Since I started the thread, I thought I'd share why my car was out of comission for 3.5 weeks. I love my 19" iForged Senekas, so I moved them over from my 996 C2 NB to my 996TT.

I had iForged re-build the rear wheels to fit the TT offset by changing out the outer barrel lip of the wheel and making it 25.5mm wider. Now I have a good 4 inches of lip on the rears now That's how a Turbo should look with 315/25-19 tires.

I also had the OEM lugs and OEM lock lugs Black chromed to match better. It was kinda expensive to customize, but I'm really happy with the results. Too bad I have to drive it in the rain right now.

 

one more...

 

don't get me started on the idiosyncracies of 'fine german engineering' - i've experienced every problem in the book - all could have been averted w/ just a touch of common sense of the fine german engineers.

- chuck

 

No...I'm serious. Some folks say you have to drive them hard to keep the seals intact, "they like to be driven hard" and a number of other reasons.....other folks drive them judiciously which one would think would serve to extend the life of the car because it isn't taxed to it's threshold or beyond. And all this time, I sit with a 2001 Dodge diesel truck with 107K miles on it that I can run hot, shut it off without cooling down the turbos and they don't "coke up", run the truck 3,000 over the scheduled oil change, rev the hell out of it (it does have a cutoff just like the P car), drag a 14,000 pound fifth wheel behind it....but in spite of all those issues....it's so damn reliable that I NEVER wonder it it's going to start....or it's going to crap out on a 1,000 mile trip after I've run it at the max rpm's with a load that would choke an elephant.....

I equate this scenario to having a 1900's .45 automatic. It's had thousands of round run thru it....it may or may not have been cleaned regularly as long as you don't allow it to rust, it performs flawlessly and you can stake your life on it....then you have a Browning target pistol that's precision made...beautifully etched, the handle is a work of art, gold inlay on the receiver.....the action is machined to close tolerances....but it will jam and crap out on you unless you baby it. Make no mistake....I am a hard and true Porsche fan, and currently own two, but sometimes I wonder about how damn fickle they seem to be in spite of the history and reputation of "German engineering". Yes, I'll get some feedback from the guys that have a 72 with 167,000 miles on it....but these forums are replete with what seems like some excessive and seemingly unnecessary failures given the reputation of all this fine German engineering.

Drive your car hard or it will crap out.....don't overtax your car or it will give up some of its longevity....which is it? Where's the common ground? Or is it a crap shoot depending upon where the car stood in the production line. This is admittedly rhetorical....but I do wonder sometimes.

Tonite I drove back from a friend's house 50 miles away. I've been driving my TT in a "civil manner" trying to figure out what sort of gas mileage I get when driving in a spirited manner as opposed to driving it like I do the Dodge truck. I get about 6 mpg difference. Yet tonite as I parked at the grocery store after driving "civilly" all day, I started it and it threw a CEL..."Drive to Service Dept." and it was missing. I kicked it in the *** and took off hard and fast....mostly because I was pissed off that it was missing after babying it the whole damn day, and I had just gotten it back from the dealership where they "fixed it" with a new MAF....the rough take-off cleared up. The CEL went off and it settled down after I hit about 6K in second. Yes, I was pissed.

What's my point? Why do these cars seem so damn fickle? German engineering? Oh...forgot to tell you, I'm German, so it has nothing to do with heritage, but my Dodge truck is much more stable. No guys.....I won't take the suggestion to sell the Porsche and drive the Dodge....I'm just pissed and truthfully, a little disillusioned.

 

Chuck, tell us how you really feel. Funny thing is, the amount of warranty work done on mine is unbelievable...front differential, NAV system, steering reservoir, ruptured fuel lines (twice), fuel pump (twice), alarm control module, O2 sensor, battery and coolant cap, had to be towed 3 times...and I still love her. Not too smart am I. And to think I got rid of my '80 SC because of all of the maintenance issues.

 

Bottom line is, you and I will NEVER KNOW or have the answer to our questions, that's life! Drive em, enjoy them, park them and stare at em, oh well.. Main thing is, to enjoy what you have! My car is only sitting because of winter time and I feel badly

 

I know, I sort of teed off....I came home pissed and had a couple toddys and jumped on a soap box. I'm not apologizing for the tirade because for the most part.....it's true....sad, but true.

 

No need to apologize for anything, I know what you are saying and agree, trust me

 

Hahaha. Been there, done that! I thought it would be easy to get back into the trunk by just hooking up a battery charger using the little red post in the fuse box (presumably it's just for that purpose) but noooooooo, the alarm went crazy and wouldn't allow me pop the hood, even with power to the system.

I actually managed to get at the emergency trunk release without removing the tire (the wheel lock was in the trunk! doh!).

Oh, and I do tend to lock my car in the garage. It's probably a Big City thing but I believe in providing as many obstacles to thieves as I possibly can. I'll even lock my car keys in the safe if I'm gone for a few days (but, yeah, that's a bit excessive).

 

I gotta say, I scoffed at this thread about a week ago. Then yesterday, after not driving her for a couple weeks, she barely started.....errrrrr-errrr-errrr- vrooooom. Another second and she would have been going cliiiccccck....cliiiccccckkk. Battery is six months old. So, it look's like I'll have to plug my expensive toy in at night if I want to play with it the next time. My 993 sat in the garage for months at a time, and always fired up. Now when I look at my car, I think about the famous line that Clint Eastwood said...."Do you feel lucky??"

 

That's not a bad idea for San Francisco residents. Given that PG&E has access to practically every garage to read meters, you never know who's been in your garage...