mellowalex

I just got a 997.1 S Cabriolet.
I love the car but after driving it for two weeks, I am slightly disappointed with the pull in 2nd and 3rd gear.
I usually stay under 75mph...but I like to get there quickly.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

Makes me wish I test drove a 996 turbo before pulling the trigger on the 997.
What is your opinion between the two? Is the 996 turbo much faster?

I went with the 997 because of the newer body style and interior and wanted a low mileage car.

voiceprint1

It's a personal preference, I would say the steering rack and chassis setup are better on a 996 turbo, but the 997 is better in every other way.

halo777

996 Turbo over 997.... no, not for me. Only 996 that I would consider would be the GT3. And even now, I wouldnt trade my current car for one.

My car is highly modded (997.1 4s) but I would never consider the speed to get up to 75mph slow. I drive the car daily, and find very very few places where I can even floor it, on public roads. A few questions...

• Do you have a check engine light?
• Are you engaging sport mode (not any faster, but the throttle response is quicker?)
• Are you in the right gear to keep the revs high (3.5k+) when you are looking for quick acceleration?
• Is your maintenance up to date?
• Tip or Manual?

If you really want more power, you can always mod the car, and make it a little or a LOT faster. But if you are already falling out of love with it after two weeks, I would say it might not be the car for you.

Fined

Well after getting my GTS and then looking at the 996 Turbo pricing and learning about the RWD conversion, it occurs to me that knowing all of that in the first place would've made the choice harder. Though I would've wanted to upgrade the electronics in the 996 and part of my reasoning for going with 997.2 was that I wouldn't make any drastic changes to the car. I already went down that road with my Audi and the point of getting the GTS was to keep my unending upgrade fingers away from the car as there isn't a well defined stopping point once I've begun

I'm well satisfied with my cars quickness but I do indeed really like having a turbo in the car. So I'll love my GTS eternally and eventually add a 991.2 GTS to the stable once my skills finally measure up

mellowalex

-no check engine light. Which is a little odd. The last few days it said service in "x" days... and All of a sudden it went away today. The ppi said I need a new alternator... the car has 37k miles so it is due for the 40k service soon.
-sport mode - I've tried both - didn't see much of a difference in sport mode, but I'll give it a try again
-yes, I am in the correct gear.
-maintance - need 40k service in 2500 miles.
- manual

Its a weekend car, so maybe I just need to give it more time.
I don't plan to add any performance mods. I plan to have the car 2 years before upgrading and would rather save the $ toward the next car.

Louis de Funes

no I would not - I love my Car it is just the way I want it

halo777

OK, well it sounds like everything is in order.

When I first got mine, it took me a little while to get used to it and feel comfortable. Then, once you start pushing it, it turns into a totally different animal.

Hopefully it will grow on you once you have more seat time behind the wheel.

snake eyes

The 996 turbo is faster
but no
I like my 997.2 4S

I will upgrade it to a 997.2 Turbo S someday.

Saaboteur

I had this same thought a few years back when I bought my 997.1 C4S. For about the same money, I could have been into a number of 996 Turbos. Probably should have too, given the prices of the 996 Turbos are probably going to rise (or at least remain stable). But I couldn't live with the 996 interior, the 997 is just nicer in that regard, and arguably exterior too. I also figured that I would head down a rabbit hole of power mods on a Turbo and it wouldn't
end, and that there is hardly enough room to deploy a naturally aspirated 997's power reasonably well in the city anyway.

That said, if 997 Turbo or GT3 prices had been in my budget, I would have gone with one of those.

dgjks6

I actually had that discussion in my head. My budget was about $50K. Price a year ago for a nice 996 turbo. I went with a 997.2 carrera 4 cab with a PDK. Reason was this is my Daily driver. I wanted something for all 4 seasons and comfortable. 996turbo was too rough. Never drove a cab 996 turbo though. And I know this is just me, and it's actually a good thing because it keeps Porsche prices down, but IMHO the 997.2 - or any modern 911 (read water cooled) is more than enough car for every day driving.

SoCal C2S

Ah, no....

I'll stick with a NA 911.

D3RP

My selection had winnowed down to 996TT and 997.2S based on all the same criteria everyone considers when buying a third toy car. Wasn't sure so I drove them back to back.

996 first. TT was stock, no X51, manual, clean and maintained. 40K-ish miles. Pulled hard when spooled, felt sharp cornering, noticeable turbo lag. 996 interior is what it is. Can't knock it, it's just a moment in time. Gotta get over it.

997.2S second. Champion wheels but otherwise stock, PDK, dirty with no records. 32K-ish miles. The 997 just felt right to me being naturally aspirated. Instant response and immediate punch pulling out of a corner. I found the steering feel to be similar between the two, even though the 997 was RWD vs 996 being AWD.

I bought a 997.2 4S ultimately. No regrets here. 996TT is very cool and I have a great deal of respect. Huge tuner support and look rad on dished rear wheels. They are both P cars and very rewarding to drive. Can't go wrong with either.

ADias

Once oil is at op temp 190F or so, shift at higher revs, 5k or higher (especially, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) and it will be plenty quick.

Jlewis1436

I was in the exact same boat, and now have a good friend trying to choose this as well.

I went with a 997.1 C2S instead of the 996TT for a few reasons.
1) Unmodded, the 996 isn't that much quicker that I would give up the interior and a newer year car.

2) Despite the updated headlight covers I've seen, I do prefer the 997 front end.

3) While the 996TT may hold it's value "better" as it's a turbo car, I feel that despite this, until it's a much older "classic" the dislike of the headlights may hold it back. I never buy cars planning to keep them 20 years, so I didn't care. The 944 Turbo still hasn't "taken off" despite the rest of the crazy prices of air cooled turbo cars...hmmm...

4) As much as I LOVE the track, if I get there 2x a year, I'm lucky. Unless you build a 996TT, on the street, not sure your butt-dyno could really tell the difference.

5) In the later 996TT and the 997.1, you're not talking giant differences in performance. For my money, the style and upgrades in a 997 make all the difference.

Coming from a MUCH higher HP/TQ toy car, I feel what you are saying about the down low power of the 997. Unless you are in a newer GT3, GT3RS, TurboS, etc, you probably won't feel that low end power you were expecting. I HAVE learned, these are not off the line cars, IMO. They shine at higher RPMs, in 3rd gear and above and really on the turns and back roads. In my personal car, Sport Mode really does increase the throttle response greatly. I can certainly tell when I've forgotten to turn it on.

I would bring your car to a local AutoX and I think you might change your mind about it. I will take my NA 997.1 over a 996TT all day on a tight, short AutoX.

FWIW, my local group of car guys and I went on a rally drive last weekend, Vipers, Ferrari, Lambo and a 997 Turbo. On the back country roads, other than the 997 Turbo car, all the big HP, big motor cars fell well behind. They caught up once the road was straight, but I haven't cared about straight line driving since High School lol!!!

Keep the 997

mellowalex

Thanks guys. Appreciate all the responses. I'll drive it around more in sport mode. Like most of you stated, the main reason I went with the 997 was the updated interior and exterior while having a nice convertible. I need to remind myself that I didn't get it for the all out performance.
Unfortunately here in South FL there aren't many winding roads to really get a feel for its handling.

My daily driver is an 2014 S5 and 2016 Grand Cherokee.
I am going to take it to the 997 to the track on 7/29. Can't wait. Looks like the answer is TIME