Do you guys with non S cars regret not buying S model? I'm in the market and have seen a few well priced non S models (997.1). I do plan to attend occasional track day.

 

I have a non-S base carerra...

I have zero regrets. The price point was right and it is a wonderful car. The 2 things that I wish it did better - headlights and noise. I know that I can Gundo the exhaust for very little money though - and the headlights can be mod'd for little money as well. Maybe I will take a hit when it's time to move up to a different model on the resale - but I have no complaints.

 

It's still a 911. Very quick, handles well, fun to drive. The S just takes it to 11. In some ways the standard models can be more fun, as you can get on them a little more without worrying about jail time. I would suggest driving both to decide if the premium is worth it.

 

I do have some regret. Mainly due to lack of PASM. I found my self doing addons to make it a tad louder and quicker but I probably would have done it even if I got S. I have a problem, no matter how fast I need to do something so other than suspension there are no regrets.
At the time I got the car I could afford and I'm happy with it.
Unless you track and are a fantasmic driver probably won't see difference on the street.

 

Nope.. Test drove both S and non-S.. lets just say 90% of the time on the road you won't notice the difference..

I would have taken a S if a good deal came along, but I scored a 2005 997 with 38,000 km for $40k CAD; condition of both interior and exterior was nearly mint..

So I had to take it.

 

I'm looking at non S that's in my price range. And I will mod it i.e ECU tune, hi flow cats exhausts CAI and maybe plenum.

I'm more interested in driving experience/ fun factor than speed. I definitely want to do track days

I want my daily driving to known as "practice "

 

No regrets so far, but then I have not driven a S yet

 

Test drove both before ordering and went with the base. Maybe just me, but I preferred the standard suspension over PASM, and unless you are tracking, the difference in power hardly comes into play. And I saved enough money so that I didn't have to sell my 1985 911 to do the deal.

 

Isn't coilover better than PASM?

 

Just a thought: The costs of the mods you are mentioning will cost you a few thousand and they most likely won't provide enough of an increase to give you the power level of an S. I would suggest either A) Be content with the really good power on a non-S and save those thousands for other things, or B) Put the extra money towards an S where you get the extra power already built-in.

 

Those are mods I would do regardless....at least exhaust and CAI. It's not for speed maybe a little increase in low end torque and mainly for sound.


I like to sound fast going slow ...plus mods come as money comes.

The cheapest S is $8k more than the cheapest non S I've found.

 

I'm more than fine with the non S that I purchased. The "red" flag I saw in the S model was the potential for a large $ charge to replace the brakes & rotors one day. I'd much rather spend that money instead for a car lift in my garage or a trip to the Porsche Museum in Germany.

 

Go drive them all if you can, an S, 4S and a turbo. They all are awesome, but each has its own personality IMHO.

 

Lots of words on power, but there are a few other goodies on the S. Sport steering wheel, white gauges, chrono, Alacantra headliner, lower ride height, 19" wheels. Some of these things can be dismissed as frivolous and all can be had on a base. In a new car, especially back in the point 1 days, the S paid for itself easily. Used, meh, you just have to look to find the options you want and consider the cost of upgrades.

Personally, I would have bought a leather-everywhere, nicely optioned non-S in a second, but I happened upon a plastic-everywhere, modestly optioned S. No regrets, just saying.

 

I've never driven an S before but when i first drove my non-s i thought it was pretty quick. Maybe i'm just used to the car, but the more i drive it, the more i wish it had a bit more power. But i think even if i owned a GT2 i'd still feel this way. Us car guys are never satisfied. I guess it all depends on how much tracking you are planning to do. For an occasional track day, i feel the Non-S will be just fine. It's still pretty fast.