The car is finally home, a quick RSA to C4S comapro, and other observations...

[ilko]

So yesterday we had rain of biblical proportions in the North East. Of course that's when my car arrived, so I decided to pick it up and take it on a 140 mile drive home.

The drive home, while not exactly as spirited as I would have liked, was fun nevertheless. My top speed was about 85MPH in the heavy rain. Didn't want to push it, since I'm not that familiar with the car yet. Regardless, the car felt planted, I did not experience any hydroplaning, and had a really fun drive, considering the road conditions.

First things first: I really like it! After 2 964s the 993 feels like a step up in comfort while retaining the Porsche features I know and love. It is more modern, yet it still has the character of an air-cooled 911.

On the outside, Polar Silver has a blueish hue to it, which is enhanced by the dark blue interior. What a great color combo! After 2 black on black cars, I am so happy with a lighter color!

The rear end, oh my! Gorgeous, I have no other words for it. It is really the pinnacle of Porsche design. The curves are just perfect in every way. Funny thing is that I was stuck in traffic behind a 997.2 C4S last night and that thing looks like a truck in comparison.

The view from the windshield is a bit underwhelming to be honest. I miss the torpedo launchers from the earlier cars. And the hood has been raised a bit. Not thrilled by it, but since I can put more stuff in the trunk I won't complain too much.

Power steering - it's been a while since I've driven a Porsche with PS. It definitely makes a difference as you don't feel as connected. However, on longer trips it's very useful. And you don't feel like you have to wrestle the car to turn the 225 wide front tires in a parking lot.

Steering wheel - the car came with a 3-spoke 996 wheel and I like the grip. Still getting used to the larger diameter (the RSA had a 340mm Momo Mod .07).

Wipers - I had a chance to give them a real world test! They are "A+" compared to the earlier 13" spaced out wipers. What a difference!

Seats - I have the comfort seats. They are a little too comfortable. As in too soft. Granted, I'm used to the Recaro Pole Positions I had, but I just don't know, I expected more I guess...

Clutch - the clutch engages really high. Is this normal? It is also very soft and easy to press. Both of my 964 clutches were much harder to engage and picked up much earlier.

LWF - not so sure about that one. The RSA had a LWF and you could just see the needle drop once you step off the gas. Most of the time I didn't even have to use the brakes. This one feels more like a regular DMF. Although I hear the "marbles" that everybody associates with LWF at low RPM, which is funny because my RSA didn't have that "feature."

Suspension - PSS9. Set to pretty soft I think. Very good for cruising, but I'll have to play with the settings to see how to improve it. I also have an RS front anti-sway bar and a TRG rear. But I still noticed some understeer. Could have been because of the rain. Will have to explore it further. The RSA OTOH was very neutral. You just point it and it goes!

Power - well it's not a dog as I was secretly afraid. Coming from a 327HP car that weighs only 2740lbs, I was definitely concerned. A quick calculation netted the C4S power to weight at 11.3lbs per HP while the RSA was at 8.4lbs per HP. Or roughly a 25% difference. And that difference can definitely be felt. It won't win any drag races, but it can hold its own.

AWD vs RWD - It definitely would've taken me longer to get home in a RWD car yesterday The jury is still out when it comes to dry surfaces...

Sound - at first the Motorsound package and RSRs felt really tame. But then I stepped on it and had a huge grin on my face. The sound was not as sinister as what I had on the RSA, but you can hear the distinct growl of the air cooled engine and I'm very happy about that. It can be civilized or rowdy. Versus just evil.

Stereo - the RSA didn't have one. The C4S has a new Alpine unit, MB Quart speakers, an amp, etc, etc. Still, I see a stereotomy in the near future. Didn't even bother to turn it on once while I was on the road yesterday.

I hope that gives you guys an idea of the differences between the two cars.

On the way home I took it to get it inspected. One of the workers, an older guy in his 50s, looks at the car from the rear and says: "This end is much wider than the front!" I nod. He shakes his head and says: "Well that's no good!" I just chuckled.

Unfortunately the story didn't have a happy ending for me since the car failed inspection. It threw two codes: P1126 and P1691.

P1126 is a lean condition, I have a feeling that the O2 sensor may have been acting funny because of the torrential rains. I'll try to clear it out and see if it comes back. BTW if anyone else has any advice on this please chime in.

P1691 - missing CEL. Sure enough, the CEL is missing. I'm so used to the 964 cluster, where the CEL is in the ABS spot that I didn't even bother to check. The previous owner didn't mention anything about it and the shop that did the PPI didn't say a word about it either. I'll check over the weekend to see if it's a light gone bad, or a light missing... If anyone has ideas about this, again I'd appreciate you sharing them with me.

So that's it for now. I've attached a couple of pictures taken with my iPhone in the pouring rain.

[Matt Lane]

Sounds like a beauty. I tend to agree with each of your observations, esp. from the standpoint of my prior Carrera which was loads simpler ('86).

The PS is one feature I could live without, but there's a difference between feeling 'direct' or 'connected', and unnecessarily heavy...

As for the sountrack, nothing that a set of Supercups and radio delete can't take care of...

Good luck on the CEL issue. Curious to see the outcome and if any recourse available.

Best,

Matt

[Bill Verburg]

I wish you the best but some concerns
it's obvious that this one hace CEL issues, hence the missing CEL light bulb, doesn't the Ohmygod light(!) come on? It should. In NYS the law is written in such a way as to make you spend $x(I don't remember the exact amount, somewhere ~500) BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO FIX THE ISSUE. So some shops will replace tires to try and fix it, or perhaps brake pads or some other thing that might be needed anyway.....

There are 4, count em 4 O sensors on that thing

[ilko]

I just spoke with Mike @ Storz Garage in Denver, where the PPI was done. He said they didn't scan the car, but he looked at the CEL light and it was working fine at the time. The "ohmygod" light worked fine yesterday and did not stay on. I'll check over the weekend. Hopefully it's just a rain glitch.

Right now I'm not too worried about it, worse case scenario I'll scan the Audi, wait a week for the sticker to peel off (the glue they use in NYS is a joke), then put it on the Porsche and scan the Audi again... Ideally, I'd like to get the issue resolved of course. Thanks for the pointers so far!

BTW, does anybody know which codes trigger CEL and which ones don't?

Thanks!

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by ilko

I just spoke with Mike @ Storz Garage in Denver, where the PPI was done. He said they didn't scan the car, but he looked at the CEL light and it was working fine at the time. The "ohmygod" light worked fine yesterday and did not stay on. I'll check over the weekend. Hopefully it's just a rain glitch.

Right now I'm not too worried about it, worse case scenario I'll scan the Audi, wait a week for the sticker to peel off (the glue they use in NYS is a joke), then put it on the Porsche and scan the Audi again... Ideally, I'd like to get the issue resolved of course. Thanks for the pointers so far!

BTW, does anybody know which codes trigger CEL and which ones don't?

Thanks!

Again I hate to be the bearer of bad news but

In most upstate counties the NYS annual inspection process begins by plugging any '96 or newer car into a state owned computer w/ dedicated line to DMV. The state reads any and all codes and will flag any vehicle w/ a code as non passing

[wellcraft290]

it also reads the make and model of the car. Doing it on the audi and then putting on yoru car will not work. actually it will because the inspection doesn't list the car or anything just that the audi has been in numerous time for an inspection ..

[964speed]

ILKO - The car looks great ! Enjoy it! Best of luck with it!

[TRINITONY]

Originally Posted by ilko

I just spoke with Mike @ Storz Garage in Denver, where the PPI was done. He said they didn't scan the car, but he looked at the CEL light and it was working fine at the time. The "ohmygod" light worked fine yesterday and did not stay on. I'll check over the weekend. Hopefully it's just a rain glitch.

Right now I'm not too worried about it, worse case scenario I'll scan the Audi, wait a week for the sticker to peel off (the glue they use in NYS is a joke), then put it on the Porsche and scan the Audi again... Ideally, I'd like to get the issue resolved of course. Thanks for the pointers so far!

BTW, does anybody know which codes trigger CEL and which ones don't?

Thanks!

PPI without a scan? Any car > MY95, first thing I ask for on a PPI is to please scan for codes. And to maake sure when the ignition is turn on, that the CEL is illuminated.

GL, hopefully is something simple. And very nice car! Last week a simple loose wire on an oxygensor was driving me nuts...

[Louis J.]

Great review. I'm sure some of the differences in feel like the view from the cabin, seats, clutch, steering etc. are things you'll get used to as you have more seat time. Going from pole positions to comfort seats is a big change (I went from comfort to GT3 seats back to comfort).

As for the code, I got a CEL with the same code on a C4S with 10k mi on a top end. One of my p-car indies said I needed a top-end but I did a quick search here, took it to another shop and asked them to change the O2 sensors and it never came back. Fingers crossed for you.

[Arrwin]

Sweet lookin' car! Congrats. Best of luck with the CEL...hopefully it's nothing major! Or else you'll need a little talk with the seller/PPI shop.

Keep us posted.

[Quadcammer]

Nice car, but it seems like you like the RSA better

[kiesan]

Originally Posted by ilko

I just spoke with Mike @ Storz Garage in Denver...he looked at the CEL light and it was working fine at the time

Sorry I have to ask... how could the CEL light be working fine when the bulb had been pulled?

[ilko]

Originally Posted by wellcraft290

it also reads the make and model of the car. Doing it on the audi and then putting on yoru car will not work. actually it will because the inspection doesn't list the car or anything just that the audi has been in numerous time for an inspection ..

I know all that. If it comes down to it, I'll just have to swap the sticker from one car to the other. Nobody other than the parking roaches from NYPD scan those stickers and as long as I don't park in the City I'm good to go. Not that it's my first choice, but it's an option

Originally Posted by TRINITONY

PPI without a scan? Any car > MY95, first thing I ask for on a PPI is to please scan for codes. And to maake sure when the ignition is turn on, that the CEL is illuminated.

GL, hopefully is something simple. And very nice car! Last week a simple loose wire on an oxygensor was driving me nuts...

I thought they scanned the car too. He seemed thorough about everything else.

I hope it's something minor as well. I really think it's a faulty O2 sensor but we'll see...

Originally Posted by Arrwin

Sweet lookin' car! Congrats. Best of luck with the CEL...hopefully it's nothing major! Or else you'll need a little talk with the seller/PPI shop.

Keep us posted.

Thank you! I'll keep you guys in the loop.

Originally Posted by Quadcammer

Nice car, but it seems like you like the RSA better

I've had the RSA for some time and was attached to it. It was a great car, but recently I started looking for more creature comforts. It's definitely the faster and more fun car for a twisty road, but that doesn't tell the whole story. I've wanted a wide body 993 for quite a while also, and so far I'm quite happy with it.

Originally Posted by kiesan

Sorry I have to ask... how could the CEL light be working fine when the bulb had been pulled?

That's the thing, I don't know if it's been pulled.

The error code says that the circuit is open. The bulb could have been pulled or just burnt out. I'm not near the car now to check, I'll have to wait till tomorrow night to find out.

That's why I was asking if anybody has a list of codes that trigger CEL vs codes that don't. I know not all codes trigger it and clearly remember the "!" light coming on at start up and then disappearing. Usually if you have a CEL the "!" light stays on.

[bart1]

Great car, Ilko, but those seem like some red flags. I hope not! I know what you mean about the bazooka tubes - when I have spent some time in my buddys 964, I loved the fenders. Hopefully the issues will get sorted easily and the C4S will work perfectly for what you need. Talk to the seller about the issues?

[ilko]

Originally Posted by bart1

Great car, Ilko, but those seem like some red flags. I hope not! I know what you mean about the bazooka tubes - when I have spent some time in my buddys 964, I loved the fenders. Hopefully the issues will get sorted easily and the C4S will work perfectly for what you need. Talk to the seller about the issues?

Thanks Bart! I sent her an email earlier today, we'll see what she says. As I said, hopefully it's just a coincidence.