User 41221

Thanks for the advice! Sounds like I need to lower my expectations on tires but thats easy enough to live with. No one is saying anything that is deterring me so far. I just took a trip KC-Vegas-KC in my 951 two weeks ago, and then drove KC-Portmouth NH-KC in my '84 944 last week and was perfectly comfortable in both (both have sport seats). The only real complaint I have in either was road noise, and quite frankly, while both cars are dead reliable and a blast to drive, the prospect of 20+ year old electrical components failing is a very real concern and one that I don't want to have to bother with while working. For the record, I also have an '84 944 and my wifes '82 928 in addition to the cars listed in my sig, so I am no stranger to the marquee.

As for the "get a Camry" comment... meh. I already have a 2008 Colorado Z-71 and a 2008 Impala LTZ if I wanted to go that route. I haven't taken a long trip in anything thats been more comfortable than my 944/951/968 (all three get driven to either coast on a regular basis), but figured for work, why not get a newer Porsche and run the wheels off it? For fun, I doubt I will find anything that inspires me more than my 951 (light car with 350rwhp and suspension mods), unless I went to a 996TT and thats not in the budget for a company car.

Eharrison

I thought about it and ended up getting a 09 Audi A4 and really like it Plus I get to keep my toy more aggressive than something that I'd like to drive for 5 hours on a highway.

If it's a company car I would recommend being careful in what you present to customers/clients. In this day it's always good to look sensible in what you have. Not everyone understands cost of ownership of a Porsche and they might take it the wrong way.

ivangene

911 over cayman, the little extra room will really pay off if you are planning to drive it that much. Then just install a jammer/detector since the more miles you drive the higher the chance of meeting the local sheriff becomes.

lastly, the 911 is amazing in snow, I would rather drive mine than the SUV and I have a C2. C4 must be better !

sjfehr

That's it, your Porsche license will have to be revoked now, terribly sorry.

Also, if you don't ever drive 170mph, do you really need 170mph tires?

Van

Go for it. Getting a 996 daily driver was one of the best things I ever did!

ejdoherty911

Yes, it would be a great daily driver.

Tbred911

daily is great... just keep the suspension stock... and get good tires... tires are the key to comfort...

Silver C

Driven a 99 C2 in Canada for 3 years year round. Get a set of winters if you need to, summers don't cut it at all below freezing. Only conditions that beat me are when the snow is deeper than the ground clearance. C4 does steer better in snow, C2 front can float in very low traction as there is no weight transfer to load the front wheels. C4 has all that extra weight right there. Haven't tried a bag of sand in the front though

Ray S

+1

cdaniels

Good point about prospect/customer's perception of what you drive....people like to buy from people they can identify with...sales 101....

Eharrison

Thanks, and one more point.....Never get a nicer car than your boss...... Continual Employment 201....."Don't be noticed, and other ways to survive this economy."

Wellardmac

yes and no. No, you don't need them for the speed, but the softer compound and enhanced grip are always good to have when throwing the car around corners at speed. You can never have too much grip.

On my last set of tires I downgraded from Y rated tires to W rated tires in the hope of getting more treadwear (340 vs 220) and in the end it made no difference to the life of the tires, so it's better to go with the higher speed rating even if the only thing you get is traction.

Wellardmac

Absolutely. My father owned his own business for 30 years and got nothing but grief over the cars he drove. He made a point of never taking his nice cars out on business, but got grief from the people who knew him who would make snide comments about him making too much money.

He retired and sold his business last year to a guy that owns a 997S - the first thing my father told him when he showed up to the store driving the car was to never, even take it out on customer calls if he wanted to have loyal customers.

Not enough can be said about empathy in sales. Drive an expensive car and at the very least it generates envy and at worst it generates anger. People never understand that those that own businesses deserve to reap the benefits of the hard work, risk and sacrifices that they make. I'm sure if the shoe were on the other foot they would hate to be picked on for their financial choices.

wwest

Having made three coast to coast trips in a 996, a '99 first and then our '01 C4 twice I would not recommend it. I would suggest instead a Lexus LS4X0. Now, were my distance driving on the Autobahn.....

Not that the 996 was uncomfortable just that's it REALLY hard to drive it slow enough to avoid.....

Even our '01 F/awd RX300 runs on nice and quiet and comfortably riding summer use only tires all year 'round but a set of tire chains at the "ready", two sets during the winter months. Winter specialty tires do not offer much of an advantage on ice or parked snow.

Phil G.

I'll be lucky to get 9K out of my car, period. What else would you expect me to post on a 996 DD thread??