2020 992 C4S
Aventurine Green, RS Spyder Design Wheels with Colored Crests, Sport and Premium Packages, Leather interior with deviated stitching, LCA, PDLS+, Bose, 18 way seats, Power Steering Plus, Light Design Package




Modifications

• Paint Correction and CQuartz Prime Ceramic Coating
• Hardwired Radar Detector - Uniden R7, Blendmount, Mirror tap

Fast Facts

• When did you get your 992? October 2019
• Longest day behind the wheel? 17hrs -- Yes, that was a long day, but I could have kept going.
• States Traveled? 15 (PA, NJ, DE, MD, OH, IN, MI, IL, MO, OK, AK, TN, KY, WV, NY)
• Type of driving? Spirited mountain and backroads along with long distance driving. It’s rare that I don’t travel more than 100 miles when I hop in the 911.
• Warranty Repairs? None. Only necessary recalls
• First Porsche? Yes, this is the first Porsche that I have owned, but I have logged a few thousand miles behind the wheel of Other People’s Porsches, including the 996, 997, 991.
• Sets of Tires? I am still on my first set as the summies split the duty with the winter tires. I’ll need to replace both very soon.
• What seasons? All of them. I have driven the car through 3-4” of unplowed snow. It’s also seen freezing rain, gravel roads, dirt roads, and more.

Things nobody talks about?

• At speed, under the right conditions, you can tag that front SPASM lip to the ground. Did that and done that on a few occasions. It feels like it is worth some kind of “achievement unlocked”.
• When you’re driving in the cold and the rain, even the iron rotors get cool enough that it is good to give them a tap every once in a while.
• 992 AWD system is a nice improvement over the prior implementations -- it even lets you hang out the back end if you want to.
• The cupholder holds beverages firmly for the kind of driving that I do in this car. I’ve sent a water bottle flying out of the passenger cupholder pulling Gs, but the center one stays put.

Things that people make a big deal of that aren’t a big deal

• Gauge visibility - It’s practically a bit of 911 heritage
• CarPlay - The phone is typically the issue -- reset your iPhone and voila.
• Comfort Access - It works fine when you know how it works.
• Gear Selector - The nubbin is totally fine and one less thing to impale you in a crash.
• SPASM - Ride is very compliant and ground clearance is a non-issue if you approach steeper transitions at an angle
• Paint chips - I have a couple that you would only notice if I pointed them out to you. Not a chip magnet with the standard front fascia.

Things that people make a big deal of that are legit annoying

• HomeLink could be a lot more intuitive. It also would be very nice if it worked without the engine running. Profile doesn't always pop up automatically if the GPS isn't "awake". Tapping "Show all Profiles" on the PCM remedies that. You shouldn't have to select that first.
• Porsche Connect doesn’t always launch automatically for your Porsche ID like it should. I find it best to launch it right before I get in the car.
• The Vodafone MVNO that Porsche uses must be the cheapest and lowest QoS service that they could find. Putting your own SIM in the console significantly improves the performance of the PCM. Unfortunately, Porsche doesn’t give you any discount for using your own SIM.

Scariest moments in the car?

• Driving at 70MPH or so on the turnpike (that’s the speed limit here) and seeing a 2x4 laying across my lane. Boxed in, with no place to go, I grimaced and accepted “this is happening” -- the car drove right across and it ended up being a non-event.
• Person who nearly rear-ended me while I was stopped at a light. They got so close that the parking assist screen popped up and sensors beeped at me.

Best moments in the car?

• I got to experience the pandemic autobahn in all of its glory. I no longer have to wonder what it's like to drive in Germany. LOL
• Each and every road trip in the car -- the car and I have shared a lot of adventures in a short time.
• That one day that I decided to drive my tax stuff to the accountant in a snow storm. Unplowed roads. No one around. Pure hooliganism.

What's next for the car?

• I bought the car with the intent of driving it through all 48 states, plus a trip up to Alaska. The pandemic delayed those plans, but they're still on deck.
• At some point, there will be Fabspeed Sport Cats. I am holding off on them until I finish my 48 state tour.

Other Miscellaneous Notes

• With the 992 generation, I think that the single biggest change is that wider front end. Forget the other technology and improvements in the engine bay, the 992 is all about evolving the front end of the car. It’s a significant improvement over the prior cars. Having sorted out the back of the car, the front end is an obvious focus for Porsche this generation. Heck, they’ve even moved to double wishbones with the GT3.
• The 992 sounds so much better than the 991.2. It’s likely a combination of the resonance pipes and totally different heat exchanger/intercooler plumbing, but it’s a big improvement and regains much of what the 991 Carrera lost when it went to turbochargers with the 991.2.
• I recently had the second service done at 18k miles. I did the first service early (8k miles) due to a road trip. Pricing was downright reasonable and the dealer even shared videos with me.

 

Awesome write-up. Nice to read about someone’s long-term real world use and enjoyment.

 

Nice write-up and practical observations .Enjoy this brilliant car in good health.

 

Wonderful writeup. Love the format. Glad you have enjoyed the car. I just picked up my first Porsche 2 days ago: a C2 in guards red; and i am totally enamoured with it. I know most people lament the fact of the platforms growth; but while i cannot fit in a 997 due to shoulder width limitations I find the 992 to have ample room for the long trips you are enjoying.

 

QUOTE

• Porsche Connect doesn’t always launch automatically for your Porsche ID like it should. I find it best to launch it right before I get in the car.

END QUOTE

My 2020 C2S was also delivered in October 2019 (April build). I struggled with this issue for about 6 months and finally found a non intuitive setting in PCM that needed to be changed. Once done, never need to manually launch. This was discussed and posted in a thread at the time. I do not recall exact setting but it had something to do with permissions. Check all settings and let me know if you can't find and I will post settings photographs.

 

Superb post. Exactly the sort of information a new (newb) owner like myself, is looking for.
And I love the fact you are squeezing every gram (or should that be BHP) of enjoyment out of the car..
Look forward to your next report!

 

“pandemic autobahn” LMAO! Thanks for the great review!

 

If you do make it to WY or UT, I and a few car friends with fun rides would be happy to drive out to intercept you assuming calendars work. Great write-up, thanks.

 

Noted. Thank you!

 

Great report.

One thing that you did not mention but I think is with worth pointing out is the MPG the 992 911 can achieve while just cruising on the freeway.

Upwards of 35 mpg and higher is easily achievable.

 

This write generated pure smiles as I am preparing to pick up my Gentian Blue C4S from the dealer tomorrow after a long 6 month wait. What was the process of swapping out the SIM card? Did you just get a plan from
AT&T and drop in their card?

 

Thanks! I am using a Google Fi SIM. When you put your own SIM in, the internal SIM is disabled. Congrats on your C4S!

 

I love the format of this write-up. Well done! Your car looks great as well. That 2x4 bit even made me cringe while reading it. Lol!

 

I did the Dentansinn 2x4 leap a few years ago only it was a deceased bull elk and an Audi Q5. All 4 wheels caught air. Amazingly also no damage.

 

Straight out of BMW’s “The Hire” stunt toolbox.