7,500 Miles & 2.5 years Retrospective 2017 GTS
07-02-2024, 04:21 PM
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8,000 Miles & 2.5 years Retrospective 2017 GTS
A friend is searching for a late model Porsche car (You know who you are!) and we are discussing the various models, from the 997.2 to the 992. I want him to by the best possible Porsche car and get the most value for his money. This has spurred me to construct this mini-treatise on the benefits of the 991.2 (2017 – 2019) Porsche car over the other Porsche 911 models. Can't seem to post the attachment.
A friend is searching for a late model Porsche car (You know who you are!) and we are discussing the various models, from the 997.2 to the 992. I want him to by the best possible Porsche car and get the most value for his money. This has spurred me to construct this mini-treatise on the benefits of the 991.2 (2017 – 2019) Porsche car over the other Porsche 911 models. I will try be brief, albeit not my strong suit.
Is the 991.2 the perfect car? There is no perfect car, although I submit the 991.2 comes very close. This model has been panned occasionally, in my opinion, mostly by those that don't own one, and perennial armchair critics, as too big with the 991.2 GTS seen as gargantuan with its wide body, a mere 2” wider than the Carrera S. They also wax poetic about the reports of sporadic water pump failures. It can happen, but the effects are not earth shattering. Having had the car about a month, I had the water pump repaired under warranty, and "while you are in there", the serpentine belt and an idler pulley were replaced by my six (6) star Master Tech Gary, now residing at Independent Motorcars in the Miramar District of San Diego https://independentmotorcars.com.
In the earliest batches of the 991.2, water pump failures were not uncommon. This former water pump “issue" has become a non-issue, being addressed by Porsche with a revised water design. It is so good, that if a Porsche 991.2 car should suffer a water pump leak, noting this event is generally not a catastrophic failure, simply take the car to a Porsche dealer and have the faulty water pump replaced by the latest design, and feel compensated for any inconvenience, as the latest design is warrantied for 10 years. Assuming the car is under a CPO or extended aftermarket warranty, there will be little to no charge for this service. This problem is minor compared to problems seen on some earlier Porsche cars such a bore scoring, IMS failures, etc. In the interests of brevity, I'll not delve deeper into this topic.
Other than the water pump leak, noting I didn’t classify the event as a failure, merely an inconvenience, in the subsequent, almost 2 years of ownership, and having tacked on 6,000 miles on the odometer, including 3 track days, the car has been flawless. I routinely drive the PDK equipped car in the Sport Mode with the Sport Exhaust engaged. For my amusement, from time to time, I’ll drop the car into its Sport Chrono Sport + mode, and experience the car immediately morphing into a beast. With moderate throttle application, the car automatically shifts to the next higher gears at 4,000 RPM, choose to “floor it” from the get-go, the car goes to 7,500 RPM Red Line in the first 6 gears, with memorable snappy up shifts followed by the same quality of down shifts as you decelerate. If you have the moxie to take the car to Red Line in 6th gear, you be going over 150 MPH. But fear not, with monster Brembo 6 piston front calipers with 350mm dia. front rotors matched with Brembo 4 piston rear calipers, with 330mm dia. in the rear, fully functioning ABS, the car will stop aggressively.
When I take the car out on the road, I drive it in the mid-range Sport mode, as opposed to the mild Normal Mode, and the aggressive Sport + Mode, and get 27 miles per gallon, all the while, I am sporting a grin plastered across my face...that has been my experience for every mile driven to date, in my 2017 Porsche GTS.
I can't seem to detect a flaw in my car with 26,000 miles, 6,000 of those acquired under my tutelage. Based on my experience with my 991.2 GTS car to date, were I to find myself in the car market once again, I be happy to acquire any iteration of the 991.2 models, be it Carrera, Carrera S and or the Carrera GTS and especially the 991.2 GTS Targa, my personal favorite.
Assuming you’re in the market, and can find a low mileage 991.2 car, less than 20,000 miles, strongly consider it. For peace of mind, especially seeing that you’ll be spending from $90,000 for the base Carrera, to up to 1 Ŋ times that amount for a 991.2 Carrera GTS Targa, consider purchasing the car from a Porsche dealer as a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) car with a 2-year warranty. Or purchase the from a private party as a former CPO car with X months of warranty remaining. At the time of purchase, when the car’s mileage is as low as it will ever be, consider purchasing an additional 3-year warranty that would kick in when the CPO warranty expires. I bought a “Premium” $100 deductible, Fidelity warranty from RENNLIST Supporter Michael Bernardo. I paid about $2,900 for this. mbernardo1111@gmail.com Or have a thorough PPI done at a premier shop such as Independent Motorcars, if it passes, get a Fidelity warranty.
Another idea to optimize performance and maybe save some money over purchasing a 991.2 GTS, consider buying a 997.2 base model, probably at least $20,000 cheaper, and doing the following mods:
ˇ Buy and install an electronic tune, maybe go “mild” so as to not overly stress to car, or,
ˇ Once again get an electronic tune, upgrade the 991.2 Base turbos to at least for those found on the 991.2 GTS, or even aftermarket turbos for even greater boost,
ˇ Upgrade the intercoolers, such as ones offered by AMS Performance:
ˇ Install performance “cats”, SOUL Performance,
ˇ If the car lacks Sport Exhaust, see SOUL performance.
ˇ Swap out the 991.2 Base brakes for the larger calipers and rotors offered on the 991.2 Carrera, or better yet, the 991.2 GTS. Or upgrade the stock rotors to GiroDisc 2-piece rotors that run cooler, are at least 5 lbs. per corner lighter and are rebuildable when the time comes as the rotors and hats may be acquired separately. Based on personal experience, I recommend Clark Hamerly chamerly@apexperformance.net. Clark is a long time RENNLIST supporter, and is good at his job, representing various manufactures of Porsche high performance parts.
ˇ Consider a center radiator kit from Suncoast Porsche to cool down that radiator water. I installed one, about $800 and the labor to install it.
ˇ Search the Forums for some other engine parts that can be upgraded on “while you are in there” basis.
With an electronic tune, this 991.2 Base will be putting out at least 525 HP, possibly more and increased torque as well. It will be an epic “sleeper” providing maximin fun for the car’s driver and occasional passenger.
Don’t talk about it, do it!
6,000 Mile Retrospective:
My 2017 Porsche Carrera GTS
My 2017 Porsche Carrera GTS
A friend is searching for a late model Porsche car (You know who you are!) and we are discussing the various models, from the 997.2 to the 992. I want him to by the best possible Porsche car and get the most value for his money. This has spurred me to construct this mini-treatise on the benefits of the 991.2 (2017 – 2019) Porsche car over the other Porsche 911 models. I will try be brief, albeit not my strong suit.
Is the 991.2 the perfect car? There is no perfect car, although I submit the 991.2 comes very close. This model has been panned occasionally, in my opinion, mostly by those that don't own one, and perennial armchair critics, as too big with the 991.2 GTS seen as gargantuan with its wide body, a mere 2” wider than the Carrera S. They also wax poetic about the reports of sporadic water pump failures. It can happen, but the effects are not earth shattering. Having had the car about a month, I had the water pump repaired under warranty, and "while you are in there", the serpentine belt and an idler pulley were replaced by my six (6) star Master Tech Gary, now residing at Independent Motorcars in the Miramar District of San Diego https://independentmotorcars.com.
In the earliest batches of the 991.2, water pump failures were not uncommon. This former water pump “issue" has become a non-issue, being addressed by Porsche with a revised water design. It is so good, that if a Porsche 991.2 car should suffer a water pump leak, noting this event is generally not a catastrophic failure, simply take the car to a Porsche dealer and have the faulty water pump replaced by the latest design, and feel compensated for any inconvenience, as the latest design is warrantied for 10 years. Assuming the car is under a CPO or extended aftermarket warranty, there will be little to no charge for this service. This problem is minor compared to problems seen on some earlier Porsche cars such a bore scoring, IMS failures, etc. In the interests of brevity, I'll not delve deeper into this topic.
Other than the water pump leak, noting I didn’t classify the event as a failure, merely an inconvenience, in the subsequent, almost 2 years of ownership, and having tacked on 6,000 miles on the odometer, including 3 track days, the car has been flawless. I routinely drive the PDK equipped car in the Sport Mode with the Sport Exhaust engaged. For my amusement, from time to time, I’ll drop the car into its Sport Chrono Sport + mode, and experience the car immediately morphing into a beast. With moderate throttle application, the car automatically shifts to the next higher gears at 4,000 RPM, choose to “floor it” from the get-go, the car goes to 7,500 RPM Red Line in the first 6 gears, with memorable snappy up shifts followed by the same quality of down shifts as you decelerate. If you have the moxie to take the car to Red Line in 6th gear, you be going over 150 MPH. But fear not, with monster Brembo 6 piston front calipers with 350mm dia. front rotors matched with Brembo 4 piston rear calipers, with 330mm dia. in the rear, fully functioning ABS, the car will stop aggressively.
When I take the car out on the road, I drive it in the mid-range Sport mode, as opposed to the mild Normal Mode, and the aggressive Sport + Mode, and get 27 miles per gallon, all the while, I am sporting a grin plastered across my face...that has been my experience for every mile driven to date, in my 2017 Porsche GTS.
I can't seem to detect a flaw in my car with 26,000 miles, 6,000 of those acquired under my tutelage. Based on my experience with my 991.2 GTS car to date, were I to find myself in the car market once again, I be happy to acquire any iteration of the 991.2 models, be it Carrera, Carrera S and or the Carrera GTS and especially the 991.2 GTS Targa, my personal favorite.
Assuming you’re in the market, and can find a low mileage 991.2 car, less than 20,000 miles, strongly consider it. For peace of mind, especially seeing that you’ll be spending from $90,000 for the base Carrera, to up to 1 Ŋ times that amount for a 991.2 Carrera GTS Targa, consider purchasing the car from a Porsche dealer as a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) car with a 2-year warranty. Or purchase the from a private party as a former CPO car with X months of warranty remaining. At the time of purchase, when the car’s mileage is as low as it will ever be, consider purchasing an additional 3-year warranty that would kick in when the CPO warranty expires. I bought a “Premium” $100 deductible, Fidelity warranty from RENNLIST Supporter Michael Bernardo. I paid about $2,900 for this. mbernardo1111@gmail.com Or have a thorough PPI done at a premier shop such as Independent Motorcars, if it passes, get a Fidelity warranty.
Another idea to optimize performance and maybe save some money over purchasing a 991.2 GTS, consider buying a 997.2 base model, probably at least $20,000 cheaper, and doing the following mods:
ˇ Buy and install an electronic tune, maybe go “mild” so as to not overly stress to car, or,
ˇ Once again get an electronic tune, upgrade the 991.2 Base turbos to at least for those found on the 991.2 GTS, or even aftermarket turbos for even greater boost,
ˇ Upgrade the intercoolers, such as ones offered by AMS Performance:
ˇ Install performance “cats”, SOUL Performance,
ˇ If the car lacks Sport Exhaust, see SOUL performance.
ˇ Swap out the 991.2 Base brakes for the larger calipers and rotors offered on the 991.2 Carrera, or better yet, the 991.2 GTS. Or upgrade the stock rotors to GiroDisc 2-piece rotors that run cooler, are at least 5 lbs. per corner lighter and are rebuildable when the time comes as the rotors and hats may be acquired separately. Based on personal experience, I recommend Clark Hamerly chamerly@apexperformance.net. Clark is a long time RENNLIST supporter, and is good at his job, representing various manufactures of Porsche high performance parts.
ˇ Consider a center radiator kit from Suncoast Porsche to cool down that radiator water. I installed one, about $800 and the labor to install it.
ˇ Search the Forums for some other engine parts that can be upgraded on “while you are in there” basis.
With an electronic tune, this 991.2 Base will be putting out at least 525 HP, possibly more and increased torque as well. It will be an epic “sleeper” providing maximin fun for the car’s driver and occasional passenger.
Don’t talk about it, do it!
Last edited by Martin S.; 07-14-2024 at 03:37 AM.
