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I added door stripes, I like 'em, I might take them off this winter. It's like a mustache/beard, it's nice to mess around with different looks, especially when it's a cheap change! But never clear side markers
Generally agree but taste is so subjective. I like adding oem parts to make mine more special, mainly leather and various cxx parts. But things that improve upon the vehicle like numeric shifter and nm automotive CarPlay, done!
at the end of the day to each their own. I don’t make your payment.
I saw a thread before where some mentioned “OEM+” which I think is how I like cars. Stock with subtle mods. Yes, my bright yellow aero kit is factory, and not very subtle, but still…..
Couldn't agree more. OEM + has always been my goal with my 997 S. Subtle improvements but maintaining OEM'ness.
@etom : fully agree. By keeping it stock or OEM+, the 997 remains understated and fresh even as it gradually approaches near classic status.
I did toy around myself with getting the ducktail and fuchs-type 18s. But I think the rear silhouette and stock Carrera II 19s allow it to age more gracefully over time.
The only exterior mod for my .2S was changing to IPE x-pipe exhaust as the orig one is crappy and hardly befits the 911 sporting character. Still loving the overall look and sound.
I also lean toward the "leave it alone" point of view.
That said, the exhaust note on a 997.2 with a center muffler is pretty lame (i.e., non-existent).
A Sharkwerks X-pipe is the elegant and relatively inexpensive solution.
No drone on the highway, Cali emission compliant, not at all obnoxious with PSE selected to OFF...and an absolute beast when selected ON and at WOT or revs > 4500.
Unless you drop a knee, it is a totally stealth mod.
If your 997 has PASM, a TPC DCS controller is another cost-effective solution to a slow and single channel OEM controller.
It actually utilizes latent potential in the PASM electric architecture to both speed up the (re) active suspension AND allows customization to the parameters.
Erase dive and squat, and enjoy outside turn shock stiffening in exponentially faster speeds.
Kind of like a Cobb tune for your suspension. And totally reversible- 5 minutes to install and 5 to R & R it with the OEM box. (Then you sell the DSC box for 90% of what you paid for it.)
And again, a totally stealth mod.
Oh yeah, the wheel offset.
Most 997s come with a German government mandated offset gap to allow the fitting of snow chains to cars sold there.
I put spacers on OEM wheels on both my 911SCs, my 944S2 Cab and my 997.1 base Carrera.
I had to buy new centerline wheels for my 997 GTS, since spacers are not an option.
Had to go with 997 GT2 RS wheel sizes/offsets to fill the wide body wheel wells of my GTS.
The opposite of stealth, but a near unanimously appreciated improvement on OEM.
(So are suspension mods- no one raises, they all lower and/or stiffen. The lowering is a 90% for aesthetics, the stiffening is 100% for performance.)
Only the GT cars seem to be configured without that gap.
While I am sorely tempted to replace my GTS front spoiler with a Speedster or Sport Classic lip, that would be an unpractcal departure from the OEM (non-Aerokit) GTS rubber, which does not scrape excessively if moderate precautions are taken- unlike the other lips that become a delicate sacrificial wear item. I am willing to spend the $ on a cooler lip though, just to experience that more aggressive look. I do wish the cooling air vents actually connected to the front wheel wells. Alas, they do not- at least on a GTS they don't.
A ducktail is the only other mod I am contemplating. If executed properly, the dual screen intake version for the GTS is a very cool look, IMO. And functional, since you lose the cooling fan. While I agree with the posts above regarding not wanting to "spoil" the rear roof-line slope of the 911...I think the ducktail is so historically iconic and (to me) aesthetically pleasing that I would not feel like any sacrilege to Porsche purity would be committed.
In the end, it's your car.
Do with it what you want.
Please yourself.
P.S. For me, the 997 Sport Classic was the epitome of pure form for the 997. Second place (tie) is the 997.2 GT3 RS (especially the 4.0) and the GT2 RS. Third is the GTS. Fourth is the non-RS GT3 (not at all fan of the wing on it, nor the narrow body). Fifth is the Speedster. Sixth is the Carrera 4S. Blah, blah, blah...
I could go on, but the Sport Classic deserves the space...it is perfection.
The 911R of the 997 series:
Last edited by Liste-Renn; 09-29-2021 at 06:57 AM.
I have the Getty design ducktail on my 997.2 and I love it. I will admit, sometimes I miss the classic uninterrupted sloped rear end design. There is just so much inherently “right” about the 997 design, you really don’t need to do much, if anything, to it. I will agree that spacers and a center muffler are perhaps not needed but so easy to do that they are almost a no brainer.
I find it amusing that someone always has to chime in whenever Sport Classics are posted exclaiming something to the effect of “those aren’t real Fuchs!”
We all know they aren’t made by Fuchs. We all know they aren’t forged, as most OEM Porsche wheels aren’t. The fact is they are one of, if not the, best looking 997 wheel and the only 997 Fuchs style wheel from Porsche themselves. Get over it.