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Porsche Experience Center Atlanta
I’m excited to start my new position as a part-time Porsche Driver Coach at PEC Atlanta. Whether driving a Porsche is something you’ve always wanted to experience, you’re looking to improve your driving skills, or even just compare various Porsche models, the PEC Atlanta driver development course will serve as your ultimate playground. Designed to immerse owners and enthusiasts alike in the ultimate sports car experience, there’s something for everyone.
Pilgrimage to the Porsche Museum
I went to school in Stuttgart in the 80’s and always considered it a sort of second home town. I was excited to have the opportunity to go back this summer and have a few hours to hang out at the Porsche Museum. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend a visit.
Porsche Front Bumper Mesh DIY
As we’ve shown on this site before, the front mounted radiators of the 996 collect all kinds of debris over time. We bought this kit from Rennline many months ago, but never got around to putting it on. Since we had the bumper cover off this weekend for some other work, we thought we’d try it out (and clean out the debris again).
The install process is fairly easy. The hardest part is getting to all of the appropriate screws to remove the bumper cover. Put your car on jack stands and remove the front wheels. Start by removing the screws under the cover-plate for the trunk release. Pop out the side-markers and remove the two screws there. Pop the two closest quick-releases to the side markers, and remove the screw that mounts up into the side-marker. Shift to the bottom of the bumper cover. Remove the five torx screws. The cover should slide forward and off of the bumper.
We’ll be working from the back side of the bumper cover to install the grilles. We don’t have a third radiator in the middle of our bumper. There’s a blanking plate that covers this space. You could remove the plate to add a grille, but we just skipped that step. The grill is included in the kit.
Fit the grilles and bend them to conform to the shape of the openings. Use the screws included to the kit to attach the grilles, taking care not to screw anywhere that would be visible from the front. Because the grilles fit between the black housing and the rubber radiator ducts, it takes some finesse to get the bumper cover back in place when finished, just be patient and work both sides evenly.
When finished, it’s a very clean look. But would I still buy the kit today if I had a choice? Probably not.
These grilles are pricey for what you get. If I were doing it again, I would just buy some Gutter Guard at home depot and some short, sell tapping screws. When you buy this kit, you’re really just buying time. How much time would it take you to figure out the right shape, bend and cut the raw material, then figure out where best to attach it. The shape isn’t that complex and the grilles are sandwiched between the bumper cover and radiator housings anyway so they don’t need to be that secure. Save your money and try it the Home Depot way first. If you fail, you’re only out $5. If you succeed, you just saved $270.
Use a Vacuum to Change the Oil Drain Plug without Changing the Oil
Have you ever needed to change a drain plug or a drain plug seal ring, but didn’t want to change your oil? This post shows you how by using your shop-vac to pull a vacuum on the oil fill tube which will hold the oil in your oil pan even when you remove the drain plug.
You will need a clean shop towel, folded in quarters; a shop vac hose adapter that’s slightly larger than the oil fill tube opening; and assistant to hold it in place and operate the shop vac. In this case, I’m working on a Porsche 996. The 2.5 inch hose adapter fits over the fill tube and is taped to the end of the shop vac hose. It is very important that the hose adapter not move or you will lose the vacuum holding the oil in the pan.
Listen to the tone of the shop vac once the video starts. You will hear the tone change when the drain plug is removed, but the oil will not start flowing as long as the vacuum stays on. To change the drain plug seal ring, you just need to keep the vacuum running and you have time to remove the plug, change the ring, and put the plug back in. Wait until it’s is hand tight before you release the vacuum. In this video I’m actually going to dump the oil for an oil change (using Driven DT-40), but I wanted to show you how it works and that there really is oil in this engine. Enjoy.
996 Shift Light Install DIY
Ecliptech Shift I shift light installation DIY for Porsche 996.
1. Open fuse panel door and remove four screws.
2. Remove the carpeted surround to get to the third Torx screw holding the OBD-II port holder. (If you have small hands, you may be able to remove the port from the holder without dropping the port holder, if so, skip to #4 below.)
3. Remove the three Torx screws holding the OBD-II port.
4. Remove the OBD-II port from the bracket by squeezing the pins on the back of the connector.
5. Locate the brown (ground) wire going to pin #4 and the violet/green (RPM Signal) wire going to pin #9.
6. Position the shift light approximately where you want to install it and run the wires through the dash.
7. Connect the black wire from the shift light to brown ground wire going to pin #4.
8. Connect the blue/black wire from the shift light to the violet/green RPM Signal wire going to pin #9.
9. Locate an accessory fuse, 7 amps or less that is powered only when the key is in the on position (I used a5 amp fuse) and use a fuse doubler to “add-a-fuse”.
10. Connect the red wire from the shift light to your new power source.
11. Insert the key and turn to he on position. The shift light should perform a self test if wired correctly.
12. Secure any excess wire under the dash.
13. Reattach the OBD-II port holder.
14. Reattach the fuse surround and replace the fuse cover.
15. Use double-sided tape to attach the shift light.
16. Follow the instructions that came with the shift light to configure it.
I really like that this unit is fully configurable. You can set the shift points, the pattern, the light intensity, whatever you need to get your attention without being obtrusive. If you car has OBD-II you can install it. You just need to know where to pick up the RPM signal. I put one in the MINI too.
