix the car when things go wrong than just have the car sat in a garage not being used. I'm really lucky the light didn't hit someone's else car when it flew off and I'm really lucky it didn't hit a person. Bit of money spent and the car is as good as new so everything is fine again. Ill try get some pictures up when I next wash the car.
Car has now hit 105k miles and will be going to Germany in May for the autobahn and Nurburgring and the outer Hebrides in summer . So here's to a year of many road trips
Iv been quiet on here recently, hasn't been much to report on the car. Nothing mechanical has broke or needed sorting.
However there was a mishap towards the end of last year - I do feel its important to also share bad experiences with the car on here.
So using the magnetic beacon on the car up on the A66 travelling at about 45mph , the wind caught underneath it and blew it off the car. This is connected to the cig lighter with a wire through the sunroof so when the light came off it simply bungeed on the wire and started repeatedly hitting the roof of the car . I didn't have a clue what this noise was at first until I looked in my wingmirror and saw the light had moved to the side of my car and started hitting that as well . Luckily this stopped when the wire snapped.
So here is the damage:
The pictures make the damage look less than it was.
So yeah, that was a great end to the year.
I managed to get a paintless dent guy to get the two big dents out the side aswell as a few little ones near it. Massive praises to Dent Detail PDR in Leyland who did this, a few places had some they couldn't get them out (they were bad and deep) nut he managed to get them out - very impressed with him. Also really happy that this avoided the side of the car needing paint
Next up was sorting the roof and the c pillar - these would require pulling and painting - what a pain.
However I got the roof and the c pillar painted and the car is back to its former glory, I'm annoyed that the roof had to be repainted but it cant be helped. I guess its a 15 year old car at the end of the day so you can expect it to have some paint done to it. I am really impressed with the paintjob as well which was a relief.
As daft as I am; I have learnt from my mistakes. I'm now getting the beacons installed in the front grilles and under the rear spoiler so there is no need to attach anything to the car.
Things like this happen and you've just got to take it on the chin and sort it - id rather fix the car when things go wrong than just have the car sat in a garage not being used. I'm really lucky the light didn't hit someone's else car when it flew off and I'm really lucky it didn't hit a person. Bit of money spent and the car is as good as new so everything is fine again. Ill try get some pictures up when I next wash the car.
Car has now hit 105k miles and will be going to Germany in May for the autobahn and Nurburgring and the outer Hebrides in summer . So here's to a year of many road trips
Edited by adean22 on Tuesday 3rd January 16:32
Not much to update really, the 911 has been earning its keep and has now got to just under 107k miles
It was service time for the 997 this weekend. Its been 7k miles since it was last serviced and I don't like it going over 7k miles between
Same as last time I used Millers NT+ 10W50 oil - it gets high praises in the porsche world so ill stick with it.
It also marks 8 weeks till I take the car to Germany for the autobahns and Nürburgring so I wanted to have a good check of everything and ensure the car is in good shape. This is where having access to a ramp is extremely useful.
Armed with all my supply's I set about servicing it
It still amazes me the amount of oil that comes out - it takes about 8.25 litres.
I also plugged in a code reader to read any codes that has been stored - iv had no engine lights etc so I didn't expect anything to be stored . It did come it with a few codes but these were related to not having the factory PCM (radio+multimedia) installed so there was nothing to worry about.
Whilst the car was on the ramp and due to the long trip planned in May I thought it was wise to change all the brake fluid - I only did it about 7k miles ago but the machine at work only takes a few mins to do each caliper anyway- its a very handy piece of kit.
You just attach it to the reservoir cap and then when you open up the bleed nipples on the calipers it pushes through the brake fluid.
The OBD2 machine came in handy for activating the ABS pump so that even the fluid within the ABS pump would be changed . Was really simple, just click start and it pumps the ABS pump.
The fluid that comes out at the nipples is caught by a bottle so its al kept simple and clean
After bleeding the brakes I checked oil level and id got it bang on perfect, I still wish it had a real dipstick instead of the silly digital one.
Car is now ready to go for the next 7k miles - next update will probably be pictures of a euro road trip in May
It was service time for the 997 this weekend. Its been 7k miles since it was last serviced and I don't like it going over 7k miles between
Same as last time I used Millers NT+ 10W50 oil - it gets high praises in the porsche world so ill stick with it.
It also marks 8 weeks till I take the car to Germany for the autobahns and Nürburgring so I wanted to have a good check of everything and ensure the car is in good shape. This is where having access to a ramp is extremely useful.
Armed with all my supply's I set about servicing it
It still amazes me the amount of oil that comes out - it takes about 8.25 litres.
I also plugged in a code reader to read any codes that has been stored - iv had no engine lights etc so I didn't expect anything to be stored . It did come it with a few codes but these were related to not having the factory PCM (radio+multimedia) installed so there was nothing to worry about.
Whilst the car was on the ramp and due to the long trip planned in May I thought it was wise to change all the brake fluid - I only did it about 7k miles ago but the machine at work only takes a few mins to do each caliper anyway- its a very handy piece of kit.
You just attach it to the reservoir cap and then when you open up the bleed nipples on the calipers it pushes through the brake fluid.
The OBD2 machine came in handy for activating the ABS pump so that even the fluid within the ABS pump would be changed . Was really simple, just click start and it pumps the ABS pump.
The fluid that comes out at the nipples is caught by a bottle so its al kept simple and clean
After bleeding the brakes I checked oil level and id got it bang on perfect, I still wish it had a real dipstick instead of the silly digital one.
Car is now ready to go for the next 7k miles - next update will probably be pictures of a euro road trip in May
Edited by adean22 on Monday 6th March 18:25
Shermanator said:
I spotted you!
I was travelling down south for work on Thursday with a couple of colleagues and I saw a Porsche 911 Highway Maintenance on the on slip. You promptly gunned it and were off in the distance. It sounded great! And the chevrons on the back were a great laugh.
Glad to hear I was spotted - I did think it was only a matter of time. Cant imagine there's many 911s with chevrons I was travelling down south for work on Thursday with a couple of colleagues and I saw a Porsche 911 Highway Maintenance on the on slip. You promptly gunned it and were off in the distance. It sounded great! And the chevrons on the back were a great laugh.
Guessing it was somewhere between Newcastle and Preston?
I love the fact that I can drive around the country with it like that and hopefully it makes people smile - if it can brighten up someone's day then it makes putting a daft amount of miles and wear and tear on the car worth it.
Bit of an impromptu trip but just booked to go across to the Isle Of Man at the end of this month - Iv just about got over the cost of the ferry - Nearly £300!!!!
I can only imagine its dearer when the TT is on as well - scandalous
Will be visiting a friend who lives there but also going to explore the island and see what the roads are like. A quick google search shows the following roads:
I'm hoping the roads make the ferry cost worth it - only one way to find out!
I can only imagine its dearer when the TT is on as well - scandalous
Will be visiting a friend who lives there but also going to explore the island and see what the roads are like. A quick google search shows the following roads:
I'm hoping the roads make the ferry cost worth it - only one way to find out!
Iv just watched that episode since you mentioned it - its interesting how despite the power disadvantage the 911 was a fair but quicker
Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
Also interesting as the M5 and Aston were in my top pick of choices instead of the 911 - all around similar money. 911 was the choice as I felt it was the best compromise between running costs and performance. M5 was a choice purely for the reason of V10 - don't really need another reason do I. But running and maintaining that engine would of bankrupted me. Aston was a choice due to the looks and sound, but yet again running and maintaining it would of wiped me out.
I do still have the itch for owning a V10 & a V8 though - we will have to see. I'm hoping when all the emission zones come in and big engine cars become worthless I can just buy up a V8 and V10
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