amdave

I'm looking to order a 991 base cabrio in the near future. My desire is to build a car that has all the comforts/luxuries needed to be my daily for a long commute I have, while having a second personality of a fast, fun, family friendly sports car in which I can enjoy some spirited driving around the suburbs. Never gonna track the car or race in any fashion.

So far I have come up with:

Base model 991 Cabrio

Comfort/Luxury:

Full two tone leather interior.
14 - way seats
Premium package plus
Folding mirrors
Bose
Base 19" wheels (smoother ride in the base?)
Voice control (?)

Sporty:

PDK
PASM (?)
PSE
power steering plus
sport design steering wheel w paddles

Appreciate any thoughts/opinions - hoping to keep it around or below 120k MSRP.

Thanks!

duxsi

Voice control - I wouldn't bother.
Power steering plus - I wouldn't bother.
With all those options, you'll be bumping into S territory pretty quickly.
If your color options permit, have you considered a new Cab S 2013 of the lot?

If you cast your net afar, you'll certainly find something to your liking at that price point.

amdave

I figured the S would be overkill for my needs - but I will def look around. Thanks!

chuckbdc

Spot PASM and PSE provide the character you are after. The sport steering wheel with paddles adds to it re the look and feel- not at all functionally.

Power steering plus I just don't understand. The car is not at all difficult to steer without it at slow speeds; and at higher speeds it is no different that without it.

Re wheel choice: 991's are as comfortable with 20 in wheels as with 19 in wheels; the suspension especially with PASM is very much more supple that prior generations. The car was designed for 20s- that why they fill the wheel wells. On the other hand, they do cost more new and when replacing tires, and don't provide huge performance gains.

ArashApollo

Yes if you're budget is 120, then you must go for the S.

rpilot

… being the operative statement, IMO you need zero, zilch, nada options from the Performance section. PDK or MT is your personal preference, and I highly recommend the former but if you go with the MT, add Sport Chrono for rev matched shifts and smoother shifting with ease in Sports Plus mode.

I went through the same decision making process last year albeit with a coupe in my case and ended up with a lot of luxury options on a C2 with PDK. No other performance options and have been very happy with it.

The temptation is great to add PASM (which I think you should add if you are going to get 20 inch wheels) for comfort and PTV, but in this case you should also consider getting the S and both of these come standard with the S along with 20 inch rims. The 3.8 engine has more low end torque so you will definitely like it better for more relaxed cruising around town at low RPMs. I however, went with the C2 w/19 & no PASM and I have had no regrets since I like to rev the engine and the 3.4 sounded better to my ears. In it's use as a part time DD, I have found it to be a very tractable and easy to live with engine.

PSE is a personal preference and I suggest hearing it if you can. PSE does sound different even on the C2 and C2S. I like the guttural sound at idle and when on the gas, but do not like the bean burrito f**t on the overrun.

I will defer to others who have SPASM and/or PDCC and like it for sporty driving on the road or track but I cannot say it has been an issue for me. For SPASM (also called PASM sport suspension in the Porsche configurator) and PDCC you will have to get the S before you can add it.

Voice control is a waste of money, but to each his own.

Sport design steering wheel or MF is a personal preference. Try both, see which one you like. I prefer the MF wheel in my daily driving and like the button shifters. Many prefer the Sport Design Paddles, I suspect for the look and the gratifying paddle shifter feel.

Power steering plus is not necessary IMO, since the car is just fine as is, but if you want your Porsche to feel like a lexus while parking, that decision is yours.

The options add up quickly, so if you have to pick and choose to keep it under 120 for the cabrio, I would add the PDK (or MT and Sport Chrono) and 18 way seats for luxury (I highly recommend these) and then decide what else to pick and choose from. By all means add the two tone full leather interior you like. I love mine in black and just makes the car more special everyday. If are not going to track the car or try to time your run to the office or drag race, you will in the long run like the little luxuries more rather than the SPASM or PDCC or the S you did or did not get.

The 991 is a great car in any form so you can't really go wrong here. Good luck.

CaliforniaZombie

This honestly sounds a lot like the goals for my build - although I wasn't interested in the cabrio. I drove the C2S and the C2 and the performance/suspension differences to me were pretty minor for normal everyday driving - even "spirited driving". I suppose if your definition of "spirited" is more extreme than mine, perhaps you might then notice C2S power/suspension differences. I definitely considered the S, but like you, I won't be driving on any tracks anytime soon. And the C2 engine already sounds fantastic if you ask me (even coming from driving a Ferrari before this car), and as such, things like PSE wasn't something I wanted to spend money on, or PASM, (or on and on for the performance options). Ya if you want a track car, the S and all of those performance items are probably worth it, but again, I highly doubt I'll see much track time.

Instead, I used the money I saved from the S and opted for the C2 with some luxury/creature comfort options. And to me, the car I ended up with is the perfect balance of performance and daily driving comfort. Honestly the only things I regret at this point aren't performance features at all, but the Burmeister sound system and the 18 way seats. I have the Bose, and it's not bad, but after hearing all of the raves about the Bur, I regret not getting that. Same thing for the 18 way seats - the 14 way sport seats are good, and no real complaints, but having more flexibility to shift things around would be even better.

And given I wanted a car my wife can easily drive, I opted for the power steering plus.

My build sheet and a couple pics can be found here :

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/7790...alifornia.html

holminator

Two points of advice:

Minecraft--Don't mine at night!

Sporty--Don't buy a 991 without PDCC.

MerlinsGarage

You can easily do the S cab PDK if you don't get hypnotized with a bunch of options - remember your mission statement IS the definition of a Porsche 911 WITHOUT options.
"My desire is to build a car that has all the comforts/luxuries needed to be my daily for a long commute I have, while having a second personality of a fast, fun, family friendly sports car in which I can enjoy some spirited driving around the suburbs. Never gonna track the car or race in any fashion".
...........uh, just my HO of course.

amdave

The S Cab PDK would be nice, but I imagine I would have to drop full leather and PSE at the minimum. The S Cab starts at around 110k.

David in Talent

I personally would NEVER opt for leather in a cab. Unless you relish having to treat the leather FREQUENTLY. Leather takes a beating under full sun. I had the LEATHERETTE in a 2001 Boxster
S that I kept for 9 years and it looked the same the day I sold the car as it did when new. And I never treated the leatherette, nor cleaned it !! I just ran a damp chamois over it when I washed the car.

MarcusG

I personally feel you would be completely happy with an S cab with PDK.

That's it. You won't need anything else. 19 base Carrera S wheels are great looking. The PSE is nice because you can completely turn it on and off but it just adds $. The multi sport steering wheel and everything else mentioned is cool but most likely not going to add an extra grin to your experience.

Here's the summary.

I'd much rather have a super low optioned S Cab with only PDK as opposed to a optioned non S for the same price.

Hop on dealer websites. There are still 2013's out there with low options that were passed over by guys with deeper pockets.

Whatever you do, your gonna love the 991 regardless of it being an S or not.

Good luck!

FlyScotty71

I just ordered my 911S and it took some serious time to nail down exactly what I wanted. I drove every type; C2, C2S, C4, C4S, both MT and PDK (with and without paddles), and eventually decided on a C2S MT over PDK.

Just like you, I had to really think; what am I going to use the car for? Which combination of car do I enjoy the most? I never plan on tracking my car, and it will be my daily driver.

I was all set on an S with PDK and Sports Steering Wheel w/ paddle shifters... then I finally drove the MT with the Sport Chrono and Sport Exhaust. It was so enjoyable, I thought to myself, "This is what driving a 911 is all about, pure enjoyment!"

Why MT over PDK? Yes the PDK was a little faster, but the perfectly rev-matched downshifts was awesome and made driving so much more fun. However, to reach the point where I pulled the trigger took almost a year for me to decide. In the end, I know I made the right decision. But that is only because I made sure before I ordered the car that I had tested everything under the sun. I mean everything, even down to the car color vs. seat belt color.

My recommendation is to drive everything, and look at every option you might want... or not want. Don't rule out anything. As many have pointed out, for $120k you have plenty of room to get exactly what you want.

It really is about what YOU want, and what YOU feel is important. What's #1 on my list may be #100 on yours. Just go slow, and devote time to finding the perfect combo that suits you.

Enjoy the journey and in the end you will be rewarded with the perfect car made just for you!

CaliforniaZombie

Both of the below suggestions are very well said.

Speaking for myself, it helped a lot to think about how I was going to use the car, and really what was most important to me. Sounds like you're already thinking along those lines and that will definitely help a lot in you ending up with something you'll be happy with.

The 991 is a really incredible machine. That's a thought that goes through my mind almost every time I'm behind the wheel.

All the best in your build - you're going to love your car.

LexVan

The stock wheels on the S version are 20's" not 19. and yes, they do look great.