An introduction, and a thank you. (very long wall of text)
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An introduction, and a thank you. (very long wall of text)
Hi. This is long, but I've waited a long time to make this post. Feel free to skip down to the cliffs if you prefer the abridged version. 
I've been a 6speed member for a good while, but only ever posted when I had media to share of my friends' cars. I have been a Porsche enthusiast for as long as I can remember, but ownership was always out of my reach due to a side affliction with BMW. Like some of the members here, I am an ex-owner of an E36 M3, a car that I loved, and saw through various modifications during my ten years of ownership before it was taken from me in an accident that was no fault of my own. It died with an IP-class BMW club racing engine in it, and my only recourse was to swap the drivetrain into a 1991 325is that weighs substantially less. I have only just finished up the necessary sorting associated with this kind of custom project, and while I am enjoy the new car immensely, I still miss my E36.
The loss has recently been mitigated with the recent addition of an 03 911 Cabriolet to the garage. My fiancee Jessica saved for three years to be able to comfortably afford what she wanted, and drove her 1996 Jeep Cherokee until she found the right car. It was a sacrifice in every sense of the word because she works very hard, and she adores her convertibles. After turning in her leased Z4, she only had eyes for a 911 once my friends started bringing their collections (996 GT2, Carrera GT, 997 GT3, etc) to the house. She found her Cab at the Porsche dealership right around the corner from our house in CT, and to be honest, I wasn't exactly in love with the fixed rear "Carrera wing" or the sideskirts, but I have definitely warmed to the aesthetic in the past few months. It was inevitable - There is a 911 in my garage, I have no choice but to love every inch of it.
Driving-wise, the car is a trip. I love it. I love the seating position, and the complete change of driving dynamics compared to the front engine, RWD setup that I am used to. I still can't believe how light the front end feels, for obvious reasons. I listened long and hard to a very close, very trusted friend, a 997 GT3 owner who races in the Mustang challenge, who advised me on the best way to feel the car out, and adopt a new "slow in, fast out" attack to corners, and since I am far too much of a superwuss to throw my fiancee's car around in a manner that could potentially ruin it, my approach so far has been tentative, but it's hands-down the most fun I have ever had while still being careful.
Basalt Black. Another challenge. I am a hobbyist detailer like a lot of people who love their cars, and I am constantly searching for the right product combo for the car. I use Poorboy's SSR line for paint correction with my Porter Cable, and made the mistake of trusting the recon department at the dealership to have properly prepped the car - It was all swirls within a week of ownership, which meant whatever glazing product they used to make the car look good had finally washed off, exposing the problems underneath. I stupidly used SSR1, which is more of a polish than the light compound that was needed, and as a result there are still some swirls. Not a lot, but some. The first order of business when we get home from our current road trip south will be another 8 hours in the garage with a friend's Flex polisher, and the Menzerna I have avoided learning to use for the past few years. I never needed it for my BMWs because....well, they were always kept pristine, and also weren't/aren't Basalt Black 911s.
Jessica and I are currently on a road trip that took us from our central CT home to Raleigh, NC, to my family home on Hilton Head Island for Memorial Day weekend, and finally to Orlando, Fla. for the IBM Rational User Conference. Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a tire blow out that also cracked the wheel. Jess made a thread here asking for advice on what to do, and member HxCforlife actually offered the use of one of his wheels to get us rolling! I was blown away. Of course there was no way that we could accept, but man, if you are reading this, I owe you a lunch. And a photoshoot. And maybe even a detail if you want to come up to the house in CT for the day. That was a supremely cool offer. I have been around these kinds of online forums for years, and while I have seen instances of kindness, your offer, for lack of a better term, reaffirmed my faith in humanity. It's not like Jess was a longtime member of the forum, or someone that was posting constantly, and the grace of your offer to help was staggering to a jaded old pessimist like myself.
So, in the end, we're rolling. The used wheel we found on Ebay really doesn't look that bad, considering it was $150 for a wheel that cost ~ $1000 new at the dealer. And since this user conference consists of the heavy hitters from IBM, and my detailing products are 1000 miles away, I threw a coat of NXT2 on the car last night to make it look its best. NXT was the only readily-available synthetic that I ever liked, even if its longevity was pretty nonexistant by the standards of the products I prefer, so I have been looking for a reason to try the reformulation. I think it came out well, and the tin of Souveran that I snuck into the front boot before we left will serve me well tomorrow morning.
Cliffs
I'm a BMW guy, had an E36 M3, totaled it, swapped the drivetrain into an older BMW. Fiancee picked up a Porsche, I love it. It's everything I thought it would be as someone who has lusted after the marque since childhood. We are on a road trip in the south, and a recent tire blowout took out the rear wheel as well, and HxCforlife is the MAN for offering the use of his wheel to keep us on the road. I'm talking insano, super-coolness freshburger with a side of word nuggets, and I hope that when we're back in CT this summer I can buy him lunch at least. We found a $150 used wheel and are back on the road, and here are the pics I took today before we leave for Orlando. I normally shoot with my Canon DSLR, but today our Sony point-and-shoot was all I had to work with:
The used wheel:
Post NXT2 pics:
Thanks for checking out the thread, and if you read all of it, thanks twice.
I've been a 6speed member for a good while, but only ever posted when I had media to share of my friends' cars. I have been a Porsche enthusiast for as long as I can remember, but ownership was always out of my reach due to a side affliction with BMW. Like some of the members here, I am an ex-owner of an E36 M3, a car that I loved, and saw through various modifications during my ten years of ownership before it was taken from me in an accident that was no fault of my own. It died with an IP-class BMW club racing engine in it, and my only recourse was to swap the drivetrain into a 1991 325is that weighs substantially less. I have only just finished up the necessary sorting associated with this kind of custom project, and while I am enjoy the new car immensely, I still miss my E36.
The loss has recently been mitigated with the recent addition of an 03 911 Cabriolet to the garage. My fiancee Jessica saved for three years to be able to comfortably afford what she wanted, and drove her 1996 Jeep Cherokee until she found the right car. It was a sacrifice in every sense of the word because she works very hard, and she adores her convertibles. After turning in her leased Z4, she only had eyes for a 911 once my friends started bringing their collections (996 GT2, Carrera GT, 997 GT3, etc) to the house. She found her Cab at the Porsche dealership right around the corner from our house in CT, and to be honest, I wasn't exactly in love with the fixed rear "Carrera wing" or the sideskirts, but I have definitely warmed to the aesthetic in the past few months. It was inevitable - There is a 911 in my garage, I have no choice but to love every inch of it.
Driving-wise, the car is a trip. I love it. I love the seating position, and the complete change of driving dynamics compared to the front engine, RWD setup that I am used to. I still can't believe how light the front end feels, for obvious reasons. I listened long and hard to a very close, very trusted friend, a 997 GT3 owner who races in the Mustang challenge, who advised me on the best way to feel the car out, and adopt a new "slow in, fast out" attack to corners, and since I am far too much of a superwuss to throw my fiancee's car around in a manner that could potentially ruin it, my approach so far has been tentative, but it's hands-down the most fun I have ever had while still being careful.
Basalt Black. Another challenge. I am a hobbyist detailer like a lot of people who love their cars, and I am constantly searching for the right product combo for the car. I use Poorboy's SSR line for paint correction with my Porter Cable, and made the mistake of trusting the recon department at the dealership to have properly prepped the car - It was all swirls within a week of ownership, which meant whatever glazing product they used to make the car look good had finally washed off, exposing the problems underneath. I stupidly used SSR1, which is more of a polish than the light compound that was needed, and as a result there are still some swirls. Not a lot, but some. The first order of business when we get home from our current road trip south will be another 8 hours in the garage with a friend's Flex polisher, and the Menzerna I have avoided learning to use for the past few years. I never needed it for my BMWs because....well, they were always kept pristine, and also weren't/aren't Basalt Black 911s.
Jessica and I are currently on a road trip that took us from our central CT home to Raleigh, NC, to my family home on Hilton Head Island for Memorial Day weekend, and finally to Orlando, Fla. for the IBM Rational User Conference. Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a tire blow out that also cracked the wheel. Jess made a thread here asking for advice on what to do, and member HxCforlife actually offered the use of one of his wheels to get us rolling! I was blown away. Of course there was no way that we could accept, but man, if you are reading this, I owe you a lunch. And a photoshoot. And maybe even a detail if you want to come up to the house in CT for the day. That was a supremely cool offer. I have been around these kinds of online forums for years, and while I have seen instances of kindness, your offer, for lack of a better term, reaffirmed my faith in humanity. It's not like Jess was a longtime member of the forum, or someone that was posting constantly, and the grace of your offer to help was staggering to a jaded old pessimist like myself.
So, in the end, we're rolling. The used wheel we found on Ebay really doesn't look that bad, considering it was $150 for a wheel that cost ~ $1000 new at the dealer. And since this user conference consists of the heavy hitters from IBM, and my detailing products are 1000 miles away, I threw a coat of NXT2 on the car last night to make it look its best. NXT was the only readily-available synthetic that I ever liked, even if its longevity was pretty nonexistant by the standards of the products I prefer, so I have been looking for a reason to try the reformulation. I think it came out well, and the tin of Souveran that I snuck into the front boot before we left will serve me well tomorrow morning.
Cliffs
I'm a BMW guy, had an E36 M3, totaled it, swapped the drivetrain into an older BMW. Fiancee picked up a Porsche, I love it. It's everything I thought it would be as someone who has lusted after the marque since childhood. We are on a road trip in the south, and a recent tire blowout took out the rear wheel as well, and HxCforlife is the MAN for offering the use of his wheel to keep us on the road. I'm talking insano, super-coolness freshburger with a side of word nuggets, and I hope that when we're back in CT this summer I can buy him lunch at least. We found a $150 used wheel and are back on the road, and here are the pics I took today before we leave for Orlando. I normally shoot with my Canon DSLR, but today our Sony point-and-shoot was all I had to work with:
The used wheel:
Post NXT2 pics:
Thanks for checking out the thread, and if you read all of it, thanks twice.
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Thanks for the warm response guys. I am happy to report that we made the 5 hour trip from SC to Orlando FL without event or drama, and are now in the heart of Mickey Mouse's Moneymaking Machine. I am amazed every time I come here by the unabashed commercial fleecing of the place. It's the land of the constant upsell, and I'm just glad that I am child-free, and that we are totally on the IBM corporate expense account because it makes things monumentally easier.
I sorely regret leaving the quick detailer in SC, and should at least get it washed ASAP. We are staying at the Dolphin, and had an interesting thing happen last night. The valet insisted that he be allowed to keep the 911 up front in the "VIP" space at no extra charge beyond that of the regular valet service. We've taken the car out twice into the surrounding area, and both times they have pointed me back to the same spot up front upon return. I really appreciate this because it's a covered spot under the check-in/registration area, and I've been tipping the valets very well every time we retrieve the keys. Plus, I can see the car from our hotel room:
I figure I'll be good until a heavier hitter shows up with deeper pockets, which, given that yesterday I saw an F430 being followed by a Gallardo and a Ford GT bringing up the rear, is probably only a matter of time.
It's too bad you missed the shindig at the house a month or so back, but we will be getting together again soon. About 30 M3s showed up during the day, but the Porsche showing, while decent in quality, was lacking in number:
Hopefully, next time you can make it out.
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Yeah believe it or not; I'm still working on those freakin' seats...should be up and running in the next few days...have a good one...[/quote]
So, you got the railings? cant wait to see how it looks.
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Rather than pepper this forum with countless threads as a n00bert, I prefer to continue with already open dialogues so I am posting this here rather than start a new thread.
Are there any paint recon/detail hobbyists here? I have been an Autopia lurker for a very long time, and am always trying to find the best combo of products for any given car. I am sad to say that I pretty much failed when it was time to detail the Cab, as I had too much faith in the dealer's recon shop to deliver us a car that was truly blemish-free, and not simply temporarily lathered in whatever product they used to hide the swirls that became apparent after whatever glaze/product they used washed off.
My mistake came the first time I put the Porter Cable to the 911 a few months ago. Rather than start with the default light cutting compound to remove the blemishes I was seeing, I assumed that a good polish would get them out and erred on the side of less abrasion. Big mistake - After a good 6+ hours in the garage, I pulled the car out into the sun and I could still see some swirls and spiderwebbing, but time was of the essence, and I wasn't able to revisit the paint before we began out road trip south.
Frustrating, to say the least. Infuriating to be honest. Had I started with a more aggressive product, there would be no need for me to revist the finish the second I get back to CT from this east coast road trip that we are currently on. Worse, while the NXT2 that I applied before I left the family home in SC did a great job of hiding the swirls that are currently driving me insane. Today I washed the car for the first time in a week after our trip to Orlando, and decided to apply what is my favorite wax for both black and red cars - Pinnacle Souveran.
At first glance, after a good two hours of hand-applying and removing, the car looked great. I was thrilled to see the paint take on the super slick, dripping wet aspect that Souveran adds to a black car, along with its signature depth and reflectivity. I was satisfied enough to take some pics:
That satisfaction lasted about as long as it took for the sun to finally come out, and expose the horror of the paint. It's awful, and to say that it was disheartening is the understatement of the century. I swear I could see every last stroke of the microfiber cloths I was using, and what was once a finish with light swirls has now become Swirl City of the sort that is a frank embarrassment to any amateur detailer who takes pride in his paint.
So that's where I'm at. I can't wait to get back to the CT house. I am going to eradicate every last swirl and spiderweb on this car if it kills me. :/
Are there any paint recon/detail hobbyists here? I have been an Autopia lurker for a very long time, and am always trying to find the best combo of products for any given car. I am sad to say that I pretty much failed when it was time to detail the Cab, as I had too much faith in the dealer's recon shop to deliver us a car that was truly blemish-free, and not simply temporarily lathered in whatever product they used to hide the swirls that became apparent after whatever glaze/product they used washed off.
My mistake came the first time I put the Porter Cable to the 911 a few months ago. Rather than start with the default light cutting compound to remove the blemishes I was seeing, I assumed that a good polish would get them out and erred on the side of less abrasion. Big mistake - After a good 6+ hours in the garage, I pulled the car out into the sun and I could still see some swirls and spiderwebbing, but time was of the essence, and I wasn't able to revisit the paint before we began out road trip south.
Frustrating, to say the least. Infuriating to be honest. Had I started with a more aggressive product, there would be no need for me to revist the finish the second I get back to CT from this east coast road trip that we are currently on. Worse, while the NXT2 that I applied before I left the family home in SC did a great job of hiding the swirls that are currently driving me insane. Today I washed the car for the first time in a week after our trip to Orlando, and decided to apply what is my favorite wax for both black and red cars - Pinnacle Souveran.
At first glance, after a good two hours of hand-applying and removing, the car looked great. I was thrilled to see the paint take on the super slick, dripping wet aspect that Souveran adds to a black car, along with its signature depth and reflectivity. I was satisfied enough to take some pics:
That satisfaction lasted about as long as it took for the sun to finally come out, and expose the horror of the paint. It's awful, and to say that it was disheartening is the understatement of the century. I swear I could see every last stroke of the microfiber cloths I was using, and what was once a finish with light swirls has now become Swirl City of the sort that is a frank embarrassment to any amateur detailer who takes pride in his paint.
So that's where I'm at. I can't wait to get back to the CT house. I am going to eradicate every last swirl and spiderweb on this car if it kills me. :/
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So that's where I'm at. I can't wait to get back to the CT house. I am going to eradicate every last swirl and spiderweb on this car if it kills me. :/[/quote]
If you want to borrow my Mikita rotary let me know....
If you want to borrow my Mikita rotary let me know....