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The Simonk 996 - some personal touches


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Simon,

The paint work on your cars always looks fantastic. Care to share your secrets please?

Thanks

Peter

Well, I'm certainly not the person to go to for paint work advice. I've had my 3.2 for 18 months and have only polished and waxed it once when I first got it. This one I've only had for 3 weeks and inherited it this way. But as you've asked, when I got the 3.2 I hit it with some Meguiars Ultimate Compound Colour & Clarity Restorer. It has a very mild cut in it to remove swirl marks. I then used Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. I'm no expert though and try not to be too anal when it comes to polishing and waxing.

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Here's all the stereo equipment to go in. The install kit arrived from the US today. With the mother in-law staying with us this week, there should be plenty of "garage" time to put it in... Can't wait for some decent sounds.

14578831317_1f7733d43c_c.jpg
IMG_2694 by Simonk76, on Flickr

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Car looks great, you'll need some new vids now, I can't get enough of your others :)

Thanks tscott. Yes I'll definately have to get the video camera fired up again. Glad you like my videos.

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Simon, really looks the money lowered like that, the ride height combined with the wheels and that dark paint looks very very cool.

I Cleaned my 996 on Sunday and I was looking at it - everyone says these things are ugly, I just don't see it. If the 996 was the first 911 released would it get such a bad wrap over the headlights? I'm biased given I've got another ugly duckling in the garage (928s4), I'll get a 914 and 924 and complete the royal flush one day :-) your own babies are never ugly I guess

Love your blue Porsche collection btw - very cool

Dave

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Our cars could almost be twins. Really do like how it sits with the your springs, the standard height can make it look like a 4wd when you get certain cars sitting next to it *cough* lotus exiges and elises *cough*

 

What tyres are you running?

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Just an update on the springs for anyone considering lowering their pride and joy. Generally for the 996, the common choice is either H & R or Eibach. H & R are supposed to be a bit harder than the Eibachs and are supposed to lower it 30mm as opposed to 20mm for the Eibachs. So I chose the Eibachs for that reason. Anyone who has gone through this though would know that  lowering it with just springs isn't an exact science and mine ended up lowered 30mm anyway. Looks sweet as but that extra 10mm is the difference between scraping on speed bumps or not. Most of the time, it's just the flaps that hang down in front of each of the wheels or at worst, the plastic under tray at the front so I'm not too fussed. It's worth noting though for those thinking about slamming their car.

 

@Mike737, I'm running Falken 453. Seem to be a good tyre and great value for money. I've had 452 on my Clubsports and loved them so I thought I'd give these a go.

 

@Dave, I don't think there's anything ugly about the 996. I think the purists can get a bit OTT when it comes to the 911. I bet Ferrari enthusiasts aren't screaming because the 458 only has single tail lights instead of the traditional double circles. In fact, Ferrari have generally stuck to the same formula for decades like Porsche has but they don't try to pass off a 458 as being a 512BB or a 308GTB. Maybe that's an argument for the "what's the last real 911" thread

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I assume your running 225x18 and 285x18 from the pictures.

 

I'm running the same Falkens in 295s on the rears and they seem great. KU31s (235) on the front are terrible in the wet and every so often catch me out with stupid amounts of understeer in the dry so I won't be buying them again. Think I might go up to 245s and tempted to also try out Hankook RS3's next time if purchasing separate sets.

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Last night I got started on my stereo install. I'd spent the evening prior doing the wiring connections between all the harnesses so it should have been a matter of just pulling the old one out, rellocate the climate control and slide the new one in. I was going to put together a DIY so I started taking photos of each step but it quickly became evident this wasn't going to be as straight forward as I'd thought. There are just too many variables between year models and type of factory stereo for a DIY to be useful. There were bits in there I hadn't seen in pictures and sections needed to be cut out and filed to fit the 2-din stereo in. Even the stereo's anti theft wire requires earthing on some models and requires just unplugging on other models to stop your alarm going nuts. So a DIY on my car could end up being misleading on someone elses 996. 

 

This stereo install isn't completely reversable as the climate control mounting holes had to be cut out. At best, you could put the factory stereo back in its original location, leave the climate control at the bottom, reinstall the cd draw in its original position and put the pocket up where the climate control originally was. Most people won't want to reverse the install anyway but I often like to take stereo equipment with me to the next car when I sell.

 

My advice to anyone looking at installing themselves. if you've done a few in the past, go for it. Pulling everything apart is very easy. The wiring was the easiest bit. The cd draw and pocket just pull out, the stereo slides out easy with the removal keys, the bezel around the climate control clips off easy to reveal 4 screws. The trim around the rear demister/wiper buttons etc clips off. I highly recommend removing these. I didn't and accidentally nicked it with the file and took off some paint. Very annoyed at myself is the politest way I can express how I felt at the time. Be prepared to improvise though. The cage I got with the installation kit didn't work with my head unit so I had to use the cage that came with the stereo. This took the most amount of time because I had to get it centred in the opening. It fit snug on the sides but the gap above and below had to be the same to fit the custom trim around the stereo. It's still sitting lower than I'd like but I'd had enough by 12:30am. 

If you've never done an install before, I'd say don't learn on a Porsche. I learnt on Commodores so the implications of stuffing it up wasn't so bad.

 

Anyway, enough rambling, here's a couple pictures. You'll see the front speakers aren't in yet. That will be a project in itself as I'll have to fabricate some sort of bracket to mount the tweaters in the dash under the factory speaker grills.

 

If anyone wants any help or advise on their own install, shoot me a PM.

 

14790852325_0a5a3d4644_c.jpgIMG_3689 by Simonk76, on Flickr

14810691583_f3242a4d96_c.jpgIMG_3690 by Simonk76, on Flickr

14810818513_dc86272067_c.jpgIMG_3693 by Simonk76, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Very impressing work there Simon, does that unit have a GPS system ?

Thanks Jim. I couldn't justify the extra $1,000+ on one with Nav. I've got Google maps on the phone which you can bluetooth the voice commands through the stereo. If I really need to see the map, I can peer down at my phone which isn't optimal but I rarely use the map anyway. I picked this one up for $550 (rrp$650) and JB just had them on sale for $490 so they're awesome value for money.

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Looks great Simon. Sounds like you have the car all set up very nicely. Looks and internal sound.

What about external sound? Any thoughts on mufflers etc?

It's on the cards Chris. I need to wait for my pocket money account to recover a bit. At the moment I'm looking at Dansk or Fabspeed. Fabspeed have a Youtube clip of their 996 Supercup system which gives me movement downstairs.

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It's on the cards Chris. I need to wait for my pocket money account to recover a bit. At the moment I'm looking at Dansk or Fabspeed. Fabspeed have a Youtube clip of their 996 Supercup system which gives me movement downstairs.

 

This is all l can say about Fabspeed, buyer aware .

 

http://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/823880-europipe-exhaust-review-by-fabspeed-interesting.html

 

http://rennlist.com/forums/997-turbo-forum/826744-fabspeed-made-in-china.html

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Fabspeed have a Youtube clip of their 996 Supercup system which gives me movement downstairs.

 

I've had my eyes on that one too and the video definitely sells it since its practically the same colour and wheels as ours. Been told it can be droney though on 100kmh stretches.

 

Once you decide to go for it then you need to choose between stock tips or fabspeed twin pipe tips (short or long!) and then what about the headers... soo many decisions!

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