New 911 owner (former M car owner) : 2014 911 S 7MT
05-30-2017, 09:45 AM
#1
New 911 owner (former M car owner) : 2014 911 S 7MT
I have been a car fan since I can remember. I have taken a hiatus from high performance cars over the last couple years after owning an e9x m3 and then an F8x m3, focusing more on work and my new kid at home. In the meantime, I've been fortunate to see my career trend upwards quite a bit, along with my wife finishing fellowship and start working full time. Along with that, we have a young baby boy as part of our family.
For a while, I have become convinced that a 2 car system would work best for someone like myself in my situation, but i needed to wait for the right timing. A good commuter car for family duties and dealing with the every day commute, and then a fun car for weekends and whenever the mood strikes.
So, I test drove a number of cars and identified what I wanted. I drove a cayman GTS along with a base 991.2 carrera (both PDK). I liked the engine sound and response of the Cayman GTS, but felt like the 911 felt better to drive and i felt much more comfortable in the interior. The Cayman also felt really down on power, and I am not much of a power fiend these days. The 911 felt more planted even with the base 911 suspension, and I feel comfortable with the rear engine weight bias (some track time in 911 cars in the past). I also greatly prefer the look of the 911 to the Cayman, personally. The benefit of rear seats was a huge factor with my son as well.
I liked the 991.2 engine, but the sound was pretty muted and although the 991 base is plenty fast for my needs, key options that i did want dont exist on that car, like sport PASM. That means purchasing a 911.2 S which gets really expensive, really fast.
I had previously driven 991.1 cars and loved them. I decided that a 991.1 S is what i would target in 7MT. I wanted a car with very specific options and either white or guards red.
I was able to find what i was looking for at a dealer in the Chicago suburbs after a while of searching.
2014 Carrera S 7MT CPO.
-white on black
-adaptive sports seats (must have for me)
-Sport PASM (must have)
-Sport exhaust (must have)
-Aerokit cup (wanted aerokit or aerokit cup)
-no sunroof (must)
-sport chrono (wanted, not a must have)
Overall, I have driven about 15 miles in the car, so not much. I can tell you it feels totally different than the M cars i have had in the past, which are excellent in their own right.
Everything in the car feels much more focused and direct, from the steering graininess and effort to the heavy clutch pedal. It is substantially quicker at low RPM than I remember, pretty torquey considering the specs. It also sounds phenomenal with the sports exhaust. Its not a drag strip king, but plenty fast for my needs. Have done one 1st through 3rd pull, pretty epic.
The handling and grip levels are out of this world even on the street, with almost no body roll. The suspension compliance is also fantastic and rides extremely well, much better than my prior M cars. Despite the fact that this will make me sound like a pompous ***, i think it would be hard to go back to an M car for a sports car after experiencing this. The first time i felt what a real sports car was like was driving my friends McLaren 570s. Now, that car is clearly on another level, but the way the steering felt and the light weight of the car and directness reminds me of the 911 much more so than the M cars.
Plans for the car include plenty of weekend driving around town, and plenty of hard parking when taking the wife and baby around town
I also plan to take the car to the track a handful of times a year for some private track time (not a big fan of how crowded DE days are around here these days), and take as many short road trips to Austin and surrounding areas as often as I can.
Thanks for reading, and its a pretty damn cool feeling to have a dream come true as I know many of you have experienced as well. Will update the thread with future impressions and updates on track performance.
Zero modifications are planned, I love the car as is and plan to keep it stock.
For a while, I have become convinced that a 2 car system would work best for someone like myself in my situation, but i needed to wait for the right timing. A good commuter car for family duties and dealing with the every day commute, and then a fun car for weekends and whenever the mood strikes.
So, I test drove a number of cars and identified what I wanted. I drove a cayman GTS along with a base 991.2 carrera (both PDK). I liked the engine sound and response of the Cayman GTS, but felt like the 911 felt better to drive and i felt much more comfortable in the interior. The Cayman also felt really down on power, and I am not much of a power fiend these days. The 911 felt more planted even with the base 911 suspension, and I feel comfortable with the rear engine weight bias (some track time in 911 cars in the past). I also greatly prefer the look of the 911 to the Cayman, personally. The benefit of rear seats was a huge factor with my son as well.
I liked the 991.2 engine, but the sound was pretty muted and although the 991 base is plenty fast for my needs, key options that i did want dont exist on that car, like sport PASM. That means purchasing a 911.2 S which gets really expensive, really fast.
I had previously driven 991.1 cars and loved them. I decided that a 991.1 S is what i would target in 7MT. I wanted a car with very specific options and either white or guards red.
I was able to find what i was looking for at a dealer in the Chicago suburbs after a while of searching.
2014 Carrera S 7MT CPO.
-white on black
-adaptive sports seats (must have for me)
-Sport PASM (must have)
-Sport exhaust (must have)
-Aerokit cup (wanted aerokit or aerokit cup)
-no sunroof (must)
-sport chrono (wanted, not a must have)
Overall, I have driven about 15 miles in the car, so not much. I can tell you it feels totally different than the M cars i have had in the past, which are excellent in their own right.
Everything in the car feels much more focused and direct, from the steering graininess and effort to the heavy clutch pedal. It is substantially quicker at low RPM than I remember, pretty torquey considering the specs. It also sounds phenomenal with the sports exhaust. Its not a drag strip king, but plenty fast for my needs. Have done one 1st through 3rd pull, pretty epic.
The handling and grip levels are out of this world even on the street, with almost no body roll. The suspension compliance is also fantastic and rides extremely well, much better than my prior M cars. Despite the fact that this will make me sound like a pompous ***, i think it would be hard to go back to an M car for a sports car after experiencing this. The first time i felt what a real sports car was like was driving my friends McLaren 570s. Now, that car is clearly on another level, but the way the steering felt and the light weight of the car and directness reminds me of the 911 much more so than the M cars.
Plans for the car include plenty of weekend driving around town, and plenty of hard parking when taking the wife and baby around town
I also plan to take the car to the track a handful of times a year for some private track time (not a big fan of how crowded DE days are around here these days), and take as many short road trips to Austin and surrounding areas as often as I can.
Thanks for reading, and its a pretty damn cool feeling to have a dream come true as I know many of you have experienced as well. Will update the thread with future impressions and updates on track performance.
Zero modifications are planned, I love the car as is and plan to keep it stock.
Last edited by kennypowers; 05-30-2017 at 10:01 AM.
05-30-2017, 09:47 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Very nice....welcome to the club.
05-30-2017, 09:48 AM
#3
Should add a big shout out to the HFS thread, which alerted me to this car, and helped me learn a lot about the market and allowed me to buy with confidence. What a cool thread. If you are in the market for a 991.1, its a must read.
05-30-2017, 09:54 AM
#4
Instructor
Congrats! Car looks amazing.
05-30-2017, 10:24 AM
#5
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Welcome! I think we should start a "former Bimmerpost" club here on Rennlist. There are more than a few of us on here.
Nice post too. You may remember I was very active on the F80 forum and just never could pull the trigger on the car. I wanted to love it so badly but it just never happened. So I, too, got into the "three car club" and couldn't be happier.
Enjoy!
Nice post too. You may remember I was very active on the F80 forum and just never could pull the trigger on the car. I wanted to love it so badly but it just never happened. So I, too, got into the "three car club" and couldn't be happier.
Enjoy!
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05-30-2017, 11:09 AM
#8
Racer
Congratulations, beautiful car! I agree that HFS should be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to buy a 991.1. It will save them money in the long run as they will be second guessing themselves.
05-30-2017, 12:23 PM
#10
Former Bimmer enthusiast here too. I thought I would always have one, but I've really lost the itch. I've had a 528, 540, X5, M5 and M3 in the past.
Now about their motorcycles, however...S 1000 RR is a magical machine. Other-worldly. Still have that.
Now about their motorcycles, however...S 1000 RR is a magical machine. Other-worldly. Still have that.
05-30-2017, 12:54 PM
#11
Banned
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Former Bimmerpost here but I was eyebrakel8 and mostly hung out in the E36/7. Car was such a hoot to drive. Especially the boosted ones I had. Talk about primitive... the rear had E30 suspension that was way dated even at the time and front E36 which was okay. Boosted would oversteer like a mother.... haha good times.
05-30-2017, 08:48 PM
#15
Race Director
Originally Posted by kennypowers
Should add a big shout out to the HFS thread, which alerted me to this car, and helped me learn a lot about the market and allowed me to buy with confidence. What a cool thread. If you are in the market for a 991.1, its a must read.
Glad this beauty went to a Rennlist member. Congrats!