Collin Chapin

Hey guys,

I am at the research stage of buying my first 911 and have been test driving a few cars recently.

One was a 997 C4, another was a 997 C2S (modified slightly or so I was told) and finally a 996 Turbo.

Out of the three, I like the looks of the Turbo with the drive of the C2S.

One of the things I didn't like about the Turbo was the lag... I spoke to the sales guy and he suggested taking out a 997 Turbo which apparently has redesigned turbos to reduce the lag.

I cannot afford a 997 Turbo so that's out of the question.

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, does anyone have suggestions regarding the lag I experienced in the 996?

Most noticeable to me was going into a corner, I would down shift, clutch, and on the way out of the curve I had very little power until everything got going again.

If I keep on the gas a bit while clutched will that keep the turbos spooled up so when I release the clutch the power is there? Or is this just something I have to deal with when driving a turbo charged car?

It's worth mentioning that my first car was a Saab 9-5 but the turbo in that car is quite small and the lag wasn't all that noticeable in must cases.

Open to the possibility that i'm an idiot and there's nothing that can be done but I had to ask.

Thanks in advance

996TWINS

A tune (EPL, Promotive, Softronic, etc.) will make your happier.

Collin Chapin

How much does something like that cost? And what does it actually do?

Does it increase the turbo responsiveness or just overall power?

Are there disadvantages?

Fastboy

I've driven other turbo cars, and the 996tt has little lag in comparison. Single turbos are generally worse than twins. The biggest lag I ever got was on this little Suzuki Forsa (3 cylinder, turbo charged) I had 25 years ago. It was a rocket (it weighed nothing!) and that lag made the car quite fun to drive, actually!
My 996TT x50 with UMW and wastegate kit has acceptable to little lag--it doesn't affect me at the track for my level of driving ability (which is intermediate at best). I guess it depends on your style. I like a little shove!

mcbit

You're still in a gear to high; if you hit the turbo at 3000 rpm there is no lag!

996TWINS

1) Cost is about $1000 to $1300.

2) Remaps the de-tuned factory ECU. You can flash back to stock too.

3) Makes the turbos more responsive, and increases about 80HP, depending on mods. Exhaust upgrade is desired over the restrictive (and heavy) factory unit.

4) IMHO, no disadvantages.

Th Dude

Also, there may have been an issue with the specific 996tt you test drove....boost leak, broken wastegate arm, etc. Drive a couple more for comparison.

rmc1148

My car is stock and comes on fairly linear with a kick at about 3000rpm as noted above drive a couple more.

powdrhound

My car is totally linear with power coming on at 2000 and smoothly ramping up to 7K without any peaks. Feels very much like a normally aspirated car. Kevin wrote a special race track ECU map in conjunction with his turbos to give it that NA feel.

LoFi

To have experienced that sort of lag you must have let the revs get below 2000. Above that and really anything over 2500 the car just digs and goes with the full beans from 3000. I wouldn't call it laggy at all.

Collin Chapin

I'll admit that the car is the second fastest car i've ever driven... but the NA C2S felt faster.

Granted, the C2S was a 997 vs a 996 and again it was apparently modified "to be as fast as a Turbo or faster".

I know it's not really "apples to apples" because it's 996 vs 997 etc but I can't afford a 997 turbo so that's why i'm comparing these two.

WPOZZZ

A modded C2S makes a difference, but the 996tt doesn't have much lag. Just set up before the turn and make sure you are in the right gear to be on power when exiting.

Kevinmacd

997 C2S is not as fast as 996turbo. It has to be pretty well modified to stake that claim! A 996 turbo with the basic tune ( as described above) will wake up the turbo even more!

Collin Chapin

Well I really do appreciate the input, i'll make sure to drive another 996 Turbo.

darth g-f

997 C2S is a dog. I mean come on, not even in the same league here.

Ok my 996tt has the X50 and UMW tune, but I tested a 997 C2S prior to buying my TT and I was waiting for the power to reveal itself, it doesn't. Not slow, but certainly not quick. A stock X50 is definitely faster than a C2S.

So, either the Turbo you drove had a problem or a stock 996TT X50 (never drove a regular TT ever) is really that much faster than a regular TT. Either way a tune on a 996TT will make 500hp and around 550ft.lbs, so the C2S, modified or not, will be left far behind.

And lag is not the same as spool. As soon as the engine is over 2500rpm, the turbos are spooled and the lag is non-existent. If you try to stab the throttle coming out of a corner and you're below 2500-3000rpm, you are way to low in the power band. If that's what you call lag, that's not it, it's just you not using the proper gear. The NA C2S might be a little more peppy from idle to 2500rpm because of the higher compression ratio of the engine, but from 2500rpm and up, that little advantage is gone.

If you're a power junkie, forget the C2S.