996Outpost.com

32wildbilly wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 11:07 am The major thing you left out is that is one SWEET looking ride!!

Thanks, Billy!

Replaced the right rear tire yesterday as it had a construction screw in the tread. The hole was repairable, but the inner sidewall had damage from driving it with low air. I drove it to Columbia, MO last Saturday (about 120 miles), so I guess I'm just lucky the tire held up all the way there. It was one of the summer tires - General GMaxRS in 295/30-18. Bought a replacement at Discount Tire. $248 for the tire, mounting, balancing, etc.

I thought about replacing both rears, but the tires still had about 80% tread left.

Personalized plate arrived today:



Finally installed the clear LED 3rd brake light that I bought in 2015:

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 8:20 am Replaced the right rear tire yesterday as it had a construction screw in the tread. The hole was repairable, but the inner sidewall had damage from driving it with low air. I drove it to Columbia, MO last Saturday (about 120 miles), so I guess I'm just lucky the tire held up all the way there. It was one of the summer tires - General GMaxRS in 295/30-18. Bought a replacement at Discount Tire. $248 for the tire, mounting, balancing, etc.

I thought about replacing both rears, but the tires still had about 80% tread left.

I assume you AutoX the Turbro with the GMaxRS's. How is the traction level? How is the noise level? I saw these tires on TireRack and they are inexpensive.
The tires on my car are about to time out and was wondering.

32wildbilly wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 5:35 am

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Fri May 06, 2022 8:20 am Replaced the right rear tire yesterday as it had a construction screw in the tread. The hole was repairable, but the inner sidewall had damage from driving it with low air. I drove it to Columbia, MO last Saturday (about 120 miles), so I guess I'm just lucky the tire held up all the way there. It was one of the summer tires - General GMaxRS in 295/30-18. Bought a replacement at Discount Tire. $248 for the tire, mounting, balancing, etc.

I thought about replacing both rears, but the tires still had about 80% tread left.

I assume you AutoX the Turbro with the GMaxRS's. How is the traction level? How is the noise level? I saw these tires on TireRack and they are inexpensive.
The tires on my car are about to time out and was wondering.

I like them a lot. They feel stickier than the HTR-ZIII tires that I replaced them with. But, I have no idea how they compare to a set of Michelins, other than to say that the other 996tt drivers in the club with Michelins are slower than me at every autocross I've been to. And I'm not a "trained" or "educated" driver, so it's not me being a better driver.

FRUNKenstein wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 11:23 am

32wildbilly wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 5:35 am

I assume you AutoX the Turbro with the GMaxRS's. How is the traction level? How is the noise level? I saw these tires on TireRack and they are inexpensive.
The tires on my car are about to time out and was wondering.

I like them a lot. They feel stickier than the HTR-ZIII tires that I replaced them with. But, I have no idea how they compare to a set of Michelins, other than to say that the other 996tt drivers in the club with Michelins are slower than me at every autocross I've been to. And I'm not a "trained" or "educated" driver, so it's not me being a better driver.

Come on now... Training and education doesn't necessarily mean one would be good at AX. Maybe you are gutsier and drive your car harder than those others. Maybe your car handles better...after all it is a "clapped out track rat." Also yours is an X50 so more ponies and torque. How is the turbo for AX? Meaning is it difficult to keep it in boost on tight slow obstacles?

Changed the oil and filter today and lubed the wastegate actuators. New crush washers. 68,767 miles. Looks like that’s just under 14 months and just under 4,000 miles since the last oil and filter change.

I swapped the winter wheels and tires on it today.

Swapped out the HVAC LCD display panel. Had a few pixels missing. Pretty easy job - the hardest part was peeling the protective film off both sides of the new LCD panel. It was stubborn, and I was afraid of damaging it. Ended up using a needle. The other somewhat tricky part was getting 8 small metal tabs to line back up to reattach the control panel to the main part of the unit.

I just made a post over on Rennlist about maintenance costs for an X50 model, and I took the time to go back through my records. If I missed anything, it was something very minor. Figured I'd just copy and paste that post here for posterity:

I bought my '02 996tt X50, which had been tracked quite a bit by the original owner (I'm the 3rd owner) back in September 2015. I've only spent about $10,000 total on maintenance and modifications in the 8+ years that I've owned it. And that includes:
-new tires & rims, General GMax RS summer tires & Flow One Race Spec F2 rims ($1,813 mounted & balanced from TireRack)
-a set of Michelin all season tires as my winter tires for my old rims ($900)
-eRams ($1,659)
-LED taillights ($843)
-LED 3rd brake light & sidemarker lights ($180)
-interior light bulbs changed to LEDs ($50)
-replaced double-DIN head unit with newer model ($800)
-replaced a fugly tall track shift knob it came with for a used carbon fiber stock knob ($250)
-under hood liner for frunk ($209)
-new windshield tint (maybe $300)
-I change my own oil and other light maintenance, so maybe $1,000 for all of that stuff (including a $31 ignition switch)
-new 1.0 bar wastegate actuators ($482 installed)
-I buggered up one of the front calipers when I broke off a bleed nipple (that sounds painful) when bleeding the brake fluid. But, I replaced it with a used caliper for like $600.
-Hit a seam during road re-surfacing that bent both front wheels and needed alignment ($469)
-Picked up a construction screw in the sidewall of a rear tire, so had to replace it ($248)
-Replaced climate control LCD panel ($61).
-Hood struts, engine cover struts and rocker panel cover (all bad when I bought the car) ($306).

Total of all that is $10,170. The car has 71,000 miles on it, and 23,000 of that has been since I bought it 8 years ago. I know I'll have to replace the radiators at some point. But (knock on wood), overall it has been a great car that frankly has been very, very reasonably priced to maintain. Granted, I have a fantastic indy Porsche mechanic and do some wrenching on my own, but I suspect many (most) 996tt owners can say the same.