I just purchased the coil packs last week from Sunset Porsche. I believe the price was $42/piece.

 

Noob question alert:

What are coil packs and what do they do?

How many do you need?

 

I think the beru part number is W0133-1646835 for the turbo.

 

They are essentially ignition coils - one per plug - that sit on top of the spark plug directly. No plug wires to sweat! Lots of cars use them nowadays - bikes too! The 996 would need 6 of these. If you look at any of the pics out there for changing plugs you will see them - square black things that sit on the plugs and are bolted down as I recall - wiring pigtail coming off of them.

I'm actually surprised there doesn't seem to be any ignition upgrades available for the 996 - I guess the factory got it right even for HIGH power? On the Supra we used to have to install a box to extend dwell time to charge them up more for a hotter spark, sometimes folks would buy new coils looking for a hotter spark vs worn parts but this was pricey. In the end I swapped to eBay motorcycle coils for a cheap high power fix. This and good Iridium plugs lasted forever.

 

Thanks, so I'm assuming changing these is good to do for every plug change then?

 

You can take that risk but I recommend every oil change

 

Nah, these do not wear out that quickly - anymore than a coil on say a V8 domestic would. Remember too that they are only fired once per revolution (on most cars!) so they do not see the wear that a single coil would. If you're familier with LS1 V8 you've seen Coil Near Plug which isn't much different. I'd only replace them if there's a misfire, physical damage (sometimes they can crack), or a need to upgrade for a hotter spark. At $40+ apiece they aren't exactly cheap! Although I guess some of these new Iridium plugs are getting up there in price too.... Ouchie!

 

I was being extremely facetious, look at heavy's post count.

In all seriousness, mine is an '01, I just replaced mine last week. I wouldnt bother unless you see physical damage, loss of power, stumble or a hesitation, however a little preventive maintenance wouldnt hurt.

 

Oh I understood the sarcasm, the next guy reading the thread might not though....

 

I don't think you need to change them to often, but it all depends on how you run your car. Most in here run them hard, so more often is probably better. I'll probably do it everytime I do the plugs. probably overkill.

 

Cheers for the part number.
Has anyone got an old coil pack from a 996TT to compare part numbers ?

 

I still have the old ones, will post tonight.

 

The old igniter has the Porsche part no as 996 602 102 00 and the Beru part as 0 040 100 021

 

Excellent. Thanks for looking that up

 

Just to let you guys know. I went for the Bosch coil packs.
I spoke to the supplier and they are a new product from Bosch.
I tried a few shops and they had sold out. Apparently they're flying off the shelves.

I'll let you know my findings