Side vent cover questions.

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by lapis986

I just discovered that my drivers side and pass side vents apear to have a slightly different orientation and look.
Drivers side seems to stick out slightly more in the front, and the passenger side vent fits neatly inside the metal body. Is it possible the drivers side is not attached properly or is this normal?

This is perfectly normal. In 2000, Porsche changed the design of the driver's side intake housing cover so that it has a protruding lip. This was because there were reports of smokers who threw their cigarette butts out the window while driving, and the butts ending up getting sucked in the intake and into the engine air filter, creating a risk of engine fires. That little extra protruding lip is enough to redirect such debris around the vents at speed. The pass. side vent housing stayed flush with the bodywork because it doesn't suck air in, and instead is used for venting hot engine air out of the engine bay.

In 2003, they changed the vent housing back to being completely flush with the bodywork on the driver's side, and instead incorporated mesh inside the vent housing to prevent debris from entering the intake.

I run my 2001 desnorked, without any mesh protection because I think the protruding lip on the vent and engine air filter will do it's job of blocking out any debris, and because I think adding mesh would slightly reduce air flow to the intake.