I have an '08 4s Cab with 19" Turbo wheels and I just replaced the Michelin Pilot Sport tires with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on Saturday. I am completely overwhelmed at the difference in ride. Granted my old tires were pretty worn, the ride is much smoother and I can't say I have lost anything from a performance stand point.

 

+1. For my 997.2S with 19" wheels, my dealer keeps wanting to inflate the tires to 37/44 psi when the pressure should be 33/39 when carrying only 1 or 2 occupants. It makes a BIG difference in ride quality.

 

Unquestionably. We test drove both before buying our 2009 C2S with PASM. The difference is amazing when you drive them back to back. A friend went one step further and bought his S with the Sport option. He and others insist that "Sport PASM" is the ultimate, but I didn't get a chance to drive that personally.

The important point is that the suspensions softens when the road gets rougher. That makes it more comfortable than a stock analog suspension. Then when you start pressing, the suspension tightens up and handles betters than the compromise provided by that stock analog suspension. Then you get a cute little shock-absorber symbol on a button that tells the suspension you want it even more taut. In that mode, it still gets softer than stock when it should, but when pressing on regardless it becomes race-car like.

Love it. Glad I didn't drive the Sport PASM as well. Probably saved us another few thousand because I wouldn't have been able to resist it from the descriptions.

Gary

 

Oh yeah. I'd post a link if I knew how, but search for my post titled "The Well-Tempered Carrera" last week after I drove a couple of hundred miles for the first time. This latest model is an astonishing cross between race-car performance on tracks and a very comfortable grand touring car when that's what you need.

I agree about checking air pressures by the way. It has been my experience also
that dealers crank up the tire pressures to the max load setting and with low profile tires that makes a very big difference in harshness. Have them adjusted to 34 front and 40 rear before test driving if you're seriously concerned after trying a 997.2 PASM car.

Gary

 

Not to hijack the OP's thread Gary, but I have Sport PASM and love it. I'm sure you would to. Not to make you feel badly but it didn't come nearly as dear as you'd think. Only $950, which included a mechanical LSD.

 

Screw the thread. I'm planning to hijack your Sport PASM! Maybe just the LSD, which I can extract from underneath some night and you'll never notice it's gone until the next track day.

Gary

 

S w/PASM w/20s - simply a JOY RIDE

 

I agree. I just bought a 2012 GTS with Sport PASM. I was originally concerned that it might be too harsh for daily use, but it is not. I prefer it to the standard PASM in my 08 997S that I traded.

 

base carrera shocks are fine, but sway bars are too soft so car tilts too much in corners.

sport cars are firm and not everyone likes that. one who thinks base carrera is soft should try a ride in a modded car with racing shocks, 900/1200 lbs springs, carbon fiber hard seat shell and experience how real sports car feels like.

 

I have the 07 C2 with standard suspension, 19" wheels. It is very firm, but you get used to it. On my first commute with it, I was like 'uh oh, this is too rough for everyday'. It is my daily driver, and I don't even notice the firmness anymore. We drove it to the lake this weekend with the kid in back and wife in front. No complaints from either. I even let my mother-in-law drive it, and she thought it was great!

 

My 06 S is the softest 911 that I have ever owned or driven.... I like to put it in sport mode for a more "raw" feel, but even that is nothing compared to any SC, 3.2, and most of the 964s and 993s.

Let's not forget that the 911 was intended to be a race car that the enthusiast could drive on the street. Porsche's customers agreed with that model until the 964 came out, and many purists considered it too soft though the attributes of the buying public had begun to change. The 996 took it to a whole new level of comfort, and Porsche launched the GT3 series for the US market to bring back the rougher, sports car ride (no doubt to appease the purists).

I LOVE my 997.1 as a DD - compliant, quick, and lots of fun to throw around.... However, I drive my 996 GT3 when I want to drive a quintessential 911....

-B

 

997.2 SPASM for just $1K with LSD included - it is an amazing deal. even considering you pull out that LSD and send it to guards for rebuild it is still an amazing deal. my suspension rebuild was $4K for JRZs shocks alone, you cannot really compare 2 way adjustable custom setup to SPASM but I would not bet a dime if stock SPASM if driven properly would not give quie comparable lap times with my setup. a lot of people who got it on 997.2 cars praise it a lot, i see no reason not to trust them.

 

A significant difference that appears to be glossed over on this thread is coupe versus cabriolet. The dampening is set differently for the cabriolets than the coupes. Porsche AG assumed (rightly) that those who purchase a cabriolet are looking more for ride comfort than performance with a cabriolet.

Ride quality also is greatly affected by the age of the tires, and by the condition of the roadway. Everyone's experiences there will vary, so this question may be difficult to answer for you. Many roadways in the USA are in such disrepair that I can see why no one would want any 911 to drive for any long trip if comfort is their primary concern.

Keep in mind that a 911 is a performance oriented sports car. It's not a Camry. Perhaps you may never be happy with a 911. While Porsche has made every attempt to broaden the line of 911s to appeal to a broader customer audience, they can just go so far before they change what the car fundamentally is designed to be.

 

Thank you everyone for the great feedback. Please keep in mind that I have owned an e46 M3 for 7 years. It does not have a cushy ride by any means. The 911 was a rush at first try but I wasn't that comfortable. Maybe I should test another 2011 S to make sure.
Regards

 

I traded my e46 M3 on a 2007 997S coupe about 5 years ago, and I thought at the time that the 997S rode better than my M3. I drove it as a daily driver, then traded on a 2008 997S coupe that I also drove as a daily driver. I traded the 2008 on a 2012 GTS with Sport PASM last week, and will be driving it daily also. I have no problems with comfort compared to my e46 M3. The M3 has more backseat room if that is important, but other than that, the 911 is fine for daily use.

As others have said, the 911 is a sports car. It is not going to ride like a luxury sedan, nor should it.