Jakeman

Putting aside money and HP gain, you have to decide how much envy and jealousy matter to you. Do you care that many folks on these forums go for the S? Do you want to have that S on your car's rear or on decals? Do you want the red brake calipers?

When I bought my 997, the S was ~$10K more and you got the larger lobster fork wheels, the sport steering wheel, PASM, Xenon lights, silver tach...and a bump in HP. It was my first 911 so I got the C2 with Xenon lights and the sport steering wheel.

I find the 997 C2 a hoot with plenty of grunt and torque and it's official 0-60 is 0.8 seconds slower than the 992 C2. In terms of HP gains, the 992 should be just fine for you. Still, we have a Tesla 3 Sport and it outpowers all of these cars so just don't try to do any stoplight races with one of those ;-).

michael818

I think you could make that argument with most cars available today, they are all fast enough and more than one needs. I never saw that choosing am S over a base is an ego thing - more just getting the options I want. Both the base and the S are going to be much faster than you will generally need in normal driving however some of the standard features in the S are not available on the base. I chose PDK so the MT wasn't an issue but I think you should weigh all of the features rather than simply looking at power and price.

michael818

Choose what you want but you should test drive an S again - you're wrong about the turbo lag. In Sport + there is no lag. The response of the base is no more linear than the S - they both have turbos.

ronflax

I went through this very same calculus.. ended up with a C2 and added Sports Chrono (in my opinion a must!) and 21/20 wheels. C2 is plenty fast, no question. Ultimately it does come down to how much you can afford or are willing to spend. Like another post above said, if you want fast there's also the Turbo and Turbo S, why stop at the S? Some will say the S is the sweet spot, but after a year with my C2 I'm very happy with the performance and drivability of the car. Either way, you can't go wrong.

EMT1

Drove them both bought the Carrera my 3rd porsche 911
I drive my cars I don’t race them, I enjoy them as gt cars
And the Carrera is always fast enough as well as comfortable

Tupper

^ Yeah, I don't quite understand that argument that the S would have turbo lag while the base model wouldn't.

phaser

These conversations always seem to address the power delta between the base and the S which is roughly 60 square. The 60 some HP becomes a factor in the upper range of the rpm band but the 60 ft lbs of torque is there where the engine runs the majority of the time and is a near 20% bump for the S. This along with a few other S items makes a strong case for the upgrade. The choice for me is simple as I am a manual buyer.

BM555

Not true. The additional lag in the S is noticeable, especially when trying to dart in and out of traffic.
Also...flooring to kick down gears takes longer to respond than the Base.

I was incredibly disappointed with the S because of the lag. Went in with such high expectations since I drove the Base first, which blew me away.
I drove 2 different S cars back to back with the base and the results were the same both times.

BM555

This video, though it’s for the 991.2, states the same thing. The Base engine is more responsive. The same applies to the 992 in my opinion.

Tupper

^ From a rational standpoint, thinking about the design of the S and base models (exact same displacement, S has larger turbos), I guess it's feasible that the S has more turbo lag. I mean, those larger turbos may have more inertia at the outset and take longer to "spool up".

But the S also "kicks" out more power and I figured that would compensate for the heavier turbos. Wouldn't the exhaust stream be more powerful from the S, and thus make up the difference?

And did you drive in Sport Plus mode? Turbo lag is minimal when I'm driving in Sport Plus

michael818

OK

detansinn

Having driven the 991.2 Carreras, the 992 is very different beast than the 991.2, which makes sense given the different turbo configuration of the 992. In the 992's asymmetric turbos, heat exchangers/intercoolers were relocated to the top of the engine for shorter piping and improved cooling air flow. It's a much improved setup.

michael818

Okay, if you say so - you gained that perspective from driving them back to back a couple of times. Perhaps you should try driving one again and not darting in and out of traffic, that's not the forte of the 992. Look, we all make our choices and none are wrong but - the base is a capable car with less HP and torque than the S and with a different turbo setup. If you feel the S has more lag than fine - it's what you think that matters to you. I'm not here to argue and I'm not denigrating the base. I would, though, love to see empirical data on the difference in lag. I'm not sure if you own the base but, if you do, it's a great choice.

Gripster

I had a 997. It was plenty fast for me. I loved it. But... in the back of my mind was a little voice that kept thinking I shoulda got the S. It was mostly when I wasn’t actually driving the car, but it was there. And then, over time and when you’re used to the speed such that it doesn’t feel as fast as when you bought it (this always happens to me) the doubt becomes real and then you starting wondering again.

Point is this. If it’s your first 911 and you can afford the S then get the S. Otherwise you will always wonder.

smiles11

Anyone saying the S has more turbo-lag over a base is just a product of confirmation bias. This no longer applies to the 992 generation. FTR - I’ve owned both.