FiatCoupe

Hi,

I've been browsing the forum for a couple of months now. I currently live in Calgary and are transferrring to Houston through work in January. I've always dreamed of owning a 911 and decided that as part of the move I would buy one.

I'm looking for a 997.1 under $60,000.

I have a couple of newbie questions I hope you can help me with.

I've only had FWD cars before. I've driven a 997.1 C2S when I was back in the UK for a couple of days and loved it. Would it be safer (in terms of handling) for me, as my first 911, to get a C4S or would I be okay in a C2S. I want the S model as you get a lot of extra car for the money.

I really like the idea of a full leather interior. Would the heat and sun in Houston be an issue? Has anyone experienced the dashboard cracking or fading?

I'm a little confused about exhausts. I see a handful of cars advertised with the Porsche Sports Exhaust. I've seen two types of buttons on the dashboard, one that says "Sport" and the other which is a picture of a pair of exhaust tips. Do all Porsche exhausts have flaps or are they only fitted if a sport exhaust is ordered from the factory? Do the flaps bypass the side silencers? Is there still a central third silencer or when the flaps open is it effectively a straight through exhaust?

Many Thanks

John

Nugget

In Houston? Spend the money on the "S" and skip the four wheel drive. The "4" is unnecessary in the climate down here. 997 RWD is a perfectly tame and controllable car, and if you're at all worried just bring it out to the track some weekend where you can explore the limits in a safe and instructional environment. One afternoon in the car will eliminate any concerns or lingering fears you might have about the car's handling. There are eight road course race tracks within driving distance of Houston.

Nah, you'll want to keep the leather clean and treated but you were going to do that anyway. It'll hold up fine even in Texas summertime sun.

Stock exhaust in a 997 does not have the "flaps" which do exactly what you think they do. Adding PSE adds the flaps which makes the exhaust sound nicer but doesn't provide any measurable performance benefit. It does sound really great though. You can tell if a car has PSE because the twin exhaust tips will be slightly different sizes, wheras the twin tips on the stock exhaust are both the same size.


Stock left, PSE right

The button configuration inside depends on a few factors and you can't determine whether it's PSE or not just from looking at the dashboard buttons.

The presence of an exhaust button means it's definitely PSE but the "Sport" button just means the car has the sport chrono, which could be with or without PSE. There will never be both the exhaust button and the sport button. Just one or neither of those two.

Ucube

John, welcome to the forum and Houston. I concur with Nugget on the RWD vs. 4WD question, especially considering the climate. As far as the leather interior holding up, I have experienced some cracking and fading in my other cars which were mostly parked outside. The Texas sun and heat can be very brutal, but still, I would rather have cracked, fading leather interior than cracked, fading vinyl interior.

I'm eagerly waiting for my kids to be old enough for me to get out to one of them -- someday.

Kuhan

I have a plain vanilla C2 and it's more than enough car for me on Houston streets.

Full leather is probably the only thing that I wish I had...

kyrocks

I agree, the C2S would be great for the Houston climate. I got the C4S just because I liked the wider body and look of the rear end. I moved from Edmonton to Houston then to Iowa so the 4S is useful here. I'm planning to move back to Texas (DFW) this summer and am going to keep the C4S. Honestly, if you don't feel strongly on the C4S, just get the C2S...it's a better track car too, in my opinion. Get full leather. PSE is nice sounding, but that's it. Take care.

FiatCoupe

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies.

PSE it is then I've seen after market exhausts advertised but I like the idea of being able to toggle the noise level. I've even seen one that has remote control flaps via a keyfob but that looks awkward.

I do like the idea of a leather dashboard, adds a touch of luxury like the interior of an Aston Martin.

It sounds like a C2S will be more than adequate. If I eventually bring it back to Canada I wouldn't drive it in the winter anyway. I've had 6" of snow in my garden here since 15th November. The first week it was -30 degrees centigrade, I checked the Houston weather at the time and it was +23. The summers in Houston are going to take some getting used to.

John

BostonDuce

That was probably a PSE with Gert's (Carnewal Europe) remote. Not really a bad way to go on a retrofit if you want the on/off feature.

Jut sayin', but is you are going to retrofit a PSE and want the factory integrated controls, it will be a much more involved job than the obvious under-car work.

BD

FiatCoupe

I was intending on finding a car with PSE factory fitted but this narrows down the available cars dramatically.

I presume from what you're saying the car's wiring loom isn't prewired for a PSE and if I wanted to retrofit one I'd have to run wires to the dashboard, find a power supply and add a button to the centre console.

John

alexb76

I think you got all of your questions answered. Just I am not sure if you're gonna be using your car in Calgary or Houston?

If Houston, definitely can skip the AWD. If in Calgary however, I'd go for C4/C4S, as I've had great success in BC weather with AWD and it does amazingly well in shallow snow!

997.1 AWD is actually fairly basic AWD, and in some ways inferior to 997.2, however, as it's lighter, and doesn't engage the front wheels as much as 997.2, it has a MUCH BETTER FEEL and closer handling to RWD than newer AWD.

kosmo

i think the PSE is nice but not required so I would exclude a car just cuz it doesnt have the PSE. If it doesnt you can alway add one and not necessarily PSE. Listen to the TUBI.

Nugget

Yeah, that's pretty much the case. Install notes for PSE claims it takes 4.5 hours to run the wiring to the console which is probably about right. I added PSE to my C2S cab after the fact and just elected to skip the dashboard button entirely. This leaves the flaps open all the time (the louder setting) which was fine by me. Heck, it seems like half the people on the forum with PSE are disconnecting the actuator to accomplish this (always on) anyway.

Nuanced use of your right foot is just as effective for keeping the PSE quiet as the button is.

FiatCoupe

I'll be buying the car to use in Houston although I'll probably go on several road trips with the car. I drove my FIAT down to Las Vegas for WusteFest last year and drove back up the PCH to Seattle before turning inland and heading back to Calgary. Incredible drive and would like to do the same in the Porsche.

At some point in the future I may return to Calgary.

Unfortunately I can't stretch to a 997.2

John

alexb76

Then C2S is perfect for you and totally skip 997.2 for 991!

Fahrer

I am very happy with my 2008 C2S. I do not have a leather interior or PSE. I prefer the lighter RWD. To me, the engine sounds GREAT as is!

1BlinkGone

Honestly, I think I would skip the PSE and go aftermarket. As another here has said, you can pretty much modulate the overall exhaust note in-town by docile use of the throttle. keep your foot out of it, and it'll be fine if you need the "quieter" note.

Many are going aftermarket because some of the systems offer "the best of both worlds" due to their design. Unless you find the exact car you want WITH PSE, I wouldn't let the lack of pse be a deal-breaker. IMHO, you can do as good, if not better going w/ an aftermarket exhaust system.