audionut

Went for another drive. What a great car. Reminds me of the short time I owned a Norwood Twin Turbo Testarossa...what a rush! Except I can drive this one all year round. That Testarossa was unbelievable. From 4000rpm on, it just pulled and pulled! Had it on a dyno while tweaking the motronic system, and baseline pull up to 5000 rpm showed 650hp at the rear wheels, with lots more to go! Unfortunately, I sold it to my friend...he's getting a Brembo system put on. I'll get him to dyno the beast again this spring once all the tweaking is finished.

If we can work out the little details, I think we may have a deal!

By the way, what options were available on the 96 TT? Thanks everyone.

Rob 97 993c2

in weather other than snow / salt / ice - i think the car is a find daily driver.
if you use it in snow, then you MUST put snow tires on as the performance tires are very dangerous and an accident waiting to happen - to be honest i dont think the damage from salt is worth it and perhaps you can use it as a daily driver for 75% of the year and use a beater car for the snow/salt. Also, if your commute is lots of stop and go traffic and not a fun drive, then there is no reason to use the TT - get an old subaru or something to beatup.

CP

With the road conditions and congestion in China, this is quite a feat. Who works on your tt in China?

CP

Moose

Daily driver here. 50 mile round trip communte with traffic. Dallas doesn't get much snow but when it ices, I do wish I had something else for someone to hit. I actually find that the car drives better when it is driven everyday. These cars are meant to be driven, with the proper maintenance, you should have no issues.

Tour18

I don't get to drive anything daily because I like to make sure everything gets some road time. However, I must say my 993TT time is really a treat. God, what a wonderful machine.

Can anyone tell me why they stopped making the 993? I bet whoever made that decision got fired.

dbtk

Drive mine every day here in SF. Not the most practical car for stop and go, hilly urban driving but still a joy to drive. With the ROW suspension it is a little teeth chattering.

ca993twin

Tour18,

First of all... happy birthday. 52? You are but a boy.
993s were too expensive to build... 1964 design.
Aerodynamics and chassis stiffness needed update.
Water cooling can help emissions.
SOHC and 2 valve engines are just so... yesterday. Big HP gain with DOHC and 4 valves.
Customers wanted "cushier" cars with cupholders.

For me... I love my 993, warts and all.

adsc4s

The 996 was a quantum leap forward. It was quieter, more fuel efficient, more green, more ergonomically fitted, more powerful, faster, quicker, lighter, comfortable ,etc than the 993. The 993 was to, hopefully keep Porsche is business until the 996 came and knocked everyones socks off.

If you look at sales of the 996, it was indeed a financial success.

If you look at the 993, it was/is an engineering success.

tifosi66

CP...road conditions in this part of China,i.e Dalian is more or less very much european-like...think of the Chinese equivalent of the french Autoroute. Dalian is a 'planned' city with many a western Europe Architecture and the place where I am located is the Development Zone, which has very little traffic and cool condensed air everyday! Beautiful weather for sports cars, alas not many around 'cos the fellas here go for size..bigger is better, they say..
As for maintenance, I send the TT to an independent specialist who services BMW mainly but has experience with Porsches when he was in Hong Kong. Spares wise are difficult, nothing major so far and I bring the perishables myself like brake-pads and spark plugs from Malaysia/Singapore every two weeks. My contract expires by end of March and will head back to Malaysia. Thereon I plan to trade in my F-car for most probably a MY2004 GT-3. I've already a buyer for the TT in Dalian, and he's an expat too, from Norway. Already informed him of the forum and I guess he will be chipping in his comments in future.

CP

Very interesting. I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and have friends doing business in Shenghei/Zhouchau area. I last visited China in 1997. Things must have changed dramatically since then. For the better I'd presume.

Are you Asian by any chance? Just curious.

CP

tifosi66

CP, talking about progress, you'd never believe how far these folks have gone. They're as Capitalist as you can get, and people trading in bicycles and/or small motorcycles for cars! Dalian is China's 'model' state and infrastructure-wise is up there with the best the West has to offer. I have seen, in Shanghai during the F-1 season, two Enzos, two CGT with a gaggle of current P-Car and F-Cars...with the blue chinese license plates..Yes, I am an Asian, a Malaysian. Trying to make more money to sustain my interest in cars and bikes...Being in the tt to and fro from work is the best therapeutic treatment.....bottomline is..the 993tt can be a daily driver if you want/have to.

jcaine

I think what is being asked here is can the car handle being driven daily in all traffic conditions... the answer is definitely YES. These cars are as reliable as any air cooled Porsche, which means VERY. You can use it as a grocery getter without the problems you may experience with other hi-end sports cars like most Ferraris. It won't start sputtering in traffic or overheat on the freeway, etc. I wouldn't recommend driving around in traffic running 20 errands , 2 blocks at a time but you can certainly do it. I wouldn't make a habit of driving in snow just because you don't want salt and corrosion but the car will definitely handle it... rememeber these are born and bread in Germany, not exactly tropical.

Of course it's up to you whether you want to drive a real sports car everyday but it sounds like you do. This is a drivers car... it's no SL. You want to drive at least a couple of days a week just to keep the seals wet and the battery up. These cars hate to sit for extended periods.

I say get it and drive it.... get yourself a beater too for when you need to haul stuff or there are inches on the ground. you'll be in heaven.

CP

Back on topic. While the tt can certain;y be used as a daily driver. However, if most of your trips are short trips, (below 7-8 miles) then you need to pay special attention to warming up and cooling down the turbo. Turbos are best when fully warmed up and cooled down. Don't ask me how I know.

CP

dbtk

CP, so true. With an average drive of only 2-3 miles at a time waiting for the turbos to cool down can be a challenge. I have already received complaints from friends having to wait while around my TT cools down.

ploglet

I drive mine as much as possible and take it into the Colorado mountains to go skiing all the time. We dont salt the roads here but we do sand them. So no rust but front chips. Be sure to get some good tires for the winter if you are going to drive it in the snow. It is not that difficult to drive in the snow but due to the lightness and the amount of power the car has you need to tender foot the car in the snow. In the summer I put the roof rack on the car for my bikes and in the winter I throw the ski rack on it. I love going up Loveland Pass in the car when it is dry. Nothing like 100mph up the pass. People move over plenty fast.
The car is not a bad driver, as long as you dont mind getting in and out of the car. And then there is the added fact of parking the car with others around you. That is the part that I like least. I drive my S4 a lot but dont hesitate to take the TT even when there is snow. I would say, if you like the car and are willing to put some miles on it, go for it.