Skip to content

2008 Porsche Cayenne Turbo: Oil & Filter Change

I know that many Cayenne owners have changed the engine oil and the filter on their own. There are the posts on the Renn forums to prove that it is user serviceable. But all of the examples have been for the V6 Cayenne or the Cayenne S and not for the V8 Cayenne Turbo. Why is this important? Because the V8 engine is built differently, the drain plugs and filters are not exactly the same as the V6 counterparts.

I’m guessing, with the >$100,000 price tag of the vehicle, most owners of the Turbo can afford taking their cars into the dealer to have the service department change the oil.

My problem with that was that I had the most awful time at local dealer. So awful that I’ve written to Dr. Porsche Senior at his grave. Instead of taking the car to the dealer, I decided to do it on my own.

The closest thing to the Turbo, I could find instructions for,  was the Cayenne Transsyberia. Some Transsyberia owners live in really rural parts of the world and have changed their own oil without going to a dealer or a shop. Too bad I found these instructions AFTER I was already done.

Any way, the 2008 Turbo only has ONE (1) drain plug as pictured below.

The oil filter is slanted 45 degrees to the right side of the vehicle. Access is inhibited by a U shaped hydraulic line.

You may remove the bolt holding the lines to move them out of the way. There is a hour-glass shaped washer in there, don’t lose it.

Access to the filter is limited. I couldn’t cover the whole thing with a plastic bag. Try making a deflector with a plastic board or wax lined milk/juice  carton.

The filter case was hard to access. I used a pair of 12 in. ChannelLock pliers to turn it.

The car took 11 quarts of Mobil1 0W-40!

Posted in Cars, English.

No comments

By James – December 11, 2011

ガンスミス・キャッツとシカゴのガン事情

Smith&Wesson M&P9

日本に住んでるガンマニアなら一度は読んだことあると思うが、「ガンスミス・キャッツ」の舞台はアメリカ中西部の大都市シカゴ。作者の園田健一氏も言わずと知れたガンマニアで、表紙裏ではエアガンコレクションの紹介なども見られる。もちろん本人もシカゴに来たことはあるし（コミケで会った）、それなりの取材もしているハズだ。

しかし、あの漫画には思わぬ見落としがある。シカゴ市ではつい最近まで（1982-2010）一般市民（バウンティーハンターを含む）にピストルの携帯どころか所持も許されていなかった。銃の携帯は現在でも禁止されている。

シアーズタワーやループのあるシカゴ市は「ダウンタウン」と呼ばれ、市長を長にした自治区であり、市をとりまくサバーブ（郊外）は別の市町村なのだ。日本で言えば東京２３区とそれをとりまく市町村の様なもので、ひっくるめて「シカゴ」と呼ぶ（The greater Chicagoland areaとも言う）。

なので、シカゴ市内に銃砲店は無いし、一般市民で銃をひっさげている人はいない。更に、シカゴを含むイリノイ州はアメリカ５０州で唯一、銃火器の所持が所持者登録制なのだ（他州では火器登録制）。クルマの運転免許の様に、クルマを買う前から本人登録が必要なのだ（しかも、シカゴ市内では更に個々の銃の登録が必要）。

ただ、この免許（Firearms Owner IDentification； 通称FOID）は脳に異常がなく、犯罪を犯したことが無い善良な市民なら簡単に手に入る。郵便で州警察に申し込んで２週間くらいでカードが届く。この免許を持って州内のガンショップへ行けば、３日の猶予期間を経て、セミオート１８連発の短銃が手に入る。

だからといって、みんながみんな銃を持っているわけではない。アメリカは銃社会だとか、シカゴはアル・カポネの街だとか言うが、全然そんなことはない。田舎へ行くと鹿や鴨を撃つハンターを多少見ることはあるが、銃を持っている人口は希で、なかなか他人の家でピストルにはお目にかかれない。でも、郊外に銃砲店はあるし、ウォルマート（アピタみたいなところ）では短銃用の弾丸を販売している。需要はあるのだが、それはすごく低い。

「ガンスミス・キャッツ」はそんな銃規制まっただ中の1991年から連載が始まり、経済が止まりだした97年まで続いた。もちろん、規制中も銃を持っていた人は持っていたわけで、フィクションである漫画に「ウソだ！詐欺だ！」なんて言うつもりは全く無い。それどころか、「ガンスミス」は私の大好きな漫画の一つで、「銃社会アメリカ」を絶妙にかっこよくこじらせた傑作だと思っている。

写真：スミス＆ウェッソン　ミリタリー＆ポリス（M&P)　９㎜　4.25インチバレル、マックスペディション　ファットボーイ　バーサパック（デジタルカモ）、　アメリカン・イーグル・アウトフィッターズ　カーゴショーツ、シャーピー　（強力・細）。

Posted in Japanese, Social dillemas.

Tagged with , .

No comments

By Celia – December 11, 2011

We have a problem

Fukushima Dai-Ichi Explosion 2011

Japanese courts this month ruled that any nuclear material that has fallen on private land is the responsibility of the land owner and not of the power company that accidentally released it into the atmosphere. The same rule applies if an apple falls off your neighbor’s tree into your yard.

The problem with this is that nuclear materials are not as easy to clean up as rotten fruits and that you’d never find out who is in possession of a potential WMD.

Let’s just say that the owners of the golf club can sell their 200 acres to some investors from a country of communist nature that shall remain unnamed – nuclear waste and all.

I don’t know how much Cesium, Strontium, Uranium, Plutonium, etc. can be collected from the topsoil of the pristine fairways, but I’d say it’d be enough to fill the parliament hall in Tokyo with a deadly dose of it within a year.

Japan shouldn’t view this accident as a liability issue. They need to now think of this as a national security issue.

Posted in English, Social dillemas.

Tagged with .

No comments

By Celia – November 29, 2011

iPhone Phantom Data Usage

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help a friend out in purchasing an iPhone 4S. She was a new AT&T customer but was porting her number from Verizon and wanted to join in a FamilyTalk plan with her daughter who was already an AT&T customer. It became slightly complicated when the system ran a credit check because her last name was not the same as her daughter who had changed her last name after her marriage. 4 hours later, we were trying out Siri on her brand new iPhone 4S. All seemed fine, and we parted that night.

Four days later – this morning, I get a frantic call from her telling me that she’s got a TXT message from AT&T notifying her that she’s hit her 90% quota of her 200MB Data Plan. What!?

We logged into the AT&T MyWireless site to check on her usage. Sure enough, every day at noon or midnight, more than 40000 KB total transfer was being logged. That was impossible. She has NO APPS INSTALLED other than the default ones from Apple.

Granted, she didn’t have the iPhone set to use the WiFi network in her home, but 40MB/day on mail and… what else!? Impossible!

I was aware, since last April, of a few dozen iPhone users experiencing Phantom Data Usage during sleeping hours. Some people reset their phones and it was fixed. Some people called AT&T tirelessly to get the charges off their bill. And some people just upgraded their plan to the 2GB DataPro Plan.

Suspicious, I checked my usage. I was still under my 200MB threshold, but it was higher than usual. Over the night of the 13th and 14th of October 2011 (the night of the iPhone 4S launch) I had two nights of >18MB usage. My regular daily usage is about 2MB so I knew something was wrong.

The problem is, I don’t know exactly what’s wrong. Is there a rogue program not releasing the 3G connection? Did I use the Phone 9 times more than usual that night? I doubt it.

So far, there are some ways to prevent data usage:

  • Plug AC adapter In (this prioritizes WiFi)
  • Stop all apps before going to bed (stops rogue apps)
  • Turn Cellular Data Off (stops foreground data transfer)
  • Turn Airplane mode On (stops background data transfer)
  • Turn iPhone Off (stops everything)

So, I decided to monitor the situation to get to the cause of the problem. We upgraded my friend’s plan to the 200GB DataPro Plan, and will be trying each step to see what difference they make.

Posted in Apple, English.

3 comments

By Celia – October 19, 2011

Magpul iPhone 4 Field Case

I was an early adopter of the iPhone 4, so if you all remember, Apple gave (or reimbursed) us protective covers. My first iPhone 4 case was a Speck Fitted case with a fabric back. It was clean and cute but the fabric came off after repeated re-entry into my jeans pocket.

My second case was a free one I got at an AT&T shop, the iFrogz Luxe Original. The case felt bulky with the square edges and the button on the back. This one completely failed by cracking and falling apart.

So for the third case, I picked a case from a manufacturer where their other products have survived repeated pushing and pulling from my pocket. Enter Magpul.

The Magpul Executive Field Case is a no-nonsense, does what it does, kind of case. It’s NOT CUTE at all. I mean, even the pink one looks… like a pink version of something that’s supposed to be black.

We got a few of these Magpul cases and really like them. I’ve been using the “Executive” Field Case with less ridges and a thinner profile. It slides in and out easily from my pocket, has enough grip, and does not interfere with the controls much if at all. The only thing is that it’s only compatible with the AT&T version of the iPhone 4 and not the Verizon version. iLounge gave this case an A- because of it’s thin lip…

Well, Magpul has released the classic “Field Case” with the full waffle pattern for the iPhone 4. This case has a taller lip that adds a tad more protection to the front face of the phone. With the full waffle pattern, it’s a little harder to slip in and out of skinny jeans, but has better grip and the Magpul logo on the back gives slightly improved tactile feedback so you don’t pick up the phone up-side-down.

By the way, the cases are made in the US. If you care about facts like that.

Posted in English, Sidetracked.

No comments

By Celia – September 27, 2011

Switch to our mobile site