Opinions are like ***holes.

Everyone's got one. Yeah?

I have to make a bit of a rant here.

So ... one reason I heavily debated whether or not I wanted to even get a 911 is because it seems that it is far MORE difficult to find someone who does their own work who can share their technical expertise and facts. I am not saying that all 911 owners are uneducated... but let's face it, most people than can afford a car such as a 911 are far more likely to be able to afford to have the car worked on professionally in a shop as well. Therefore the degree of "DIY" base is probably likely less than those who are Porsche enthusiasts of an entry level who can't afford such things and therefore DO end up doing their own work. Like me...

Now... I'm in a slightly different boat. I have a decent job, I realistically COULD afford to have some things done in a shop but I don't because I hate having people work on my cars. I am no richie rich, but I also can afford the parts for my 911 no problem. I also prefer to do things myself because I find a great deal of enjoyment IN doing things myself because I find that it makes me a little more in tune with my car since I understand what was changed, what wasn't etc etc.

So I will not mention names but there are a few forums that I am a part of. I asked recently whether or not the oil consumption was normal on my 3.0 on my 911. The level of answers I got were SIGNIFICANTLY different on both forums.

Forum A: I got replies with technical data, factory specs, as well as confirmations from my question that my usage is somewhat normal and that I have nothing to worry about. I actually got affirmation to my theory that I was fine and had nothing to sweat due to winter mileage, consumption of oil and the fact that I commute my car since it is my daily.

Forum B: First reply was "Well in my opinion... that's very high" - then a comparison of their 3.2L engine to my 3.0L engine, both of which are a different era of engine and the 3.2 is vastly improved. So the points of consumption on a 3.2 is different than a 3.0 To boot, I even got some people ballsy enough to tell me it was time for a rebuild. No one could give me a solid piece of technical info, just a lot of varying opinions. No one answered my original question of whether or not consumption varies based off of commuting or weather (as in driving your car in freezing temperatures).

Realize that an air-cooled engine has more expanding to do than most engines. The cars are air-cooled and do run hotter than MOST engines. So with that being, during cold temperatures it goes to say that it is safe to assume that you WILL use a bit more oil.

My main argument was this:

During the winter months of freezing and BELOW freezing temperatures, the car takes FAR LONGER to warm up. So wouldn't oil consumption be more? Realistically since the engine isn't at full warmup, some oil MUST get past the rings to a degree, so would you not use more oil?

Because cars that commute in city use more oil, would it not then be safe to assume that my car would use MORE OIL since I commute AND is driven in the winter?

The answers were simply "In my opinion that's a lot." and "Sounds like it's almost time for a rebuild."

Then when I asked "What is involved in a rebuild?" I got varying answers and no one could REALLY tell me except forum A. Forum B gave me more "in my opinion" as well as "I think you need this." and "It will probably cost this." Forum A gave me solid info, solid information and even technical data in what is involved.

So this brings me back to my originating rant: If people cannot suffice with technical data and a strict answer of correct data, what good is the opinion?

I find it frustrating. Now, I will again bring into context my 924 and 944 communities experience... every time I've met a 924 owner, they enjoy Porsche and many of them "DIY" on maintenance. Why? It's an entry level Porsche. They want to do it themselves because it is hard to find a place that will work on them, it is expensive to have them worked on but parts are cheap so why not do it yourself?

I find the same thing with the 944 community. I find the sense of comradery in both communities to be outstanding. Whereas my experience with a large majority of the 911 population has differed greatly simply because people are SO QUICK to offer an opinion with little to no data to back up.

The people that HAVE offered data, information, knowledge and backed it up have been a diamond in the rough and an absolute pleasure to talk to since they are always happy to talk and happy to share information. These are the kinds of people I enjoy. The kind of people I wanted to get into Porsches in the first place, because their sincere passion for the car went SO DEEP that they even go as far as to do their own engine work, rebuild a car from the ground up, track them, drive them and understand the car like no one else. That is the form of passion I speak of. Not just someone who goes out, buys a car and because you can afford it suddenly you are the world's best driver and mechanic.

/rant.