Carrera T Rennlister Review
03-04-2018, 11:55 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Carrera T Rennlister Review
All,
Let's post our reviews...here's mine after ~100miles....
I know everyone is excited to hear first driving impressions of the Carrera T. I did about 50 miles today with my daughter, some mixed roads, and an unexpected emergency maneuver on I-10 when a block of wood fell out of a pickup a few meters ahead of us.
First, the transmission/shifter. It's a delight...once it's warmed up. This is somewhat similar to my 993, but moreso. I noticed a distinct difference in the shifting after about 20 min. The transmission is highly notchy and deliberate until warm - but then is butter smooth. The major challenge for me is the 4-5 shift. I missed it 4 times today. Not going fast enough to matter (break-in, you know) but the centering spring in the shifter is very strong, and you have to be deliberate about the push to 5/6/7. Otherwise, you'll miss it. I also stalled twice today (the clutch is so light that it really surprises me coming from my lightweight flywheel in the 993), and the clutch push/restart process is really terrible in my opinion. If I'm honest, I looked like a greenie with my learners permit. The car jerked around and it was totally embarrassing.
Seats. I love them. The material is really different. It's not your typical GM fabric seat, and it's not at all the cloth you remember from the 70s. I have the 4 ways, and they are super comfortable, and hold side-to-side wonderfully without being hot in the Texas sun. Feel's like uber seat-belt material and exudes quality. Seat heaters don't seem to work as well with the Sport-Tex as the leather seats I sampled prior to purchase...wlll have these looked at during first service.
Right-height. Perfect (for the most part) Part of today's test-run was to try some typical roads that I haunt and check out the clearance. I don't have FAL. The car has a pronounced forward rake, but the only place I scraped was backing up (straight) into my driveway. Everywhere else, no problem whatsovever. Unlike my friends with 430s, the rear-end clearance is temendous - no scraping the diffuser here.
Sound. It's very different than my 993. My dog actually barks at the car in anger! But the sport exhaust on is phenomenal. I love it. Wish there was a way to run in sport mode with no farting. It's fine in Sport+ but, sport is goofy. If anyone knows settings in individual mode to disable, I'm all ears. The lightweight glass seems to make a "sucking" noise above 80mph that I never heard in the other 991s I've driven. The sound deadening is also marketly absent. This car is *loud*. See tires below.
Suspension. Sublime (almost). In Normal/Sport it's a bit softer than my 993 with Bilistein HD/Factory M030 at Euro RS ride height. Sport+ is a good bit stiffer. The biggest thing I notice is that the chassis is *much* stiffer than my 993. And I mean *much* siffer. The car transissitions left/right in a slalom perfectly flat in Sport+. It's totally uncanny. Feels exactly like the SPASM Carrera S + RAS car I drove a month ago...and it still blows me away. Porsche has come a long way in 20+ years.
Tires. My car was delivered on P-Zeros. Not a fan. They are loud. Hit some rain today and they were a bit squirly at the limit. I'll need to do some experimenting with Tire pressures to get where I want to be with these. I'll say that they do have a good progressive feel as you break the back-end loose. In an empty parking lot makeshift skidpad they were easy to read. I still prefer MPS4S though.
Engine: I don't know if I think the car has faster/better throttle response than other Carreras. I think the sport-chrono has an impact, as response is definitely different in sport/sport+ mode. The final-drive gearing is a bit quicker than in the base car, but it's splitting hairs. I *do* feel like the car is geared better than my stock G50/993 which I have extensive seat time in. Part of that is the torque of the engine, but part of it is simply a better match to the dynamics of the engine. I always wished the 993 had a shorter 2nd and 3rd gear, the C-T feels much more "right" in 2-3. (I'll confess a few 5K runs in the 1st 100 miles).
Ergos: (1) GT sport steering wheel is not quite thick enough. Would love one or two more wraps. My Acura MDX is better - thickness-wise. (2) Shifter - geometry of the thing is just perfect. Falls effortlessly into the hand. Other comments above. (3) Door strap pull - perfect. Every time I use it I feel even more emotion for the car. Just wonderfully executed. (4) lightweight glass - maybe it's mental, but I do feel like the car feels lighter and more tossable with it :-) (5) Visibility - I knew this would be great having driven other 991s, but coming from a 993 with its excellent visibility, I am very happy to say that the Carrera T is every bit its equal.
Sales/Delivery - Finally - I cannot say enough about the great service and experience I had with John Wright (Rennlist sponsor!) at Porsche North Houston. I will honestly say that I would not own this car without his efforts. When I contacted John in late Dec after having spent a month with another dealer negotiating a car, he was upfront, honest, and gave me a straight answer in 2 days. We made the deal by emails - and he and the PNH team honored it the entire way through. I have since learned that this is the norm with PNH and that they are one of the very few enthusiast devoted dealerships in NA. He and his team's attention to detail on my custom work (steering wheel inserts, custom dash trim) were just fantastic. I know it may sound trite, but if you are in the market for a P-car, any P-car - I can wholeheartedly recommend John and PNH. Just an overall fantastic buying experience.
cheers!
Let's post our reviews...here's mine after ~100miles....
I know everyone is excited to hear first driving impressions of the Carrera T. I did about 50 miles today with my daughter, some mixed roads, and an unexpected emergency maneuver on I-10 when a block of wood fell out of a pickup a few meters ahead of us.
First, the transmission/shifter. It's a delight...once it's warmed up. This is somewhat similar to my 993, but moreso. I noticed a distinct difference in the shifting after about 20 min. The transmission is highly notchy and deliberate until warm - but then is butter smooth. The major challenge for me is the 4-5 shift. I missed it 4 times today. Not going fast enough to matter (break-in, you know) but the centering spring in the shifter is very strong, and you have to be deliberate about the push to 5/6/7. Otherwise, you'll miss it. I also stalled twice today (the clutch is so light that it really surprises me coming from my lightweight flywheel in the 993), and the clutch push/restart process is really terrible in my opinion. If I'm honest, I looked like a greenie with my learners permit. The car jerked around and it was totally embarrassing.
Seats. I love them. The material is really different. It's not your typical GM fabric seat, and it's not at all the cloth you remember from the 70s. I have the 4 ways, and they are super comfortable, and hold side-to-side wonderfully without being hot in the Texas sun. Feel's like uber seat-belt material and exudes quality. Seat heaters don't seem to work as well with the Sport-Tex as the leather seats I sampled prior to purchase...wlll have these looked at during first service.
Right-height. Perfect (for the most part) Part of today's test-run was to try some typical roads that I haunt and check out the clearance. I don't have FAL. The car has a pronounced forward rake, but the only place I scraped was backing up (straight) into my driveway. Everywhere else, no problem whatsovever. Unlike my friends with 430s, the rear-end clearance is temendous - no scraping the diffuser here.
Sound. It's very different than my 993. My dog actually barks at the car in anger! But the sport exhaust on is phenomenal. I love it. Wish there was a way to run in sport mode with no farting. It's fine in Sport+ but, sport is goofy. If anyone knows settings in individual mode to disable, I'm all ears. The lightweight glass seems to make a "sucking" noise above 80mph that I never heard in the other 991s I've driven. The sound deadening is also marketly absent. This car is *loud*. See tires below.
Suspension. Sublime (almost). In Normal/Sport it's a bit softer than my 993 with Bilistein HD/Factory M030 at Euro RS ride height. Sport+ is a good bit stiffer. The biggest thing I notice is that the chassis is *much* stiffer than my 993. And I mean *much* siffer. The car transissitions left/right in a slalom perfectly flat in Sport+. It's totally uncanny. Feels exactly like the SPASM Carrera S + RAS car I drove a month ago...and it still blows me away. Porsche has come a long way in 20+ years.
Tires. My car was delivered on P-Zeros. Not a fan. They are loud. Hit some rain today and they were a bit squirly at the limit. I'll need to do some experimenting with Tire pressures to get where I want to be with these. I'll say that they do have a good progressive feel as you break the back-end loose. In an empty parking lot makeshift skidpad they were easy to read. I still prefer MPS4S though.
Engine: I don't know if I think the car has faster/better throttle response than other Carreras. I think the sport-chrono has an impact, as response is definitely different in sport/sport+ mode. The final-drive gearing is a bit quicker than in the base car, but it's splitting hairs. I *do* feel like the car is geared better than my stock G50/993 which I have extensive seat time in. Part of that is the torque of the engine, but part of it is simply a better match to the dynamics of the engine. I always wished the 993 had a shorter 2nd and 3rd gear, the C-T feels much more "right" in 2-3. (I'll confess a few 5K runs in the 1st 100 miles).
Ergos: (1) GT sport steering wheel is not quite thick enough. Would love one or two more wraps. My Acura MDX is better - thickness-wise. (2) Shifter - geometry of the thing is just perfect. Falls effortlessly into the hand. Other comments above. (3) Door strap pull - perfect. Every time I use it I feel even more emotion for the car. Just wonderfully executed. (4) lightweight glass - maybe it's mental, but I do feel like the car feels lighter and more tossable with it :-) (5) Visibility - I knew this would be great having driven other 991s, but coming from a 993 with its excellent visibility, I am very happy to say that the Carrera T is every bit its equal.
Sales/Delivery - Finally - I cannot say enough about the great service and experience I had with John Wright (Rennlist sponsor!) at Porsche North Houston. I will honestly say that I would not own this car without his efforts. When I contacted John in late Dec after having spent a month with another dealer negotiating a car, he was upfront, honest, and gave me a straight answer in 2 days. We made the deal by emails - and he and the PNH team honored it the entire way through. I have since learned that this is the norm with PNH and that they are one of the very few enthusiast devoted dealerships in NA. He and his team's attention to detail on my custom work (steering wheel inserts, custom dash trim) were just fantastic. I know it may sound trite, but if you are in the market for a P-car, any P-car - I can wholeheartedly recommend John and PNH. Just an overall fantastic buying experience.
cheers!
Last edited by 911-TOUR; 03-05-2018 at 01:13 AM.
03-05-2018, 12:01 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Thanks for sharing! Bringing back memories of those cold starts in my 993s! Pics please!
03-05-2018, 12:08 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
03-05-2018, 12:22 AM
#5
Track Day
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I totally agree about the clutch. I’ve had a 2017 911 for over a year and still hate starting from a dead stop with this clutch and pedal. I rev it to 1.5k or 2k rpms and ride the clutch a bit to avoid stalling. Very different from my other cars. Thanks for the review!
03-05-2018, 12:23 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
It was a very difficult decision to sell the 993. I honestly thought I'd be buried with that car. My dad had a 911T, and that was the first car I remember, and probably the reason I fell in love with Porsche. When the Carrera T appeared, I waffled and weaved for weeks. I made the decision over thanksgiving last fall, and while I was nervous, the aesthetic and philosophy is what really drew me in. Other cars are faster, other Carrera's are similar. But for me the Carrera T represents heritage - and thats why I wanted it.
Now that it's in my garage, I can say that it lives up to every one of my expectations. I'd love to meet the person at Porsche that approved this car - and thank him/her personally. For me this car is part of a 40+ year journey, and regardless of whether you think it's a parts-bin special, or the second-coming (as it is, obviously!) - it demonstrates that Porsche *is* sports cars for enthusiasts. They may make many other products, but the heart of the company is a simple, lightweight, purposeful car. The 911.
EDIT - I'll add, my daughter wrote a song about the car on Saturday night while we were away camping...how many other cars would inspire a 9-year old like that...and I remember that feeling as a child with my father cruising the Utah mountains. Porsche builds magic, and they are still doing it.
cheers!
03-05-2018, 12:34 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
Wow! That just about sums it up.
I am thrilled to hear you say that, especially in the context of your past experience.
If anything, I am even more excited now, awaiting for my own.
Thank you Sean!
I am thrilled to hear you say that, especially in the context of your past experience.
If anything, I am even more excited now, awaiting for my own.
Thank you Sean!
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03-05-2018, 02:58 AM
#9
Enjoyed reading your review, thanks for sharing!! Looking forward to photos and more driving impressions. The T really seems like an awesome kit.
I agree with you on the P-Zeros, I have them on my .2 C4 and in cold weather they do get squirrely very fast, especially in wet conditions. If I was keeping my C4 I would also switch to MPS4S.
One thing I was looking forward to, especially coming from your 993, was your impressions on the engine, specifically the power delivery, turbo noise, etc... Many malign the 3.0L 9A2 motor compared with the 991.1 gen because it's turbocharged, smaller displacement, not as "raspy". I am not in that camp and consider the new base engine to be a masterpiece actually. Since you didn't own a 991.1 but still had the NA 993, would be cool to get your thoughts.
I agree with you on the P-Zeros, I have them on my .2 C4 and in cold weather they do get squirrely very fast, especially in wet conditions. If I was keeping my C4 I would also switch to MPS4S.
One thing I was looking forward to, especially coming from your 993, was your impressions on the engine, specifically the power delivery, turbo noise, etc... Many malign the 3.0L 9A2 motor compared with the 991.1 gen because it's turbocharged, smaller displacement, not as "raspy". I am not in that camp and consider the new base engine to be a masterpiece actually. Since you didn't own a 991.1 but still had the NA 993, would be cool to get your thoughts.
03-05-2018, 03:08 AM
#10
That’s nothing, I had a full sheet of plywood go airborne from a truck in the second lefternmost lane while I was in the full left lane in my Boxster at 80mph with the top down ...I stomped on it and the sheet missed the windshield and spoiler by maybe an inch or two ...was closer than comfort to getting decapitated.
03-05-2018, 08:24 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
Alex,
It was a very difficult decision to sell the 993. I honestly thought I'd be buried with that car. My dad had a 911T, and that was the first car I remember, and probably the reason I fell in love with Porsche. When the Carrera T appeared, I waffled and weaved for weeks. I made the decision over thanksgiving last fall, and while I was nervous, the aesthetic and philosophy is what really drew me in. Other cars are faster, other Carrera's are similar. But for me the Carrera T represents heritage - and thats why I wanted it.
Now that it's in my garage, I can say that it lives up to every one of my expectations. I'd love to meet the person at Porsche that approved this car - and thank him/her personally. For me this car is part of a 40+ year journey, and regardless of whether you think it's a parts-bin special, or the second-coming (as it is, obviously!) - it demonstrates that Porsche *is* sports cars for enthusiasts. They may make many other products, but the heart of the company is a simple, lightweight, purposeful car. The 911.
EDIT - I'll add, my daughter wrote a song about the car on Saturday night while we were away camping...how many other cars would inspire a 9-year old like that...and I remember that feeling as a child with my father cruising the Utah mountains. Porsche builds magic, and they are still doing it.
cheers!
It was a very difficult decision to sell the 993. I honestly thought I'd be buried with that car. My dad had a 911T, and that was the first car I remember, and probably the reason I fell in love with Porsche. When the Carrera T appeared, I waffled and weaved for weeks. I made the decision over thanksgiving last fall, and while I was nervous, the aesthetic and philosophy is what really drew me in. Other cars are faster, other Carrera's are similar. But for me the Carrera T represents heritage - and thats why I wanted it.
Now that it's in my garage, I can say that it lives up to every one of my expectations. I'd love to meet the person at Porsche that approved this car - and thank him/her personally. For me this car is part of a 40+ year journey, and regardless of whether you think it's a parts-bin special, or the second-coming (as it is, obviously!) - it demonstrates that Porsche *is* sports cars for enthusiasts. They may make many other products, but the heart of the company is a simple, lightweight, purposeful car. The 911.
EDIT - I'll add, my daughter wrote a song about the car on Saturday night while we were away camping...how many other cars would inspire a 9-year old like that...and I remember that feeling as a child with my father cruising the Utah mountains. Porsche builds magic, and they are still doing it.
cheers!
03-05-2018, 09:04 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
Thank you 911-TOUR for the terrific review!
A couple questions. The "sucking" the lightweight glass gives off at 80mph+ is that just wind noise or something else?
Also one of the reviewers in a mag mentioned the really short 1st gear, what have you experienced?
Is the PSE poping and crackling pretty annoying or were you just not used to it?
A couple questions. The "sucking" the lightweight glass gives off at 80mph+ is that just wind noise or something else?
Also one of the reviewers in a mag mentioned the really short 1st gear, what have you experienced?
Is the PSE poping and crackling pretty annoying or were you just not used to it?
03-05-2018, 10:51 AM
#13
Pro
Same here yesterday. A pickup truck in front of, thankfully a healthy distance, had a blowout and tire pieces went in every direction. The steel wheel ignited at the same time. Fortunately at 6:30am on a Sunday I could go hard left and cover 3 lanes of empty highway to avoid the shrapnel.
RE exhaust burps. In my GTS I get it in Sport mode only, Sport+ does not burp. If I turn off the PSE in Sport mode I get the driving experience without the audible experience.
RE exhaust burps. In my GTS I get it in Sport mode only, Sport+ does not burp. If I turn off the PSE in Sport mode I get the driving experience without the audible experience.
