Which 3 Mods/Spec 986 Options Do You Appreciate The Most & The Mod/Spec Option You Wish Had

[map]

3 hours ago, Clivescoobydo said:

Do Litronics make that much difference? I find the standard with no clouding and upgraded bulbs pretty good tbh.  Although I think it makes a huge difference how cloudy your lenses are.

Having had Litronic I would prefer to see them in a 986 that was getting year round use.  In my experience they are just less tiring to use on longer journeys in the dark than Halogen.   

That said I totally agree with you regarding clean and properly "as new" transparent headlamp plastics in terms of improved lighting.  To my mind too many folk seem to miss that option in terms of a lighting upgrade.

[K.I.T.T.]

18 hours ago, Clivescoobydo said:

Do Litronics make that much difference? I find the standard with no clouding and upgraded bulbs pretty good tbh.  Although I think it makes a huge difference how cloudy your lenses are.

Nothing to add that hasn't been said already. A lot of folks don't use their cars as a (semi) daily, or at night - in which case halogens are adequate, but not much more. At night, in comparison to litronics, they truly are like candles, clichéd as that sounds.

Really noticed the difference when I got my current car, coming from one equipped with litronics. Eventually retrofitted them to this car.

 

17 hours ago, Stewart_H said:

Oooh, that looks good 👍🏻 What is the make and model?

It's a Becker Indianapolis Pro (7950) - matches the stock illumination perfectly, has navigation (basic / outdated, but enough to save you if you're truly stuck without a phone signal), bluetooth (calls only), and full iPod control - if you still have one with a dock connector.

It is dated, and somewhat compromised, but for a 15 year old design has its own charm. If I didn't have it, I'd just stick a modern double DIN in. 

The Becker would be great for air-cooled pork, or some 70s - mid 90s cars which only have single DIN, and you wanted to keep it period.

[Stewart_H]

1 hour ago, K.I.T.T. said:

It's a Becker Indianapolis Pro (7950) - matches the stock illumination perfectly, has navigation (basic / outdated, but enough to save you if you're truly stuck without a phone signal), bluetooth (calls only), and full iPod control - if you still have one with a dock connector.

It is dated, and somewhat compromised, but for a 15 year old design has its own charm. If I didn't have it, I'd just stick a modern double DIN in. 

The Becker would be great for air-cooled pork, or some 70s - mid 90s cars which only have single DIN, and you wanted to keep it period.

Nice! 👌 Thanks for the info 👍

[Cheddar Bob]

21 hours ago, K.I.T.T. said:

On the subject of OE looking HUs, I raise you all this:

 

As far as base spec goes, and in the spirit of keeping it to top three:

Soundpack (ie amplifier, and bass speakers in the doors)*
Climate control*
Heated seats

* = dealbreaker

Have mentioned items ranging from moderately hard, to nearly impossible to retrofit.

Soundpack, only so that you have the enclosures in the doors - the stock speakers / amp would be upgraded as per @map's suggestion. Use the car for commuting / long distance motorway stuff with the roof up, and I like my music.

 

Other options, but not dealbreakers, as relatively straightforward to retrofit:

986.2 spec four bar roof with glass screen
Litronics
Cruise
9x6 OE short shift kit / 9x7 shifter
PSE / bypassed exhaust
Some none-OE stuff

If not already present on the cars, they would eventually find their way on to the car, even if that means having to be overnighted from the Land of the Rising Sun.

I would have pegged you as a fan of children. Robert miles that is 

[Billzeebub]

Spec- heated seats, litronics, full leather interior

Mods- Carnewal exhaust, centre console delete, front bumper mesh grills

[K.I.T.T.]

1 hour ago, Cheddar Bob said:

I would have pegged you as a fan of children. Robert miles that is 

There are a number of nonces on this forum.

You can always listen to your "Old MacDonald had a farm" CD if your Aston doesn't have iPod connectivity.

[the baron]

20 hours ago, map said:

Having had Litronic I would prefer to see them in a 986 that was getting year round use.  In my experience they are just less tiring to use on longer journeys in the dark than Halogen.   

That said I totally agree with you regarding clean and properly "as new" transparent headlamp plastics in terms of improved lighting.  To my mind too many folk seem to miss that option in terms of a lighting upgrade.

In can agree with this, I bought brand new old stock amber headlights a few years back with standard bulbs, it makes a big difference if the lens is not pitted and marked.

[Cheddar Bob]

1 hour ago, K.I.T.T. said:

There are a number of nonces on this forum.

You can always listen to your "Old MacDonald had a farm" CD if your Aston doesn't have iPod connectivity.

😎😁

[Boxey11]

I bought my 2001 S new and the options I put on it included heated embossed seats, litronics, sport classic wheels, enhanced audio with the amplifier (not bose) and a few other things. Wish I had put cruise control on it, but thought it wouldn't be much use on a manual car! As I recall it was only a couple of hundred pounds! Maybe one day I will get it retrofitted but at the moment I am not doing high mileage (but neither is anyone else at the moment!) 

[Clivescoobydo]

9 minutes ago, Boxey11 said:

I bought my 2001 S new and the options I put on it included heated embossed seats, litronics, sport classic wheels, enhanced audio with the amplifier (not bose) and a few other things. Wish I had put cruise control on it, but thought it wouldn't be much use on a manual car! As I recall it was only a couple of hundred pounds! Maybe one day I will get it retrofitted but at the moment I am not doing high mileage (but neither is anyone else at the moment!) 

Amazing a 1 owner car! What's the current mileage?

[½cwt]

2 hours ago, Boxey11 said:

I bought my 2001 S new and the options I put on it included heated embossed seats, litronics, sport classic wheels, enhanced audio with the amplifier (not bose) and a few other things. Wish I had put cruise control on it, but thought it wouldn't be much use on a manual car! As I recall it was only a couple of hundred pounds! Maybe one day I will get it retrofitted but at the moment I am not doing high mileage (but neither is anyone else at the moment!) 

As you have an 01 car it should be quite an easy fit, it connects into the dash and fuse panel unlike older model years which require 4 cables to run back to the DME in the boot as well.

[Southy]

By-pass mod in lieu of the PSE

Red Seat Belts

Throttlebody upgrade/stainless steel manifolds

[JayJay1374]

What I appreciate the most is my aerokit and hardtop. The option I wish the car had is defiantly litronics. 

[Boxsum]

Eurocup GT manifolds

Body coloured centre console 

18” Sport design alloys 

Would be nice to have a heated front screen 

[Boxey11]

20 hours ago, Clivescoobydo said:

Amazing a 1 owner car! What's the current mileage?

It's 172,000 but it's not been a high mileage year😀

I always intended to keep it, I reckoned that buying a quality car that I really liked and keeping it long term was a better deal than buying something like a Ford focus or a vw golf and changing it every 3 years or so. 

And it helps make a 3.2litre petrol car reasonably eco friendly 😊 because I haven't had a new car for 20 years

[geoff]

Heated seats came with my Boxster, I added ROW 030 suspension and Litronic headlights, and I did the LN Engineering IMS update. Spec I wish I had is the 'S' engine and brakes

[Clivescoobydo]

On 1/21/2021 at 11:30 AM, Boxey11 said:

It's 172,000 but it's not been a high mileage year😀

I always intended to keep it, I reckoned that buying a quality car that I really liked and keeping it long term was a better deal than buying something like a Ford focus or a vw golf and changing it every 3 years or so. 

And it helps make a 3.2litre petrol car reasonably eco friendly 😊 because I haven't had a new car for 20 years

Cool, does it have the original IMS bearing?

[Sazzy]

I think mine are:

Glass rear screen

Heated seats

The facelift bumpers

Would like:

PSE

 

 

[Boxey11]

4 hours ago, Clivescoobydo said:

Cool, does it have the original IMS bearing?

Yes, it does. To me it looks like IMS issues affect little used low mileage cars. My car is my daily driver under normal circumstances, but even in lockdown I still ensure I take it for a run every week to get it thoroughly warmed through and also to keep the brake discs in good shape. 

[deanmr2]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:48 PM, K.I.T.T. said:

Nothing to add that hasn't been said already. A lot of folks don't use their cars as a (semi) daily, or at night - in which case halogens are adequate, but not much more. At night, in comparison to litronics, they truly are like candles, clichéd as that sounds.

Really noticed the difference when I got my current car, coming from one equipped with litronics. Eventually retrofitted them to this car.

 

It's a Becker Indianapolis Pro (7950) - matches the stock illumination perfectly, has navigation (basic / outdated, but enough to save you if you're truly stuck without a phone signal), bluetooth (calls only), and full iPod control - if you still have one with a dock connector.

It is dated, and somewhat compromised, but for a 15 year old design has its own charm. If I didn't have it, I'd just stick a modern double DIN in. 

The Becker would be great for air-cooled pork, or some 70s - mid 90s cars which only have single DIN, and you wanted to keep it period.

Hi can I ask where did you locate the gps aerial in your car 

[deanmr2]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:48 PM, K.I.T.T. said:

Nothing to add that hasn't been said already. A lot of folks don't use their cars as a (semi) daily, or at night - in which case halogens are adequate, but not much more. At night, in comparison to litronics, they truly are like candles, clichéd as that sounds.

Really noticed the difference when I got my current car, coming from one equipped with litronics. Eventually retrofitted them to this car.

 

It's a Becker Indianapolis Pro (7950) - matches the stock illumination perfectly, has navigation (basic / outdated, but enough to save you if you're truly stuck without a phone signal), bluetooth (calls only), and full iPod control - if you still have one with a dock connector.

It is dated, and somewhat compromised, but for a 15 year old design has its own charm. If I didn't have it, I'd just stick a modern double DIN in. 

The Becker would be great for air-cooled pork, or some 70s - mid 90s cars which only have single DIN, and you wanted to keep it period.

 

On 1/19/2021 at 12:48 PM, K.I.T.T. said:

Nothing to add that hasn't been said already. A lot of folks don't use their cars as a (semi) daily, or at night - in which case halogens are adequate, but not much more. At night, in comparison to litronics, they truly are like candles, clichéd as that sounds.

Really noticed the difference when I got my current car, coming from one equipped with litronics. Eventually retrofitted them to this car.

 

It's a Becker Indianapolis Pro (7950) - matches the stock illumination perfectly, has navigation (basic / outdated, but enough to save you if you're truly stuck without a phone signal), bluetooth (calls only), and full iPod control - if you still have one with a dock connector.

It is dated, and somewhat compromised, but for a 15 year old design has its own charm. If I didn't have it, I'd just stick a modern double DIN in. 

The Becker would be great for air-cooled pork, or some 70s - mid 90s cars which only have single DIN, and you wanted to keep it period.

Could you tell me where you located the gps aerial in the car for the Becker Indianapolis 7950 unit 

[K.I.T.T.]

9 minutes ago, deanmr2 said:

Hi can I ask where did you locate the gps aerial in your car 

Sure - going through my pics, this is the best I have:

 

You can just about make out the aerial at the bottom of the pic - just to the left of the black bracing bar. You can see how the wiring is routed to the car. I eventually mounted it to the left of the pollen filter.

[deanmr2]

30 minutes ago, K.I.T.T. said:

Sure - going through my pics, this is the best I have:

 

You can just about make out the aerial at the bottom of the pic - just to the left of the black bracing bar. You can see how the wiring is routed to the car. I eventually mounted it to the left of the pollen filter.

Thanks for your reply so the aerial is in the front luggage compartment I wasn’t sure if the reception would be ok if the aerial wasn’t out in the open and I didn’t fancy having it on the dash or somewhere conspicuous. Do you have any problems with the gps losing signal with the aerial under the bonnet?

[edc]

You could stick it in the same dash location in the centre. Just need a bit of contortionsm to get it in.

[K.I.T.T.]

30 minutes ago, deanmr2 said:

Do you have any problems with the gps losing signal with the aerial under the bonnet?

No GPS signal issues with the aerial mounted in that location.