fourwheelers Manual X50 996 Turbo
Discussion
Hello all,
I recently started a thread about potentially buying a 996 Turbo... and boy did that time come around
At the weekend, am thrilled to announce that I collected my very first Porsche, a 2004 plate 76k mile, manual, X50 equipped 911 Turbo (996) .. and when I say it out loud, it seems a little crazy. While i've wanted one a while.. I didn't ever think i'd lay my hands on one.
I love the car.. and all I can say is that it insane. That said, I have no baseline to compare it to. Closest to it is my R230 Mercedes SL500. Which being a V8 has plenty of torque and launches you fairly quick.. this car seems quick (a lot quicker) in a different way. The manual transmission is insane too, and I really do enjoy rev matching on every downshift.
At a high level, the factory spec is:
(I'm not overly familiar with Porsche options so please excuse any inaccuracies)
I paid £38,700 for the car, after a previous drop in asking from £46,995 to £39,995 the weeks prior. So I paid approximately 17.6% less that the asking price a few weeks ago. Partly due to a correction in the market and also works required on the car.
I am the 3rd owner and and there is receipted OPC history up to 2013 and then specialist from 2015 to 2022 ... Err, yea... there are a couple of gaps alright... but the mileage delta in those gaps didn't make it up to a full service.. So I guess it's debatable how big a deal that is. I was comforted by speaking with the specialist who knew the car and said it was a good one... just needed a few bits, which I will come to.
The car is in fantastic condition and has clearly not been abused (I think) by it's previous keepers.
My plan is to do a lot of maintenance on the car myself, but still have it serviced. I have a reasonably good setup for DIY and storage and am contemplating getting a lift in which will make maintaining this car much easier. I suspect i'll be getting the engine out every now and then.
Currently.. the car is stated to need, by specialist / seller:
Much debate about the need for N rated tyres versus some decent Michelins, while not N rated, are still a very good tyre. I'll be going for 225/40/18 up front and at the rear, 295/30/18. I'll shop around and see what's what. I need to see what the actual dates are on the tires and see what's what.
Regarding the RMS, people have recommended to just get the car driving again with some seal conditioner in the oil, to see if that helps the seal, as the car didn't drive much the past couple of years. Let's see how that goes.
Recent MOT passed with no advisory, so I wonder how bad the brake lines are.. I will get a look, and probably just do them.
Regarding the turbo actuators. Plan is to get the car up on stands, bumper off and have a look. Will fix replace any heatshields too, as needed.
I'm expecting to have a little bit of a rough time disassembling the flanges / turbo connections as I believe some of the bolts are rusted away. I need to do some more extensive research on methods and compare drilling vs welding on a nut. I wonder is it possible to get titanium / stainless bolts to prevent this happening in future?
That's it for now.. i'll keep you posted.
I recently started a thread about potentially buying a 996 Turbo... and boy did that time come around
At the weekend, am thrilled to announce that I collected my very first Porsche, a 2004 plate 76k mile, manual, X50 equipped 911 Turbo (996) .. and when I say it out loud, it seems a little crazy. While i've wanted one a while.. I didn't ever think i'd lay my hands on one.
I love the car.. and all I can say is that it insane. That said, I have no baseline to compare it to. Closest to it is my R230 Mercedes SL500. Which being a V8 has plenty of torque and launches you fairly quick.. this car seems quick (a lot quicker) in a different way. The manual transmission is insane too, and I really do enjoy rev matching on every downshift.
At a high level, the factory spec is:
(I'm not overly familiar with Porsche options so please excuse any inaccuracies)
- GT Silver
- Metropole blue leather
- X50 Power Pack
- Sport seats
- A lot of leather options, around covering speakers, fuse box, dash etc..
- Sport tips (No PSE)
- Upgraded ICE I think (Bose, nav, phone etc..)
- 18" Sport Techno wheels
- Aero kit (Front spoiler removed)
- No PCCB thankfully (wouldn't have bought it, frankly)
- Sunroof
- Lot's of silver/alu look trim in the car too, which were all options, I believe.
I paid £38,700 for the car, after a previous drop in asking from £46,995 to £39,995 the weeks prior. So I paid approximately 17.6% less that the asking price a few weeks ago. Partly due to a correction in the market and also works required on the car.
I am the 3rd owner and and there is receipted OPC history up to 2013 and then specialist from 2015 to 2022 ... Err, yea... there are a couple of gaps alright... but the mileage delta in those gaps didn't make it up to a full service.. So I guess it's debatable how big a deal that is. I was comforted by speaking with the specialist who knew the car and said it was a good one... just needed a few bits, which I will come to.
The car is in fantastic condition and has clearly not been abused (I think) by it's previous keepers.
My plan is to do a lot of maintenance on the car myself, but still have it serviced. I have a reasonably good setup for DIY and storage and am contemplating getting a lift in which will make maintaining this car much easier. I suspect i'll be getting the engine out every now and then.
Currently.. the car is stated to need, by specialist / seller:
- Leak at rear main seal
- Exhaust flanges corroded
- Turbo heatshields corroded
- Turbo actuator arms corroded
- Brake lines along the floor have some corrosion
- Tyres out of date
Much debate about the need for N rated tyres versus some decent Michelins, while not N rated, are still a very good tyre. I'll be going for 225/40/18 up front and at the rear, 295/30/18. I'll shop around and see what's what. I need to see what the actual dates are on the tires and see what's what.
Regarding the RMS, people have recommended to just get the car driving again with some seal conditioner in the oil, to see if that helps the seal, as the car didn't drive much the past couple of years. Let's see how that goes.
Recent MOT passed with no advisory, so I wonder how bad the brake lines are.. I will get a look, and probably just do them.
Regarding the turbo actuators. Plan is to get the car up on stands, bumper off and have a look. Will fix replace any heatshields too, as needed.
I'm expecting to have a little bit of a rough time disassembling the flanges / turbo connections as I believe some of the bolts are rusted away. I need to do some more extensive research on methods and compare drilling vs welding on a nut. I wonder is it possible to get titanium / stainless bolts to prevent this happening in future?
That's it for now.. i'll keep you posted.
...don't worry, I'm not stalking you.
Rear tyres are now a problem with this age of Porsche - 295/30 and 285/30 are now not a popular size, so there's very little choice.
(I always look at Camskill to see what tyre/sizes are available, but I don't necessarily buy from them.)
As this is a common problem, I'd do some internet searching and see what most current owners fit.
IMO and IME N-rating is of no consequence or effect on normal use type tyres. If I was getting Michelin Cup I'd probably get N-rated. Otherwise, not.
Rear tyres are now a problem with this age of Porsche - 295/30 and 285/30 are now not a popular size, so there's very little choice.
(I always look at Camskill to see what tyre/sizes are available, but I don't necessarily buy from them.)
As this is a common problem, I'd do some internet searching and see what most current owners fit.
IMO and IME N-rating is of no consequence or effect on normal use type tyres. If I was getting Michelin Cup I'd probably get N-rated. Otherwise, not.
- ETA when I looked on Florian's website, I noticed the rear Sport Technos are available in 10J or 11J, and as we don't know who put them on your car I'd check which you had before buying tyres, just in case that influences your choice.
Edited by Orangecurry on Thursday 22 December 12:42
Orangecurry said:
...don't worry, I'm not stalking you.
Rear tyres are now a problem with this age of Porsche - 295/30 and 285/30 are now not a popular size, so there's very little choice.
Keep up at the back! Rear tyres are now a problem with this age of Porsche - 295/30 and 285/30 are now not a popular size, so there's very little choice.
The best road tyre available full stop (MP4S) is now available in 295/30/18.
Behaves almost like a Supersport/Cup2 on track and almost as good as a PS2 on road.
No worries anymore re tyres.
OP, I commented on your car search thread too.
Great result and it sounds like you’re enjoying it.
ETA - Nebpor beat me to it.
Indeed OC, I was just being cheeky. 
We are both right then and up until maybe 6/12 months ago you would be even more righterer
, as the PS4S still wasn’t available in these sizes, so I totally get where you’re coming from.
Thankfully Michelin came good for us 996 owners, although as said above, they can be a bit thin on the ground.
I’m still on PS2s on my 996 GT3. Fine for road use, but admittedly they’re old tech now.
We are both right then and up until maybe 6/12 months ago you would be even more righterer
, as the PS4S still wasn’t available in these sizes, so I totally get where you’re coming from. Thankfully Michelin came good for us 996 owners, although as said above, they can be a bit thin on the ground.
I’m still on PS2s on my 996 GT3. Fine for road use, but admittedly they’re old tech now.
nebpor said:
225 is factory on a turbo and I’d always go for a narrower wheel to help turn in and feel - don’t see a need to go wider TBH
Turbo needs all the help with turn-in it can get and it’s not like it’s ever sending much power that way!
I would have thought wider fronts would give more front end grip and that would improve turn in. So not sure how narrower fronts would improve turn in.Turbo needs all the help with turn-in it can get and it’s not like it’s ever sending much power that way!
You can't get PSE on a turbo. But you can get a switchable exhaust and use the PSE switch wired in for the factory look.
Get some billet wheel upgrades for the turbos, then it will be quick. Markski is good for that sort of thing.
Servicing or maintenance for a mezger is fearnsport if you want the best.
Any of the rare options like footwell lighting, leather inner door trims, leather cup holder fascia, leather climate control or leather mirror switch / stalks or leather seat belt buckles? A really rare leather piece is the small grill in the C pillar.
If you don't have them already, get some mesh for the air intakes, rennsport sell them.
And rip out the old head unit of not done so already and get something decent fitted with a few mod cons.
Lastly, get some 6 pot brakes, the 4 pot are dire. You might have them already on the X50?
Best thing I fitted was 997 GT3 seats.
Get some billet wheel upgrades for the turbos, then it will be quick. Markski is good for that sort of thing.
Servicing or maintenance for a mezger is fearnsport if you want the best.
Any of the rare options like footwell lighting, leather inner door trims, leather cup holder fascia, leather climate control or leather mirror switch / stalks or leather seat belt buckles? A really rare leather piece is the small grill in the C pillar.
If you don't have them already, get some mesh for the air intakes, rennsport sell them.
And rip out the old head unit of not done so already and get something decent fitted with a few mod cons.
Lastly, get some 6 pot brakes, the 4 pot are dire. You might have them already on the X50?
Best thing I fitted was 997 GT3 seats.
Gorgeous. I stumbled into used Porsche sales by accident in a different life, these were the first ever 'quick' car I drove by myself. I remember pulling over into a layby at the start of a lengthy NSL stretch, at that point I think the fastest thing I'd ever driven was a 230 bhp Z4. Gave it absolute beans all the way through first, second and third and distinctly remember the turbos coming on song and being astounded at the pick up! Quick, comfortable and sure footed. A fantastic package. Prices will only go one way.
Jimmy No Hands said:
Gorgeous. I stumbled into used Porsche sales by accident in a different life, these were the first ever 'quick' car I drove by myself. I remember pulling over into a layby at the start of a lengthy NSL stretch, at that point I think the fastest thing I'd ever driven was a 230 bhp Z4. Gave it absolute beans all the way through first, second and third and distinctly remember the turbos coming on song and being astounded at the pick up! Quick, comfortable and sure footed. A fantastic package. Prices will only go one way.
Down? Had mine 10 years, barely moved.
911's have such a huge midrange, which make them brilliant road cars. These are cars which don't need a big headline figure to be fast, and modifications should aim to keep that driveability, which is why mine is only 1000hp.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff