AutoAtlanta

I was faintly aware that 996TTs were dropping in price, possibly reaching the bottom of their depreciation curve, but it was thrust into the light recently by the Excellence article.

So, what didn't they cover? What is the downside, or low point of TT ownership?

Is the "bad reputation" of the standard 996 and the M96 issues bringing down the Turbo even though it uses the GT1 derived engine? Is it misinformation that is dropping the prices, or is there an underlying problem that isn't being talked about?

If I were to buy one, where should I start? What is "first mod" worthy?

jimq

they made to many of them.

LVDell

The story wasn't really a good "buyer's guide" story. Instead is what trying to show what $25K will get you. What it gets you is a 130K mile, 01 with mods.

The four things that will bring down price, this one had three.
1. first model year which didn't have the 02-05 updates (2001)
2. high miles (130K miles)
3. mods (while many like to mod, most would prefer a stock form and do them after the fact)
4. Tiptronic

There have been a few great threads here that are fantastic "buyer's guide" threads.

Pricing seems to be coming back up on these cars, especially with good example inventory drying up. Most 02-05 examples are in the 40s-50s right now.

mid 40s to low 50s seems to be the sweet spot to acquire a very fine example.

Here is a thread to get you started:
LINK 1
Check out post 12 particularly.

jbossolo

No down sides, really. I drive an 02 car that will put to shame and outperform any 2011 car out there, Porsche included.

First and most cost effective mod is an ECU flash, combined with an exhaust. Both will do wonders for the car, and are easily reversible to stock configuration. The slope becomes a LOT "sliperrier", and costly after that!

Kevinmacd

Hmm intersting, the 2011 is pretty fast, and add the S on top of that, find it pretty hard to imagine that a street car can out perform the Turbo S. It would take quit a bid of mods to equal.

tvurt

It takes 650 awhp and PERFECT shifting to keep up with a 2011 Turbo PDK . . .I can't pull one on low boost (580 awhp) . .at all . . and that is from a roll....

And to the OP, mid 40k will bring you a nice car. If you are going to mod, buy one with the mods you want. The price will be the almost the same a a stock car. I would buy a car from rennlist, 6speed, or pelican.

Tom

Kevinmacd

Yup an 02 according to the latest Excellence magazine should pull in 44 to 47 on a mint car with low mileage.

Macster

What? Wait? There's a downside to owning a 996 Turbo? I want my money back!

Seriously, I'm not aware of any real downside other than given how much I drive my Turbo (60K miles from June 09 to now) the running costs (fuel and tires mainly) are higher than with other (and lesser!) cars I own or have owned.

The first mod? Get your *ss in a Turbo driver's seat.

Sincerely,

Macster.

Dock

Where does the power produced by all your mods show up in the RPM range? It must be at the mid to high RPMs. The 2011 Turbo PDK has 500 HP at the flywheel, and the Turbo S PDK has 530 at the flywheel. From a roll, PDK has far less impact on acceleration than it does from a standing start using launch control.

In terms of peak power (low boost in your car), you should be at least 130 hp better than the Turbo, and 100 hp better than the Turbo S.

c32AMG-DTM

My guess is the power/torque shows up at all rpms from his mods, but mainly mid-high as you guess as well. The shift-speed of PDK allows the 997.2TT/S to punch well above their respective hp/tq weight classes in straightline performance. I think there's also some speculation (not sure if ever confirmed/denied) that the flywheel output figures might be underrated a bit.

Assuming an excellent driver, how much hp/tq does it take in a 6MT 996TT to run 10.8 in the 1/4?

If you do a second-gear roll, and aren't powershifting to avoid severe transmission damage if you don't hit it perfect, you lose precious time (and boost) on the 2-3, and the 3-4, and ??? depending on how high the roll-race goes. The PDK doesn't... and it takes a lot of excess power to make up that ground once you're back in gear and back up to full boost.

YMMV.

c32AMG-DTM

Excellent post - agree 100%.

Dock

A stock 997 Turbo runs 10.8?

If it does, then launch control has to be factored into the 10.8 time. Trap speed would be a better indicator of Hp/torque.

The very conservative +130 hp advantage the modified 996 Turbo (in low boost) has over the 997 Turbo should easily make up for the time and boost lost between gear changes.

c32AMG-DTM

A stock 997.2 TTS (PDK standard) ran 10.8 @ 129 AFAIK. IIRC, they also do 0-60 around 2.7-2.9. Veyron territory, bone stock.

Sure, LC is helping from a dig, but PDK is the real game-changer for straightline performance of these cars. As you mention, trap speed is indeed a good indicator of HP. But, in head-to-head races (roll or otherwise), time is what matters. A 10.8 @ 129 car would be several car-lengths ahead of an 11.3 @ 135 car at the 1/4 mi mark, assuming equivalent R/Ts.



And yet, real-world experiences suggest that in fact it isn't enough, "easily" or otherwise.

tvurt

2011 tts pdk are no joke. I really thought I could just walk away from one on low boost, like a regular 997tt 6 speed. No dice. I have a freshly rebuilt transmission (600 miles) and it is tight and still slow to shift. Every shift I lose 2 car lengths or so.

A 2011 C2s pdk can hang with a stock 996 turbo . . especially if it is an X50 car.

The 997 pdk in any form is just so effortlessly fast it is amazing.

Tom

jbossolo

I speak from track experience here, as I don't really do my aggressive driving on the street. My 02' is pretty aggressively modded, but nothing crazy. No dyno numbers (yet), my "butt dyno" says it should be close to 570hp at the wheels. I have lapped 997.1 GT3RS, 997.2 GT2, 997.2 GT3, 997.2 TT all manuals, all driven by really good drivers (first two are PCA DE instructors). I don't doubt the PDK's are seriously fast cars, but so is a well-modded 996TT. Mine's an X50, BTW.