Hey Guys,

First post for me. I'm a member over on the MB Forum. Currently I drive a 2008 E63 AMG P30 and had an offer to trade for a 2002 996 Turbo with about 30K miles. I'm going to drive the car tomorrow.

My P30 is one quick monster. It's obviously not a pure-breed corner carver like a Porsche, but for pubilc roads it holds it's own. The P30 suspension is no slouch. But, it's a gas hog and can get very expensive to maintain down the road. So, it is always something that I am going to have to have a warranty ready to cover my butt in case the Airmatic suspension or other component blows.

On the Porsche I like the AWD factor, look, and 6-speed. But overall will I be grinning ear to ear going from an AMG to a 996TT? What is the fuel tank range for these cars on the highway? I'm not dazzled with getting 12 MPG in the AMG. Any other general advice on these cars?

So far I have heard to: (1) check IMS, (2) error codes, (3) water pump, and (4) rings. Any other wisdom for a 996 noob?

Regards,
John

 

I have a 996 GT2, I drove it up and back to Sterling, VA to the race shop, taking it easy, and got 25mpg on the highway. I thought that was quite good considering the horsepower of the car.

 

That is pretty good. I don't think I have ever seen even 20 MPG in the AMG. But none of these are exactly "fuel friendly" cars. I just don't want my driving experience to be going from gas station to gas station.

I'm catching up on all of the forum threads here about the 996TT. I want to be educated when I run the car past a service team to inspect.

 

Yes, good plan. I have found you don't need to know everything, you just need to know someone who knows everything. I would find the right guy to do the inspection for you, or with you. Look for the most meticulous, obsessive Porsche expert you can find. Just my 2cents.

 

just get a ppi done on the car before anything . if everything checks out good and you like the car , go for it .

as for highway mpg , lit shtfbrains said, you keep it nice and steady and not get in the boost much, you can get very good milage .

and yes you will be grinning ear to ear while going through the gears . get a nice exhaust and a ecu tune and you will be ready to rock. you will be more then happy .

 

I don't believe the turbos are prone to the IMS issue, since they don't use one...

 

I just drove across the country from Phoenix to Connecticut with the cruise control on most of the time at 80 and got 27.1 mpg.

 

Get a PPI done..I recommend AtSpeed Motorsports in Hanover, MD.

I've gotten as high as 29 mpg on the hwy if I stay out of boost and not go faster then 70mph.

If your car savy then these cars are very similiar to any other car, maintainence wise...i'm sure i'll get mixed review about this comment..LOL!

 

Be sure you check the car and the engine out cold, with A/C off. Turn on the key and verify the check engine light (and all dash warning lights) come on then go off as you start the engine.

Let the engine idle and warm up. It should idle pretty good (though a bit rougher than your MB when cold) but the idle should slow down and smooth out as the engine picks up heat.

Be sure the engine is quiet, as quiet as these things can be.

Once nearly up to temp have driver take you on test ride. Pay attention to the car, engine. The route should cover about 15 miles and involve all kinds of driving. Once the engine up to temp have the driver give the car the engine some beans. Hard accelerate off idle to redline up shift and keep the foot planted until road, or ***** runs out or common sense takes over. (Probably a bit of all 3. These suckers are fast!)

Once back at the starting point let the engine idle some more then take it on a test drive following the same route driving the car the same way the driver drove the car.

The engine should pull smartly from off idle (though it is turbocharged and not a real stump puller down low) to redline and run it through at least two gears as you accelerate from off idle to near redline.

Then once back and if all is still ok the car is just a used car so give it a thorough used car checkout.

Messy to remove the filter and check the element for trash but your PPI guy should do that.

From under the car he can look at various areas for leaks. The underbody panels can hide some leaks so a bright light and a real desire to peer in tight dark hard to get at places helps. Look along the sides of the tranny for any leaks around the shift linkage.

Check the radiators for any leaks. If the engine allowed to get real hot and then shut off if the cooling system is not pressure tight you'll probably smell anti-freeze before you see it. (Hint with engine idling shut off the engine after you hear the radiator fans come on. You should hear both come on too, BTW. And the engine compartment fan can come on anytime so if you're looking at a hot engine and compartment keep your hands away/out of the engine compartment fan blades. There may be an interlock but I haven't confirmed this, so just be careful.)

Oh, fuel tank range. Well, the on-board computer has given me over a 400 mile range reading once or twice after a fill up but I think I've never managed to get over 300 miles until the low fuel warning light comes on and I may not have even gotten 300 miles. I can't be sure. I generally don't drive the car to the point the low fuel light comes on anyhow, in fact almost always filling up at 1/4 tank. On the road, on a long road trip I fill the tank up after about 2 hours of driving and with the level down about a half a tank or a bit more. Call it 150 miles. I might push it to over 200 miles but not often. I need a break from driving to keep fresh. (The car is comfortable I've just been working long hour and when I get time off I leave worn out.)

Earlier this month (May) on a trip from CA to the mid-west and back (covering over 4K miles in a week's time (Friday to Friday)) going up over with the bulk of my time on I-80 to I-29 and I-70 and on the way home and heading west I came back I-35 to eventually I-40 then 58 and I-5 and I-580 (whew!) the car averaged around 25mpg. It did a bit better than this on the way east. Why? Better gas? Many places 93 octane! It was certainly less expensive gas. $3.819/gallon in I think one station in WY. ($4.999/gallon in Needles!) And the car did a bit worse on the way back with the mpg dropping a bit under 25mpg and sometimes dropping even more. Back into CA and that crappy 91 octane ethanol laced goat **** junk I think accounts for most of this.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Good informative write up macster

 

I just did a long road trip and set the cruise at 125 km/h. According to the built in gauge I got 35.6 mpg - was so impressed I had to take a picture of it. My car is not stock. I have AMS Billet K16's, larger injectors, Agency Power exhaust, Wavetrac LSD, 911Tuning inlet pipes, EVOMS coils. Still running the low power tune (1 bar).

 

Thank you everyone for the input. I'll be checking out the vehicle in depth tomorrow. This was excellent feedback.

 

I've just got an ECU tune on my car and it is plenty fast for me for now... I love the rush you get with forced induction. The power is great but more than that the handling is even better. An amazing all around car.

As far as fuel economy. I've never seen higher than around 20MPG but then again I've never loafed the car for a whole lot of miles and really I don't see the point. I bought a Mercedes ML320 Bluetec turbo diesel for that.

And for those of you claiming these high fuel econmomy's on modified cars, I don't think you can rely on the dash readout as it is no longer accurate once you've changed your tuning around. Got to do the old fashioned math at the pump. Maybe you guys are already doing that but just wanted to throw it out there for the noob.

 

The larger injectors will cause your accuracy to be off. Don't trust it once you've changed to larger injectors. You certainly are getting lower mpg than what is displayed.

Also don't trust your remaining distance - as you will run out of fuel beforehand.

 

I think the guy has decided to keep his E63 as it gives him a better fuel economy