what is an 'early' 3.4 996?

what is an 'early' 3.4 996?

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Discussion

jonny996

2,612 posts

217 months

Friday 1st April 2022
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alan-87 said:
Have been following this thread and others like it for a while and finally pulled the trigger on an upgrade from my 986 putting down a deposit on a 98 C2 last night.

Spec wise it's exactly what I wanted:

Zenith with full factory aero
GT3 look split wheels.
Manual
No Sunroof
Hardback sport seats

It's also had a pretty much every single mechanical component / suspension work possible done over the last few years including an engine rebuild. So I'm hoping it's going to give me a couple of years without too much pain. smile

Picking it up at some point next week and very excited. Have a trip to caffeine and machine planned at the weekend as a first run out.

Gratuitous pic below!

That looks like a great buy. Hope you enjoy it, cant see why you wouldnt

tomtom

4,225 posts

230 months

Friday 1st April 2022
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flatsix.ant said:
This is my car. Just spent a fortune on it but it has to go to make room for other stuff.

SidewaysSi

10,742 posts

234 months

Friday 1st April 2022
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tomtom said:
flatsix.ant said:
This is my car. Just spent a fortune on it but it has to go to make room for other stuff.
That is cheap smile

alan-87

393 posts

205 months

Saturday 2nd April 2022
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Yours are looking well MrC.

A good mate of mine has an almost identical spec to the one I've just brought which he's evolved into a kind of Club Sport Spec over the last few years.

Would be interesting to know how many aero kitted cars were actually supplied.

MrC986

3,490 posts

191 months

Saturday 2nd April 2022
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alan-87 said:
Yours are looking well MrC.

A good mate of mine has an almost identical spec to the one I've just brought which he's evolved into a kind of Club Sport Spec over the last few years.

Would be interesting to know how many aero kitted cars were actually supplied.
Mine's been on a diet too with fixed back Cobra Nogaro bucket seats installed, rear seat delete, plus a CAE shifter amongst the various bits & pieces done (interior bits retrimmed as well) & a lighter exhaust system as the OEM boxes are overly heavy. I've done the normal suspension refresh plus full engine rebuild etc. Mine's a keeper now hehe

My one friend (with the silver C4 in the pic) has a car that had a dealer fitted full aerokit in the past so it's not unusual to find this happen, albeit an expensive way to get the aerokit.

ATM

18,271 posts

219 months

Saturday 2nd April 2022
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My mate with the 996.2 has a little oil leak from the rear of the engine which has been getting progressively worse. He also says he sees some coolant mixed in the catch tank under the car. Water pump was new 2 or 3 years ago. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks
ATM

SidewaysSi

10,742 posts

234 months

Saturday 2nd April 2022
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How many people are tracking their 996s? Any issues if being run on standard rubber?

ATM

18,271 posts

219 months

Sunday 3rd April 2022
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SidewaysSi said:
How many people are tracking their 996s? Any issues if being run on standard rubber?
My car was tracked by a PO. That's why the rock hard suspension and bushes and what not. It has x51 baffled sump but he ran semi slicks so not standard rubber. I think the general advice is the m96 engine doesn't like higher lateral g. I suppose it depends how hard you want to play. The PO mentioned cracked a head and then sold it to my PO who rebuilt the engine at home in his shed. I'm not sure if the track use cracked the head or something else caused that failure so take from that what you will.

I'm still tempted to try some track action but so far not found the time or enthusiasm. I would probably caution that most modern rubber will be a lot more grippy than 1998 designed tyres and therefore even standard rubber bought today will have a lot more grip than anything around back then. But its just a car so you can do what you want with it. I believe the standard brakes can get a bit hot too. My car had some very dusty and grumpy pads. I believe for little stints you just need or want some pads that can deal with higher temps.

delays

786 posts

215 months

Sunday 3rd April 2022
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ATM said:
SidewaysSi said:
How many people are tracking their 996s? Any issues if being run on standard rubber?
My car was tracked by a PO. That's why the rock hard suspension and bushes and what not. It has x51 baffled sump but he ran semi slicks so not standard rubber. I think the general advice is the m96 engine doesn't like higher lateral g. I suppose it depends how hard you want to play. The PO mentioned cracked a head and then sold it to my PO who rebuilt the engine at home in his shed. I'm not sure if the track use cracked the head or something else caused that failure so take from that what you will.

I'm still tempted to try some track action but so far not found the time or enthusiasm. I would probably caution that most modern rubber will be a lot more grippy than 1998 designed tyres and therefore even standard rubber bought today will have a lot more grip than anything around back then. But its just a car so you can do what you want with it. I believe the standard brakes can get a bit hot too. My car had some very dusty and grumpy pads. I believe for little stints you just need or want some pads that can deal with higher temps.
My thoughts along these lines too.

The higher lateral Gs and the associated potential oil pick up concerns lead to the baffled sumps etc. But I wonder how high the lateral G would actually be given road tyres on a regular trackday.

barryrs

4,389 posts

223 months

Sunday 3rd April 2022
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I did a few laps of Castle Combe at the April Action day yesterday. Didn’t push it to hard so was just a bit of fun but everything behaved impeccably.


shalmaneser

5,931 posts

195 months

Sunday 3rd April 2022
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SidewaysSi said:
How many people are tracking their 996s? Any issues if being run on standard rubber?
Yep no problems on Goodyear eagle f1 assy 5. Even with standard geo, running m030 with h&r rear anti roll bar I was wilting before the tyres. Yellowstuff pads with otherwise standard but good condition brakes worked very well indeed too.

Edited by shalmaneser on Sunday 3rd April 19:27

Fast Bug

11,667 posts

161 months

Sunday 3rd April 2022
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I've done Bedford in mine. After a few laps it showed some areas that needed improvement in the braking department, so went for braided hoses and changed the discs and pads.

Standard rubber will be fine, I don't think they need more grip if I'm honest smile

BillyB

1,388 posts

258 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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There was a chap in a 996.1 at Thruxton 2 weeks ago that he said was standard apart from pads and suspension. It was going very, very well indeed.

Of course it might have blown up on the way home for all I know...

Dammit

3,790 posts

208 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Would anyone have a boot-lid going spare after (for example) fitting a ducktail? I have some rust in the seam of mine which means that it needs replacing.

nebpor

3,753 posts

235 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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When I had tuition from Markus "TheGoose" at Oulton in my 996 turbo, he took me out in his boggo 996 3.4 and drove the doorhandles off it - completely stock, knackered tyres etc - it was fantastic

No reason a standard car won't be good fun on a trackday


Fast Bug

11,667 posts

161 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Are window regulators easy to fit?

nebpor

3,753 posts

235 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Its definitely DIY capable but I've always had mine done, as you need to make sure you've sealed the doorskin properly, or the car will leak water into the footwells under the door!!

Plenty of videos on youtube - the only thing to be careful of is that the regulator is shared with the Boxster/Cayman and there is a particular notch on the regulator that is set so the window goes up/down to the right position

ATM

18,271 posts

219 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Fast Bug said:
Are window regulators easy to fit?
Yes

I did 2 - or 1 twice. First one was a cheapo part and only last 9 months. So I did it again.

My new 996 leaks a bit which has window regulators untouched by Me. So clearly someone else got them slightly out or they are always susceptible to being slightly off.

My advice is once you have it fitted then leave the membrane and or interior door panel off the car for a bit so you can easily make any adjustments should you feel the need. Then once you're happy you can refit everything. I noticed some extra wind noise so did some tweaking.

Some of the Youtube experts recommend putting masking tape on the glass where it goes into the regulator so you know where to refit. I found this a bit useless as the brackets on the different regulators were different. Possibly because I was changing to a cheapo and then back to OEM. Once you figure out what you're doing it is relatively easy to tweak or adjust. Although I'm not certain you can ever get it perfect again once it has ben apart.

There is a Porsche doc which explains in detail how to adjust these. I found that harder to understand than a - insert joke here about a Rocket Scientist speaking Dutch at a Jazz Festival.

Pics from my 996 thread --- added the last one to show what happens when it needs some more adjustment, this was a few weeks or months after fitting and I had decided to visit a car wash







nebpor

3,753 posts

235 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Nice one ATM!

Fast Bug

11,667 posts

161 months

Tuesday 5th April 2022
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Ta, I think my passenger one is on its way out by the sounds its making