Drisump

Stock North American suspension was Munroe shocks, sitting a couple of inches higher than the "Rest of World" cars.. Many 993's have had their suspensions upgraded to various coilovers or replacement shocks. The stock ones were usually done by 50k anyway. My car has Bilstein PSS9 coilovers set to "Euro" height. This seems to be a fairly popular upgrade. The PSS9's (or PSS10's) are adjustable height wise and can be dialled in for firmness (nine levels of firmness). I really like them but some buddies of mine have opted for other solutions. Cheers

cuvergara

I went from 95 Carrera to 97 C4S to 2007 GT3 and just recently back to 993. No regrets here whatsoever. 993 and 997 are 2 totally different animals. I went for the looks!

Mark Harris

Suspension upgrade or not you will get enough comparison from a 993 test drive. The 997 and 993 couldn't be more different. With that being said, to fully enjoy ownership of a 993 requires upgrading from the original Monroes. They are horrible and likely despite the mileage are shot due to age.

I waited 1.5 years to go to Bilstein HD's on my first 993 which was another mistake. After the upgrade I had a completely different car. Handled like it was intended to from the factory. On my second 993 it went straight to my Indy for PSS9's. Didn't even bring it home first. Budget $2,500 - $3,500 to upgrade a car on original Monroes.

Here is a pic of the PSS9's going on the 2S.

os993

Where are u located?

997at

East Bay - Orinda

Kika

they are two different animals, yet related. it is very difficult to quantify into words, as there are going to be definite similarities, but vast differences at the same time.

When I went from my 1980 911SC to my current 993, there were a lot of things that were familiar, the angle of the pedals, the dash layout, the controls, the sound of the flat 6, the handling feel of a rear engine. At the same time, the 993 is much more powerful, has an AC that blow cold air, feels "tighter" (my SC is a Targa, so a bit of a flexy flyer.)

The best way I can describe it is like siblings, you can tell they have the same heritage, and some things are going to be the same, but others will be different.

The only way to decide is to drive both. Personally, what I love about the 993 is the feedback from the road and the car, simply put, it is fun to drive. There will always be faster cars then whatever it is that you are in, to me, it entirely selfish, it is about what makes me happy, and going as fast, or slow as I want to go.

There is no wrong answer between a 993 and a 997. The best solution is to keep the 997 and add a 993. If you can overlap ownership of both, you can try both out and see which one you gravitate towards (too bad that isn't as viable of an option with women!) We had a 68 912 and the 911SC for a few years at together. both were fun and had their merits. My tendency was to drive the 911 as the 912 simply was underpowered for my needs.

And NO it isn't crazy, just perhaps a bit counter intuitive that there are a LOT of people that prefer a ~20 year old design and implementation to one that is ~5 years old.

not wrong, just personal preference. My daughter looked at a lot of cars at the Pelican GTG, and I was explaining the difference between the short hoods and the long hoods. She is 17, going on 18 and while the Ferrari 458 is a sexy beast, she likes the 356 and early 911 looks....in her words, "They're just cute"

for those of you that were there, she did make sure to show me the cars that had "For Sale" signs on them....sigh.....

good luck

rsabeebe

some very good information here on this potential swap. i made the swap - 997S to a 993 C4S - a couple years back and haven't regretted one bit. i think it really depends on how you use your 997, but i find the 993 far more engaging and fun to drive. the 997 was extremely good, but a bit boring in that the limits were quite high. to me, it feels like you're 'using' more of the 993 in most conditions than the 997. the 993 is an event to drive, the 997 seems a bit pedestrian in comparison. long term, the 993 is also the car to have over the 997.

TouringTeg

If i went from my 993 C4S to a 997 GT3 I'm not sure I would come back. To have both is perfection though.

race911

Not that a 996 Turbo is a totally correct comparison, but for me it's pretty much: 996 Turbo = "modern" cruiser sports car/993 is sports car with modern comforts and conveniences/torsion bar 911 is sports car that can still pass as a usable road car.

RonCT

Try a search for this question and look up some of my past comments on this subject. In a nutshell, My 3 Porsches prior to my 993 C2S were a 997.1 C2S, 997.1 GT3 and then a 997.2 C2S. Of all 4 my favorite is clearly the 993. It's slightly slower overall, but feels faster because it's more engaging / visceral. Less clutter, more driving involvement / pleasure.

Don't worry about the suspension. When you find your car if you aren't happy after 6 months with it you can easily change it. I bought the Koni FSD with OEM M033 springs that I haven't bothered to put on yet - the stock suspension doesn't bother me and here in CT the roads are terrible and driveway lips / ramps pretty severe.

hf1

I could use a quick 993 refresher...
Does the C2S also have the wide body or is it just the C4S and the Turbo?
What are the main diffs between C2 and C2S?
Does the awd in the 4's detract from the driving experience? How much weight does it add?

To the OP, you need to drive it to decide but there's also value in enjoying your 997 cab for so long and keeping it in tip-top shape. I had an 06 Boxster S (bought new) and sold it a couple of years ago with similar miles like yours (also triple-black). Did quite a lot of track days with it -- went from Green to Black (one level below Instructors) in it. Still miss that car. What a perfect back-road carver for early weekend mornings. Enjoy your search and making the decision! Every Porsche has its charms!

997at

I might check this one out. Looks like it has a bit of wear and tear, but easy cosmetic stuff to fix. I don't like the wheels, prefer stock, but thats an easy fix too.
http://hitecauto.us/car-listing/1995-porsche-993-c2/

destaccado

Simply put, any 997 without the Mezger or 9a1 is going to continue to depreciate and historically end up being the second lowest valued 911 after the regular 996's...

On the other hand the 993 is a modern classic likely to continue rising in price for a long, long time since cars like this will never be made again.

The 993 is more go-kart feeling than the 997 and smaller. It will have less creature comforts but overall has a simpler more mechanical design that is already aging must better.

I feel like I'm not too biased towards the 993 considering I'd trade mine for a 997.2 GT3 and own a 991.

IMHO the best suspension for the driver 993's character is the Bilstein PSS10 although others will argue differently.

Juha G

I just listed my 997 for sale and have a prospective 993 that I'd buy.

What is better than a 993...? Two 993s of course ...

NYC993

yes C2S is WB
C2S is WB and has much smaller production run (it also has the split grill)
AWD is mostly inactive unless rears are spinning faster than fronts. It adds about 100lb. C4S comes with "big reds" (only available on Turbo and C4S...and RS) All C4/C4S come with LSD/ABD standard (M220 option on other 993, iirc).