911 Turbo: Starts from 2nd Gear, Radio

Jules: Congrats on your purchase. The new Turbos have breathtaking performance. I have an '06 997-S and enjoy it also. Have you discussed your problems with the dealer? I would think that the Tip trans would start in first vs 2nd when "Sport" is selected. As far as the radio, in my car, if the radio is left "on" when the key is removed, it seems to come back on at or near the same volume level. I do not have the Nav. system, or an '08...so things could have changed.

If the dealer is no help...try some folks from the local Porsche Club. Join...and you'll have access to their national tech support folks...who are very sharp and very responsive.

Drive with Care....and Enjoy!

Congrats on the new ride.

Just a wild thought, but is it possible the new models have a performance limiting software that prevents shifting back to first until after you achieve "X" amount of break-in miles?

I owned a new '06 M5 (before I traded it for a 996TT) that had limits on performance until 1200 miles, if I recall correctly. At about 1200 miles the limits magically went away.

Eisboch

Interesting solution. I've never heard of it before on Porsches, but then...I've never owned one with Tiptronic. If this is the case, the salesperson delivering the car should have notified Jules.

No one in sales mentioned anything like this to me. Just from searching around the Internet I'm starting to get the feeling that the Tiptronic just likes to start from 2nd and there's not much that can be done about it other than downshifting using the (-) button and entering manual mode.

I certainly don't know if that's the case in Jule's new ride. Just speculation, based on my experience with the M5. BMW very carefully outlines the "break-in" procedures, but does not identify the computer controlled limitations. They became common knowledge only after some of the car's capabilities and features didn't work right away and owners started asking questions.

Eisboch

Probably the case. I mentioned my experience with the M5 purely speculatively. I recall that one of the M5's performance "features" was the ability to floor the accelerator, while holding the SMG gearshift in a certain manner, then releasing. In US cars, it raised the engine RPM to about 1700 rpm before engaging the transmission. In European models, it raised the rpm to about 3000 rpm. In either case, the car was programmed to disable this feature until the computer registered 1200 miles, minimum.

Eisboch

"Jules Winfield" wrote in news:br6dnbJK0NhbDYbVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I've got an 01 Boxster S tip. It also only likes to start from second. But I don't see this as an issue. Just curious why you think (or want) to start in first? There is plenty of torque to pull away in second on the flat without straining any of the components. Just use first when you need to if you are on a steep slope.

Stuart

I guess I just got used to the 1st gear start since my previous car ('02 911 Turbo) was a manual. It's important that I can accellerate quickly from a dead stop so as to prevent soccer moms in SUVs from beating me across the intersection -- but over the past week of ownership I'm getting used to the

2nd gear start. It doesn't bother me so much now and the switch to 1st is only a button-click away if I want it.

I am interested in your opinions or impressions so far with your new Porsche. I currently have your former .... '02 996/911 TT with the six speed manual.

How does the new one with the Triptronic compare?

Eisboch

I've only had it for a week, but here's what I was told by the sales rep and what I've noticed on my own:

- The 2008 has more power (around 500hp). It'll hit 60mph in 3.4 secs as opposed to 3.9 with the 2002.

- The tiptronic switches gears lightning fast! It's truly amazing. My sales rep tells me that it's only in the last model year that the tipronics have become so fast that they actually outperform the manual from 0-60. After driving it, I believe it.

- The exterior styling seems almost identical. The exhaust pipes and head lights look a bit different and the "hips" around the back wheels seem a bit wider to me. I'm sure there are other differences that a true enthusiast would probably notice.

- The biggest change for me personally was the interior ammenities. When I had my '02, the out-of-the-box GPS capabilities were rather poor. There was no integrated cell phone support. If you're into MP3s, the CD-player in the '02 didn't play them [at least mine didn't at the time]. The system in the

2008 is totally upgraded with all of the features mentioned above plus lots of other interesting things that I haven't fully explored yet. One of the many key reasons I snubbed BMW in favor of Porsche is BMW's ludicrous "i-drive" technology, where virtually everything is controlled with a single dial. The 2008 Porsche has a far more intuitive simple system in my opinion.

About the 2002: I bought mine in 2002 and kept it for three years until moving from San Diego to Chicago. You don't really need a car in Chicago so I sold it and then bought the 2008 when I moved back to San Diego.

2002 was a strange year for the Porsche Turbo. Although I *loved* my 2002 when it was working, it had a LOT of problems (as opposed to my previous 2000 911 which ran flawlessly). I won't bore you with all of the details here but it suffices to say that everything that could go wrong with that car DID go wrong -- this despite the fact that it was purchased brand new. When I sold it, I swore I'd never buy another Porsche. Then a few months ago I was skimming through some kind of consumer rating guide that rates used cars and just for fun, I figured I'd look up Porsche 911. What's weird is that the 2002 got **horrible** reliability reviews whereas the models years on either side of 2002 (00, 01, 03, 04) got decent reviews. I have no idea why, but 2002 was apparently just a crappy year for Porsches. They turned out a lot of lemons -- or at least the consumer ratings would indicate this to be the case. If your 2002 is running ok for you, you're safe. If you had a lemon, you would've known by now. Guess you got one of the good ones. :)

Overall, even though I've only had the '08 for a brief period of time, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend the upgrade if you're considering it.

Hope this helps,

Jules

Yeah, that's how a sane person would expect a radio to work. I wish the 2008 were like that.

I dug through the instructions today and was almost euphoric when I discoverd that the radio does in fact have a "mute" mode. Finally, I'd be able to shut that darned thing off for good! ... but alas, it doesn't work. It'll mute the radio until you turn the car off but as soon as you restart, the stupid thing turns on again at medium-low volume.

Thanks. Great write-up.

My '02 was purchased almost two years ago as a CPO. Traded the M5 in towards it. My only problem so far was a second gear synchro that would not hold the transmission in gear while decelerating unless I kept my hand lightly on the gear shift. After much debate between Porsche and the dealer, Porsche covered the $6K+ cost to fix. Turns out that some of the

996 series had synchro gears that were not assembled properly when built. It was replaced with a revised design, but still required removal of the engine and transmission.

Other than that, I have had zero problems and love the car. It only has

21,000 miles on it and I don't drive it during the winter months. I'll probably keep it for a while, but then again, you never know.

Eisboch

Post photos of your 911 on Flickr, or anywhere else online - i'd love to see it

are '02 Turbo's that bad, for some reason?

I was planning on getting an 01 or 02, black 996 Turbo - still do.

I suppose all cars have unique issues. Other than the synchro gear issue I described that was fixed by Porsche under the CPO warranty, I am very happy with my '02 Turbo. No other problems. I can't imagine even more power, but then again I don't track it and I mostly drive like an old lady.

The biggest criticism I've heard about the 996 is the "tear drop" design of the headlights. Some people like 'em. Most like the older design that Porsche sorta went back to in the 997. Personally, it really doesn't matter to me because I can't see them when I am driving anyway and the handling and performance of the car overshadows the headlight design.

Here's some pics we took the day I took delivery:

Eisboch

The 2001's got decent reviews. It was only the 2002's that were plauged with problems (according to the report).

I'm sure the majority of the 2002's are just fine. If you've got your eye on a 2002, I'd try to find one that was serviced by your dealer from the beginning; Then they can print out the maintenance record for the car. If the car was repeatedly brought in due to part defects, you'll know it's toxic and can avoid it.

I thought they said don't get the first year of production, because it generally may have problems...vs the latter years. That's why i'm more inkling towards getting an 02 Turbo, than an 01.

a 996 Turbo is relatively obtainable....atleast compared to an 997 and 993 Turbo. with a 996 Turbo, you can find one for under $50K (01 and some 02 models)....993 Turbos cost atleast 70K...and 997's fughetaboutit

besides, my personal pref. is the 996 - I like the Turbo twisty wheels, and single large side airvents. I'm not so fond of the new Turbo wheels of the 997, and the "splitted" side vents.

Hadn't used Flickr until you mentioned it but I tried uploading a photo that I took with my phone. Here it is:

Mabe there is rain program running. My *very* *old* Mercedes has an automatic transmission with two manual programs: winter and standard. If you select winter program, the car starts in 2nd gear and it is automatically selected the longer reverse gear when you select R. Does your car has one or two reverse gears?

Same problem had the Alfa 166. This is called integration ;-) BTW beware of bluetooth. Apart bluetooth security problems, some cars can be attacked by nasty "programs" that uses integrated phone to infect car's electronics. Maybe I remember Lexus having such problems :-/