JohnnyBahamas

God made that... therefore it's God's doing.

Suzy991

I think her parents did most of the work all the rest is due to workouts LOL

Suzy991

Augustomf

Being a Brazilian. I recall a newby on a rain soaked Monaco track that started to eat all other cars in the race with a lot more horsepower, his name Ayrton Senna, later know as the rainmeister.
All I am saying is that going up a mountain pass takes more guts then power. Bring your 500hp and I will bring my 400hp S and Schummy and I will be willing to bet anything that you lose. So training a little more brings a lot more than 50hp.

Augustomf

In the Balocco track, a long track, the S was 1.15s faster than the base, that is nothing, a better driver in the Base will easily make up for that.
http://fastestlaps.com/cars/porsche_991_carrera.html
http://fastestlaps.com/cars/porsche_991_carrera_s.html
If you do not believe that your arm makes a difference and only your engine does than I do not know what to say.

General Jack

I'll remember that next time I'm racing up a mountain pass in the rain, lol.

General Jack

And a good driver with the X51...?

JamesKen

Of course the driver is the most important thing. What on earth did I post that made you think otherwise. Fact is for any driver on any track an extra 30 HP with no added weight is going to be faster.

As far as the base being faster then the S citing some fastest lap data with a 100 variables is not the best source and I am pretty sure you know this. Please explain to me what the base model has that makes it faster then the S and then why do you own an S?

Quite honestly making the blanket statement that any car has the correct amount of horsepower for everyone is just a bit presumptive. There are more then a few people posting here who would prefer their car had more horsepower. The question is at what cost.

Suzy991

I personally think that the powerkit is not worth the money. 30hp extra doesn't make much difference for 97% of the drivers and are barely noticeable, unless you're on a track or driving the car constantly between 5000 and 7500rpm. 400 hp enough for that car. What lacks is low-end torque and torque in general.
Low-end torque is what makes the car feel quicker at all speeds and especially when daily driving at legal speeds. Low-end torque is what gives you fun in driving.
With an additional 25 or 35ft-lb the car should FEEL a lot quicker than with those additional 30hp.

Suzy991

bccars

Thats highly depending on the individual. Torque is not what gives me fun in driving! Top end rush is it for me.

Augustomf

First, I really do not understand why you are so aggressive, I did not think this was what this forum was about, but I feel that it is very common to people to just bash others response, no matter how constructive they are. I was raised to be nice to others; maybe that type of strick education is gone.

Now to facts: I never said that a certain amount of horse power is good for everyone. What I said is that 20k would be better spend on training, driving classes than getting another 30hp in a STREET car that already has ample power/weight to begin with, BTW 30hp is not even a 10% increase. Also if you are on the heavy side, a diet might actually help more, both on the power/weight ration and the stamina to drive the car correctly. Go Kart racing with heavier friends and you will understand what I am talking about.

The reason I bought a S is simple, the 15k extra that I paid for an S, not only gave more HP (14% increase) , but included SPAM and Sport Chrono, which I thought was a great deal. I also wanted PDCC and PSE and the car was configured as such. So the improvement on the car was not only HP, but lower suspension/center of gravity, adaptive damper/engine mounts, active torsion bars (PDCC), and finally I also figured that the secondary market on the S would be better than the Base, but that is something to be seen in the future, but it is my perception.

What the S has not going for it, the S is a 3.8L engine vs. the 3.4L on the Base, the Base has a slightly faster revving engine. Pay attention, I am not saying that the Base revs higher than the S, I am saying it gets to 4000rpm faster.(and that is simple physics, smaller bore and stroke same compression, lower piston mass to move, engine revs faster). So on long stretches the S will blow the Base, but on tight circuits, lots of corners and low speed (a Monaco Circuit if you will), with the same suspension setup, the S, the S with X5151XX power kit and the Base have the same shot, and what will determine the winner is the driver.

So my 2c was for spending some time with an instructor, do some DE, even go to some Kart races, and if after becoming a better driver you still feel the need for more HP, by all means get it. Now if you thing getting the X5151XXYYTTFF 30hp package will make you go faster on a circuit just by itself you are wrong. It is like a weekend cyclist buying a top of the line Pinarello thinking he will beat the guy that rides everyday with a 5 year old Pinarello, I can tell you that mine is a 2001, I am 46years old, and I see lots of 30year olds losing their breath trying to keep up with me. Sure I lose to millions of good cyclists, but I know that buying the latest bicycle will not solve my problem.

To be clear, I did not say that the Base is Faster than the S, what I said is in some situations the HP difference is negligible and the driver will be the defining factor, and in some settings the Base (as describe above) is a nimbler car and that is an advantage which can make it have a better lap time.

Bacura

The base car will not blow the S. period. Full stop. I wonder where people get these ideas.

Team Plutonium

I think the argument of saying that money is better spent on track days, wheels, and tires is somewhat "thin". I don't think anybody here would have to choose. It is a lot of money, and in the end you have to decide for yourself if $15K is worth it the 30 extra horses; I'm not utterly convinced myself just yet, but I don' think it's a waste of money for this demographic.

To me it isn't all about the actual power output, I enjoy modding (for many that is the pinnacle of wasting money, but to me it's a hobby), and the X51 kit is a Porsche sanctioned, warranty covered modification, and that is very appealing to me.

Bacura

Agree 100%. I have no intention of taking my 911/50 to the track. I want to have the factory 30 hp. I dont care if the value is there or not. Same with the PDCC and PCCB. It's coming loaded whether I need it or not. Need does not equal want. The X51 is faster even though I probably wont notice it. X51>carrera S>>carrera. If you are faster than a Carrera S in a non-S then you are Michael Schumacher or the S driver sucks.

JamesKen

First my apologies. Perhaps I am miss reading you. To me your posts have a somewhat condescending tone. Statements like "I will be willing to bet anything that you lose, and pay attention" don't help. I would also say you talk to people you don't know as if they don't know anything.

By the way Pinarellos are Lamborghinis. There are a lot of other bling bikes that are more like a Porsche. I own one and it does make me faster and I would say I am a very competitive triathlete and cyclist. I will pass on telling you that you would lose if we raced. Since I don't know you that would be silly and why do I care who is faster.

No one here has asked the question is the skill of the driver of the car important. No one has even remotely inferred other wise yet you keep bringing it up. As said above most of us can afford a faster car and lessons and track time.

What we are asking for is first hand experience regarding the power kit. I think most here are correct that is probably not worth the money to most people or not that big an improvement but I think team plutonium explained how I feel in his last post.

JamesKen

It appears in this forum and Porsche sales most people think the 991 with 400 HP is enough. Yet if you go over to the turbo forum most people recommend the S because the base only has 520HP Then this year Porsche adds a little boost in the S so you get more then 560.

It is like there is a completely different demographic for the turbos.