LIGHTS ALIVE
This month, a catalogue of errors are fixed on the turbocharged GCAP Performance battle bus, with a cost-effective solution to an age-old problem ranking at the top of Gary Conway’s fix list...
Not many owners realise their 957 Cayenne features rear lights with a small LED sidelight on the edge of the lamp assembly. In part, their understandable ignorance on the matter is due to the fact 957 rear lamps are prone to failing due to water ingress.
If the LED element gives up the ghost, the bulb error warning message on the dash doesn’t present itself because, technically, the lights are still working and remain legal. In other words, few people carry out corrective work because few people know the problem exists in the first place.
Having worried all 911 & Porsche World readers in charge of a 957 enough for you to have rushed outside and for your neighbours to think you’ve gone completely hatstand as they watch you switching your Porsche’s lights on and off for no apparent reason, I should probably relay my own LED rear lighting experience. A sucker for details and frustrated at the failed LEDS on my 957 Turbo, I made enquiries in the hope of getting hold of a replacement LED board, but my search proved fruitless. “Not available,” came the reply from a series of suppliers. “The only option is to replace the entire light assembly,” they told me. Not cool.
I wasn’t prepared to accept being told massive expense was the only solution, which is why I removed the faulty light cluster and handed it to my uncle and business partner, Gerry Conway, an electronics and automotive security whizz with many decades experience working with Porsches. He promptly discovered many of the tracks on the suspect LED board were badly corroded as a consequence of water damage, but assured me the part was salvageable. Result.
After separating it from the main light assembly, the board was deep-cleaned and all affected tracks were re-soldered. The dead LEDS were replaced with new PLCC4 units and everything was back to normal operating condition. In fact, after reinstalling the reassembled light cluster, I’m pleased to report the LEDS Gerry fitted are brighter than the originals!
Another feature of my Cayenne Turbo not to my liking — and one which has annoyed me ever since my name appeared on the super-suv’s logbook — is the stock Porsche exhaust tailpipe design. To me, the unusually styled tips looked like something an F17 fighter jet might make better use of. Far too obnoxious for my tastes!
Looking for an alternative tailpipe with a more subtle look, I turned to independent Porsche parts retailer, Design 911, which was advertising a fantastic set of polished tailpipe tips as a simple ‘straight swap’ solution. The factory tips are attached to the host Cayenne Turbo with a V-band clamp, meaning ‘out with the old and
in with the new’ is a five-minute job. Before installing the new tips, however, I took time to clean the main exhaust pipework, which was showing slight corrosion — not something I wanted to slide shiny new tailpipe hardware onto. The end result? A clean, more modest appearance and one suiting my big ol’ bruiser far better than the 1980s Navy bazookas previously in place.
The main upper torque mount found on the 957 is another part prone to wear (the part’s bushes live a hard life on such a heavy, high-powered fourby). A replacement mount will fetch anywhere between £70 and £120, which is fine, but I didn’t want to be shelling out for the same part again later down the line, which is why I opted for a permanent ‘fit and forget’ solution by introducing a polyurethane insert into the new mount. Available direct by mail order from GCAP Performance, my premium marque tuning firm in the heart of Notting Hill, these brightly coloured bushes are simply slotted into place in advance of the new torque mount being installed.
Immediately after making the change, I wondered why I’d left it so long — the ensuing test drive slapped a big grin across my face. The unwanted movement and vibration caused by the failed torque mount was a thing of the past, and though polyurethane bushes have a reputation for increasing rigidity in the host vehicle’s chassis, I can’t say I’ve noticed any additional ‘stiffness’ in the ride. Splits in the old rubber caused vibration to resonate, but now, the drive is cool, calm and collected.