10 GT3

Yes. If the salesman did not point it out to me, I would not have noticed. It is louder, but not that much. In fact, I could easily tolerate it in loud mode all the time.

As a few other notes, there are things I like better in the 997 and things I like better in the 996. I think the 997 seats are a huge improvement. This is the first thing that attracted me to looking at an upgrade. Even the non-sport seats are a lot better bolstered and yet softer at the same time. This particular car had power seats with 4-way lumbar supports. I like the tilt/telescopic wheel on the 997. I like the new gauge cluster and the color of the illumination (I was never crazy about orange in the 996). I don't like the door panels, arm rests and speaker grills. I am not into the honeycomb pattern and they look very plain. I would prefer to see the speaker grills fabric covered. The arm rest compartments look more integrated in the 996 and the lid operating was a lot slicker in the 996. The 997 door storage compartment and lid is more retro to the older 911's. Ride is surprisingly very good with PASM in normal mode riding on 19's. In the sport mode in PASM, it feels very similar to the ROW M030 suspension in my 996. I did push it in a few corners and it does grip well. Steering feels a little more dampened than a 996, but still direct.

I am still going to wait to drive a used one before making a decision. I won't buy a new one due to the first year depreciation. In fact, I went up there to drive a used 05' they were supposed to have. The car was already sold. The 05' they sold went for $76K with only 4K miles. That would be a savings of about $15K less than the original sticker. They let me test drive the new one to get an idea if I liked it and will notify me the next time one comes in used. They are expecting a few to come in from people on the TT list as their cars come in.

fast1

I test drove a new 997S. Driving the car, it was no faster than my 996.

I believe that you meant to post that it doesn't feel any faster than your 996, because the 997S is faster than your 996. A friend of mine has a 997S with less than 2K miles on the odometer, and he was kind enough to let me drive his car at a local drag strip. Since it wasn't my car, I certainly didn't abuse it by launching at 3K RPM, but I still managed to run a 12.55 on my first and only run. There's no doubt in my mind that I could get a faster time if I had more runs to determine the optimal launching point.

So maybe the 997S doesn't feel very fast, but it is in the same league with torque monsters like the C6 Z06 and E46 AMG that undoubtedly feel much faster.

03-turbo911

It's all very subjective. I sold my '05 996 turbo S and got the 997 S X51 and right now, I'm not regretting the decision at all. The 997 is, IMHO, superior to the 996 in most ways. I do agree with 02 carrera about the points he made about the Honeycomb pattern and the arm rest compartment being better on the 996. Overall, the whole package works so much better than the 996 and I'm seriously looking forward to being done with break-in to begin to enjoy the car properly.

robbonds

personally i would have kept the 2005 turbo S

03-turbo911

Had to sell it now because if I didn't it'll probably be worth half of what I paid for it later on. These cars take a severe depreciation hit here especially with the new turbo out.

Pete Lech

One thing to keep in mind is that the PSE goes quiet in the 30-50 mph range to meet Swiss noise regulations. Above and below this, there is a very nice growl.

There are easy mechanical ways to remedy this quiet zone.

CDH911C2S

Before making the jump to a 997s, I had a 2003 C4s with factory sport exhaust,,that car seemed faster..only seemed though...I know better that it was not...

Many improvements immediatly stood out on my 997S...Suspension(ride) is perfect, if not sitting to high (20-30MM high); the stereo is finally not an embarrassment for a 100K car; the interior quality is getting close to what it should have been all along...I agree that the first impression of performance for the 997S seemed a little soft(I also drove a car with @10miles)...I think the key to noticing any performance gain(against the stopwatch) is to get the right exhaust note that suits you taste..The 997 is so much smoother and better balanced that its' increased speed/performance is masked.

My car just reached 1100 miles and I went to 5,000 rpm a couple of times..it is getting noticeably quicker...but I think the exhaust needs to be addressed to add to the enjoyment of the car at all speeds...Daily driving and running to 7,000RPM on city streets leads to tickets and accidents.

Your comments mirrored my own initial impressions.

10 GT3

I have a friend with his second C6 Z06 and in terms of power and acceleration, neither my Carrera or the 997S I drove are anywhere near the performance of a C6 Z06. C5 Z06 is more believable. A C6 Z06 has 150 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque over a 997S. Broken in or not, there is no way the 997S will keep up. Those cars are a second faster (about 10 car lengths) in a 1/4 mile. The difference is extermely noticeable.

The Z06 is the true bang-for-the-buck in perfomance sports cars. I like a more balanced and complete car that what the Corvette has to offer. I have always been disappointed with the rest of a Corvette beyond power. 3 times I test drove C5 Z06's and 3 times I was disappointed. Mainly the driving position, feel of the controls (particularly the placement and feel of the shifter), the shoddy build quality with the leather than cracks in a year and rediculous gaps in the interior plastics. Everyone one I drove had shakes and rattles. This was one of the factors that influenced me to pay more for a 996. I run pretty close with the C5 Z06's on a road course, hence why I believe the 997S is more in line with them. I usually get off the corners a little faster, so I keep up on the straights. I would expect a 997S to do a little better, but not compared to a C6 Z06.

What is an E46 AMG? An E46 is the last genereation BMW 3-series. AMG is the performance arm of Mercedes. They aren't associated together.

fast1

What is an E46 AMG? An E46 is the last genereation BMW 3-series. AMG is the performance arm of Mercedes. They aren't associated together.

I meant to type E55, not E46. I think I still have my old E46 M3 on my mind.

Those cars are a second faster (about 10 car lengths) in a 1/4 mile. The difference is extermely noticeable.

As I said I ran a 12.55 in a 997S. There was a C6 Z06 at the track the same day we were there, and he had runs ranginging from 12.3 to 12.5. So same track and same conditions, the 997S was competitive. The unknown of course was the skill of the Z's driver.

A C6 Z06 has 150 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque over a 997S.

You can't go by just the peak HP and torque. You must also consider the car's weight, gearing and of course the power curve. Since the weights of the cars are similar, it would be interesting to compare the torque outputs of the two cars between 2 and 5K RPM.

frayed

This is silly. . . A new Z06 will eat a C2S alive in every measurable objective category except braking. Let's not even debate that, please.

As to the original post, hell, I can't tell you what you did or did not feel. But, if you can't feel the difference b/t the pull of a 997S and a 996, then I'll ignore everything you write as it has no merit from my perspective. I've owned 3 996s and the 997S is Porsche's Tour de Force. It's awesome.

jjporsch43

Why do you people keep comparing the Z06 to a C2S? You need to do apples and apples.....Z06 vs 997TT or 997GT3 or GT3RS-the Z06 will not hold up against any of them-braking is a good point-what happens after some hot laps???? Go figure!!

John J
SA Texas
05 C2S

mdrums

With all these 1/4 mile and 0-60 comparo's I do not think of a Porsche as a drag race car. Overall on a road course I'd like to see how a C2S or C4S compete's with a C6 and C6 Z06 Vette.

frayed

On a road course, a Z06 will eat the 997S alive and spit out indigestible bits. Not even close.

That's not the point of the Porsche. I could run out an pick up GMs best tomorrow, but while a smackdown performance king, it ain't particularly precise or engaging.

Sledgehammer or scalpel? Take your pick.

OCBen

"Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in."

Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Part III.

10 GT3

A 997 and a 996 3.6l are both faster than an E46 M3. Both in a straight line and at the track.

You are absolutely right that you must consider these other factors. A C6 Z06 weighs over 100 lbs LESS than a 997S. More torque = more power at rpms. It has over 100 lb-ft more torque everywhere in the rev range (idle to redline). Which has more area "under the curve?" If you want the truth, get a copy of the April 2006 issue of Motor Trend. They have a comparison test between the C6 Z06 and the 997S...and yes the Z06 kills it in both acceleration and on the track.

I agree that this is taking my thread way off track. Despite the performance numbers, I am not interested is a C6 Z06 or any loud, obnoxious, squeeky, rattley Corvette.

I am trying to get logical information about the 997S and break in. So how much of a difference is there? Since I haven't found the answers I have been looking for here, I researched road tests of regular 997's and S' models. Since the 997 Carrera has the same performance figures from Porsche as the 996 3.6l Carrera, it makes the comparison easy. Here is what I found on the road test numbers for the 997 models. The following are all from Car and Driver road test articles from 2004-2006:

2005 997S
0-60: 4.1
0-100: 10.2
1/4 mile: 12.6@112

2005 997 Carrera
0-60: 4.3
0-100: 10.5
1/4 mile: 12.8@109

2006 997S
0-60: 4.3
0-100: 10.7
1/4 mile: 12.8@111

2006 997 C4S
0-60: 4.3
0-100: 10.2
1/4 mile: 12.8@111

These numbers are backed up by the tests on both the 997 Carrera and 997S from Motor Trend in that same April 2006 issue. Both cars ran identical 13.0 1/4 miles. The bottom line, is it is pretty hard to notice only a tenth of a second here or there and hence why I didn't notice a difference. I am sure there is a performance difference, it just isn't that big of a difference. I will have to wait for an opportunity to drive a used one to see if it is more noticable and if it impresses me enough to pull the trigger on one. Thanks for all the input.