Carrera T Rennlister Review
03-11-2018, 08:36 PM
#31
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
I got another 80+ miles in today...made my daughter carsick ;-(
...but she said it makes her want to learn how to drive so she doesn't have to be the passenger!
Some more observations...
7th Gear:
I was really skeptical, but it's surprisingly useful as a highway cruising gear. I can easily run 55 - 90 mph and it feels like a Lexus. Lest you say that this is a bad thing...I give you this: the 991.2 is a total Jekyll and Hyde - you can cruise effortlessly on the hwy (provided you can handle up with the tire noise / added noise from lightweight glass in the Carrera T) and then cane it on a backroad and haunt a GT3.
Keeping up with the Joneses (GT3s):
If you were out on racer road west of Houston today in a modified white GT3 - I'm sorry you got pinched (my V1 blared and I tried to flash you)...but thanks for the opportunity to see if I could keep up. What a marvelous sound you made. For those that were not there - this is a *fast* road, and we kept pace for most of it. The GT3 clearly had more to give however :-)
Sucking noise from the rear:
I don't think this is the spoiler. It's a sound that's coming from the rear glass. I'm now wondering if there's a seal problem on my car. Above 50 mph, the sound is present, and grows louder the faster you go.
Engine Sound w/lightweight glass:
Sublime (in sport+ mode). I'm not a fan of the farting in Sport mode, but Sport+ and PSE On/Off is just great. Honestly sounds 80% of my 993 - it's only missing the timbre from the hydraulic lifters - which was a 993 signature sound for me. Chainsaw cutting a pillow sound is there in spades! I do think the lightweight glass adds to the sonic performance.
Shfiter:
This finally seemed to "break-in" on today's drive. It's 1000% better than when delivered. The notchiness is resolved in a good way - and the spring seemed to relax, letting me effortlessly hit the 4-5 and 2-3 shifts. I also observed today that the auto-blip / heel-toe controversy is maybe overblown...I heel toe'd a number of times, and I think maybe the computer actually detects whether you are trying to do it manually - and gets out of the way.
RAS:
I deliberately tried some emergency maneuvers at speed today - probably why my daughter got sick. Man, does RAS make the car stable. Didn't go near the limit, but I feel like the car was totally controllable and just telepathic in its response. Really happy I went for this option.
Thats all for today! Gonna do a nice road-trip this week in the T. Will see what additional observations I have after that.
cheers!
...but she said it makes her want to learn how to drive so she doesn't have to be the passenger!
Some more observations...
7th Gear:
I was really skeptical, but it's surprisingly useful as a highway cruising gear. I can easily run 55 - 90 mph and it feels like a Lexus. Lest you say that this is a bad thing...I give you this: the 991.2 is a total Jekyll and Hyde - you can cruise effortlessly on the hwy (provided you can handle up with the tire noise / added noise from lightweight glass in the Carrera T) and then cane it on a backroad and haunt a GT3.
Keeping up with the Joneses (GT3s):
If you were out on racer road west of Houston today in a modified white GT3 - I'm sorry you got pinched (my V1 blared and I tried to flash you)...but thanks for the opportunity to see if I could keep up. What a marvelous sound you made. For those that were not there - this is a *fast* road, and we kept pace for most of it. The GT3 clearly had more to give however :-)
Sucking noise from the rear:
I don't think this is the spoiler. It's a sound that's coming from the rear glass. I'm now wondering if there's a seal problem on my car. Above 50 mph, the sound is present, and grows louder the faster you go.
Engine Sound w/lightweight glass:
Sublime (in sport+ mode). I'm not a fan of the farting in Sport mode, but Sport+ and PSE On/Off is just great. Honestly sounds 80% of my 993 - it's only missing the timbre from the hydraulic lifters - which was a 993 signature sound for me. Chainsaw cutting a pillow sound is there in spades! I do think the lightweight glass adds to the sonic performance.
Shfiter:
This finally seemed to "break-in" on today's drive. It's 1000% better than when delivered. The notchiness is resolved in a good way - and the spring seemed to relax, letting me effortlessly hit the 4-5 and 2-3 shifts. I also observed today that the auto-blip / heel-toe controversy is maybe overblown...I heel toe'd a number of times, and I think maybe the computer actually detects whether you are trying to do it manually - and gets out of the way.
RAS:
I deliberately tried some emergency maneuvers at speed today - probably why my daughter got sick. Man, does RAS make the car stable. Didn't go near the limit, but I feel like the car was totally controllable and just telepathic in its response. Really happy I went for this option.
Thats all for today! Gonna do a nice road-trip this week in the T. Will see what additional observations I have after that.
cheers!
03-11-2018, 09:22 PM
#32
Rennlist Member
Awesome, I'm loving your reviews. Keep em' coming as you get to know the car!
03-11-2018, 09:56 PM
#33
Rennlist Member
Great update, thanks!
So far the only thing that I'm wondering is if with the added noise in the cabin, are you still able to have a normal phone conversation over bluetooth, or does it sound like you are calling from a race track?
Since the T will be my one-and-only and daily driver, I will end up doing quite a few conference calls from there. Hope I don't have to go on mute every time I call...
So far the only thing that I'm wondering is if with the added noise in the cabin, are you still able to have a normal phone conversation over bluetooth, or does it sound like you are calling from a race track?
Since the T will be my one-and-only and daily driver, I will end up doing quite a few conference calls from there. Hope I don't have to go on mute every time I call...
03-11-2018, 11:39 PM
#34
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Great update, thanks!
So far the only thing that I'm wondering is if with the added noise in the cabin, are you still able to have a normal phone conversation over bluetooth, or does it sound like you are calling from a race track?
Since the T will be my one-and-only and daily driver, I will end up doing quite a few conference calls from there. Hope I don't have to go on mute every time I call...
So far the only thing that I'm wondering is if with the added noise in the cabin, are you still able to have a normal phone conversation over bluetooth, or does it sound like you are calling from a race track?
Since the T will be my one-and-only and daily driver, I will end up doing quite a few conference calls from there. Hope I don't have to go on mute every time I call...
cheers!
03-11-2018, 11:44 PM
#35
Rennlist Member
I wish the symposer had an on off switch for conference calls also.
03-12-2018, 04:25 PM
#36
Drifting
A great and useful follow-up review. Thank you very much for sharing.
Hope your daughter is feeling better now.
Racer Road West sounds like fun!
I look forward to experiencing the noise inside my T, as I have traditional rear glass fitted with the heated rear screen.
Also good to hear that the manual gearbox is now behaving itself.
P.S. Apologies for 'borrowing' one of your pics as my avatar!
Hope your daughter is feeling better now.
Racer Road West sounds like fun!
I look forward to experiencing the noise inside my T, as I have traditional rear glass fitted with the heated rear screen.
Also good to hear that the manual gearbox is now behaving itself.
P.S. Apologies for 'borrowing' one of your pics as my avatar!
03-12-2018, 10:23 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Some more:
Rear Glass Sucking Sound: Found the culprit! There was a little piece of white plastic sheeting stuck in the roof-rail. My guess is that this was being sucked into the slipstream at highway speeds and causing the low-freq noise. Pulled it out and no more noise :-) Not sure how it got in there, factory?
Bose: So-so. I drove the car to work this morning and got stuck in traffic so I did some playing with the sound system. It's just ok, but nothing special. Really hard to get the bass-treble balanced across a variety of sources. At least one can setup configs for each main media source (e.g. Radio/CD/Bluetooth). I got NPR dialed in - but flipping tracks between REM, Buddy Guy, and Benny Green left me annoyed at the button pushes I had to make to get each sounding good. The Nak head + Focal components in my 993 sounded better, frankly. Will need to do some research on how to tweak this more, as I'm sure there's something I'm missing.
SPASM Ground Clearance: The car measures exactly the same as my 993 (lowered to Euro RS height) as far as ground clearance - and I have been able to navigate everywhere I used to with no problems. Even though the lip extends much further than the 993 (approach angle is lower), it seems to be manageable without FAL. I'll also say that the parking sensors are spot on and warn you if you get close to scraping (going slowly). They go off pulling into my driveway with about 1/2" clearance.
Standard Bi-Xenon Headlights: Bright and clear - they are actually better than the LEDs in my MDX and my wife's Land Rover.
Alignment: I think the car may need to be aligned. It's ever-so-slightly pulling left. Anyone know if the cars are aligned at the dealer before delivery?
Question: I have individual mode selected with Sport+ on, but Sport Suspension off. The car feels stiffer than in Normal mode...does anyone know if it should feel the same (e.g. it's all in my head?) The Manual isn't really clear here.
Thanks for reading!
Rear Glass Sucking Sound: Found the culprit! There was a little piece of white plastic sheeting stuck in the roof-rail. My guess is that this was being sucked into the slipstream at highway speeds and causing the low-freq noise. Pulled it out and no more noise :-) Not sure how it got in there, factory?
Bose: So-so. I drove the car to work this morning and got stuck in traffic so I did some playing with the sound system. It's just ok, but nothing special. Really hard to get the bass-treble balanced across a variety of sources. At least one can setup configs for each main media source (e.g. Radio/CD/Bluetooth). I got NPR dialed in - but flipping tracks between REM, Buddy Guy, and Benny Green left me annoyed at the button pushes I had to make to get each sounding good. The Nak head + Focal components in my 993 sounded better, frankly. Will need to do some research on how to tweak this more, as I'm sure there's something I'm missing.
SPASM Ground Clearance: The car measures exactly the same as my 993 (lowered to Euro RS height) as far as ground clearance - and I have been able to navigate everywhere I used to with no problems. Even though the lip extends much further than the 993 (approach angle is lower), it seems to be manageable without FAL. I'll also say that the parking sensors are spot on and warn you if you get close to scraping (going slowly). They go off pulling into my driveway with about 1/2" clearance.
Standard Bi-Xenon Headlights: Bright and clear - they are actually better than the LEDs in my MDX and my wife's Land Rover.
Alignment: I think the car may need to be aligned. It's ever-so-slightly pulling left. Anyone know if the cars are aligned at the dealer before delivery?
Question: I have individual mode selected with Sport+ on, but Sport Suspension off. The car feels stiffer than in Normal mode...does anyone know if it should feel the same (e.g. it's all in my head?) The Manual isn't really clear here.
Thanks for reading!
03-12-2018, 10:29 PM
#39
Rennlist Member
Sport + stiffens the engine/drivetrain mounts so i bet the car is stiffer even if your suspension is in normal mode.
I also could not tell a huge difference between base sound system and bose. The stock is not terrible, the bose isnt great. Both kind of average.
I also could not tell a huge difference between base sound system and bose. The stock is not terrible, the bose isnt great. Both kind of average.
03-12-2018, 10:40 PM
#40
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
cheers!
03-12-2018, 10:46 PM
#41
Rennlist Member
I believe mounts settings are progressively stiffer with each mode. Iirc this is described in the sport chrono package on the configurator for non T models
03-13-2018, 12:01 PM
#42
Rennlist Member
SPASM Ground Clearance: The car measures exactly the same as my 993 (lowered to Euro RS height) as far as ground clearance - and I have been able to navigate everywhere I used to with no problems. Even though the lip extends much further than the 993 (approach angle is lower), it seems to be manageable without FAL. I'll also say that the parking sensors are spot on and warn you if you get close to scraping (going slowly). They go off pulling into my driveway with about 1/2" clearance.
03-13-2018, 04:56 PM
#43
Drifting
03-13-2018, 04:59 PM
#44
Drifting
I saw in a Nick Murray video that the pops, crackles and burbles only happen when in Sport mode, not in Normal or Sport+ modes.
I'm a big kid and like the pops & crackles, so will probably have Sport mode and PSE on most of the time!
03-13-2018, 05:03 PM
#45
Drifting
Some more:
SPASM Ground Clearance: The car measures exactly the same as my 993 (lowered to Euro RS height) as far as ground clearance - and I have been able to navigate everywhere I used to with no problems. Even though the lip extends much further than the 993 (approach angle is lower), it seems to be manageable without FAL. I'll also say that the parking sensors are spot on and warn you if you get close to scraping (going slowly). They go off pulling into my driveway with about 1/2" clearance.
Standard Bi-Xenon Headlights: Bright and clear - they are actually better than the LEDs in my MDX and my wife's Land Rover...
Thanks for reading!
SPASM Ground Clearance: The car measures exactly the same as my 993 (lowered to Euro RS height) as far as ground clearance - and I have been able to navigate everywhere I used to with no problems. Even though the lip extends much further than the 993 (approach angle is lower), it seems to be manageable without FAL. I'll also say that the parking sensors are spot on and warn you if you get close to scraping (going slowly). They go off pulling into my driveway with about 1/2" clearance.
Standard Bi-Xenon Headlights: Bright and clear - they are actually better than the LEDs in my MDX and my wife's Land Rover...
Thanks for reading!
All good to hear! You're really whetting my appetite for my incoming T!