kellen

110% agree. If I could never know if was the base I would likely be fine until I saw an S with red calipers, quad exhaust, etc. Plus full leather is a requirement.

To each their own but I know I would always be saying I should have bought an S.

Kineticdg

It’s all a matter of budget, right? If I was stretching to get a base, I would feel exactly zero hesitation or concern that it’s not an S, because the differences are pretty marginal in terms of driver satisfaction. It’s still a 997.2, how awesome is that?! If I had the budget for an S and got a base to save some bucks, I would be kicking myself- because the S is, well, an S. More power, better brakes, already comes with the ride height and PASM... you’re never going to get an S and say “dammit, I should have bought the base!”

Ironman88

Petza914 has delivered a ringing blow precisely to the head of the nail with his comment above. PASM is a very good thing to have - not so much because of how it behaves in stock form, but because it provides you with the ability to utilize the DSC Sport Controller. I recently installed one on my C2S and I am totally blown away by how much better the car handles. It's like a completely different car. PASM absolutely substantiates the value in getting the S.

Ripking

After extensive reading on this forum subsequent to the purchase of my 997.2 base model I wish I had done my homework more to have gotten a model with PASM. From all accounts this would have been a much better quality ride with the DSC controller on crappy LA roads. Live and learn. It was my first Porsche purchase and now I know to comb the specs much more thoroughly (did manage to get the adaptive seats though!).

poorshe

I don’t track and every day driver. I definitely don’t need better brakes! And don’t want any more power for street.. Ride quality is quite good probably better than S and I wanted the best ground clearance so am very satisfied.

PatrickBateman

Are you saying the 997.2 S is not much more powerful feeling than the 997.2 base? Or .1 S vs .2 base? Curious as I’m looking at .2 models and trying to determine whether the S is worth a $20K premium.

997ajk

to simplify .2 base over .1S = in terms of reliability , improvements in engine, interior and performance
.2 base vs .2S = in my opinion, not $20k difference in performance .. we are talking 0.2-3 sec improvement in 1/4 and 0-62 …

Petza914

There's more to the difference than just performance. S cars have more options and are better appointed inside, more likely to have full leather (a Porsche shouldn't have plastic door panels), sport seats, etc. S cars also have PASM suspension which makes adding TPC's DSC controller much easier, and that's an awesome upgrade. S cars also have larger, better looking brakes. Within a generation, the extra torque from the S motor can be felt when doing low speed driving. The HP difference is less important unless tracking the car.

preelude

The brake rotor size is the same between the S and base on the .2 cars, and a base can have pretty much every option that an S can have with the exception of X51 power pack and few others. But you are right that you are more likely to find a well equipped S vs base, most base cars on the market have very few options. From my experience the torque difference between the 3.6 and 3.8 is noticeable but isn't huge, at least on the .2 cars.

Petza914

Interesting about the brakes. Didn't know that as I know they're different on the .1s - different diameter and caliper bolt spacing. So, on the .2s are all the calipers red also, or do they only paint them red on the S cars?

preelude

On the .2 the base calipers aren't as beefy as the S and have an anodized black/charcoal finish.

ATX_Native

Like I said in your other thread.

I drove to Dallas (6 hour round trip) to drive a 997.1 C2S, 997.2 C2 and a 997.2 C2S all manual and all back to back at RAC Performance.

I walked away thinking that I wanted the best 997.2 Manual I could find, because on the street the shove or feeling of speed was the same to my butt dyno. At the time I had a turbo car with around 380lb ft of torque, so the NA power band was a progressive one.

At the time RAC had a 2009 C2 6MT with 80k miles for $42k and a 2009 C2S 6MT with 40k miles for $58k.

I would have been up for the 2009 C2 but the front was rock blasted. Loved this one because it had cooled seats. Due to miles and paint work needed I kept looking,

I then kept looking and found a 2009 C2S 6MT in Indianapolis with 56k miles for $52k. I called the dealer when it posted on Thursday since I was getting new inventory alerts from Cars.com, they said they would hold it for a few days for me to get a PPI. I scheduled the PPI for Monday AM, the soonest I could get. They said they would drive it over and drop it off on Monday AM. Well, Monday morning they called me and told me they sold it on Saturday.

A note on the cars.com and autotrader alerts, 9 times out of 10 the car listed as a manual was a PDK. I always had to run teh VIN through Vin analytics.

Kept looking for my unicorn, got a PCA Panorama Magazine in the mail a month later and while flipping through I saw the classifieds. Went to PCA Mart and saw a 2009 C2 6MT w/ 40k miles listed for $39k from a guy that has owned many air cooled cars and a few older Mercedes. PPI happened and a week later the car came in from Florida to Texas. Bonus is it had the PDLS and Cooled Seats!

Not to be a homer but I like the black gauges over the white gauges in the S. It’s more subdued and classic, plus easier to read.

SpeedyD

It is worth the $20k difference unless every $ cash you hold is invested.

When you sell the car the gap between S vs Base will likely remain or expand (or minimally contract). If someone paid a $10-$15k premium on a used .2S six years ago that premium is now $20k… not exactly a bad return (when you also enjoy the benefits in the meantime).

Ripking

S will typically have PASM while a base will not. I don’t know if either the power or the pasm is worth the huge premium but after all the rave reviews on the DSC controller, I wish I had PASM for harsh LA road conditions. You could retrofit a dsc box for much less than the base to s premium,but it will still be quite pricey.

Floyd540

As I mentioned in another post, the .2 base brakes were a complete new design , utilizing some of the TT parts. Everything changed for .2 over the .1 brake system including the master cylinder size. As to "Beefier", the monobloc caliper for the .2 base is actually stiffer , thus having quicker clamp pressure and eliminated the mickey mouse ears on the pads that were a vain attempt to vibration squealing due to the bolted together design.
In any event, be careful in looking up brake parts as it is more than confusing even with the Porsche catalog.
Porsche brakes are never the limiting factor- It is the tires that have the limits in the final measure of brake performance, the 100 to zero distance/time. Track cars are different only in the heat capacity of the system since this is a pure frictional heat device.