Lets see your 997...
Thanks, and i picked it up in Toronto end of June. It has natural brown interior leather and it was on the market for some time, so it may well be the one you're thinking of.
if your in toronto with the car id love to see it!
congrats again!
Prior to the 911, I've had a series of turbo Subaru's. Originally a 2007 WRX wagon, then a 2011 WRX hatch, and finally a 2015 STI. The combination of fun, practicality, and affordability (except for insurance!) is hard to beat. Along with the various Subies, I've also had a 1992 Miata that has been through several iterations of modifications, eventually ending up as a dedicated autocross car.
So far my impression of the 911 is that it is the perfect combination of the Miata and STI. It feels as small and toss-able as the Miata, with the same or better levels of feel through the steering. At the same time, once in the powerband, it pulls just as hard as the STI at full boost. I had my doubts whether the 911 would be capable of covering ground on the rough mountain roads near my house at the same pace as the Subie, but so far it seems to be (the 911 would obviously destroy the Subie on a track in the hands of a capable driver).
Biggest difference vs the Miata (other than ~200 horsepower) is the weight distribution and way it effects how the car seems to move beneath you in tight turns. I'm not driving fast enough on public roads to break traction except in the tightest couple hairpins, but even well below the limit you can perceive that the 911 has all that weight over the back.
Biggest differences vs the Subie are size and power delivery. Compared to the 911 the Subie feels like a monster truck. It's not a big car by any means, but you sit so much higher and the corners seem so much further away from the driver. In the Subie, the power delivery is on and off almost like a light switch. Nothing below ~3.5K RPM, then chaos from 4K to ~6.5K. In the Porsche throttle response is immediate at any RPM, and the power builds progressively as the revs increase all the way to the redline. At full boost the Subie pulls just as hard as the 911 (~40 less HP, but ~30 more ft/lbs of torque), but the powerband is so much narrower.
I'm only about 150 miles in to my ownership, but so far the Porsche is everything I hoped it would be. The only issue I've noticed so far is that there seems to be a lot of play in the shifter. Feels like warn out shift bushings. No issues engaging gears, just that there is ~1/4 inch of side-to-side deflection in the shift **** where there is no discernible resistance from the shift mechnism. Now, both the Miata and STI are know for having particularly fantastic shifters being that both are directly mechanically connected to the gearbox vs. a cable linkage in the 911, so maybe it is an expectations issue rather than a performance one. Nonetheless, since it is a CPO car, I'm going to have my local P-car dealer take a look.
Last edited by cgaites; Aug 4, 2017 at 06:49 PM.
I'm only about 150 miles in to my ownership, but so far the Porsche is everything I hoped it would be. The only issue I've noticed so far is that there seems to be a lot of play in the shifter. Feels like warn out shift bushings. No issues engaging gears, just that there is ~1/4 inch of side-to-side deflection in the shift **** where there is no discernible resistance from the shift mechnism. Now, both the Miata and STI are know for having particularly fantastic shifters being that both are directly mechanically connected to the gearbox vs. a cable linkage in the 911, so maybe it is an expectations issue rather than a performance one. Nonetheless, since it is a CPO car, I'm going to have my local P-car dealer take a look.
On my C2S, the shifter is sloppy IMO. For what this car cost new, no way it should feel like this. I have a friend who makes a bearing kit and some other tricks up his sleeve I'm doing ASAP. His 996tt shifts like it's gated and clicking into gear. Don't worry, I'll do a full write up and pictures later this month once we do it.
Great looking car BTW. Drive it like the speed limit is in Mexico!




