Hi all, I need to get back into a P car and I'm currently contemplating 03/04 996 Turbo Cabrio vs 05/06 997 C2S Cabrio. First off, the purpose:

Purely a weekend/holiday spirited driving but no track. I'm a 3 pedal guy so PDK/Tip doesn't really come into play.

Pluses for 996 Turbo: More power, aggressive styling, rarer, higher potential for mod/upgrades
Minuses: Older, higher cost of upkeeping, I'm just not a big fan of the headlights!

Pluses for 997 C2S: newer, cheaper cost of upkeeping, I dig the style, probably more civilized/easier to drive around town
Minuses: They're everywhere!

Frankly I'm leaning slightly toward the 996 Turbo. Mind you I can't consider 997GT3 due to the need of a back seat for my 9 year old!

As you can see, given my 'slight' preference, I'm posting here in the 997 forum seeking your wisdom hopefully for a more 'balanced' thought process.

So fire away with your thought pls. In case this is the wrong forum to post question like this, kindly give me a pointer and pardon my noobiness! :-)

 

The Turbo (and 996 GT3) engines not only have a power advanage, they are also bomb-proof. Closer to an actual Porsche racing engine that must endure a race distance. Mechanically, it's "the real deal" racing engine.

The 997 engine in the Cabriolet's you are considring are "street version" engines that are not as well engineered and depending on the year may require an IMSB swap when the clutch is repalced (2005's), either way both those 997 years have ball bearings which is by and large regarded as a big engineering mistake completely elminated in 2009+ Carreras.

So there is significantly greater value in the Turbo's engine.

However, the 997 C2 won't shift traction to the front if the rear starts to slide out, even just a little bit, so you get much less understeer as a sort of trade-off for less engine in the 997 C2 Cabs. But if you're not going to the track like you say, then I would opt for the one with the engine that is built like a tank.

 

Tx for the great info. Must admit I'm slightly surprised as 996 was really the 1st generation where they use water-cooled engine for 911 line as such, I would imagine the reliability would improve in 997, i.e. the second generation water-cooled 6 banger. In any case, I'll be surely looking up the IMSB problem.

Out of curiousity, does the normal 996 3.4L or 3.6L engine have the IMSB problem or this is specifically a 997 issue?

 

Depending on your size, you may find the interior of the 997 more comfortable. At 6'6" I found the 996 seating postion challenging, and there is not much space in the foot well for my size 13 feet, particualrly if there are 3 pedals. I prefer the interior treatment of the 997, the wide body of the turbo is nice, but you still have that mostly slab side, where as the curves of the 997 C2S are very nice.

The power of the turbo would not be an attraction, as I prefer the liniar power curve of the NA engines. If the engine issues described above worry you, you may want to stretch your budget a bit to get into a 997.2.

 

I just can not get myself to like those headlights. Both nice Cars, drive both and I bet your decision will be easy.

 

^ +1 The best thing about those headlights is you don't see them while driving the car. Same goes for the rest of the exterior except when driving past plate glass windows

 

996 non-GT3/GT2/Turbo are different engines than 996C2/C4.
Race engine vs. Street engine.

Same is true with the 997. Except that I think in 2010 the 997 Turbo stopped getting the race engine and went with the new 997.2 street engine that is not raced, well at least not factory raced. The privateers ran a Cayman with a 997 S street engine at the Rolex 24 Hours and surprisingly it didn't blow up. Porsche disavowed any responsibility for a mid-engine victory in an endurance race.

Actually the 3.4L street engine has another problem that might be bigger problem than IMSB. Like the Boxster 2.5 engine, but not the Boxster 3.2 S model engine, Porsche decided to use thinner clyinder walls to save money. If the car was driven meekly with low miles and the oil not changed frequently it can be succeptible to cracking.

IMS is a problem for 996 and 997.1 engines. With the 996 engines, also found in 997 2005 cars, you can at least replace the IMSB with the "new and improved" bearing at very low cost when replacing the clutch and put the matter to rest. With the 997.1 engines you have to crack open the engine which means its not cost effective. Far fewer 997.1 engines have IMS issues but there's still rows of ball bearings inside the engine set up in a way that was just really dumb. So its a low probability threat but still there.

 

Then you are staring at the awful interior. The 996 is a mess both interior/exterior. But if your need is speed, probably the 996tt is your choice.

 

Agreed, the interior is my biggest gripe with the 996, kind of ford taurus-y. The exterior is growing on me a little in an ugly duckling sort of way ha ha. But overall the 997s look far better!
Don't worry, the 997na has plenty of power, and you won't have to lose sleep over bearing issues if you get 2006 or newer. But definitely test drive both and the decision will likely be a lot easier.

Rob

 

We had a Taurus growing up. It never looked remotely like a 996 interior.

I've never understood the knock on the 996 interior. Of course many owners didn't opt for the upgrades and it ended up looking cheap and no-frills. But Porsche didn't design it to go without those upgrades after they put out the very cutting edge Boxster/996 concept car in 1993. (it was simultaneous "two designs one car" concept that saved Porsche from bankruptcy).

IMHO a 996 Turbo with all of the Tequipment mods looks a lot more like the interior of sports car than what's come after. The 997 and 991 look more Audi/VW/Merc/Plush than anything remotely connected to the 911,964,993.
The 996 interior is a nice middle ground between the Steve McQueen era and this new Panamera era of Porsche.