Hello From Iowa!

[Marc010]

Is there anyone else from Iowa here? This Is my 01' Carrera. Thought I'd share a quick photo and say hello!

[Marc010]

I guess I could include a few of the vehicle modifications. Bilstein coilovers, wheels/tires, freshly re done red Brembos (not pictured) intake modification, muffler bypass pipes

[creekman]

Marc,  nice ride... are those 18" or 19" wheels?  Or has the car been lowered?

[Marc010]

Car is lowered quite a bit. They are 19's

[mdragon]

Hello Marc from Iowa! And, hello to all of you Porsche enthusiasts!

 

I'm not from Iowa, I'm from Seattle and I'm also new to RennTech. Marc, you have a beautiful car, I love the wheels!

 

I love my car too, it is fabulous, it is the finest car I have ever driven and if you look at my profile, you will see that I have owned many nice cars.

 

It is a 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet painted Anthracite. Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster that has the highest carbon content and the fewest impurities. It differs from ordinary bituminous coal by its greater hardness, its higher relative density of 1.3 - 1.4 and luster, which is often semi-metallic with a mildly brown reflection. The paint actually looks like it has gold metal flake, it is very beautiful and sets off a nicer look, in my opinion, than just black. It's a cool color.

 

I have a question for anyone that might know the answer...

 

When I bought my car, I watched all of my gauges religiously and my oil pressure gauge would always stay between 2 (idling) and 4 (revving the engine). It never hit 5 or went as low as 1.5. A couple of days ago, the oil pressure gauge pegged at 5 when I started her up and then it was very erratic while I was driving. I knew there was something wrong, so I did some research and it pointed to the oil sensor. I took it into my mechanic and they agreed and they flipped it out.

 

Now, when I start the car (cold), the gauge goes straight to 5, but only for about 3 seconds then, it drops down to 1.5 to 2 at idle and up to 4 and sometimes 4.5 to 5 when the rpm's are at 4K. The gauge is now moving around a lot more. Before, it was just going from 2 to 4 and nothing more. I called my mechanic back and he thinks the sensor is working correctly now and is speculating the oil sensor was not working properly when I bought the car in February 2014. 

 

What do you all think? Is my oil sensor and oil gauge working correctly, do you all think there is still something wrong or do you need more information?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Julie

 

[Marc010]

Apparently I'm unable to message you, so I guess I'll post it here even though it's kind of off topic. I'm interested in knowing more about this paint you speak of

[Marc010]

My Calipers I just redid. I have about 10 hours Invested in them haha!

[Marc010]

Side View with better shot of the wheels.

[Marc010]

My oil psi gauge reads just over 1 at idle, and varies depending on revs while driving. Cruising down the road at 75mph in 6th gear it's at about 3-3.5. It sounds like yours is now working properly, however you do seem to have more pressure than I do. My car has never had an issue with oil psi, oil burning, leaks or anything of that nature since I've owned it and it's a strong running motor. Not sure why yours reads that much higher but from your description it seems like the sensor itself is working properly now.

[mdragon]

Hi Marc,

Not much more to say about the paint other than I've always been interested in geology, so it was fun reading that the color of my car was named after a natural element that came from the earth. Look up Anthracite on the Internet and you will see what I mean. The color of the car is black, but it has this really cool gold metal flake in it that adds a depth of color that makes it sort of sparkle.

 

I used to have a BMW 740iL that was painted Orinocco, which was a dark blue-green metallic. There is a river in Venezuela that is one of the longest rivers in South America (1,330 miles). I believe it flows into the Gulf of Paria, which is near the Parima mountains. There is an algae that grows where the river meets the Caribbean Sea and the car was painted the color of the algae. The interior had Italian leather with a beautiful blueish-green piping. It was a custom car from Germany and it was absolutely gorgeous. That car was a lot of fun. It had a governor on it so, it only went 157mph. But, the ride was amazing. Totally different from the Porsche. The Porsche is a kick in the ***. Especially the Cabriolet.

 

So, having said all of that, what is the name of the paint on your car? 

 

 

Julie  

[Marc010]

I believe mine is Arctic Silver Metalic. So do you have a geology degree? I've also owned a bmw, though mine wasn't as special as yours. The Porsche is a definite kick in the pants compared to most bmws haha! But, it's a purpose built sports car. Mine is a lot rougher than a factory 911 due to the aftermarket bilstein adjustable coilover suspension. She prefers smooth roads :)

[mdragon]

Hi there,

Not to be so totally naive, please tell me, what is a bilstein adjustable coilover suspension? 

 

No, I am not a geologist. I have a Computer Science degree from the University of Washington and I worked in Telecommunications in Network Engineering for about 20 years. I survived 9 mergers. Now there are only a few large competitors in the market, like AT&T,

T-Mobile and Verizon. I've worked for all three of them. If you knew my name, you could look me up and see that I was the co-chair on the Wireless sub-committee for Number Portability. I was part of the team that wrote the requirements.

 

Loren set me up for Personal Messaging. I don't think we are supposed to talk about stuff like this on these forums. But, we can if we do it on the Personal Messaging. You should try and figure out how to get yourself on that list then we can talk about things other than pistons and suspensions. I think I got on the list because I donated money.

 

I tried very hard to get onto RennTech because I am so interested in learning more about my Porsche. I want to be able to read the forums and ask questions so I can learn about my car. It's also fun to talk to people who have similar interests. Every day, I take the car out for a spin and I get a coffee. I take the top down and scream down the road. It is a feeling of freedom that I've never known.

 

It's been fun talking with you today. I wish I had the money to fix up my car like you have fixed yours. I'd love to have those red brakes...mine are silver.

How fast does your car go? How fast have you taken your car? I've taken my Porsche 150 mph and I've had it up to 125mph a couple of times while just driving on the Interstate, just down the road...I probably shouldn't say that so publicly...the car ran so smoothly, it was incredible.

 

Keep in touch and I look forward to hearing from you again. Let me know about the bilstein adjustable coilover suspension and how fast your car goes...

Julie 

[kbrandsma]

Welcome Marc010 and dragonlover to Renntech!

 

:welcome: 

[Marc010]

Thank you! ^^

The Bilstein suspension setup is to replace the factory struts and springs on the car, and replace them with a high performance setup. You are then able to adjust the stiffness of the ride, and lower the vehicle to your desired height. I have mine setup for road course racing. I used to have many high performance turbo charged Japanese imports, some setup for drag racing, but most for road course tracks. There is nothing like the feeling of being able to push your car to its limits for a half hour straight on a closed track in a legal environment with no worries of police haha! As for speed, I have had mine to about 155. It had more left in it, but I was on an interstate when I did that and I felt like that was enough for a public roadway :) I absolutely love this car, it is by far the best car I have ever owned. I'm still learning about it and slowly learning how to work on it as I go. I've always done all my own work on the cars I've owned, and learning about the Porsche as I go has been interesting considering it's very different rear engine setup. You can try to send me a private message and see if it will work?

-Marc

[Marc010]

This is the setup I currently run on mine: http://www.emnotek.com/p-869-porsche-bilstein-pss10-coilovers.aspx

[Matt Hubbell]

Mark, are you in Cedar Rapids?  Looks like a Porsche I saw moving down Edgewood Rd the other day.  I too have a 996 but it doesn't get out as much as it should.  Like the wheels.  Just bought some used 19" Black honeycombs from a gentleman in town and I'm hoping to get them wrapped for next year.  They need a little love over the winter before I put the rubber on but should look nice.  Good luck finding smooth roads in town.  Interstate is about as good as it gets...and it still is subpar.