Tonight while making a WOT run in 3rd gear as the rpm passed ~4000 rpm the engine started missing; nothing "hard", just a very slight sputtering kind of miss with power not quite as strong as before. I shifted to 4th and at WOT it did the same thing. I slowed down and repeated the 3rd gear run except at just less than WOT, and the power was strong and there was no missing. I tried WOT 3rd gear pulls a couple of more times with the same results. All subsequent 1st and 2nd gear pulls (WOT) were smooth as silk.

Could it be my plugs? They have ~17k on them (OEM). The gas is from the same station I always use and is 93 octane. I did have a few 3rd gear pulls behave normally later in the drive, but the last one I did missed again. So the bottom line is it's doing this "missing" intermittently in 3rd and 4th gears at 4000 rpm and above, with 1st and 2nd gears never showing any problems.

 

I would suggest checking(clean or replace if necessary) and regapping your plugs.

 

Dock,

I had identical symptoms @ 23,000 miles and the problem was spark plugs. The best part about doing the service is that the car ran stronger at all RPM's with the new plugs.

FYI - My plugs were destroyed at 23,000 miles.

 

Chris & John - Thanks for the info. I did a search on the Forum checking on previous posts by owners who had similar problems. It looks like plugs are the best place to start. I hope it's something easy like that. And like John said, more power wouldn't be a bad thing either...

 

That could also be a warning sign that you are about to experience the car's well known tendency to disconnect it's fuel lines inside the tank area - ask me how I know .

 

It's plugs (and possibly a particular cyl. coil pack)-- do it a few more times and you'll trigger a CEL. The code will read engine misfire -- I'm betting it's cylinder #3.

 

How oftern should you change your plugs? I think it's part of the 30K mile service but if not, when do y'all suggest I change them. I'm very proactive in maintenance even if some view it's a waste of $$$

thanks in advance

 

I change my plugs at least once a year, and I only drive apprx 5-6k a year.

 

Are you thinking about changing the plugs yourself? If so, give me a call and we can do both our cars together.

 

Damn, that sound's like fun...A plug changing party!!! :=)

 

By the way, there are detailed plug change instructions by Loren over on RennTech available to contributing members in the 996 DIY section. fyi

 

All I found over there were instructions on how to do the change on the 996. The Turbo has a few more parts to pull...right?

 

Yes, it is different but the general idea is the same. KPV should weigh in on this. I know he did it himself not too long ago...

 

shoot me an email when you do this, I'd like to partake

 

Will do. It will be in the next couple of weeks.