Dwane

Walter Rohrl bought his 964...Just sayin'

JM993

Exactly.

Mark in Baltimore

Sorry, guys, I've driven 3.2's, 964's and 993's on the road and on the track. I know what the LSA suspension is supposed to do, I know that the LSA suspension can help, and I know that mechanics can really muck it up. That all said, despite the advantages of LSA, I think it's overrated and would hardly use it as a criteria for deciding if I should buy a 993 or 964. No matter what choice is made, both the 964 and 993 will have similar handling characteristics on the street and at the limit on the track. I daresay that, if blindfolded, most drivers could never tell the difference between the two cars in terms of handling. My 3.2 with its sh*tty stock suspension and Stone Age geometry was an incredibly forgiving and easy-to-drive car on the track and taught me that this rear-engined Porsche was not to be driven in fear or anxiety. My $0.02.

911Jetta

Great debate guys... surprised to see the 964 is still hanging in there at this point.

Teuton993, Follow your heart, find the 933 that you are meant to have. I've seen many wonderful "new owner" posts with some amazing cars recently. Wait it out. Increase the radius of your search and road trip it home!

Both 964 and 933 are great cars for similar and different reasons.
Great comments Mark. I hear the LSA is pretty tricky to align/set up also? Keep in mind a 993 will not walk all over a 964. At this point in history, it's really about how the car has been maintained. I can draw a large mechanical pro/con list for either car, but that's pretty theoretical.

The BIG difference here is the looks of each car, I just really like the that fact that the 964 retains so much of the classic 911 silhouette from the original design (but with a 3.6 engine!). But, when I first saw the 993, I said to myself, "that's EXACTLY how the car should be updated!"

What do you want to see in your garage... many 993 owners just aren't attracted to the 964's looks. To each their own. If you really want a 993 (for looks alone even), you'll never been satisfied with a 964, no matter how good it is...

fishing

I have owned my 964 cab for 11 years. It is a great car. The 993s are great cars too. IMO, you can't go wrong with either choice. The 993s have several improvements, as mentioned, over the 964. However, this does not make the the 964 unattractive. I personally like the looks of the 964 almost as much as the 993. Funny, I had the same price issue when I bought mine and I don't regret having the 964.

JM993

You're certainly entitled to your opinion. I disagree - apparently along with Paul Frere and also Porsche suspension engineers. (How many Porsches - or ther sports cars for that matter - use semi trailing arm suspension today?) Having driven the 3.2, 964 and 993, there's a significant improvement in the 993's handling characteristics.

vincer77

Ok, here are my $0.02...

After deciding that I wanted a 911, my choice was either an early car, '72S, or a 993. Inspite of the obvious difference in cost (for a good car), the early 911 will always remain a special car and I believe is worth the premium. However, when I considered the idea of owning what essentialy would be a museum piece, i decided I wanted to have a car I could enjoy on the street.

Therefore, I went to the 993 as it is the highest development of the original 911 concept. It would be hard to argue that the 993 does not have the best suspension, engine, chassis etc... of any air-cooled 911. I never really considered the intermediate cars, except for the '83SC cab - as it was the first cabriolet model. I think I did shortly consider an earlier turbo.

Cheers,

Vince

mongrelcat

Good advice. For $30K you should get a car that needs nothing. I bought my C2 last Spring for $22,5 but promptly put $5K into it to get it right, not including slippery slope items.

I looked a bit online last night and it seems 993 prices are up slightly from this time last year, or even last Fall. I may be wrong, I didn't spend a whole lot of time...

But even at 993 market bottom, $25K for a "needs nothing" car was/is pushing it. IMHO.

OP, If $25K is the absolute max you can spend go with a 964. Even with a "needs nothing" 993/964 I would expect to spend something on it straight out of the gate --- for maintenance and/or freshening or the dreaded slippery slope if you can't stay away from Rennlist

And don't forget to listen.

911Jetta

jmarch,
Throw out all the names you want to support your argument...

The LSA was an improvement, obviously it has the ability to control wheel travel better and with more comfort. Just make sure you have a tech that knows how to align the thing...

Each generation of 911 naturally benefits from improved engineering. It's the significant improvement part that I have think is over stated... noise wise, sure. I have too many exhaust bypasses, motor mounts upgrades and insulation taken out to care about that anyway...

Talk about old suspension designs... how many other sports cars still use MacPherson strut front suspensions today... GT3 does. I'm sure M3 owners are laughing at that...

No doubt MY02 18" Wheels look super on a 993... and at this point in history, it's about the looks and rawness of the cars... I doubt I would be any happier with a 993 than a 964, so in my case I'm set.

Tuton993 board name says a lot... find that 993 you've always wanted!

bpras@msn.com

I currently have a 92 964 C2 and a 97 993 C2. They are both great cars. I lowered the 964 with Bilstein HD shocks and added Wevo engine mounts. It is solid and feels right. I did RS engine mounts the 993 but it is still on the Monroe shocks with the SUV ride height and will be updated to the HD or PSS 9 or 10 shocks in the near future. The 993 is quicker and will probably be the one I decide to keep after I upgrade the suspension.

I do all the work on the cars and the 964 is easier to work on because it does not have the Varioram injection. The 964 requires valve adjustments, a considerable time sink considering all the parts that have to be removed to get access to the valves.

When you select the car you want, have an expert go over the body condition for prior damage and corrision issues. The can be easily overlooked and can be expensive to fix at a later date.

Enjoy the hunt!

911Jetta

bpras,
Great post, wise advice, PM me when you want to sell the '92.
Great avtar also. I grew up in Kansas...
Udo

race911

Then please illustrate how. Each generation FEELS better, even in "sporting" street driving. We can even call a 993 most forgiving, in reference to the "better on a bumpy road" comment above. But when it comes down to running flat out, and any notion of having better drivability or grip? I just don't see it in the data. Both are equally comfortable at the limit. I've competed (time trial or wheel to wheel) in every air cooled generation of 911 since 1981. And anyone can look at 15 years of club racing results to see what some very advanced and talented amateurs can wring out of each platform.

Now, if you or anyone, thinks you are running the car at the max on the street, I'll just quit participating in the conversation. Say I can run 2:10 (Thunderhill, full), 1:45 (Laguna), or 1:54 (Sears) in the C4S. If those were public roads, my pace would likely be 2:30, 2:00 and 2:10. If not slower. Those are little more than behind-the-pace-car laps running wheel-to-wheel.

LastMezger

Truth.

Mark in Baltimore

IMHO, Ken and 911Jetta are spot-on here. I've driven 964's and 993's, and they all feel pretty much the same at the limit on the track and driven spiritedly on the street. Heck, I've felt more model-to-model variations amongst 993's than I do between 993's and 964's.

I understand that the experts say that the latest and greatest is supposed to be better. Again, I submit that one would have the hardest time telling the on-road, dynamic differences between the two types in a "blindfold" test. The differences are too insignificant.

Lloyd

If you buy the 964 enjoy it! When you sell the 964, you would have wished that you bought the 993.