A Few Pics and First Impressions
12-30-2013, 12:49 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
A Few Pics and First Impressions
After picking up the new Turbo on Saturday night, I was able to go for a spirited drive in the backroads yesterday morning. My first impressions are really good overall. The car (a base Turbo) seems quite a bit more powerful than I expected, stronger than my last Turbo (997.2).
The PDK appears to shift faster and smoother than in the 997.2. This is my fourth car with PDK and it just keeps getting better. Having driven regular manuals forever, the Motorsport sequential in a 997.1 Cup, and PDK, I honestly don't know why people prefer the standard H pattern. I'd rank PDK first, Motorsport sequential second, and H-manual third (ahead of only the mush box).
Handling-wise the 991 Turbo is an interesting compromise. One the positive side, the torque vectoring appears to allow the driver to steer with the right foot quite a bit more than prior with AWD Turbos. You can actually slide the car around just a bit with the throttle. Mind you, not as much as with a 2WD 911, but much closer than I would have expected. (I'm not advocating trying this at home! I've been racing for a very long time and know what I can and cannot get away with.
)
The comfort-handling compromise is also quite good. On the other hand, I felt that the springs are just a little too soft for very spirited drives, at least compared to prior Turbos. If there is a ROW Porsche spring, I'd consider swapping mine out for them. The issue is that the weight moves around a bit more than desirable in relatively tighter corners and switchbacks. I think a slightly stiffer spring would help the driver keep the weight from moving around quite as much. (But with added harshness over bumps.)
I tried both the sport mode and default mode on the shocks. It helps offset the softer springs a little. There's not a tremendous difference between the two modes. But to be honest, I felt that in prior generations the difference was too extreme to make the sport mode (for shocks) useful except on a track. With the new calibration, it's actually useful on imperfect, real world roads.
The interior, which I did not upgrade at all, is really, really nice. Nicer than prior Turbos. I can only imagine how nice the upgraded interiors are. The standard seats are also incredibly comfortable and very supportive. A perfect compromise IMO.
The Burmeister sounds fantastic. Love it.
That's about it for now. I'll be interested to hear what others think about the new Turbo and Turbo S.
The PDK appears to shift faster and smoother than in the 997.2. This is my fourth car with PDK and it just keeps getting better. Having driven regular manuals forever, the Motorsport sequential in a 997.1 Cup, and PDK, I honestly don't know why people prefer the standard H pattern. I'd rank PDK first, Motorsport sequential second, and H-manual third (ahead of only the mush box).
Handling-wise the 991 Turbo is an interesting compromise. One the positive side, the torque vectoring appears to allow the driver to steer with the right foot quite a bit more than prior with AWD Turbos. You can actually slide the car around just a bit with the throttle. Mind you, not as much as with a 2WD 911, but much closer than I would have expected. (I'm not advocating trying this at home! I've been racing for a very long time and know what I can and cannot get away with.
) The comfort-handling compromise is also quite good. On the other hand, I felt that the springs are just a little too soft for very spirited drives, at least compared to prior Turbos. If there is a ROW Porsche spring, I'd consider swapping mine out for them. The issue is that the weight moves around a bit more than desirable in relatively tighter corners and switchbacks. I think a slightly stiffer spring would help the driver keep the weight from moving around quite as much. (But with added harshness over bumps.)
I tried both the sport mode and default mode on the shocks. It helps offset the softer springs a little. There's not a tremendous difference between the two modes. But to be honest, I felt that in prior generations the difference was too extreme to make the sport mode (for shocks) useful except on a track. With the new calibration, it's actually useful on imperfect, real world roads.
The interior, which I did not upgrade at all, is really, really nice. Nicer than prior Turbos. I can only imagine how nice the upgraded interiors are. The standard seats are also incredibly comfortable and very supportive. A perfect compromise IMO.
The Burmeister sounds fantastic. Love it.
That's about it for now. I'll be interested to hear what others think about the new Turbo and Turbo S.
12-30-2013, 06:08 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Doesn't PDCC deal with the issue of weight moving around, especially if combined with PTV? Just curious since I feel the same way in my 997.2 TT even is Sport mode. For what I read the 991 was supposed to do better on that front.
Congrats on your new ride. Great way toned the year.
Congrats on your new ride. Great way toned the year.
12-30-2013, 07:02 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
Good question re PDCC and PTV. I do think that the lateral weight transfer issue is better, and probably due to PDCC. Maybe that's why they went with softer damping.
The weight transfer that I noticed more in the 991 than in the 997.2 is front to rear as transition from accelerating to braking, and vice versa.
I don't think PTC can help much with the weight transfer issue. But I do think that it helps with turn in and rotation in the slower corners. I was amazed at how nicely the car rotated in the tighter bits. Felt like a much lighter car in that respect.
The weight transfer that I noticed more in the 991 than in the 997.2 is front to rear as transition from accelerating to braking, and vice versa.
I don't think PTC can help much with the weight transfer issue. But I do think that it helps with turn in and rotation in the slower corners. I was amazed at how nicely the car rotated in the tighter bits. Felt like a much lighter car in that respect.
12-30-2013, 07:05 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
One thing I forgot to mention is that I think they finally got the exhaust tone right. At least from my perspective. I'm not a big fan of really loud cars. And as you'd expect, the 991TT isn't. The new exhaust seems to have been tuned to produce more of a Metzger-like engine sound. Plus it has a nice off throttle burble, and you can hear the waste gate blowing off pressure from time to time.
12-30-2013, 07:50 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Nice pics and great review. I agree completely regarding the handling, I'm just starting to get a feel for the car as I can't really push her much in freezing temps on winter tires. Are you going to track the TT?
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12-30-2013, 10:29 PM
#8
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Thread Starter
I'm not sure if I'll track the TT. Probably not, or not much at least. The track often does bad things to cars. So I prefer to have dedicated track cars.
If the car happens to be there when the race car breaks, then all bets are off. That's how my last two street cars ended up on the track.
If the car happens to be there when the race car breaks, then all bets are off. That's how my last two street cars ended up on the track.
