fuenfer

Thanks to the advice of some forum members, I have decided to put down an order for a 997 CS (and not the C4S). Being new to the Porsche world, I'm finding this whole options list overwhelming! Therefore, I was hoping to get some advice regarding the options I've chosen (i.e., whether these are sufficient and/or whether any of the options I'm getting aren't the best idea). This is what I've decided to get so far:

Black exterior/black interior
19" Sport Design Wheels
Wheel Center Set
ParkAssist
Automatically dimming mirrors
Sports exhaust system
Sport Chrono Package Plus
Sport Shifter
Sports Seats
Heated Seats
Seat belts in Guards Red
Fire extinguisher
Porsche crest embossed on head restraints
3-spoke multifunction steering wheel in carbon
Carbon Package (the one for just the shifter/e-brake)
Navi
Bose
6CD Changer

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

jcnesq

Great choices, can't think of anything important you missed. Happy waiting!!

npp

Nice choices -- just be prepared to do a lot of cleaning as black exterior will get dirty and those sport wheels will need some tender loving care........
NPP

Persuader

Superb options selection
Not sure about carbon package or wheels but thats just me.

Maryle8802

What a great car you're building! Just a few comments though...

Fire ext. - park assist? I think of the fire ext for the track and the park asst for those who can't parallel park. Mutually exclussive?

The red seat belts seem dated to me, but others think I'm outdated. Love the wheels!

ryssyr

i agree with the park assist from maryle, plus you get those ugly dimples in the bumper.

i'd also opt for a full leather interior. you'll really like it.

Speed

I'd get the self-dimming mirrors over the park assist and the sport adaptive seats. The former really make a difference when you're surrounded by SUV's and the sport adaptive seats are really a lot more comfortable than the standard seats. I also think they will help on re-sale.

MMD

Embossed headrests add to an already bizzy interior, IMHO. Kinda in-your-face, "It's a Porsche, don't you get it?" message to passengers and onlookers.

Parking assist uglifies the bumper, get ONLY if you do ALOT of parallel parking.

Sport chrono doesn't improve car's performance, just makes engine more of a racing engine, barely shows improved track times, gimmick for streets; all at the cost of the universally disliked dash uglification: you decide there is life without SC.

Fire extinguisher? Just less room to get comfortable, I'm guessing especially with cruise control on (don't your heels hit it when you try to get comfortable?). I also figure if the car starts to burn I want it to burn to a cinder: these days a car MUST be totaled in order to get satisfaction from insurance company.

Round hub in steering wheel looks more appropriate to overall interior design. IMHO. Triangular Multi function might be a weak choice because the only controls you will probably use are volume and track change. BTW, do you see any triangles in the already bizzy interior? No? Well why add more visual elements to it then? If you will use the phone functions alot then maybe get it.

Sport shifter may be overkill because the reviews of the stock shifter and tranny are all extremely laudatory. Unlike 996 986 where shifting was apparently sloppier.

Get adaptive sport seats. More support with the "airbags" in them

Red seatbelts look like a "special functional technical dangerous unforgiving uncomfortable, in-your-face-safety-requires-it" race car feature (like NASCAR?!), again my humble opinion. The belts are stringy and floppy and bizzy and in contrast to the extreme elegance and refinement Porsche professes about their interior design and styling.

I'd get the maximum ($12K) carbon package or none at all. Just getting a small piece of it on the handbrake makes an already extremely bizzy interior more confusing, IMHO.

That's what I think... .

tooner

Hello Sir… Cool Car!

Black exterior/black interior - SMASHING COLOR COMBO

19" Sport Design Wheels – COOL WHEELS

Wheel Center Set - MAY NOT LOOK AS GOOD ON BLK/BLK NOT BAD TO HAVE EITHER

Park Assist - I ORDERED THIS BECAUSE SF HAS LIMITED PARKING AND JUST GOT USED TO IT AFTER HAVING IT ON MY OTHER CARS... REGRET SETS IN AFTER A MONTH. IMO THINK TWICE.

Fire extinguisher - YOU EXPECTING A FIRE?

Porsche crest embossed on head restraints - WORKS GREAT FOR YOUR HEAD... REALLY!

3-spoke multifunction steering wheel in carbon - I HAVE THIS ON MY CAR... WORKS GOOD BUT SEEMS A LITTLE BIG YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT THE SMALLER DIAMETERS BECAUSE THE CARS BUTTONS AND ***** ARE ALL WITHIN REACH.

Crazy Canuck

I have full black leather and the carbon pkg. Full leather is well worth it. Everyone who has sat in the car has commented on it. The carbon pkg. also replaces the silver trim that runs horizontal across the dash. The carbon shifter feels great. With my black interior it doesn't stick out like the std. silver trim does.

Personally I prefer the silver wheel crests & the seats w/o the embossed crests. More subtle and for what Porsche charges it's ridiculous. Put your money towards full leather.

The red seat belts are too much for me. Plus they show dirt.

An option to consider is the black guages instead of the std. guages. I have it and would definitely recommend it. Much easier on the eyes. It's a unique option.

The sport shifter is worth it.

I wish I had ordered the self dimming mirrors but it's not that big of a deal.

Sport Chrono works well, but yes, the wart is an acquired taste. There are lots of things you can configure with Sport Chrono that you can't without.

For what it's worth, I'd say ditch the embossed seats, wheel crests, red belts, park assist and use the funds to go with full leather.

alin2

Full leather...definitely.

Also, if you're on the phone alot and have, or don't mind getting, a GSM phone, strongly consider the GSM phone module (option 666...no kidding). It works great. Higher power than a handheld cell phone with great ability to pull in a signal. Excellent sound quality on both ends...That being siad, Bluethooth would have been better...

ArthurY

Can you say WHY you would now think twice about Park Assist?

fuenfer

Thanks for all of the excellent advice.

By way of clarification, let me explain my thought process with regard to some of these options. First of all, with regard to ParkAssist, I currently have that option on my 545i and find it really useful. Yes, I know how to park, but when you're in midtown Manhattan trying to get your car into a tiny spot, it can come in handy. Then again, I'm going to do my best to avoid bringing this car into the city, so perhaps removing the ParkAssist option might not be a bad idea, especially if it detracts from the appearance of the car.

The Porsche crest in the headrest -- a couple of my friends who've owned Porsche both told me to get that option. They made it sound like every Porsche owner gets it, but I put that on their without thinking too much. I will give this option further thought.

And as for the seat/leather issue -- I'm not ready to plunk down $3,000 for adaptive sport seats. No one else will drive my car (and no, I don't intend to let valets drive it either), and so I don't think I need power seats. I think I'll be happy with the manual sport seats, but hey, I've never owned a Porsche before, so you guys can tell me if I'm making a mistake here. As for the leather option, I'm a little confused by all the different choices. My salesguy's promised to take me through the various options tomorrow, so I'll make a decision on that then. Isn't the full-leather package something like $3G? Since it sounds like you guys think that it's definitely worth it, I may pull some other options to get that one included.

With respect to the red seatbelts -- sorry, call me tacky, but I like the way they look. Saw it on the Porsche website and decided I absolutely had to have it. For ~$500 it's pricey, but hell, it's a depreciating "asset" anyway. As for the fire extinguisher, it's an option that I always coveted in my BMW, but never got around to getting. For $140, I decided I'd get the thing.

I definitely want the multifunction steering wheel -- I've gotten too used to having controls on my steering wheel in the 5er -- and I think the carbon wheel/shifter/e-brake combi looks nice.

I think I've covered all the bases here. Anyway, thanks again for the heads-up -- I have a lot to think about tonight!

Maryle8802

Don't intend to answer for tooner, but:
1) Buttons on the back bumper are unattractive.
2) P cars are the epitome of "driver's cars" -- park assist belongs on your grandmother's car.
3) Can you see James Dean with park assist?
4) How about Lance Armstrong with a wiker basket on the front of his bike?

Now if there just weren't those darn buttons and nobody knew...

alin330

Red Seat Belts = 540 (not worth the money and get dirty)
CD Changer = 650 (New PCM will play MP3. with one CD you can put moresongs then six CD in your CD Changer)
Fire Extinguisher = 140 (do not think you will get to use it, so waste of money)
Park Assist System = 530 (IT LOOKS FUGLY)
Multi Function Whl = 740 (Way over price, does not do much).
Total = 2600

Full Leather = 3315

Add Full Leather and Remove (Red Seat Belts, CD Changer, Fire Extinguisher, Park Assist System and Multi Function Whl) is only $715 more but it makes your car interior looks like a million $.