pghpp70

I am starting my search for a 997. It will be a summer car that I can enjoy with my kids (as long as I can fit them in the back). I am trying to choose between the base 997.2 and an S 997.1. My question is how well can I expect the base 997.2 to handle. I am not a racer, but I do like to go to Track Night in America a few times a summer. I have no doubt the base 997.2 will have enough power for me, I am just not up on how well it handles in comparison to say a 997.1 S. I know the brakes are not as robust as the S, but how good are they? What type of expense is it to upgrade the suspension and brakes down the road? Again, I am not setting speed records at the track, I just like to have some fun at a few track nights per year. Right now I run in the beginner group and will probably only go up to the intermediate level. I know I will get a lot of just get the S, but if I want to stick to the 997.2 the S is just a bit out of my reach price wise. There seems to be some really good deals available for a well equipped base 997.2.

Feedback is appreciated as it will help me on my search.

Thanks!

zdeckich

What about a 997.1 Turbo? For the money for a super clean 997.2 C2S you can get a pretty clean maybe higher mileage 997.1 Turbo.

RJ997.2

I have no experience with 997.1's.
My 1st Porsche was an 09 997.2 PDK car.
When I was doing all my research as to what generation to buy I always ended back at the 997.2.

I never found the stock suspension or brakes to be lacking. They were always responsive and firm. I never tracked the car or had intentions of that. I liked running curvy back roads at a higher speed than legal....
I did have a few engine modifications but not sure they produced anymore power though. Just wonderful sound!
I am not sure the 997.1S brakes are larger than the 997.2 base car. Better biting pads can do wonders.

I did look at a few suspension upgrades. There are pretty affordable coil over setups out there and there are expensive ones. For my purposes I think the lesser options would have suited me just fine. I wished to lower the car and gain some performance.
Hope this helps in your search

Bash Hat

platinum997

I have a base 997.2 that I track 2-3 times a year. In stock form it is a very capable car. On street tires , there are no issues with the suspension or the brakes. R comps or slicks and you can/will push the limits.

With that said, I have since replaced the springs with H&R. No noticable difference from OEM other than looks. I have also upgraded brake fluid and pads. Significant difference over OEM. Although the stock pads hold up well, the replacements yield better feel and much less fade on fast tracks.

Option for option the S is a better car all around. However for occasional track use I would take the reliability of the 997.2 all day over the marginal performance gains.

Have you considered a higher mileage 997.2 S? Best of both worlds.

TheBruce

I have a base 997.1. Here is my take:

- Performance: you will have 99% of the performance and doubt you will ever notice the difference. The 0-60 times are only .1 second difference.
- Wheels: the 18" base wheels look a bit flaccid but many came with optional 19" wheels. I would limit your search to those. Upgrading wheels starts to reduce the ROI.
- Stance/Suspension: The base suspension has a 4x4 ride height that looks like ****. Its also a bit stiff in city roads and I found it had some *** wag in high speed corners. In my opinion installing Eibach lowering springs and 15mm spacers are a must have. It will give the perfect stance, improve cornering, and actually is a bit softer over rough roads.
- Sport Mode: I didnt think I would care about this. I do...
- Depreciation: some guys say the S/4S hold their value better. I dont believe so. From what ive seen the high milage S and 4S models depreciate much more than base models.
- S-envy: a lot of guys will tell you you will regret not buying an S. I think the key question is if this is your forever car, or your stepping stone? If its your first 911, you will have zero regrets owning a base. It will give you the absolutely best bang for the buck while you decide what your forever car is.

porscheconvert

Hella-Buggin'

Go with the 997.2 Base.
Brakes and suspension can be modified if and when you get to that level on the track but but you'll be fine for a long time as is.
My friend tracks her base 997.1 and is faster than me so it's more about you than the car anyways.
The engine in the .2 cars is just better engineered and that isn't so easy to mod.

If you can find a base car with PASM jump on it. The base suspension doesn't have the computer controlled system and is a little rougher and rides a tad higher
than PASM equipped cars from what I'm told.

pghpp70

linderpat

Hey OP - from your name, looks like you may be a Pittsburgh guy?

swingwing

I'm 11 months into ownership of an '09 Carrera, my first Porsche. Manual transmission, few options besides 19" wheels. The only mods I've done are Fister mufflers and GT3 shifter, and I have no plans to do anything else. While I've not had this car on the track I have had it on several spirited car club drives. It's a superb driver in my opinion - plenty of power, great brakes, very agile. It's an absolute delight. I should do some DE events because I'm a beginner knowing about where the limits of this car are. Car had two POs and I got it with 35k miles. While searching for my car I went through the S or non-S, older Turbo questions. I'm very happy that I chose this car. As a first-time Porsche owner you won't be disappointed. You can always trade up later if you feel the need.

Petza914

This. You're a perfect candidate for TPCs Dynamic Suspension Control module which makes the PASM suspension fully adjustable through the electronic stiffening range of the dampers and dynamic based on g-forces, but you have to have the PASM feature on your car for it to be compatible. If you could find a .2 base in your price range that had PASM and then you swap out the OEM PASM module for the DSC one for $1,000 you'd be all set. A PASM equipped car will also have a lower ride height by I think 10mm than one without it so you won't have the 4x4 look. The smaller brakes (either silver or black calipers) on a base car will be working harder at the track than the larger red caliper brakes on an S, so make sure you swap out the brake fluid for something like Motul RBF600.

The HP and Torque of the base 997. 2 motor is about the same as the 997.1s S motor.

pghpp70

vern1

Dude you really got to get familiar with the search function......yes its out there somewhere but the somewhere is here

You need lowering springs (H&R/Eibach) and sure you can get 19 rims. Pagid pads etc

3Series

997 - No PASM - stock height
997 S - PASM Standard - 10mm lower
997 S - Sport PASM Option - another 10 mm lower.

Yes you can add any Porsche 19in wheel, even wide body wheels.

OEM Porsche pads are sufficient for light track work. Start with OEM, you'll know when you need an enduro pad.

Any Porsche will keep up with "Track Night in America". SCCA has all sorts of stuff running.