A 500 Mile Review w/ Opinions on My Options
 

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I thought I'd spend a few minutes typing out my initial thoughts and opinions on my car thus far. These are simply my opinions and are meant to be honest, not intended to offend.

The Experience
I really haven't had much seat time in a 911. I drove my friend's 997.2 GT3 a few miles and test drove a base 991, PDK 991 Carrera S, 7MT 991 Carrera S Cab, and a 7MT 991 Carrera 4S w/ Sport Chrono. All of this has been in the past year. I honestly had never even been in a moving 911 of any previous generation before this year. Despite having a lifelong mission to end up in a 911, I had no real world experience for wanting one. I don't know when the desire started, but it was early (like pre-teen early). I have built it up in my mind so much so that I was concerned about being disappointed.

For me, I must say the experience the car provides is, dare I say, better than I expected. I hate to be another gushy forum member thinking my car is the best thing ever created, but I think I have no choice but to join the club. The car is darn close to perfect. I don't know how to explain it. The "experience" of owning/driving/staring at is better than I had hoped it would be.

Ride
I ended up getting Sport PASM without PDCC and added RSS 7mm/15mm spacers. This thing is super tight. I hadn't driven a Sport PASM car, so I was unsure what to expect. I really, really, really like it. That being said, I am used to modifying a cars suspension and have had some pretty stiff rides in the past. If I was a person that wants a soft, comfortable ride, Sport PASM is the wrong choice. I was surprised at how stiff this thing is. For a sports car, it's perfect. If you are used to big GT cars, be ready to have your spine adjusted.

I was a little disappointed in myself for getting a couple of fluff options in full leather and Burmester and skipping the only performance option left other than PDK/PCCB in PDCC. I'm sure it's better but am okay not having it. I just tell my non-track going self that the car is lighter without it, and we all know how important it is to save 5lbs to help me pretend I'm better than everyone else. ;)

Options

Carrera S Powerkit: Sorry I don't have a review yet. I haven't had the car above 5,000 RPMs yet. I decided to vary RPMs below 5,000 for the first 500 and start driving normally after, so that means game on this week! I'll keep you posted.

Burmester: In full disclosure, I pretty irresponsibly ordered Burmester without actually hearing it. When I jumped in the car and drove it home from the dealership, I didn't even mess with it. After getting the car home, washed, polished, sealed, etc. I actually turned it on. My first impression was, oh crap, this was a complete waste of money.

At age 34, I think of myself as a new technology adopting yet old school audiophile. I'm a sucker for a smooth sounding pair of mono-blocks powering some good old fashioned silk dome tweeters housed in quality crafted wooden box. That being said, I still love a "rip your face off" home theater with a ridiculous sub. I am very sensitive to "bright" sounding speakers. Usually, most anything with a metal dome sounds harsh to me. My B&O system, that everyone seem to rave about, in my S4 makes my ears bleed.

Out of the box, it is very harsh, heavy left balanced, and is extremely low-frequency heavy. It sounded basically exactly like I was hoping it wouldn't. I was a little surprised it would be tuned so poorly. Now every single other audio/video device needs some calibration/tuning, so I guess it makes sense this one would too. Last night I spent some serious time messing with the very limited adjustment options through PCM. I haven't read the manual yet, so maybe there is a sub-menu I'm missing.

Other Burmester owners' input would be much appreciated. I came up with the following: Bass -2, Treble -4, Balance Right 3, Fader Rear 1, Burmester DSP setting "Live." I'm usually not a fan of messing with the original recording, but the live setting takes away some of the harshness.

So at this point, I guess you're thinking I hate it. For a factory installed system that saves me from tearing apart a new car, I do really like it and would still recommend it. Unlike a quality image on a high-end TV that is pretty standard, audio speakers are very subjective. The ribbon tweeter Burmester uses just happens to be a bit outside my personal preference, but it is by far the best factory optioned audio system I've ever heard. Even if I had heard it prior, I would have still bought it. Giving money to Bose goes against everything for which I stand.

Leather: I got the full leather package. It looks nice. If I could do it all over again, I would have simply done leather seats. I've survived to this point without a leather dash and would have been fine without it in this car.

Sport Plus Seats: The extra shoulder bolstering is awesome! I highly recommend it. I only have the 4-way adjustment. I set the seat once and haven't thought for once second that I needed more adjustment. If they had 50-way adjustment, I'm sure everyone would think they needed it. If you're worried about lack of adjustability, I'd say it's not a problem. These seats are awesome, and something like 22lbs. lighter!

PSE: Before adding the Powerkit, I was really torn about adding this option as I've always done aftermarket exhausts. There have been enough reviews on this and other forums on the virtues of PSE. Although I'm not particularly sensitive to drone, I was really surprised at how much drone I get with the valves open. I didn't expect a factory tuned exhaust to drone so much. I may get some change as the motor breaks in. Again, it's not terrible, but drone is very noticeable.

New Sport Design Mirrors: There has been plenty of talk about how the new mirrors might help with the resonance created from wind buffeting with the windows down. Well...they don't help. The car still buffets pretty badly.

Manual Transmission: I think it's the second best manual ever, behind AP2 Honda S2000. It obviously makes the car slower than with PDK, but I'm not sorry I got it. I am surprised at how little throttle blip is required to rev match on a down shift. I'm still getting used to it. It feels much different than other cars I've owned.

I'm sure I'll come up with more stuff. I'll try and add to this thread as it pops into my head or I discover it. I hope my crazy opinions help others in the ordering process.

Interesting review, not sad about not getting pdcc saved 40lbs and you are unlikely to notice it unless you are putting in serious track time.

thanks for the review. some food for thought especially re: the burmester

Really enjoyed your thoughts as I am thinking about ordering a 7spd x51. There are not many around. Lets hear about the post 500 mile wind up!
Jim

Interesting review. Thx for posting. I have a 50th which comes with the X51 package. I completely agree with you about the drone from the PSE. Pretty much everyone here thinks it's so good it should been a standard part. I think it does sound good when you open up the throttle but for every day driving and cruising on the highway the drone is very obvious. Hopefully it'll get better with more miles.

Thanks for the write-up.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that's gone about 500 miles (actually it's closer to 600 for me) in about a week's time.

On the break-in, I also varied the RPMs until I got to 500. Hit 7500 today, just as the ODO turned 595.

Interesting review, thanks for posting. I completely agree sound experience is subjective...I'm a bit of an audiofille, not hardcore, I just LOVE Burmester. It's a fantastic sounding system for all kinds of music. Which music/songs you actually played and are those compressed files or some other format, like AAC?

Highly recommend listening to base and Bose !

Good post, Money; nice to hear your thoughts. Looking forward to your next one.

What do you think of electric steering (especially coming from an E90 M3!)? It is definitely a big change from my 997.
Others have said the Burmester will "break in" over time - I have no experience with it, however (these ears are too old with too much tinnitus to bother with it!).

Congrats!

in sport plus mode, the car does this for you :)

Hmmm... I know electric steering is a big point on contention, but I have tried not to think about it. I tend to be a car hypochondriac and mentally complain to myself about everything that bothers me. For instance, in my E92 6MT first gear was basically unusable and 2nd gear was so notchy and hard to get correct. It drove me nuts thinking about it all of the time and took away some of my joy. That being said, I'm not sure I'm a good enough driver to properly access or critique the electric steering. I would guess it's much like the Drive-by-Wire change that everyone was going crazy about when Honda changed to it in '06 on the S2000. I had both and didn't notice a difference.

I really don't have any complaints on the steering. The only thing that seems a bit odd to me is that the wheel vibrates or wobbles when my hand in is not on it. I don't get any feed back when my hands are on the wheel. I'm guessing the spacers may be adding some of it.

:D I'm trying my hardest not to evolve by getting still getting a MT and doing some stuff myself. I am super excited about auto rev matching during "sportier" driving sessions as I can't heel-toe to save my life!

I did spend quite a bit of time listening to the base vs. the Bose before ordering. In my opinion, and most would completely disagree, the Base sounds better than the Bose. Bose knows what most people like, so they overcompensate to make it sound "good." They use very low impedance drivers to squeeze more power out of very cheap amplifiers. I used to be in the audio business and have been schooled/spoiled by listening to some of the very best home and car stuff on the planet. In my early 20s, rather than paying off my student loans I competed with my DynAudio/Xtant/Alpine 1 system in IASCA Pro. That car audio system is unfortunately my reference point for all others.

I've pulled out my CDs as all of my files are 320kbs MP3. I'm working on re-uploading my music collection using Apple Lossless (ALAC). I'm committed to Apple Products, so ALAC should work. Supposedly the 5.5th gen iPod Classic is the best sounding of the iPods. I'm going to find one on eBay and just leave it in the car.

Spotify does sound pretty decent at 320kbs.

I have a few MLP DVD Audio discs I need to find and try them out.

I'm sure there will be some opening up of the drivers after some break-in time.

You seem to have a lot of knowledge on detailing you car. As some one how is using dish soap on occasion I obviously need help.

How did you do it the first time with waxing polishing and sealing?
How do you normally clean it?
Did you get a clear bra? If yes, how to deal it cleaning it?
What products do you use?

Thank you

Major props for getting the 4 way seats! If I was buying new, I'd (have to) order from the factory to get those and totally would. The 14 way are ridiculous and just spam you with orthotic sophistry that makes absolutely zero difference. Although perhaps if someone figured out a way to hack the software and turn them into massage chairs they might be worth having.

And did someone say 22 lbs? :mad:

I'd rip mine out right now if I could replace them for free.

I have the Bose and really like it. Its very good but not great. If I ordered new though, I'd probably go stock and just upgrade it later.

Oh man, where do I start? If you are really into it, spend the money, fly to Stuart, and take this class. Then hit me up for specific products.

http://www.autogeek.net/detailing-classes.html

Polishing/Sealing: It's a lot easier than you think. Watch these videos.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

I posted this in my thread over on 6speed last week on polishing/sealing:

"Griot's Polishes are really not very good. I like the matching of the Griot's bottles, and I really like the spray heads. Most of the bottles are filled with other products like Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner or Adam's Detail Spray.

Currently for cutting/compound I've been using:

Menzerna Fast Gloss FG400
http://www.detailersdomain.com/Menze...art_p_823.html
Mequiar's MicroFiber Cutting Disc
http://www.detailersdomain.com/Megui...sc_p_1020.html

If I were you, I would make sure to take the handle off of your Griot's, and I would probably prefer to take the 6" backing plate off and replace it with a 5". I have separte 6", 5", and 3 DAs." Also, take a black marker and make a straight line on the backing plate, so you tell when your pad/backing plate is spinning. Spread with speed 4 and polish with speed 6 making 6 to 8 crosshatch passes, decreasing the pressure on the last few passes.

For Finishing/Jeweling Polish:
Menzerna Super Finish SF4000
http://www.detailersdomain.com/Menze...art_p_684.html

http://www.detailersdomain.com/Uber-...pad_p_225.html

You probably won't see much of a difference as FG400 finishes pretty nicely. I still do it for piece of mind. I usually cut down to about 4 passes with really light pressure on the last two. On my leased Audi, I never did a finishing polish. FG400 finished so nicely, I felt it was a waste of my time.

My Go-To Last Step has been:
http://www.detailersdomain.com/SONAX...ld-_p_814.html

This stuff is awesome. I usually prefer the look of a Carnuba wax, but this stuff is really, really good.

I usually spend about 20+ hours on the intial and then won't have to compound the car again. I just use SF4000 with a stiffer foam pad to touch-up about every 8 months."

After you spend the time doing the work initially, if you wash it properly there won't be any need to compound the car again. Just a decontaminate and finish polish.

I wash with Adam's soap, Kranzle Pressure washer, MTM Foam Gun, Adam's wash pads, Grit Guard Dual bucket system, etc. Blow dry with Stihl gas powered leaf blower and use soft, clean microfiber with Adam's detail spray.

I'm not a clear bra guy. I don't even like the stone guard protectors. Paint is my thing and a clear bra doesn't look good to me. It's not invisible.

Feel free to PM for more product specific opinions. I've tried pretty much everything.