Porsche 911 996.2 3.6 C2

[poppopbangbang]

Great to see you enjoying it It looks in top form and really interesting to read your feedback on the Nitrons. What's the next road trip?

[scottos]

pitchinginaporsche said:

Aside from the drive back to Sussex from Scotland its been parked up at home as I have been away with work. I will get a thread going on here once I am back in the UK at end of the month. Have a few things I want to do with the car and some road trips planned UK & Europe. Be good to see your NC500 trip also.

Howre you getting on with the road trip plans? The NC500 was brilliant, i expected it to be good but it really was something. I was quite happy we did it in our T5, rather than the 996, especially as we just ended up sleeping in it most of the nights! A lot of the route just doesnt lend itself to spirited driving.

poppopbangbang said:

Great to see you enjoying it It looks in top form and really interesting to read your feedback on the Nitrons. What's the next road trip?

Retrospectively the next road trip was the NC500 but in the van, 1300 miles covered and had a great time. 996-wise, i've just been driving it for the sake of driving in all honesty but we are lucky and blessed with some great local roads.

I've been fiddling with the car more in the background. Im sure people are sick of me mentioning steering wheels by now, im doing my own head in with them but i finally got my Momo Martini Racing steering wheel back from being trimmed, along with matching gear gaitor:

20240522_175152 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240522_175223 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240522_210134 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240522_204133 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240522_210402 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

I also fitted an eccentric spacer to move the wheel up a tad, this feels a lot better positioned now, more leg room and i can see the rev counter properly now! Im over the moon with the trim job, the quality really is amazing and has done the rare wheel justice and that is just a nice touch, moving it up.

Since fitting the 997rs shifter and wooden gear knob, the knob felt like it couldve done with a bit more weight. I bought some tungsten putty and stuffed the inside, i surprised myself with how well this one worked for the cost and result! It's only a tad heavier but feels better. I feel like i've got most of the touch points where i want them now, i always enjoy how much these small changes impact the overall driving experience.

20240415_134238 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240415_194004 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

I fitted some coilover socks after a thorough clean up of the new suspension components, the Scotland trip made them look like they'd been on for 10 years I've always been dubious of these, mainly because previous offerings id seen were neoprene and i thought they'd just hold water. These ones are made from a waterproof material instead, that sheds water off.

20240415_195118 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Whilst up in the air i changed the arb settings, went stiffer on the rear and softer on the front, feels better and the front end seems to dig in more and evade any understeer, the tyres are definitely the limiting factor. I've not played with the damper settings much yet but i'll have them on full soft before long, it seems! Long term i may end up with slightly softer springs and then i can always ramp the dampening up to suit but this will be more giving me something to do over winter, rather than a necessity.

My next bug bear to sort, Techquipment exhaust tips! I've always been against these, even though spec'd from new and it wouldve been nice to keep them. I just cant get on with the look. Options seemed limited for a gen 2 and finding a pair that are fitted to the gt3 was proving difficult without buying new (some £7-800!). I ordered some Dansk ovals on a whim and 6 weeks later they turned up:

20240419_195955 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240419_203049 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240421_163927 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

I'm more for these than the techquipment ones but still not 100%. Luckily i've just managed to find some of the OE ones as fitted to a gen 2/ gt3 so i'm looking forwards to those turning up. I'll do a 50/50 shot and see how i feel.

20240511_165708 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Some random shots from drives out:

20240421_163859 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240421_171402 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240424_200616 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240511_172142 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Finally for this installment, wheels! I'd taken a punt on some 2Forge ZF8 wheels, a style they've just brought out. These wheels are relatively cheap but also very light, i originally wanted some Oz Alleggeritas but pricing them up they were coming out at £2-2.4k. The 2Forge wheels i ordered through a friend with a small discount at £950!

8 weeks down the line when they were due to arrive i had a call from my friend saying the blanks had been machined up and the rears basically machined the hub mounting sections away due to the offset i'd asked for. I needed to add 15mm in to make them work and this isnt something the arches could accommodate, sadly, not without compromise on tyre size or messing with the body work.

Wheels really felt like the last thing to fit before the car would feel more 'me', so i was a little deflated at this point. A week prior to this news i'd been offered some Alleggeritas but they'd come off a 993 and i'd said thanks but no thanks, assuming too narrow/ weak offsets and i was just giddy about my new ones coming. I got back in touch for the spec's of the Alleggeritas and to my surprise the fronts were OE gt3 size and the rears were the same as the Carrera wheels that i currently had fitted! The compromise would just be using the spacers that i use on the Carrera wheels, which at this point i was happy to do. I know plenty go for 11" rears but i've no desire to run a 295 (added cost, weight etc.)

I sent a sensible offer over and it was accepted! Paid there and then and met up the next day to collect. They'd been bought for a project but shelved, literally, for 8 years or so. The wheels included some Cup 2's but with them being so old i didnt really put any value on them, i was expecting them to be cracked and perished but they looked brand new and still supple! Perhaps down to them being stored nicely?

20240531_125304 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Being impatient i cleaned all the dust off and ceramic coated them on a lunch time and got them fitted so the ceramic could cure whilst i finished my afternoon at work, i had a rare child/ missus free night and the weather forecast looked to be incredible.

20240531_170058 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_170016 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_170045 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

First look outside at the top of the village, i was sold! This is how i'd wanted it to look in my head, from day 1!

I got out for a proper drive in the hills for the rest of the evening, the car felt more nimble and the tyres were very grippy, especially once i had some heat in them on my favorite pass (i tend to use this pass as a test bed for changes, obviously nothing scientific, just feel!)

20240531_190840 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_192303 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_192702 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_194845 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_194857 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240531_195819 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

And the main justification for selling the 2002 and getting the 996, that i can go for days out with my little lad in it. He's been in it a lot this last weekend and kept asking me to "go fast and make it make the noise" thats a relief as his first few times out in it he said it was too noisy!

20240602_110759 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240602_111609 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Nothing in the diary for any trips in it at the moment, i'd like to just keep using and enjoying it!

Cheers,

Scott

[roadie]

Incredible scenery and photography, and the car looks flat out mean on the new wheels.

[Jhonno]

Excellent update. Looks great on the new wheels!

[Mallone]

Welcome to the Alleggerita club! They are such a nice wheel. Love them on mine and knew that a decent set of wheels would transform the look of yours. Car is looking brilliant

I can't remember if you'd mentioned before but have you got a plan for seats?

I literally can't go back to the 996 'sports' seats now I've got a set of buckets in mine. They were one of the biggest positive 'touch point' changes I made to my car....

[shalmaneser]

Lovely car but that last pic gave me flashbacks to my old 9X6 sport seats! Get some 9X7 seat in there pronto, they are ace.

Or some lovely Cobra Nogaros if you're feeling flash.

[poppopbangbang]

Of course I am terribly prejudiced but...... lovely wheels OP!

It looks utterly fantastic on those

[Mij91]

Rear facing child seat? You've piqued my interest if so!

[scottos]

roadie said:

Incredible scenery and photography, and the car looks flat out mean on the new wheels.

Thank You, appreciate it! The scenery makes my photos, im fairly useless with a camera and just use my phone! I hope to get some proper pictures one time though as a good friend is very talented!

Jhonno said:

Excellent update. Looks great on the new wheels!

Thanks, i think the same, very happy with them.

Mallone said:

Welcome to the Alleggerita club! They are such a nice wheel. Love them on mine and knew that a decent set of wheels would transform the look of yours. Car is looking brilliant

I can't remember if you'd mentioned before but have you got a plan for seats?

I literally can't go back to the 996 'sports' seats now I've got a set of buckets in mine. They were one of the biggest positive 'touch point' changes I made to my car....

I've just caught up on your thread, love the car! Seems we have very similar tastes overall.

Ideally id like to go buckets like you but part of the remit for this car was to keep it usable for the 3 of us. Once the little lad goes forward facing i can be selfish and get a drivers seat sorted but until that time i'll have to make do. Maybe i just compromise and stick some 987/997 seats in? Ideally i'd like to keep the heated seat function if i do though!

I spoiled myself by having Recaro Pole Postions in my last car, i'd love nothing more than to stick a pair of those in, or XL SPG's. The Cobra seats have piqued my interest since seeing Slippydiffs and now yours, they arguably look better in a road car than the Recaros i mention.

poppopbangbang said:

Of course I am terribly prejudiced but...... lovely wheels OP!

It looks utterly fantastic on those

Cheers! Im glad the wheels i ordered fell through to be honest, im sure they would've looked good but i think every time i saw one on Alleggeritas (lets face it, thats a lot!) i'd have been wishing i got some!

Mij91 said:

Rear facing child seat? You've piqued my interest if so!

Yes, one of those child seats that suits from 6 months up to 8 years (apparently). It works rear facing and forward facing, very versatile and is swapped between the 996, the GR Yaris and the Transporter. Hes old enough to go forward facing now in all honesty but my other half has read too many mumsnet type threads about it being safer rear facing. I've argued the point that surely it just depends on whether someone crashes into you, you crash into someone else and where the impact is in either case but there we go!

[Slippydiff]

Looking good Scott. The OZ’s are one of the few aftermarket wheels that really suit the Mk 2 shape.
Those shock socks look useful, can I ask where you bought them from ?

Exhaust tips … The Tequipment ones look awful, and always have
The items you’ve bought to replace them are “an improvement ” but they still don’t really work imo (sorry)

But there’s a reason that anything other than the stock tips don’t look “right”, and that’s down to the bumper design, and the fact the original tips were very specifically designed for use with the bumper.

I didn’t “get” this (to the degree I went out and bought a mint Mk 1 rear bumper and a pair of the stunning Mk 1 EP4110 “big oval” exhaust tips, with intention of “backdating” the rear end of my car with them) until I replaced my engine mounts, and realised that 90% of Mk 2’s have saggy engine mounts, and poorly/improperly aligned tailpipes.

And that once the tailpipes were fitted and adjusted correctly, in conjunction with new engine mounts, they fit and compliment the rear bumper perfectly, because the way the trims are designed is such that the top edge compliments the bumper cut out, and the bottom edge “completes” the cutout when viewed directly from the back of the car.



In the image above the O/S tip is perfectly fitted, the N/S one has shifted very slightly, and now needs rotating clockwise a few degrees to make the bottom LH corner of the trim align properly with the LH lower tip of the cutout in the bumper.

[scottos]

Slippydiff said:

Looking good Scott. The OZ’s are one of the few aftermarket wheels that really suit the Mk 2 shape.
Those shock socks look useful, can I ask where you bought them from ?

Exhaust tips … The Tequipment ones look awful, and always have
The items you’ve bought to replace them are “an improvement ” but they still don’t really work imo (sorry)

But there’s a reason that anything other than the stock tips don’t look “right”, and that’s down to the bumper design, and the fact the original tips were very specifically designed for use with the bumper.

I didn’t “get” this (to the degree I went out and bought a mint Mk 1 rear bumper and a pair of the stunning Mk 1 EP4110 “big oval” exhaust tips, with intention of “backdating” the rear end of my car with them) until I replaced my engine mounts, and realised that 90% of Mk 2’s have saggy engine mounts, and poorly/improperly aligned tailpipes.

And that once the tailpipes were fitted and adjusted correctly, in conjunction with new engine mounts, they fit and compliment the rear bumper perfectly, because the way the trims are designed is such that the top edge compliments the bumper cut out, and the bottom edge “completes” the cutout when viewed directly from the back of the car.



In the image above the O/S tip is perfectly fitted, the N/S one has shifted very slightly, and now needs rotating clockwise a few degrees to make the bottom LH corner of the trim align properly with the LH lower tip of the cutout in the bumper.

Cheers SD, I'll send you a link to them, keep an eye on your emails! They seem a worthwhile investment, around £30!

You're right on the tips, i noted the below but it was maybe lost in the barrage of pictures

scottos said:

I'm more for these than the techquipment ones but still not 100%. Luckily i've just managed to find some of the OE ones as fitted to a gen 2/ gt3 so i'm looking forwards to those turning up. I'll do a 50/50 shot and see how i feel.

These have turned up now and i'm very happy with them, although im not desparate to change them over just yet, it hasnt been my most favorite job! The nuts on them are completely corroded, so theres no in/ out adjustment but ill get them as near as i can, otherwise they are brilliant condition.

As an aside i was helping a friend last week with some filming for their Youtube channel by way of taking a Manthey Racing GT2rs out into the North Pennines to get some footage, a properly monstrous car that still rides beautifully, whilst sticking to the road like nothing else (with heat in the tyres it was gripping in 1st gear!). I took it back once we were done and jumped back into the 996 and it made me smile with the similarities between the two despite the performance/ price gap. It's one of my favorite things about the 911, no matter what you always know youre in one!

[Slippydiff]

Well done on the OE Mk 2 exhaust tips !! T
Unfortunately those nuts/bolts take the full brunt of the road spray/salt from the back tyres, so little wonder they're toast after 20 years. Hopefully you won't need the in/out adjustment facility !!

I used new clamps when I re-fitted mine, and it was two man job, me holding the trim in the correct position whilst a mate tightened the clamps up. If you don't hold them whilst they're being tightened, they frequently shift, but they can also shift when they heat up for the first time after fitting too ...

Thankyou for the link to the shock socks. I plan on cleaning the front and rear dampers when/if we ever get a decent dry and hot day, then using some clear Dinitrol chassis wax on them (and the adjustable coffin and castor arms on the front) Once done, I'll fit the socks to them.

I had the car geo'd last night after fitting the adjustable front castor arms late last week.
It's transformed how the car drives. We put 1.45 degrees of negative camber on the front and 1.25 on the back, 0.3 degrees of toe in on the front and 0.2 degrees on the rear.
It just grips, and keeps on gripping now.

A Manthey GT2 RS would be one helluva weapon, but as you've said, the 911 DNA is very obvious in everything from the earliest air-cooled cars, all the way through to the 997. I think the 991 was the final, big step change that removed the majority of the 911'ness from the platform.

[Mark-insert old BMW]

Congrats Scott. I loved my 996 c2 manual. It was the best thing about the lockdown for me. Getting from Truro to Penzance along a deserted A30 and making full use of that 3.6 was just so much fun.

[scottos]

Slippydiff said:

Well done on the OE Mk 2 exhaust tips !! T
Unfortunately those nuts/bolts take the full brunt of the road spray/salt from the back tyres, so little wonder they're toast after 20 years. Hopefully you won't need the in/out adjustment facility !!

I used new clamps when I re-fitted mine, and it was two man job, me holding the trim in the correct position whilst a mate tightened the clamps up. If you don't hold them whilst they're being tightened, they frequently shift, but they can also shift when they heat up for the first time after fitting too ...

Thankyou for the link to the shock socks. I plan on cleaning the front and rear dampers when/if we ever get a decent dry and hot day, then using some clear Dinitrol chassis wax on them (and the adjustable coffin and castor arms on the front) Once done, I'll fit the socks to them.

I had the car geo'd last night after fitting the adjustable front castor arms late last week.
It's transformed how the car drives. We put 1.45 degrees of negative camber on the front and 1.25 on the back, 0.3 degrees of toe in on the front and 0.2 degrees on the rear.
It just grips, and keeps on gripping now.

A Manthey GT2 RS would be one helluva weapon, but as you've said, the 911 DNA is very obvious in everything from the earliest air-cooled cars, all the way through to the 997. I think the 991 was the final, big step change that removed the majority of the 911'ness from the platform.

I got the tips swapped over and im very happy with them! Sadly one pokes out more than the other but its something most wont notice, i'll maybe revisit the adjustment of them another time but likely just leave it and make do! I fitted new clamps with the Dansk ones i had on previously. Thankfully i've managed both times on my own, with a little trial and error. I've found i can get them near and them nip them up a tad and wrestle them into place before tightening up fully

Hope you've managed to get your cleaning done and the shock socks fitted, i checked on mine when doing the tips and they certainly seem to be doing the job! It's amazing what a good geo set up can do, i realised this too late but it was something that went higher on my list for any car whilst i owned the 2002.

Any more updates with your car recently, or plans to come? Or are you happy with where its at now?

Mark-insert old BMW said:

Congrats Scott. I loved my 996 c2 manual. It was the best thing about the lockdown for me. Getting from Truro to Penzance along a deserted A30 and making full use of that 3.6 was just so much fun.

Cheers Mark, i forgot you had one! Hope you're doing well, its been awhile!

[scottos]

I got some proper pictures through from the Scotland road trip i posted on the previous page, obviously much better than my effort! This was back on the Carrera wheels and the techquipment tips. Hes also done a video and posted it on Youtube, if you search for the 'Wambarn' account, it's one of the more recent videos, definitely not too serious!

Scotland Road Trip 55 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 67 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 69 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 67 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 44 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 68 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 32 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 24 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 22 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 10 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 6 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 75 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Scotland Road Trip 3 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Since the last update, i mentioned i found some original exhaust tips, so they were cleaned up the best i could manage with what i had and fitted:

20240621_204937 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Lots better! I also discovered that the rear wing is adjustable and Porsche sell a number of shims in different increments. I ordered 4 degree and 8 degree shims. Typically they are bright red so i painted the visible bits horribly in touch up pen so i could get them on and see. I fitted the 8 degree ones, which perhaps lift the back of the spoiler 20mm or so and it makes it seem a lot more purposeful! You can see the extensions in the above pics.

Below are what they look like, these are the 4 degree ones:

20240621_205128 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Whilst it was up in the air i fitted a couple of under tray clips that were missing:

20240621_205145 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Whilst fitting these i noticed that the gt3 brake ducts i'd fitted must be kissing the floor every so often, as they are worn away. Thankfully these are just cheap plastic!

With the nice weather the 996 has been out more and more, especially with my little lad requesting to go out in it as much as possible

I got lucky yesterday and had a free late afternoon and into the evening, along with 3 other mates in the same situation, one of them the very good photographer!

My quick pics:

20240623_173430 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240623_171109 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240623_183118 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

20240623_183335 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

We sat up on the grassy bank for a long while, taking the view in, both cars and scenery. Luke got some proper pics of the car as it is.

Summer Drive Out 30 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 26 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 28 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 16 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

One with some of the locals!

Summer Drive Out 15 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Spoiler with the wedges in:

Summer Drive Out 13 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Some with my friend, Rich:

Summer Drive Out 19 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 37 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 38 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

And a few of my friends 918 to brighten the post up a little!

Summer Drive Out 49 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 48 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

Summer Drive Out 55 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

No immediate plans for the car really, other than to enjoy it for the summer but i'll endeavor to keep the thread up to date! I do hope to make the Pistonheads coffee meet next Sunday.

Scott

[Slippydiff]

scottos said:

I got the tips swapped over and im very happy with them! Sadly one pokes out more than the other but its something most wont notice, i'll maybe revisit the adjustment of them another time but likely just leave it and make do! I fitted new clamps with the Dansk ones i had on previously. Thankfully i've managed both times on my own, with a little trial and error. I've found i can get them near and them nip them up a tad and wrestle them into place before tightening up fully

Hope you've managed to get your cleaning done and the shock socks fitted, i checked on mine when doing the tips and they certainly seem to be doing the job! It's amazing what a good geo set up can do, i realised this too late but it was something that went higher on my list for any car whilst i owned the 2002.

Any more updates with your car recently, or plans to come? Or are you happy with where its at now?

Had to have an op last Friday, no driving for 7-10 days, and have to take it easy for 4-6 weeks

But I managed to get my Evolution 2 brake discs (bigger diameter and thicker too, along with improved cooling) on the car last Thursday (and after a sh*t fight with the brake hardlines, finally got the HEL braided flexi pipes on at the same time)

Brakes now the best they’ve been :

Front



Rear



Fronts are 345mm dia, they weigh in at 7.9kg, so still slightly lighter than an OE one piece cast 318mm x 28mm items, but with the bell and fasteners, they’re basically the same weight as the OE disc, but obviously considerably larger diameter and thicker too.

Rears are 325mm diameter (same as the Evolution 1 items) but thicker.
Both front and rear discs require a small machining mod to the calipers (though not to body of the caliper itself)

[shalmaneser]

Where did you get the oversized discs from? They don't look like girodiscs?

[Slippydiff]

shalmaneser said:

Where did you get the oversized discs from? They don't look like girodiscs?

They (the bells, discs and spacers) are a completely custom set up manufactured to my own design. The disc to bell fasteners are AP Racing items.

They’ll be available to buy along with the smaller 340mm x 28mm fronts and 325mm x 24mm rear option.

[scottos]

Slippydiff said:

They (the bells, discs and spacers) are a completely custom set up manufactured to my own design. The disc to bell fasteners are AP Racing items.

They’ll be available to buy along with the smaller 340mm x 28mm fronts and 325mm x 24mm rear option.

Sounds interesting, keep us up to date on that!

[TV8]

A great thread. Love a 996 and yours looks a cracker!