tommyz

Hello Everyone. I have been lurking in this forum for a few months now and I thought it was time to say hello. I have decided to jump in and buy my first 911 (99% sure it is going to be a 964 C2). I want to thank everyone for all the great info that has been shared. I have learned a lot already!

The one question that I keep coming back to is about modifications. From the posts and ads that I am looking at, I see that many people make mods like suspension upgrades, exhaust upgrades, chip upgrades, wheels, brakes, and the list goes on. I know that this is very much about personal preference but I was hoping someone could help me understand the impact on value and resale. I will do the research and decide as I go which specific changes make sense for me. But up front I just don’t want to make a stupid newbie mistake that I will regret down the road. The last thing I want to do is end up with a car that is sub-par because I was not smart enough to know what parts of the car should have been left alone or which changes are meant for a very specific use. At the same time, an upgraded suspension and lightweight flywheel seem like a bonus over a stock car when you are talking about higher mileage 964’s. Maybe I am wrong? I see a lot of happy stock 964 owners on these boards too. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

--Tommy

ilko

Upgrading is a very personal choice. Buy a car that you like and upgrade the things you don't like about it. If the suspension feels mushy, buy firmer shocks and springs. If the exhaust is not loud enough, get another one, etc. I would get the car, spend some time with it and then look to replace parts.

BlueHeeler

I suggest purchasing the car first, then doing full maintenance (brakes, ignition, fuel filter... as needed), then get everything else working as Porsche intended. Finally after all that, consider mods when you know the weak points of the stock setup.

Mods are something you do for you, not resale. As long as you do not do anything too extreme, you will not significantly impact resale ether way.

Just my .02

hawk911

Tommy, I think why you see people putting new suspension on is due to age as much as a performance mod. It's one of those things that for a few bucks more you can upgrade, rather than keeping stock. I'd venture to say it's only a few hrs more time, and maybe $300 or so for the spring to go from just replacing shocks to replacing the shocks and springs. Granted, you may also need an alignment after, for a few $$ also. Worthwhile for most people. I know there are some that buy these cars for the leisurely drive on Sunday, but far more like to have fun in the car and need a bit of a performance boost. Suspension work certainly makes the car handle much better

tommyz

Thank you all. I will definitely take your advice in choosing any changes I am going to make. Right now I am mostly concerned about the changes that have already been made to the cars I am considering. It is the initial purchase that I am stressing over.

Hawk - that is a good explanation of why I see so many cars with suspension upgrades. Sounds like as long as the person doing my PPI has some knowledge beyond the stock suspension and it checks out, I will prefer the upgrade.

RonCT

Having owned a 964 that was heavily modified for the track, I'll give you my perspective... There are some "minimal" mods that I don't think you can go wrong with - that could add value at some potential future resale. For example, most would probably agree that ROW ride height is a good thing vs. what we got in the US. Several ways to get the car lowered and I think whatever method you pick probably wouldn't hurt you down the road. My car had a cat and secondary muffler bypass, a "cup car airbox modification" which is basically cutting away most of the restrictive plastic, and 93 octane Steve Wong chip to make everything run better. I think most would agree the sound was intoxicating (not overly loud, just a beautiful sound), and there were definite performance gains (dyno proved that out). If I were in the market for a 964 today and I found a great example that had all of the above, I'd buy it in a heart beat, even at significantly more $ than stock because somebody else will have taken the time to do it all. I found the brakes fine, just swapped pads for the track. Wheels and tires is personal choice. I liked the OEM Cup 1s for their classic look, though I didn't use them for the track because they are very heavy.