street rod

Searched but could not find what I wanted so you guy's school me on what are the big advantages or disadvantages of going with at 991.1 VS a 991.2? I have driven both and been following the market because I am looking to buy one soon.

GoTime

Tons of threads but in short, the .2 has turbos (all models) and a more modern entertainment system/interior. Lots of small differences but that’s probably the biggest 2.

rich c4s

There's a good PCA TECH TACTICS video comparing the two with Nathan and Rob.

street rod

Thanks Rich will check that out.

Jim986

Not surprised your search didn’t turn up what you were looking for. My searches Rarely turn up anything helpful on Rennlist. Do a YouTube search and you’ll find tons of comparisons. If you’ve driven both you must have an idea which you preferred. The twin turbo 991.2 makes a lot of low end torque and is a lot faster. Looks are subjective but I like the changes to the .2. Electronics are better and it has Apple CarPlay.

The .1 guys will chime in and say it sounds better but really the .2 with sports exhaust sounds pretty good to me ha ha.

street rod

Thanks GoTime and Jim, As Jim noted I felt like the low end torque on the .2 was a noticeable difference but the exhaust note especially over 4K on the NA .1 was better. Is there any real reliability differences?

awittig

They are both very reliable platforms. The early .2's had issues with the water pumps leaking, but it was so prevalent that Porsche extended the warranty on the water pumps for 10 years,

bkrantz

Advantage of 991.1? You can watch the 991.2 in front of you (at least for a while).

Jack F

This has been discussed many times. Google is the best way for my to search. Put in the buzz words and then rennlist.com. Lots to read.

tmarino

This whole subject has been discussed at length over and over on all 911 forums. The .2 turbo guys swear by them as it’s easier to crank a lot of HP out of these engines whereas there are limitations with the .1 NA cars.

The NA cars definitely have the best soundtrack on the road and the handling of either is subjective to the driver. As most 911’s never hit the track, gobs of HP that you ring out of a turbo is nothing but bragging rights and nothing more.

Keep in mind that most 911 owners lust for the GT cars, ALL of which are NA cars. I just watched the GT Cup race last week and all the GT RSR cars are screaming NA machines, not a turbo in sight. Yes these are 4.0L machines, as compared to the 3.8L on most street machines, but the sound of these cannot be duplicated.

Most 911’s that are street or road driven cars can never even reach the small potential that they are capable of unless pushed to the limits safely on the track.

conemasher

I have both a 991.1S and a 991.2T. Both are manual. My 991.1S has sport chrono, sport exhaust (PSE), PASM sport and 14 way seats. The 991.2T comes standard with sport chrono, sport exhaust and PASM sport. My 991.2T has 18 way seats. Here's a back to back comparison:

• Power: .1 is way down on power below 4500 rpm compared to the .2. The .2 has more low end torque whereas the .1 you won't feel the power until you hit higher rpm. At higher rpms, both cars pull hard.
• Sound: Both cars with PSE. The .1 sounds better than .2 but the .2 still sounds good with all the turbo sounds. The .1 has very slight drone around 2500-3000 rpm when cruising on the highway with PSE enabled whereas the .2 didn't have any such drone. From inside the cabin, the .1 is slightly louder.
• Looks: I prefer the rear of the .1 and the front of the .2 with the updated DRL.
• Seats: This has nothing to do with .1 vs .2 comparison but I wanted to throw this in here. I prefer the 14 way seats. The 18 way seats feel pinched around the shoulder area. Both have good bolstering and support for autocross/track driving.
• PDK: I've never driven a 911 with PDK so I can't help here. Maybe someone else can chime in with any differences between .1 and .2 PDK.
• Manual Transmission/Clutch: The clutch is noticeable stiffer on .1 than .2. However, the shifter feels lighter and easier to get into gears in the .1 strangely. I'm smoother shifting the .1 which leads to the next point.
• Throttle Response: Considerably better in the .1 being naturally aspirated. When down shifting and rev matching in the .1, I kept over revving because I was used to the muted throttle response of the .2. With the .2, there's a slight delay when you press on the gas pedal before the car reacts and how much throttle is applied. When downshifting in the .2, I have to really stab the throttle to rev match.
• Tech: My .1 doesn't have parking sensors, backup camera, blind spot sensors, Apple CarPlay or Porsche wifi Gateway that the .2 has. The Porsche wifi lets you connect to the car to pull telemetry data for racing. .1 must be optioned with park assist. There are aftermarket alternatives to get the backup camera and CarPlay.
• Suspension: I had both cars setup with the same tires and same alignment for autocross (pitiful -1.5 camber in the front and 0 toe). Even with the age gap they felt identical on the street and at the limit during autocross, which is to say they both felt fantastic.
• Other considerations for Autocross/Track:
  • Traction Control: Can't be fully disabled on the non-GT .2 cars I believe. In really tight turns and hair pins, I would mash the gas pedal to see if I could throttle steer and get the rear to rotate but no throttle would be applied. Only after unwinding the wheel would it apply throttle. This was with traction control fully disabled. On the .1, I don't believe any such limitation exists. I can roll onto the throttle early and there's no power cut. During one PCA autocross event that had really tight turns, I drove mostly in first gear in the .2. As I was exiting corners, I rolled onto the gas pedal and kept it there but the car would only apply throttle as the steering wheel was opened up. Then when entering another tight corner and cranking the steering wheel it would kill throttle even with the gas still applied. This gave me a strange rubber banding sensation.
  • Launching: Way easier to launch on the .2 with the soft limiter at idle and the smoother clutch engagement. I don't think the .1 has a soft limiter and for some reason I had a hard time getting consistent good launches because the clutch didn't engage progressively and felt more abrupt.
  • Driving Dynamics: .1 feels more natural given the lack of turbos, better throttle response and no nannies interfering.
• Street Driving: .2 has more power and tech and is newer. This would be my choice for daily driving. At partial throttle, both cars feel quick. If you're hammering it in low rpm's, then you'll want the power of the .2. Otherwise, the .1 felt just as quick when accelerating from a stop.
• Autocross/Track/Spirited Driving: Both are fun but the .1 edges out the .2 for me (refer to points above).
• Reliability: I bought both cars as CPO. No major issues with either car. I need to take the .2 in for broken engine deck lid supports and intermittent issues with the driver window switch. The .1 has peeling leather dash. These are all covered under CPO warranty.

You can't go wrong with either car. Just depends which you would enjoy a little bit more depending on your priorities.

I can answer any questions you may have. Good luck!

tmarino

Awesome side by side comparison. Thanks

Tier1Terrier

991.2 has the availability of RAS (Rear Axle Steering).which I do not believe was available on the .1.

Jim986

WoW, that’s quite a bias endorsement for a 991.1. I think I’m going to sell my faster, more technically advanced, better looking 991.2 and get one ha ha. But seriously the Porsche Turbo has always been the pinnacle of the Porsche lineup. Now that Porsche is turbocharging all its 911’s it’s a bad thing?

street rod

Conemasher thanks for the extensive comparison. This was super helpful. Coming from the 997 world this same debate exists from .1 to .2. However when they changed from the M97 engine in the .1 to the NA1 in the .2 the debate was really over. It deleted the dreaded IMS shaft and bearing along with having 40% less moving parts and DFI technology. In the 991 world it seems things are much different with two pretty bulletproof platforms and the obvious change from NA to turbo engines. I feel like I really can't go wrong and it almost comes down to the vaunted NA flat 6 sound and simplicity with a lower price point VS some upgraded styling/technology and a turbo platform that can be tuned. I am never selling my 997.2 manual but think whichever 991 I end up with will be a perfect complement being so different and enjoying the more advanced 991 some days and the more analog 997 on others. As a side note I also think the 991 will make a much better touring car for longer trips.