windydog

I am only interested in a 1989 because they have a G50 transmission. I am not looking for a garage queen either. I plan to drive the car so I am not afraid higher millege cars.

I am not intrested in purchasing a car from a dealer, I would prefer a Pvt. Party because I want to meet the original owner.

I wish I would have bought one years ago, I could have saved some cash.

nine9six

Lol, those final parting words could be applied to lots of previous Porsche iterations

Now all thats left is your due dilligence, trolling the usual places... Autotrader, fleabay, craigslist, pelican, rennlist, pca...

Higher mile turbos that are not, or have not been well maintained, are usually stressed significantly more than the NA counterparts. Thats one of the positives of the M491 cars, sans the HP.

p.s. buying pvt party does not assure meeting the original owner; just the last owner.

GLWS - Good Luck With the Search!

Kaefer

My $0.02 based on my 2 hot rods - an '87 930 and a '88 Carrera cab with a '97 Varioram engine. Both are very funs cars in different ways.

The 930 has less torque than the '88 3.6 from idle to about 2500 RPM. From there boost kicks in and the 930 feels to have 50-100hp over the Varioram 3.6. Both cars have similar gearing in the first 4 gears.

In normal driving the '88 3.6 is a peppier and generally easier car to drive. The torque advantage between idle-2500 is fun and of course the 3.6 is no slacker on the top end either.

Good times...

Gt3stig

Totally agree!

callipygian 911

That's why I'm asking. I've never driven one, and am merely parroting the conventional wisdom I've heard over and over for many years.

Interesting data point. Thanks for sharing.

Quadcammer

930s look cool as hell.

thats about it.

They are not very enjoyable to drive. Something best left to looking at and daydreaming about the good old days when men were men type crap.

race911

I just wish I had every variant so I could throw keys out to whoever wanted to know what's what. I am SO glad I got to work on, drive, and track sample (most often not one of my own) really every air cooled from a 2.0 SWB through the 993 Turbo.

The most minimal time behind the wheel would dispel the press bull****. (Sadly, it's getting worse by the day.)

JM993

Spot on.

Great to look at, but the criminally bad throttle response (like GM diesels from the 80's bad), poor handling (tons of initial understeer) and slow steering.

JB 911

A local guy added one to his 993tt and seems to really like it. I think what Ken is saying is true but you have to be a driver to enjoy that car or you will end up in a ditch in short order. They also have no abs, so there is another opportunity to end up in trouble and seemingly they lock up faster than a 993 na brakes do. Of course the 993 has abs to bail you out at that point.

Then there was the rl-er who showed up a couple years ago who bought like 30 new Porsches, anyone remember him? Every year on his birthday off to the Porsche dealership and buy a brand new Porsche. What a life. I seem to remember out of all of them the 930 was right up there in his favorites. My first ride in a Porsche was in a 930 when they were still new. The driver did a 0-90 for me. I wanted one of those cars for so long after that.

axl911

Oh yeah. Driving a 930 is a serious experience. The suspension is antiquated and harsh. Steering and brakes are heavy. The pre-g50 gear box is vague at best. Managing that boost is a challenge.

Imagine you coming into a corner a bit too hot...
back off the throttle a bit and the boost is gone...
the tail is getting nervous and you realize you need gas to stabilize it....
but off boost, the engine is a slug and won't provide the weight transfer....
you pray and steer for your life....
boost then come on in a rush and you are steering and praying for your life again.

It's a very manly car no doubt about it.

In black and a nice set of wheels, it is a car fitting for Darth Vader himself. I would love to have one!

race911

How prepped was your car? I never got behind the wheel of any of the factory new 3.0 and early US 3.3s (lots of 5-15 year old ones, which had mostly been screwed with by then).

Bottom line is that a stock 930 is not roll stiff enough in the back, because the factory wanted the car to understeer on-throttle.

But as I said above, it's not that big of a deal if you've got half a brain. My customer base buying the reintroduced '86 was everything from early 20's guys like me to a couple of women who drove them daily--one snowbird who put 30K on hers in the first year. Only unhappy guys were those who were budget limited, yet chasing speed on track.