Hi folks.

First post, so excuse the newbie question, but I would appreciate your thoughts on the specs for a 911 Carrera 3.4 I am about to order.

Anything I am missing? Any must gets?

Thanks.

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· Premium Package Plus with Adaptive Sport Seats Plus
· Exterior Color: Platinum Silver Metallic
· Interior Color: Red natural leather interior
· PASM Sport Suspension
· Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTVPlus)
· Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK)
· 20-inch Carrera S wheel
· Adaptive Sport Seats Plus (18-way)
· HD Radio(R) Receiver

 

Welcome to the board. With PDK, at a minimum, you should order the SportDesign steering wheel with shift paddles as the shifter buttons on the standard wheel are not widely liked. You should also consider Sport Chrono with the PDK as it provides more aggressive shift programing and launch control.

Your build looks nice, but once you add PASM, 20s and PTV to a base 3.4, aren't you better off just springing a little more for a 991S where these are standard?

 

Thanks.

Don't care about the steering wheel as I never shift with the paddles (or buttons). I prefer the stick.

How important do you think the SportsChrono is?

As far as the 3.6, I am trying to keep this car below 100k.

 

What you order depends on your anticipated use. if you are tracking it...sportschrono sounds good.

I have a 991 base pdk and it is fabulous. I don't have pasm or ptv. i do have the 20 inch classic wheels, parking assist, full two color leather, sunroof, wheel centers, multi function steering whee and some other non performance items however

you may wish to consider the multi function steering wheel.

it's my daily driver and i'm loving it!

 

I avoided the sport chrono option. I had it on my 997.2 b/c I wanted sport mode. Now, sport is included with the 991. I never drove in Sport Plus since it shifts at redline which isnt practical for daily use. Also, never did launch control. In fact, my dealer told me that launch control is recorded by the cars computer and can impact the re-sale value if done frequently. I also didn't like the clock on the dash. Other than that, nice options.

 

Thank you. That's very helpful to know about s/c.

 

PDK without Sport Chrono could be a harder resale. My local dealer has had several PDK equipped 991s that have sat for months because they do not have Sport Chrono. The ones with it seem to move off the dealer's lot at a much quicker rate. When it comes time to sell your car, many buyers will expect it.

Plus no one has yet mentioned that the package also includes dynamic engine mounts that improve handling which, given that you are ordering Sport PASM and PTV, would appear to be of interest to you.

 

If you're buying for resale, you should go for the lowest option list possible, certainly not including expensive options. I'd try to decide what you want the car to be (luxurious, distinctive, conventional, lightweight, sports, etc.) I see a mix of ideas in the short list of options you've proposed.

I'm reading mixed opinions on the 3.4. I really liked the "base" Carrera in the 997.2, but I think it might be that Porsche has not quite found the same success with the base 991. Just a thought. Demo drive 'em all and see what stands out. I have PTV and would like a switch to turn the thing off. I'd consider the Plus steering, but it might be better or worse to some drivers than the normal electric steering.

As for Sport Chrono, it has become a bone of contention. I like the functionality, but see no merit in the cheesy stopwatch functionality or the appearance of a cheap clock on the dash where there should be air vents or leather or something useful. Dear old Porsche has even gone to the trouble of making it "tick" loudly so you can hear it. I think someone in their design team remembered the old signature of luxury in Rolls Royce, that the ride was so quiet, you could hear the (real) clock ticking as you drove. Sadly, Porsche has simply made the tick sound so loud, it's obnoxious, so I turn it off. It then makes a silly (ludicrous) dance of "resetting" itself to a zero position ... absolutely laughable waste of time, energy and money for Porsche to have developed a second generation of Sport Chrono for the 991 and new Boxster, etc. Just plain unsophisticated gadgetry. But I do like the new launch control (though I've used it maybe four times, all in one day and never since ... what's the point? ... : )

 

Don't think there are any "must" gets. The spec you have will make for a very nice 991, particularly silver with a stunning red leather sport seat interior- warm, classy and classic too. PASM port with 20s will give that "car set beween the wheels" look that works so well on the 991.

The Carrera has loads of performance- on the order of prior Ss- with a noticable top end zing, so unless you really NEED the extra low end torque the S will not get you much. I personally enjoy my sunroof and think it would be factor in purchasing a used one if I was looking so it may help eventual resale value.

 

Thanks for the insights on the sports chrono. I wasn't thinking about getting it before, and now I'm even more certain of it.

 

I personally like to buy a car to drive it, not to resell it.

Plus, I've had sunroofs on my G35 Coupe and M3, and have never ever really used it.

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

 

Thinking about the red cabin, there's been a couple show up and I think it would be nice to have a black dash cap rather than all red, so some sort of two-tone approach would be worth considering.

And the red steering wheel with carbon is very nice. Much better than the previous wheel. Personally, I don't care for the factory paddles, I prefer the paddles to be fixed position on the steering column like Ferrari rather than a moving left-right-which-is-it? if they're on the wheel itself.

I'd go with the sport plus seat with air and heat ... it's a ridiculous luxury, but it's great and they work well (unlike the vents in the 997.2 seats) and they're quiet (also unlike the 997.2 seats...) The only thing being to figure out a way to get the driver memory option (I think it's only in packages, so if you can figure out how to order it as a separate item -- it's really incredible to have a $100K car without mirror memories ...

I dislike the sunroof design, the cost of it, the weight of it, the loss of headroom (the 991 has ample headroom) so I'm glad it's optional.

If you want sport-pasm for the ride height, just get lowering springs from H&R or TechArt.

 

FYI- the 991 sunroof - which he has nixed- unlike proir designs, takes no headroom- it opens externally.

PASM Sport includes stiffer sway bars and unlike aftermarket lowering, the parts are calibrated to actually improve handling performance too- compare costs to get what it gives and it is the bargain option in the 991 lineup.

I do agree on the seat air blowers. They are totally unnecessary luxuries that are on my list of "I will never get another car without these" now that I have them. (came with the car in dealer inventory). I use them as much as the radio, more than manual PDK shifting, sport, sport plus or even 991 performance. Fantastic on trips. Fully fitting with the interior he plans. Then again- they gave me an Audi A8 loaner that had rediculous multi setting bottom and back massagers and I would if possible get her on my next car!

 

I think I'm through with aftermarket mods. Getting a bit too old. Had my fun with the M3 and modding it out. Sticking with stock.

thanks for your thoughts

 

Interesting point but my dealer told me that they arent ordering SC for cars on the lot b/c they are worried that its a harder sell with SC since Sport comes free now. Who really knows. If there was a middle ground between Sport and Sport Plus, I probably would have purchased SC again.