Found a nice '99 996 locally, ridiculously cheap...suspiciously so. Went to drive it. They have records in the book of it being serviced locally so that's good, but no details. 7 services in 69k km.

Few notes/questions about it that may just be Porsche things.

1) The pedals are SO close together, it was cramping my legs. I'm 6'2" and just couldn't get comfortable...the steering wheel didn't appear to tilt so my knees were rammed against it from underneath and if i moved the seat back so they didnt I couldn't reach the streering wheel nicely. My G35 pedals are a good 5" wider in their placement. Basically my left leg had to merge right to hit the clutch properly. Very uncomfortable.

2) When I fired it up it whistled this VERY loud annoying low pitch whistle all throughout the cabin. It seemed to disappear at some point as at the end of the drive it was gone when I parked. It was astonishingly annoying and I don't recall hearing that in other 996s that I've been in that were fired up cold.

3) Acceleration was nice but only subtly faster than my G35, I was surprised it wasn't faster....felt like it should have been. Problem is I don't know what a nicely running Porsche feels like to drive so this one could be wacked and I'd have no idea.

4) When I opened the sunroof between 20-70km/h I got a god awful air pressure flutter. What horrible design. Had to crack a window to get rid of it. Seems like something a car in this range just shouldn't suffer from.

5) I noticed at the end of the drive I had the AC on the whole time. When I turned it off when idling the car idled with a nasty shudder...very rough idle. Smoothed out once I turned AC back on. I'm assuming it was AC...little snowflake button.

6) If I decide to have it inspected and it passes should I worry about the abnormally low price given it has local dealer stamps in the customer book for 7 services over 69.000km? Doesn't seem to have any body damage other than a few tiny paint dents and a few dime size paint problems where bird crap obviously sat on it and ate it.

 

1) I'm also 6'2" and find that lowering the seat all the way down, before adjusting the distance back, is the way to go.

I get the leg room I need that way.

2) Could have been the secondary air injection system at cold-start - basically an extra air injection pump that provides extra o2 to the exhaust system for a cleaner burn during fuel rich cold starts.

Difficult to tell without hearing it - were you in a garage with the windows down?

3) Can't comment - you need to test drive another 996 to get yourself a benchmark

4) Pressure 'pumping' is a feature - fixed on the latest 997 sunroof by all accounts - cracking window or adjusting the amount the sunroof is open is the only solution

5) Normal - AC off lowers revs, and the 996 seems rough at low RPM - the passenger seat shakes!

6) Go to the dealer where the service was done, and get the service records printed out (with owners permission of course) that will tell you what's been going on. Do this ahead of spending your $$ on PPI - it may save you from wasting your money if it's had serious work done.

Hope that helps!

 

I am 6'2" and my 996 is the most comfortable car I have owned in the sports car world, I have had about 10 sports cars.

The sound of a whistle sounds like a problem.

Sunroof cabin shutter - yep

I am pretty sure the 996 will wax the G35, I drove one and it felt really weak. FWIW, I have a TIP and spanked my friends 350 Z (manual) which makes a little more power over the G35 once I hit about 95MPH I pulled him big time.

Yes the passenger seats vibrates at idle, once AC is on, no more vibes.

I test drove a G35 right before the 996 and the 996 is 10Xs the car IMO.

 

Careful of the new 2007 G35S, almost the same 0-60 as the 996 5.0-5.1

What do you do about the left leg having to bend over to the middle of your body to hit the clutch properly since the clutch pedal is so far to the right on the floor? It was starting to ache. Maybe I just need to get used to it?

The whistling was definitely coming from the engine region. If I get to the PPI stage I'll make sure to ask them about i.

Phoned up the dealer that was stamped 5 times in the maintenance book. They only had record that car being in to them once, in 2003. Something is confused somewhere, just gotta figure out where...this car seems too cheap to be true. It's literally CA$10k cheaper than an exact clone of it (same year, mileage, options, colour) that's for sale elsewhere locally.

 

My friend owns a new G35 and it is no comparison in speed. None. Maybe you were short shifting or something..

 

a 0.1s 0-60 difference is no comparison? Does he have the automatic or something?

 

I drove a '05 G35 for a week and really did like the car and the power and handling but not as much as my 996. I didnt know that they have made a quicker one- might have to check that out.

 

I have a G35 as well as a 2000 996 C2. The G35 is very similar to a porsche, in the sense they are both wicked quick. The porsche would overtake a G35, but the G35 has a more smooth transmission imho.

Brian

 

There's a lot more to how a car feels than a published 0-60 time.

Maybe the motor on the one you drove today is a little tired? Test drive a few more to get a feel for the car.

Another thought is you might not have the seat back upright enough. Move the seat all the way back to give you leg room, lower it to give you headroom and adjust the seat back more upright so when your right shoulder is flat against the seat, you can place your right wrist on top of the steering wheel. That's a good place to start.

Cheers,

 

I drove my friends G35, the car felt very numb to me. Not as connected as the Porsche... I never really look at top speed or 0-60, I think a sports car is a sum of all it's parts.

 

Sports Car International just tested the new G35S 0-60 at 5.9...not exactly a 996 slayer! Most 996s in proper tune run high 4s 0-60, no way a heavier car w/305 HP is a threat in that regard.

 

Hm, that's an odd 0-60, the older 260hp ones ran that. I've seen (can't quote sources off the top of my head) quotes of 5.1-5.3 for the G35S (manual). The paddle shifting one gets 5.8 or something silly. But I agree 0-60 isn't everything, I simply need something faster than my current car

I also agree that the G35 feels a bit numb compared to the 911, without a doubt....the handling isn't anywhere near.

The servicing history of this car has thrown some confusion into the matter now. Gotta try to straighten it all out. Would be nice to buy locally so I don't have to buy some car from some random Joe in the usa and have to travel all the way down blah blah blah.... Although buying from a rennlister "feels" a bit safer...enthusiasts tend to take care of their toys better.

If only it had factory aero....

 

Well, first of all, Porsche's 0-60 figures are always conservative. Several magazines tested my car, a 99 C2, at 4.6 secs.

Half a second is quite significant in 0-60mph times.

Another thing to remember is that what is important in a race- and especially a stoplight-to-stoplight race (which Porsche couldn't give a crap about anyway), is time to distance, rather than time to speed.

The Porsche has much, much better traction than a G35 in acceleration, and not only would it spank it in 0-60mph, it would spank it in time to distance.

Now, don't think that the two are one in the same. It's very possible to have a car that wins the 0-60mph time, and loses the dragrace anyway because of time to distance.

I remember I had this argument one time with someone, and proved it with a couple Road and Track magazines. I compared their Road Test data that they did with the GT3 and a Gallardo, in seperate issues. Each month they do an in-depth test and show the graphs, and tons of data gathered- and even the methods they figured out for fastest launch for particular cars. Anyway, the Gallardo beat the GT3 in 0-60mph by several tenths of a second, HOWEVER, the GT3 beat it in time to distance. Looking at their data, it showed that the best possible runs for each car had the GT3 well ahead by time the Gallardo had "beat it" to 60. The data showed the Gallardo would have passed it slowly somewhere aroudnd 93mph or something like that.

So anyway, all I'm trying to say is that not only would a typical 996 beat the G35 easily in 0-60mph, but it would stomp all over it in time to distance. And of course, it's acceleration advantage would really show once over 100mph or so- where it just keeps going, and going, and going.

Magazine and internet racing is really competitive, but in practice you'll see that a 911 is simply in a different league.

Not that the G35 isn't a very nice, and desirable car, but please..

 

hey..... i have the G35 coupe 04 with the sports package.... brembo etc.....it's supercharged with a Stillen Stage 4, ........and ALL the good mods......
anyways, speaking from 1st hand experience, the G35 is a Great car...... it handles very well, and as stated, the transmission is super smooth.......however, it's a sedan built to be a sports car, while the porsche is a sports car..........handling hands down goes to the porsche......... but for smoother rides and a great feel i like my G. of course now with the forced induction, it's much much faster then my porsche.......... but if i can choose only one.............i'd give it to the porsche............ but by no means is the G a bad, or sub standard car.........

 

As I understand it, 996 (and maybe all P's) steering wheels don't tilt - they just move forward and back. I had the same issues when I got mine - and I'm only 5'6". It's the position of the steering wheel and seat. Heck, even NBA players fit in stock Porsches. As stated above, try moving the seat down and back until you fit nicely, and then pull the steering wheel to its home.
I guess you aren't heel-toeing much in the G35. Those 5" wider pedals would be one reason I wouldn't get the G35. Hard to track that baby...
Run.
Test Drive another - but run from this one.
I thought mine had this issue, but there is an air damper-thingy that was stuck in the down position. I "popped" it up and the thumping goes away. It's at the front of the sunroof and looks like a little plastic bar with "waves" in it. On the next test drive, take a look for it.
Sounds odd to me - mine doesn't do this. Maybe another run sign.
I would be concerned. If you can get an aftermarket warranty - then maybe. But all signs point to "pass" IMO.

-td