JAB12

Ladies before going to sleep until the next drive.



1996 993 C4S




1997 993 C2S

Hello, some of you have asked me about the driving experience differences between a 993 C4S and a 993 C2S. I have only been so fortunate to have captured two driven but exceptionally well cared for examples of a 993 C4S and a 993 C2S that fit perfectly within my ownership goals and budget and what I wanted to achieve and obtain out of these cars once everything was right and I decided I was going to search and purchase them. I fell in love with Porsche when I was a kid and having these air cooled in my parking spots is basically a ten fold dream come true and made true by a lot of hard work, blood sweat and tears as I am sure it is for most car enthusiasts, specifically of the Porsche Marque. The tears have come by way of maintaining these cars up to the standard as well, as we all know, owning them and enjoying them as they should does not come without that heavy price tag of the upkeep costs. So I feel and share your pain as well.

I figured I'd post the experience in simple terms as I am no professional driver or technical expert but have had my share of pushing vehicles hard when given enough road length and conditions are safe enough not to be considered a reckless driver, with the occasional speeding ticket or two, but totally worth it.

In my short ownership I have had to do absolutely nothing to any of these cars as both were/are in superb mechanical condition as I credit both previous owners for that. As most of you that have met me through this forum and in my search know, I never cared for low or higher mileage cars, I care about condition, both mechanically and cosmetically, and verifiable service history with no previous accidents. The other stuff about stock this or that, radio, original paint bla bla, that is to each his own. IMHO these cars were meant to be driven and you take the 'good' with the realistic. With that said, here are 10 points of comparisons of driving experience in the first 300 miles driven on each vehicle now that I have comparable seat time on both.

1996 911 993 C4S: Midnight Blue Metallic/Cashmere

1.- Time spent looking: Online mostly as well as through network: 2.5 years (overlapped time with search for specific color combo 964 which I found first). It never occurred to me to join Rennlist probably would have shaved a few years or search time had I done it sooner so Kudos to the community for facilitating the exchanges between total strangers in love with these cars.
2.- Ownership: Owned since mid December 2017. Purschased from Private Owner RL posting. PPI Expense: $834.00 including cost of PPI and minor cosmetic items done. Nothing else needed. Weeping chain covers left for later down the road no leaks.
3.- Miles Driven: 573. Odometer total: 86,739
4.- Exterior Condition: 9/10 after no respray paint correction done by me.
5.- Interior Condition: 8/10, 2 points off for driver seat bolster needs attention and areas of carpet as they all do. Will have this replaced at Soft Side Trim when I can live without the car for a week plus few days. Not ready for that yet.
6.- Driving: A blast to drive and vehicle is extremely forgiving on over steer as it is an all wheel drive. I have pushed it hard and have never squealed on a hard turn. Car over corrects and you can be much less of a driver for handling. Shifting is a little rougher or at least feels like it. You feel the harder pull on the C4S..
7.- Limited Slip option, not felt on C4S.
8.- Maximum Speed Driven for atleast 5 miles: 135 mph, or at least what the ODO said. You know these can be tricky.
9.- Launch is slower on C4S, as has added weight.
10.- Break to a stop with downshifting in less distance in my estimation.

1997 911 993 C2S: Arctic Silver/Black

1.- Time spent looking: Online mostly as well as through private network: 8 months.
2.- Ownership: Owned since mid late March 2018. Purschased from Private Owner RL contact. PPI Expense: $6,832.00 including cost of PPI,new brakes and all other items done. Nothing else needed. Weeping chain covers left for later down the road no leaks.
3.- Miles Driven: 379. Odometer total: 196,331. Yes, you read right! 196k and counting, car looks and feels like a 35k mile car, especially after latest service.
4.- Exterior Condition: 9.5/10. No paint correction needed.
5.- Interior Condition: 8/10, 2 points off for both front seats being redyed at some point during previous ownership and 2 dash buttons need replacement as minor areas of carpet as they all do. Will have these replaced at Soft Side Trim when I get the C4S back. Not ready for departing from the C2S anytime soon either.
6.- Driving: Need to focus to drive and vehicle is not at all forgiving on over steer, you can find yourself flat off butt first in a split second if you don't know what you're doing. I have pushed it hard and squealing on a hard turn is kind of the norm. Car does not over correct and you have to be somewhat of a driver for handling the higher speeds. Shifting is smoother or at least feels like it. You feel the harder push on the C2S..
7.- Limited Slip option most definitely engaged.
8.- Maximum Speed Driven for atleast 5 miles: 125 mph, or at least what the ODO said. You know these can be tricky.
9.- Launch is faster on C2S, as has less weight, although just a little less, you can definitely feel the difference. Car glides while hugging the road vs C4S that rips it.
10.- Break to a stop with downshifting in just a little bit more of a distance in my estimation.

Hope these pointers help for those of you who are still looking into getting into this madness. PM me for more additional details, always happy to expand the Pcar network and help out. Good luck with your searches and/or tenure.
Porsche On!!

JAB12

Mike Murphy

Jay777

Funny, the 2S looks wider than the 4S in the pic.
How'd you manage to drive 2 cars simultaneously?

JAB12

Oh you mean you don't have that option button in your C2S? C'mon Jay you have to spec out your cars better my friend...

JAB12

Thank you for the compliments, I thought so myself and made both POs know. Just fortunate they landed my way at the right time. I think on average there are about 6+ 'interested parties' per 993 S/4S offering with about 2 serious and ready to act buyers behind them. You snooze you loose basically when good examples that meet your needs come by. I am just carrying on what others before me started.

My C2S screeches at 90 Degree turns, not sure if the deriere goes a few MMs off the ground but I can definitely feel the difference vs the C4S on same situation. Pedal to the almost metal on both cases.

Gbos1

Great write up! I also drove both and preferred the C4S over the C2S. Also agree with ... if you find one you like and is a good deal, you better act on it ASAP or you will loose it.

JAB12

NYC993

HelpMeHelpU

NYC993: Are you saying there's little or no difference driving on dry between C4S and C2S? (Not challenging comment, as I'd really like to know.)



Thanks for sharing your journey, J! I am sure this is the first of many good shares. Enjoy your cool rides.

ftlaud911

Interesting that you own both. Your a very lucky man! I have never had a 4wd car before. The front end definitely feels heavier. My c2s 997 was super light in the front and felt more playful, but not as stable at highway speed. The 993 c4s is insane to me how much grip it has. I have yet to hear the tires even make a noise. They are the cheap sumitomo HTZ III's. I find myself amazed during turn in and the car feels like it will defy the law of physics. I have only tried to push it a couple times just to test. I have a tight roundabout and keep going around in the circle to see how hard I could go before I rubbed while adjusting coilover height. Keep going faster and faster and no sound once at the optimal height. The only thing I want is more power. Car is not a speed demon. It is quick enough to have fun while not going straight to jail. I knew that going in, but I think 100hp more would be perfect. Wish I could afford the turbo, it we all have spending limits. Please keep updating us!

NYC993

I'm gonna guess it's minimal (probably non-existent on the street except in driver's head), but what I'm saying is that tires and set up makes more difference that AWD and slightly bigger brakes.
You can make the same car scary and then realign and make it drive beautifully.
Tires make a huge difference.
Tire pressures will affect tire performance.

I'll be honest I've never driven a C2S, but drove a few 993s on the street and they all feel somewhat the same and slightly different.
My car now is essentially C2S but with working LSD and big reds. I didn't see much difference when I removed AWD. There was much bigger impact from rebuilding LSD...much more understeer.

Mike Murphy

Gbos1

What do you mean by this? You have a NB 993 and made it into a C2S widebody ? ? ?

NYC993