991.1 C4 GTS Newbie - advice needed

[david.pearce2]

Hi everyone - I’m chuffed to bits to be getting my hands on a 991.1 C4 GTS in a few weeks time. I’m still speechless from the test drive. That noise!

Any tips on what I should and shouldn’t do once I get the car - warranty, tyre/alloy insurance, protecting the paint work, protecting the car, etc?

It won’t be my daily driver (but I’m pretty sure I’ll be out in it regularly!) - are there any issues with under using the car?

 

[595triple]

Hi David, you’re going to get addicted to that noise!

Sadly I just gave up my .1 manual GTS after 4 yrs of smiles to allow for other Porsches.

My car was a daily. I did 36K over 4yrs inc touring and track. I also happen to be one of the admin team on the FB group ‘991.1 GTS enthusiasts’. In addition to here thats also a good place to find out ‘stuff’.

Generally the cars bullet proof with a few little caveats.

- if its still on P Zeros, ditch those for Mich PS4’s or Cup 2s. Steering and suspension will be 100% better. Road noise will decrease but mpg will drop a little.
- the most common failures I hear about on the FB group are engine mounts and rear springs. Both these are warranty items. Its a no brainer to take the Porsche warranty. I had it for 3 years but only claimed on washer jet and pipe. However, an engine mount will be way more than the warranty cost.
- Overtime the rear dampers wear. A ‘clonk’ over speed bumps is a sure sign of this. You can see the rod of the damper easily. If its smeared the seals gone. These are not warranty. A pair of these fitted by a good indie is about £1700. Via an OPC £3K+.
- Retro fitting Car Play is easy for the PCM and this generation. Just ask.
- Get a torque wrench (I sell them) so you can have tyres replaced anywhere. Otherwise the centrelocks will limit your options and you will pay over the odds.
- PPF is worth it, particularly around the rear arches. Especially the drivers side. Note you have to declare it on insurance. Do NOT have PPF applied to headlamps. This can cause delamination due to this era of production.
- A must is Zunsport grilles. Rad’s are very exposed and leaves can get in and cause rot.
- If your interested I can give you a link to a workshop manual for the .1 series. Depends how dirty you get your hands!
- I personally think the brakes are average. I thought it was just mine but tried another car and just as average. Braided lines make a big difference. You can go all the way up to 380mm on stock calipers if needed.

This is the main stuff I think but ask away!

 

[Lancerlot]

Since it will not be your daily driver, get yourself a smart charger (Ctek etc.) as you will need to keep the car on charge when not in use in order to avoid battery problems. Buy an appropriate charger to the type of battery fitted. It's probably Lead Acid or AGM - Lithium Ion batteries require a different type of charger.
Enjoy.
Regards,

Clive

 

[david.pearce2]

Hi David, you’re going to get addicted to that noise!

Sadly I just gave up my .1 manual GTS after 4 yrs of smiles to allow for other Porsches.

My car was a daily. I did 36K over 4yrs inc touring and track. I also happen to be one of the admin team on the FB group ‘991.1 GTS enthusiasts’. In addition to here thats also a good place to find out ‘stuff’.

Generally the cars bullet proof with a few little caveats.

- if its still on P Zeros, ditch those for Mich PS4’s or Cup 2s. Steering and suspension will be 100% better. Road noise will decrease but mpg will drop a little.
- the most common failures I hear about on the FB group are engine mounts and rear springs. Both these are warranty items. Its a no brainer to take the Porsche warranty. I had it for 3 years but only claimed on washer jet and pipe. However, an engine mount will be way more than the warranty cost.
- Overtime the rear dampers wear. A ‘clonk’ over speed bumps is a sure sign of this. You can see the rod of the damper easily. If its smeared the seals gone. These are not warranty. A pair of these fitted by a good indie is about £1700. Via an OPC £3K+.
- Retro fitting Car Play is easy for the PCM and this generation. Just ask.
- Get a torque wrench (I sell them) so you can have tyres replaced anywhere. Otherwise the centrelocks will limit your options and you will pay over the odds.
- PPF is worth it, particularly around the rear arches. Especially the drivers side. Note you have to declare it on insurance. Do NOT have PPF applied to headlamps. This can cause delamination due to this era of production.
- A must is Zunsport grilles. Rad’s are very exposed and leaves can get in and cause rot.
- If your interested I can give you a link to a workshop manual for the .1 series. Depends how dirty you get your hands!
- I personally think the brakes are average. I thought it was just mine but tried another car and just as average. Braided lines make a big difference. You can go all the way up to 380mm on stock calipers if needed.

This is the main stuff I think but ask away!

Thanks for all of this - really good to know! I’ve been a Porsche fan from the year dot. It’s felt a lifetime to get my hands on the one I wanted!

When I took it for the test drive the car was flashing up a fault which the Indie (RPM Specialist in Harrogate) said they’d sort. I believe it was to do with the engine mounts (PASM?). Assuming they’re sorted, would you still go with a warranty or bank the £3k over 3 years and pay for anything that goes wrong? The advice here seems pretty split. The car has done 31k miles.

The car has MPS4’s on and I’d be interested in buying the torque wrench off you.

If I’m not tracking it would you still go with braided hoses for road use?

I’d opted for the zunsport grilles but not the PPF - the car looks like it has some sort of clear film on the rear arches already - I’ll ask the garage about it.

I plan to do about 4-5k miles per annum in it. Cannot wait!!!!

 

[david.pearce2]

Since it will not be your daily driver, get yourself a smart charger (Ctek etc.) as you will need to keep the car on charge when not in use in order to avoid battery problems. Buy an appropriate charger to the type of battery fitted. It's probably Lead Acid or AGM - Lithium Ion batteries require a different type of charger.
Enjoy.
Regards,

Clive

Hi Clive - much appreciated, thanks for the advice. If I’m out in in 2-3 times a week (say average 100 miles a week) would I still need to have it on charge?

 

[david.pearce2]

Thanks for all of this - really good to know! I’ve been a Porsche fan from the year dot. It’s felt a lifetime to get my hands on the one I wanted!

When I took it for the test drive the car was flashing up a fault which the Indie (RPM Specialist in Harrogate) said they’d sort. I believe it was to do with the engine mounts (PASM?). Assuming they’re sorted, would you still go with a warranty or bank the £3k over 3 years and pay for anything that goes wrong? The advice here seems pretty split. The car has done 31k miles.

The car has MPS4’s on and I’d be interested in buying the torque wrench off you.

If I’m not tracking it would you still go with braided hoses for road use?

I’d opted for the zunsport grilles but not the PPF - the car looks like it has some sort of clear film on the rear arches already - I’ll ask the garage about it.

I plan to do about 4-5k miles per annum in it. Cannot wait!!!!

**correction to this reply** the garage has confirmed it’s a PADM fault (not PASM)

 

[malarcy]

**correction to this reply** the garage has confirmed it’s a PADM fault (not PASM)

That PADM fault is the "engine mount" one referred to above - it happens a lot - I know of people with 981's (same setup) on their 3rd replacement on low mileage cars.

Re Porsche warranty - if it's not already under Porsche warranty then there is a "gate" to cross to get it on the books - many will have an opinion on the rights and wrongs and the value and putting the money in a jamjar in the shed etc - but it's an extended warranty/insurance policy so it's their ball, their rules.

The gate requires that you have owned the car for at least 3 months, that the most recent service in the book was done at an OPC, and that it meets their requirements for genuine parts - battery, suspension components etc. and that it has N rated tyres, with an minimum amount of tread, matched at least across an axle but ideally matched all round...... and some don't like things like Zunsports being fitted.

That costs £200 ish on top of warranty, once you have the warranty - then at renewal it's an email and a confirmation of servicing at OPC

Depends of course on how much ( if any remediation ) is required, but one PADM, or a gearbox, or a failed heated rear window element in a convertible roof will be more than warranty cost - which in my case I "man maths" out to about a tank full of vpower a month (ish).

As ever, no wrong answers, your car, cash, decision re how you roll with covering potential bills etc.

Key thing is - remember to enjoy having and driving it.

 

[david.pearce2]

Thanks Malarcy - the garage I’m buying it off is fixing the PADM and putting it through its major service. Based on your response that means I couldn’t take it to an OPC and get a warranty. Even if they do their 111 point inspection first? Have I understood correctly?

 

[malarcy]

If the most recent recorded service in the book is OPC then I would suggest telling the garage to not stamp the book.

Or tell them not to service it at all and factor in getting your next service done at OPC - with a price adjustment.

Friend of mine bought a car from a decent Indy. They serviced it and stamped the book. He just got the OPC to service it again - told them to factor in the 111 point check since they were servicing it anyway and then put it on warranty.

You can get a warranty if you meet their criteria. That might mean buying a battery or tyres you don’t need or servicing a car that doesn’t need it etc.

I couldn’t possibly comment but I have heard rumours that people have been known to “lend a battery” for a morning to another enthusiast.

 

[LucyO]

Hi Clive - much appreciated, thanks for the advice. If I’m out in in 2-3 times a week (say average 100 miles a week) would I still need to have it on charge?

No you wont, or should need to if all working ok. If you leave car for any length of time the cabin AC fan may freeze. If it does, give it a little nudge manually - open the air box under the frunk, use a pencil not your fingers!

 

[LucyO]

Hi David, you’re going to get addicted to that noise!

Sadly I just gave up my .1 manual GTS after 4 yrs of smiles to allow for other Porsches.

My car was a daily. I did 36K over 4yrs inc touring and track. I also happen to be one of the admin team on the FB group ‘991.1 GTS enthusiasts’. In addition to here thats also a good place to find out ‘stuff’.

Generally the cars bullet proof with a few little caveats.

- if its still on P Zeros, ditch those for Mich PS4’s or Cup 2s. Steering and suspension will be 100% better. Road noise will decrease but mpg will drop a little.
- the most common failures I hear about on the FB group are engine mounts and rear springs. Both these are warranty items. Its a no brainer to take the Porsche warranty. I had it for 3 years but only claimed on washer jet and pipe. However, an engine mount will be way more than the warranty cost.
- Overtime the rear dampers wear. A ‘clonk’ over speed bumps is a sure sign of this. You can see the rod of the damper easily. If its smeared the seals gone. These are not warranty. A pair of these fitted by a good indie is about £1700. Via an OPC £3K+.
- Retro fitting Car Play is easy for the PCM and this generation. Just ask.
- Get a torque wrench (I sell them) so you can have tyres replaced anywhere. Otherwise the centrelocks will limit your options and you will pay over the odds.
- PPF is worth it, particularly around the rear arches. Especially the drivers side. Note you have to declare it on insurance. Do NOT have PPF applied to headlamps. This can cause delamination due to this era of production.
- A must is Zunsport grilles. Rad’s are very exposed and leaves can get in and cause rot.
- If your interested I can give you a link to a workshop manual for the .1 series. Depends how dirty you get your hands!
- I personally think the brakes are average. I thought it was just mine but tried another car and just as average. Braided lines make a big difference. You can go all the way up to 380mm on stock calipers if needed.

This is the main stuff I think but ask away!

Tyres - agree, but if for road use I'd tend to PS4s, but check the pressures, dont over-inflate as affects handling a lot.
Zunsports - absolutely! Not cheap but are the best, Very important to preserve the life of condensers and rads, which are expensive to replace. Look good too.
PPF - bear in mind that a front end re-spray is circa £400 and that's where most of the damage happens. My ghetto GTS (a C4S with GTS gubbins) has 87k under the belt and has chips everwhere. Character I say.
Suspension stuff wears and you need a budget for that, not too dear.
Warranty, I think you can get this upto 15 years and 100k subject to inspection etc. I have spent nothing in 2.5 years on anything that would have been covered by warranty apart from a couple of failed change over valves - £200. These cars are very reliable. A previous owner replaced 1 of the 2 an engine mounts, it cost £1000 to do.
Brakes - I am happy with mine, I did put braided lines on a previous 987 and they did make an appreciable difference to that car, which I tracked. But go easy on the brakes. I have not replaced my discs or pads yet, probably next year, after 30k I expect. They are expensive.
I suggest you put £3k a year away for maintenance, £4k if you drive it hard.
And keep it clean and condition the leather / alcantara / rubber seals. Do that yourself with nice stuff if you can

 

[david.pearce2]

Thanks for everyone’s comments, they’re much appreciated. I now have the car (OMG what a car) and opted for the Zunsports and a ceramic coating - the car has some stone chips on the front already.

I live close to Weissach - the independent garage. I had a chat with Tom, the owner. I’m going to get them to take a look at the car and, based on their experience, advise whether a warranty makes sense or not (given the car is 11 years old and any warranty would be to cover the next 20k miles and 4 years of driving).

They’re doing the Porsche 111 point check (cost £180 - a little less than the £600 Porsche quoted me).

This car is a keeper. I’ve spent 42 years wanting a 911 and a little less than that researching them! I settled on the 991.1 GTS because of the engine sound and it’s just stunning to listen to and drive. Given all of the above and the fact I’ve not heard great things about the OPC network (servicing, attitude and cost) I’m therefore taking my GTS into the world of independent servicing (with Weissach).

If you’re not planning to resell, resale value becomes fairly meaningless!

 

[kartwheel]

@david.pearce2 – how are you enjoying your 991.1 C4 GTS with almost a year under your belt?

I recently secured my 991.1 C4 GTS in Carmine Red from an OPC, so I'm in a very similar position to where you were. I would love to get some newbie GTS advice!

Things I've done so far:

1. Full PPF + ceramic coating
2. Zunsport full grills
3. PVTS / Dashcam installation
4. Rennline exact-fit phone mount
5. NOCO Boost X GBX45 jump starter kit

Things I'm hoping to get some feedback on:

1. Torque wrench: Do you have any inputs? I've looked at the Nutcracker HD and similar tools, but I would love some feedback on what actually works best in practice. @595triple, I would really appreciate your thoughts and help on this one.
2. CarPlay: @595triple, wouldn't doing a CarPlay retrofit to the PCM 3.1 void the Porsche warranty? I'd love to do it, but I'm a bit hesitant..
3. Alcantara cleaner: I was recommended Koch-Chemie Pol Star. Any other tips/products you'd recommend?

 

[Terry]

For the torque wrench I would recommend getting a Sealey Torque Multiplier. With this you can use a normal torque wrench to remove and replace your wheels. It’s small enough to easily carry in the car.

 

[Lancerlot]

Things I'm hoping to get some feedback on:

1. Torque wrench: Do you have any inputs? I've looked at the Nutcracker HD and similar tools, but I would love some feedback on what actually works best in practice. @595triple, I would really appreciate your thoughts and help on this one.

Nutcracker HD seems like a lot of money. Why not take a look at here.

Regards,

Clive

 

[595triple]

@david.pearce2 – how are you enjoying your 991.1 C4 GTS with almost a year under your belt?

I recently secured my 991.1 C4 GTS in Carmine Red from an OPC, so I'm in a very similar position to where you were. I would love to get some newbie GTS advice!

Things I've done so far:

1. Full PPF + ceramic coating
2. Zunsport full grills
3. PVTS / Dashcam installation
4. Rennline exact-fit phone mount
5. NOCO Boost X GBX45 jump starter kit

Things I'm hoping to get some feedback on:

1. Torque wrench: Do you have any inputs? I've looked at the Nutcracker HD and similar tools, but I would love some feedback on what actually works best in practice. @595triple, I would really appreciate your thoughts and help on this one.
2. CarPlay: @595triple, wouldn't doing a CarPlay retrofit to the PCM 3.1 void the Porsche warranty? I'd love to do it, but I'm a bit hesitant..
3. Alcantara cleaner: I was recommended Koch-Chemie Pol Star. Any other tips/products you'd recommend?

Torque Wrench. Technically you can do the wheels with a 100nm wrench rather than one that measures to 600. It you look at the wheels you will see a mark on them for 100nm and then an overtighten distance. Personally though I would just get the right tool for the job. In anycase to tighten the nuts to this level you will need a wrench with a long handle which a 100nm one won't have. Its all a phaff! For proper wrenches you should have one that is 10% over 600nm or it won't be accurate. There are various cheap wrenches available. I bought a few of the 'best' wrenches which are the Precision Instruments 800nm split beams. These are calibrated and in a case. The case fits in the frunk exactly. I bought a few because its almost impossible to buy a single one direct without paying a fortune. I sold my car with the wrench I used but I have one brand new one left. If you are interested its £450 shipped. PM me.

CarPlay. To fit the extra PCB then yes, you have to cut the 'warranty void' seal thats on the PCM. On that basis any fault with the PCM is not going to be covered. I don't know of any PCM's that of failed, only speakers. Mainly in Macans. Never had an issue with the CarPlay causing problems for the warranty generally. One thing to note is that when its active (you press and hold the 'info' button to select the CarPlay mode), that a PWIS diagnostic reports the info button is stuck in. I just turned it off if the car went to an OPC (press and hold info again). The NM kit is by far the best as NM are Porsche specialists and support the kit properly. Avoid the ebay / FB BS merchants claiming wonder kits.

Alcantara. Never had to clean mine. Hoovered it but thought it was amazing stuff wear wise. Leather on edge of the drivers seats showed wear as usual but the actual seat looked no different to any of the others. I used my car A LOT and was always very happy with how hard wearing it was. Only part that went 'flat' was the part on the steering wheel. I just washed that with water and it brushed up quite well.

 

[595triple]

This is the Precision Wrench

3/4" Drive Split-beam Click Wrench - C4D800N

The 3/4" Drive Split-beam Click Wrench - C4D800N overcomes many of the problems associated with micrometer-style clock wrenches in abusive environments. Shop split-beam click wrenches now!

www.torqwrench.com

You get what you pay for.
BTW. I have a pdf copy of the Workshop Manual. PM if you would like a link. There is a section on how to do the wheels. The wrong way will cost you some bearings! You also need to buy the correct grease.

 

[kartwheel]

@Terry thank you for the shout on `Sealey Torque Multiplier.` i'll check them out - btw: did you sell yours already ?

@Lancerlot the link you shared says offer ends `Offer ends on 14/04/2026.` - but i'll check out ` too

@595triple thank you for the detailed response.

1. ack on NM auto PCM3.1 CarPlay & Android Auto Kit, i've been looking at these, and would potentially be my next line of upgrades once i have a few miles
2. ack on alcantara care
3. torque wrench: thank you for the detailed response!

@RandallF citing your note from here. What made you go for Norbar 5R-N 3/4?

 

[david.pearce2]

@david.pearce2 – how are you enjoying your 991.1 C4 GTS with almost a year under your belt?

I recently secured my 991.1 C4 GTS in Carmine Red from an OPC, so I'm in a very similar position to where you were. I would love to get some newbie GTS advice!

Things I've done so far:

1. Full PPF + ceramic coating
2. Zunsport full grills
3. PVTS / Dashcam installation
4. Rennline exact-fit phone mount
5. NOCO Boost X GBX45 jump starter kit

Things I'm hoping to get some feedback on:

1. Torque wrench: Do you have any inputs? I've looked at the Nutcracker HD and similar tools, but I would love some feedback on what actually works best in practice. @595triple, I would really appreciate your thoughts and help on this one.
2. CarPlay: @595triple, wouldn't doing a CarPlay retrofit to the PCM 3.1 void the Porsche warranty? I'd love to do it, but I'm a bit hesitant..
3. Alcantara cleaner: I was recommended Koch-Chemie Pol Star. Any other tips/products you'd recommend?

Welcome and congratulations on your car and joining PCGB! I can see that the guys on here have answered most of your questions and they‘re much better suited to do so than me. I’m still a newbie when it comes to the car, and I try to keep my cars as original as possible so do very little tinkering!

Some things I’ve found out / useful (assuming you’re also new to Porsche?):
1. Top of the list is being in PCGB. The access you get to like minded, knowledgable, helpful car (not just Porsche) lovers is unmatched by any other forum I’ve been in before. If you’re not yet in the WhatsApp groups for 991, then get yourself in asap. Also, the WhatsApp groups for your region. I spent yesterday driving around north wales using a R5 drive planned for Thursday this week which I wouldn’t have been able to get on. The organisers put all the routes on a file and shared it with the whatsapp group. I also went to an event at a local OPC where I saw my dream 911 - black 964 Turbo 3.6 - and managed to get a passenger ride. It felt like Christmas Day.
2. It’s incredibly difficult to have a phone call when driving the car due to a) road noise from those lovely MPS4 tyres and b) the need to accelerate! As soon as the valves open, forget about being able to hear anything else. For that reason I’ve not done anything with the PCM unit yet. If you’ve found that a change/upgrade helps here let me know, however…
3. The Porsche sat nav is surprisingly excellent, probably the best and least annoying/intrusive of any manufacturer. Obviously less excellent and slightly more annoying when road layouts have been updated, which many have since 2014.
4. Knowing what’s ’normal’ such as condensation in your headlights (only if it’s a little bit at the bottom) and brakes that squeal a bit
5. The car has a ‘coast’ mode which improves economy. Feels pretty weird when it does it. It won’t come on in sport or sport plus and you can deactivate it when in ‘normal’ mode by disabling the stop/start function
6. A lot of things can potentially void the OPC warranty. Owners could talk for days about their experiences with warranties (OPC and non-OPC). I haven’t got one on my car (yet) but am likely to take the plunge soon given there are a couple of additional noises coming from various bits of the car compared to when I bought it (Coasting system being one!).

I still love it. 3200 mile Euro road trip planned for June

 

[kartwheel]

@david.pearce2 thank you! I'm also hoping to keep mine stock. Long time Porsche dreamer, first time owner.

1. Great shout on the 991 whatsapp groups, I've joined them!
2. I'm glad to have such a strong community, makes the ownership experience less daunting.
3. satnav: I've gone for the Rennline phone mount and my phone for waze, spotify, etc. Hopefully that should be enough, but I will be sure to post here in case I decide to jump on the pcm retrofit wagon.
4. warranty - I can only comment on what went through my mind. This being my 1st porsche, I wanted as much support as I could ask for, so I went for an OPC approved car which came with a 2 year warranty, possible to renew to 15 years.
5. Eurotrip: I'm hoping to do one in the summer too, so I'm trying to learn all about the car. At times feels like drinking from a firehose, but i guess being passionate about it helps. This is where I guess having this community is so helpful!