What have you done to your 981 today?

[RBD914 v2]

Turbo wheels fitted....

 

[Toeside]

2 hours ago, RBD914 v2 said:

Turbo wheels fitted....

 

I recognise that bridge👍 Nice!

[moospeed]

As I had to drive it in the  filth and rain on Thursday I gave it a quick going over with the fairy liquid and brillo pad. Back to shiny shiny 😎

 

[moospeed]

1 hour ago, moospeed said:

As I had to drive it in the  filth and rain on Thursday I gave it a quick going over with the fairy liquid and brillo pad. Back to shiny shiny 😎

 

Oh and I finished this 981 painting yesterday (also posted on the art chat)

 

[mypropaganda]

Still getting the battery low, start engine message when getting in the car. Think it’s worth just getting it replaced before I get to the situation where I can’t get into the frunk? I’m off on holiday at the end of the month for a couple of weeks and am nervous about leaving it sitting for that amount of time. 

[mr.tourette23]

51 minutes ago, mypropaganda said:

Still getting the battery low, start engine message when getting in the car. Think it’s worth just getting it replaced before I get to the situation where I can’t get into the frunk? I’m off on holiday at the end of the month for a couple of weeks and am nervous about leaving it sitting for that amount of time. 

If you've got no smart charger linked up I'd say yes.. Mine is still on the original 2013 battery but it's fine just now as I keep it hooked up regular, I'll certainly be replacing in the new year, 10 years is a good stretch for it

[Ninja02]

1 hour ago, mypropaganda said:

Still getting the battery low, start engine message when getting in the car. Think it’s worth just getting it replaced before I get to the situation where I can’t get into the frunk? I’m off on holiday at the end of the month for a couple of weeks and am nervous about leaving it sitting for that amount of time. 

If you have a Ctek charger, try reconditioning the battery

[mypropaganda]

6 minutes ago, Ninja02 said:

If you have a Ctek charger, try reconditioning the battery

I do not unfortunately and I also don’t have a drive/garage so even if I did it would be tricky. I think I’ll just get it replaced. 

[McDonald]

1 hour ago, mypropaganda said:

Still getting the battery low, start engine message when getting in the car. Think it’s worth just getting it replaced before I get to the situation where I can’t get into the frunk? I’m off on holiday at the end of the month for a couple of weeks and am nervous about leaving it sitting for that amount of time. 

Don't you have a neighbour who's dying to drive your car while you're away?

[Raffe]

8 year service passed with flying colours - recommendation for new wipers otherwise all good for another 2 years 🤞

[GTSMarky]

14 hours ago, mr.tourette23 said:

If you've got no smart charger linked up I'd say yes.. Mine is still on the original 2013 battery but it's fine just now as I keep it hooked up regular, I'll certainly be replacing in the new year, 10 years is a good stretch for it

My battery is OE too & I have an optimate flying lead hard wired in to keep it well conditioned.

[GTSMarky]

Just now, GTSMarky said:

My battery is OE too & I have an optimate flying lead hard wired in to keep it well conditioned.

September 2014, so will change it soon for sure despite it being absolutely fine!

[GTSMarky]

On 11/4/2023 at 2:56 PM, RBD914 v2 said:

Turbo wheels fitted....

 

Is that the bride over the A74M?  Ridden it a fair few times as the road towards Dumfries from there is superb!

[RBD914 v2]

3 hours ago, GTSMarky said:

Is that the bride over the A74M?  Ridden it a fair few times as the road towards Dumfries from there is superb!

That's the one, en route from the Devil's Beef Tub to the Dalveen Pass, a sublime stretch of road!

[Withy]

MOT’d , all good 💪🏼💪🏼

[ATM]

On 11/6/2023 at 5:50 PM, mypropaganda said:

Still getting the battery low, start engine message when getting in the car. Think it’s worth just getting it replaced before I get to the situation where I can’t get into the frunk? I’m off on holiday at the end of the month for a couple of weeks and am nervous about leaving it sitting for that amount of time. 

This is a good reminder for me.  When my Lead Acid battery in the 981 is really low sometimes I cant pop the frunk because the popper is sticky and doesn't pop it up. Have thought about using some interior trim type plastic pry bars.  Maybe it needs greasing a bit.

I generally use a Little LiPo battery in my 996 and it works great.  For anyone that doesn't know these give you 100% power even if they are almost flat.  So its all or nothing.  And therefore a little LiPo can start a car fine.  I've not tried one in the 981.  Maybe I could if there is any interest here?

The bad news is they wont hold charge as well as a bigger Lead Acid or AGM or whatever it is these cars use.  Unless you buy a really big LiPo battery but then that will cost you about a grand.  The smaller ones are about 200 - 250.

I managed to buy another one this week used off eBay but not tried it yet.  One of these -

https://jackwebbmotorsport.co.uk/JWM-PS-20-LiFePO4-LIGHTWEIGHT-LITHIUM-BATTERY-p495209108

[Menoporsche]

An idea to check if those little LiPos will work with the modern stop-start function, which I think is the reason for batteries doubling in size over the past 10 years or so? I know enthusiasts here switch it off at the start of each journey, but something to bear in mind.

[ATM]

22 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

An idea to check if those little LiPos will work with the modern stop-start function, which I think is the reason for batteries doubling in size over the past 10 years or so? I know enthusiasts here switch it off at the start of each journey, but something to bear in mind.

This is the problem

The car will monitor the battery voltage to monitor if it has power available to go engine off and still power all the AC and other gubbins etc.  If the LiPo is showing it always has full volts then the car might think it has the power reserves available and shut down.  Then if you run out of electricity the car wont start again.  This happened in my 966 when the alternator failed.

The good news with LiPo batteries is they charge quickly with very little waste.  So even a shorter journey will get the battery fully charged - depending on the size of the LiPo battery you choose.

But again the modern intelligent charging system in the 981 might not understand what the LiPo needs and not give it the full charge.  I believe they switch off the alternator to get better mpg right? 

It gets complicated fast.

Didn't Porsche sell a little light weight LiPo battery for their modern cars or was this the 9x7 platform?

[GTSMarky]

22 hours ago, RBD914 v2 said:

That's the one, en route from the Devil's Beef Tub to the Dalveen Pass, a sublime stretch of road!

Yes, I know them.  often spend a few days based in Dumfries on the bike to enjoy some of Scotland's finest.

Most people just blindly follow the NC500, but there is so much more further South in Scotland that one day the youtubers will realise and the muppets will then follow.  Enjoy while you can!

[moonshine]

I think you need  to code the ECU to let it know its  a LiFePO4  battery, rather than an AGM.

The charging profile  (voltage and current) are different to AGM.

The other thong is to make sure the LiFePO4 battery has a heating mat fitted, (that warms the battery in temps <5C. You must not charge a LiFePO4 battery that is below  0C.

Many LiFePO4 batteries have an inbuilt Battery Management System (BMS) that will prevent charging if the battery is too cold.

The heated mat / battery uses charging current to warm the battery before it will accept charge current, and is especially important in a  Porsche and other marques where the battery is not located in the engine compart, so there is not the heat soak to warm the battery 

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by moonshine

[daz05]

On 11/8/2023 at 11:27 AM, GTSMarky said:

Yes, I know them.  often spend a few days based in Dumfries on the bike to enjoy some of Scotland's finest.

Most people just blindly follow the NC500, but there is so much more further South in Scotland that one day the youtubers will realise and the muppets will then follow.  Enjoy while you can!

You don't want that to happen, always best when it stays nice and quiet.

 

 

[GTSMarky]

15 hours ago, daz05 said:

You don't want that to happen, always best when it stays nice and quiet.

 

 

I agree Daz, but a lot of people cannot open a paper map and recognise good routes to drive/ride.  They do however have an uncanny ability to just follow and it's getting more prevalent.

[nelmo]

1 hour ago, GTSMarky said:

I agree Daz, but a lot of people cannot open a paper map and recognise good routes to drive/ride.  They do however have an uncanny ability to just follow and it's getting more prevalent.

Don't complain - keeps the nice routes clear for us 🙂 

When planning a route, I use Streetview to have a quick look at the roads to make sure they are suitable - my criteria is just a white line down the middle (after years of being dragged down single track stuff by my kit car group).

[daz05]

The nc5 just isn't as appealing as it once was. Fortunately our patch is still relatively quiet.

[Happy Days]

I did the NC500 seven years ago in February / March - admittedly in the Macan. I thoroughly enjoyed it but if were to do it again, I'd avoid the East Coast section. We chose that time as (a) we had annual leave to use up, (b) we knew the roads would be quiet and, most importantly (c) no midges.