What the 993 guys think of your car...
01-22-2006, 12:34 PM
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What the 993 guys think of your car...
01-22-2006, 01:30 PM
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its typical age old Proschephile nonsence............you should hear what the 356 guys have been saying about all of those cheaply mass produced 911's for the last 40 years........not pretty
01-22-2006, 06:53 PM
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The root of 911 can be traced back to well before the WWII when Ferdinand Porsche created Volkswagen Beetle. However, let us skip such lengthy history and jump to Porsche 356, the predecessor of 911.
356 was the first car carrying the name "Porsche". Based on the Beetle's drive train, further finished with a drag-free body and Porsche's own chassis, it became the most beloved sports car in the 50s accompanied with Jaguar XK120. Despite of frequent updating, its upgradability finally ran out in the 60s because of its VW origin. As a result, Ferry Porsche started working on the drawing board again to create a new sports car.
'As early as 1956 we started with the plans for a new model,' recalled Ferry Porsche. 'It was to be a comfortable touring car but, unlike the 356, parts from the large-series cars were not utilised as these were no longer suitable for further development.'
'Various models were designed, even some with a notchback with the aim of creating a true four-seater. But finally it remained a sports car in concept, with 2+2 packaging. We didn't want to allow the Porsche shape, which had become world famous in the meantime, to disappear. As a power unit, a 6-cylinder engine was chosen. But then it occurred to me, remembering our motorsport activities, that front engines were not competitive enough on a long term basis, and so we kept to the rear engine.'
The project was handled by body engineer Erwin Komenda. Ing Hans Tomala was responsible for engine development. Ferry's nephew, Ferdinand Piech (now VW's boss), joined at the final stage as chief of engine development. On the other hand, Ferry Porsche's own son, Butzi (who is a stylist rather than an engineer, now heads Porsche Design), designed the shape which later became one of the most memorable icon in automotive history.
Ferry himself, although without designing the car by himself, made every important decision, such as the general layout, the use of overhead camshaft and ruling out Komenda's "4-seater" concept. Remember, he was a very good engineer who designed 356, so his decisions were usually correct. Managing the whole project, he certainly deserved to be called "the father of 911".
The long-live 901 engine
'Had I known, at that time, that the unit could actually be stretched to 3.3 litres and still be completely reliable, even in racing form, I would almost certainly have decided that it was unnecessarily large and heavy, and would have asked the designers to scale it down', said Ferry Porsche, 'Now I am glad I didn't!'
The Type 901 flat-six engine was as legendary as the car itself. Think about it, although a lot of progress had been made during those years, the basic structure was never altered. For 34 years it remained to be air-cooled and, most important, the basic dimensions (governed by the distance between bore centres) remained unchanged. It sounds rather unbelievable, especially knowing the differences between the earliest and the latest engines - 2 litres versus 3.8 litres; 130 hp versus 450 hp - I can’t think of any other engines having so dramatic progress without a complete redesign. Actually, none of the successors of the 901 engine could be called as clean-sheet design. They were all limited by the old-fashion air-cooled and small dimensions.
Naming
Nevertheless, one thing was changed times to times: the name. From Type 901 (in order to coincide with the car’s name, although the latter was eventually changed to 911 under the protest from Peugeot) to Type 911, 930, then renamed to M30 briefly for the turbo, and at last M64. It is generally regarded that the M30 did not worth a new name because it was actually a revised Type 930 Turbo 3.3. In contrast, the M64 had the most changes.
Engine Type Year Application
Type 901 1964-70 All 2.0-litre models
Type 911 1970-77 All 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7-litre models, plus RS 3.0
Type 930 1975-89 All 3.0 and 3.3 turbo (excluding 964 turbo 3.3)
All 3.0 and 3.2-litre normally aspirated models
M30 1991-92 3.3-litre 964 Turbo and 964 Turbo S
M64 1989-98 All 3.6 and 3.8-litre models
Advanced design from the beginning
The original engine, Type 901/01 was deemed to be an advanced and highly specified engine for a production car. Its good elements included:
o Aluminium head and crankcase;
o Biral cylinders, i.e., cast iron cylinder liner with aluminium fins casting around;
o Cast aluminium pistons;
o Hollow, sodium-filled exhaust valve for better cooling;
o Forged steel crankshaft;
o 7 main bearings for fully counterweighted crankshaft;
o Hydraulic timing chain for valve gears.
The trend of evolution
During the 3 and a half decades, the Type 901 engine faced challenges times to times from tightening emission / noise regulations as well as the weight increment. The ask for cleaner emission and more flexibility (thus torque) without any trade-off in performance, cost and reliability guided the development of the engine. Porsche met the demand by increasing engine displacement times to times, plus some other latest development (some were learned from racing program), such as forged pistons, Nikasil treatment, turbocharging, intercooler, electronic fuel injection / ignition, advanced engine management program, variable intake system, twin ignition, low back-pressure exhaust .... the 901 engine and its evolutions met the goals yet achieved considerable improvement in performance.
From 2.0 to 3.8: the power of Nikasil
It is hard to believe an engine could be enlarged so much without even altering the distance between bore centres. The biggest difficulty faced by engineers was how to squeeze more capacity out of the unchanged dimensions. According to the original calculation - although Porsche had already built in considerable potential for development into the original design - it was expected to be stretched to maximum 2.7 litres only. Anything larger than 2.7 litres required a bore so large that the cylinder wall would have become too thin to be reliable. As the 911 was designed with endurance GT racing very much in mind, and admitted, strong reliability was always one of the core valves of Porsche’s philosophy, it seemed that the Type 901 engine would have never grown to more than 2.7 litres.
However, a breakthrough was made in the ’73 Carrera RS 2.7. It introduced Nikasil technology to get rid of the original Biral cylinder, hence allowing the bore to be grown from the original 2.0-litre unit’s 80 mm to as much as 95 mm while still had a sufficiently thick cylinder wall. To understand that, we must have a little bit explanation to the original cylinder design.
Since the first 911, it used so-called "Biral" cylinders, which is basically a cast iron cylinder liner with aluminium air-cooling fins casting around. Why not all-aluminium? because the pistons were also cast aluminium. It is commonly known that the contact between two aluminium surfaces always result in higher friction and wear than the contact between aluminium and iron. Therefore an all-aluminium engine without special treatment is always infeasible. Biral cylinders were employed to solve this problem.
As the Biral cylinder has two layers of different materials made in casting, the cylinder wall is inherently thicker than a pure aluminium cylinder yet doesn’t provide superior mechanical strength. Instead of cast iron liner, Nikasil treatment coats a layer of Nickel-silicon carbide, usually by electrolytic deposition, to the inner surface of aluminium cylinders. Since Nikasil layer generates even less friction than cast iron liner, revability and power are both enhanced. Moreover, it is only a few hundreds of a millimetre thick, therefore the bore can be enlarged significantly. Porsche had already tried this technology in the 917 racing car successfully before applying to the 911 RS 2.7.
This was only the beginning. In fact, the Nikasil gave the engine a second phase of life, enabling the bore to be increased to 102 mm (thus displaced 3746 c.c.) eventually. Of course, the stroke was also increased from the 2.7 RS’s 70.4 mm to the 3.8 RS’s 76.4 mm, thus involving some revisions to crankshaft and con-rods. The magnesium crankcase used since the 2.2-litre had to be changed back to the heavier aluminium one for the advantage of strength.
The production 2.7-litre unit once discarded the Nikasil treatment and in favour of a cheaper arrangement - pure aluminium cylinders matched with iron-coated aluminium pistons, which was just a reversal pair of the original Biral cylinder / aluminium piston. However, as Nikasil had superior power advantage, it was adopted again since the 3-litre engine appeared.
Pioneering Turbocharging
Although turbocharing had been appeared in Chevrolet Corvair and BMW 2002 turbo in the late 60s, Porsche 911 Turbo was unquestionably the first to cure the turbo lag problem and made turbocharging practical for road use.
The advantage of turbocharging is obvious - instead of wasting thermal energy through exhaust, we can make use of such energy to increase engine power. By directing exhaust gas to rotate a turbine, which drives another turbine to pump air into the combustion chambers at a pressure higher than normal atmosphere, a small capacity engine can deliver power comparable with much bigger opponents. As a result, engine size and weight can be much reduced, thus leads to better acceleration, handling and braking, though fuel consumption is not necessarily better.
Problems
However, no matter the Corvair or the 2002, they failed to make turbocharging practical for road use. The main obstacle was turbo lag. Before low inertia turbine appeared, turbines were very heavy, thus could not start spinning until about 3,500 rpm crank speed. As a result, low-speed output remained weak. Besides, since the contemporary turbocharging required compression ratio to be decreased to about 6.5:1 in order to avoid overheat to cylinder head, the pre-charged output would be even weaker than a normally-aspirated engine of the same capacity !
Turbo lag can cause trouble in daily driving. Before the turbo intervenes, the car performs like an ordinary sedan. Open full throttle and raise the engine speed, suddenly the power surge at 3,500 rpm and the car becomes a wild beast. On wet surfaces or tight bends this might result in wheel spin or even lost of control.
Besides, turbo lag ruins the refinement of a car very much. Floor the throttle cannot result in instant power rise expected by the driver - all reaction will appear several seconds later, no matter acceleration or releasing throttle. You can imagine how difficult to drive fast in city or twisted roads.
Porsche's Breakthrough
Like BMW, Porsche started developing turbo for the purpose of motor racing. In the early 70s, in order to fight with the 8-litre Chevy in Can-Am, Porsche created the mighty 1000 hp turbocharged, flat-12 engined 917 racer, which soon dominated the whole world. Successful experience led to the application of turbocharging to 911 Carrera RSR Turbo GT racer, which finished 2nd in LeMans. So far, Porsche made turbocharging became the dominating force in GT racing.
Next step was to transform turbocharging for road use. As we have learned, turbo lag was the biggest difficulty preventing turbocharging technology from being practical. To solve this, Porsche's engineers designed a mechanism allowing the turbine to "pre-spin" before boosting. The secret was a recirculating pipe and valve: before the exhaust gas attains enough pressure for driving the turbine, a recirculating path is established between the fresh-air-charging turbine's inlet and outlet, thus the turbine can spin freely without slow down by boost pressure. When the exhaust gas becomes sufficient to turbocharge, a valve will close the recirculating path, then the already-spinning turbine will be able to charge fresh air into the engine quickly. Therefore turbo lag is greatly reduced while power transition becomes smoother.
Turbo 3.0
This technology was first introduced to the Turbo 3.0 of 1975. The Type 930/50 engine was derived from the RS 3.0, with compression ratio reduced to 6.5:1 rather than 8.5:1, a KKK turbocharger generated boost pressure up to 0.8 bar (governed by a mechanical waste gate). Like the RS, it employed forged pistons, but the fuel supply was changed to cleaner (if less powerful) Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical injection while electronic ignition was first introduced. Power and torque jumped to 260 hp at 5500 rpm and 254 lbft at 4000 rpm respectively, compare with the RS's 230 hp at 6200rpm and 203 lbft at 5000 rpm. The turbo engine was lazier to rev but performed a lot stronger since middle rev, hence providing superior performance in an effortless way.
Introduction of intercooler
The 3.3-litre version of the turbocharged engine, Type 930/66, superseded the Turbo 3.0 in 1978. It raised output to 300 hp and 303 lbft. The increased power thanks to the use of intercooler between the compressor and the engine, which was located under the rear spoiler. It reduced the air temperature for 50-60°C, thus not only improved the volumetric efficiency (in other words, the intake air became of higher density) but also allowed the compression ratio to be raised to 7.0:1.
In 1983, the 3.3 Turbo was upgraded to Type 930/66, which employed a more sophisticated KE-Jectronic electronic injection and improved ignition. The result was increased torque to 318 lbft although peak power remained unchanged.
The introduction of turbocharger lifted the 911 into the league of supercars. Between 1978 and 85, the 3.3 Turbo was the fastest accelerating production car in the world, beating all expensive opponents from Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The M64 series: pushing to the limit
When the M64/01 engine appeared in the 964 Carrera 4 in 1989, its origin was already 25 years old. The distance between bore centres was never changed, but Porsche managed to increase the bore to 100 mm and the stroke to 76.4 mm (once again employed Nikasil treatment). That resulted in a displacement of exactly 3600 c.c.. Power and torque increased from 231 hp / 210 lbft to 250 hp / 228 lbft, even though now the catalytic converter was standard and emission regulations had been tightened.
Apart from the increase of capacity, most power came from the higher compression ratio, which was 11.3:1 compared with the previous 10.3:1. This was made possible by the introduction of twin-spark per cylinder and knock sensor. The former alone contributed to 10 hp and 3% reduction in consumption, thanks to more efficient burning. The latter was attached to each bank of cylinder and detected the shock wave resulting from knock. From the crankshaft angle, the advanced Motronic engine management system calculated in which cylinder the knock took place, and then retarded ignition in that cylinder. Therefore, the increase of compression was achieved without requiring higher Octane fuel.
The M64/01 engine also introduced a new "resonance" variable intake system which boost mid to high rev efficiency. Each bank of cylinders was fed by a common plenum chambers through separate pipes. The two plenum chambers were interconnected by two pipes of different diameters. One of the pipes can be closed by a valve controlled by engine management system. The firing order was arranged such that the cylinders breathed alternately from each chamber, creating pressure wave between them. If the frequency of pressure wave matched the rev, it could help filling the cylinders, thus improved breathing efficiency. As the frequency depended on the cross-sectional area of the interconnecting pipes, by closing one of them at below 5,400 rpm, the area as well as frequency reduced, thus enhanced mid-rev output. At above 5,500 rpm, the valve opened and increased high-speed efficiency.
Other changes included:
o 2.2 kg lighter crankshaft;
o Plastic intake manifold;
o increase valve overlapping, higher lift;
o quieter, all-new timing chain tensioners;
o drilled and sodium-filled intake valves, which were lighter and increase rev by 200 rpm;
o ceramic exhaust port liners, which reduce head temperature by 40°C and made sodium-cooled exhaust valves unnecessary.
M64/05 engine for 993
Modified from the M64/01 engine, with the following changes:
* Lightened con-rods from 632 g to 520 g per piece;
* Lightened pistons from 657 g to 602 g per piece;
* 10 g lighter valves;
* Redesigned cam box;
* Enlarged intake port;
* Freer exhaust system by means of larger silencer and catalyst;
* 98 RON fuel instead of 95 RON;
* Reinforced crankshaft thus made vibration damper unnecessary;
Overall speaking, the engine was 6 kg lighter than the predecessor and rev higher, thus generated more horsepower and torque - 272 hp and 243 lbft.
M64/21 engine with Varioram
The 993 engine was updated in 1995, mainly with the introduction of Varioram. It was a 3-stage variable intake system based on the existing 2-stage resonance intake. The space-engaging system can be seen easily above the engine (see picture).
The system added six long pipes for low-speed breathing, as longer intake manifolds always lead to lower frequency of air mass thus serve better for low rev cylinder filling. Below 5,000 rpm, only the long intake manifolds were used for breathing, thus resulted in higher torque at such rev. Between 5,000 and 5,800 rpm, the original resonance intake system with short pipes also intervened, but one of the interconnected pipes was closed so to provide better mid-range output. At above 5,800 rpm, both interconnected pipes of the resonance system were opened thus resulted in higher resonance frequency, and of course better filling at such rev.
Besides, the M64/21 engine also employed slightly larger valves. The output was raised to 285 hp and 251 lbft.
M64/60 - welcome twin-turbo
Ignoring minor revisions, the last new engine for the 911 was the M64/60 twin-turbo engine used in the 911 Turbo of 1994. This is not the first turbo based on the 3.6-litre M64 engine - it was the 3.6 single turbo which served the 964 Turbo of 1993. However, unlike its predecessor, it was an advanced design (if not ground-breaking) rather than a stop-gap design, employing a sophisticated engine management system including electronic boost control. In other words, the waste gate was governed by computer, allowing different max. boost pressure for different rev. For instance, a maximum 0.94 bar was available for 3,500 rpm, 0.6 bar for 5,200 rpm and 0.75 bar for 6,500 rpm. This made the engine extremely responsive and linear.
The advanced engine management enabled a rather high 8.0:1 compression ratio to be realised. Unlike Porsche 959, the twin-turbo of the 911 was arranged operated in parallel rather than sequentially. More accurately speaking, each turbocharger was driven by exhaust gas from one bank of cylinders, with individual waste gate. The pressurised fresh air from the two turbines combined together and served all six cylinders. Due to the advanced boost control and 750 c.c. more displacement, the 911 engine actually felt more responsive and linear than the sequential-turbo 959. In torque, the 911 also beat the 7 years older 959: 398 lbft of torque versus 369 lbft, no wonder 4-wheel-drive was compulsory in this Turbo. Ultimate power, however, was less impressive. It was not until the final form, Turbo S, that the 911 can level the 959’s 450 hp output.
To cope with the new found output, the twin-turbo got reinforced con-rods and hollow valves cooled by natrium. Like the 3.6 single-turbo, it had single-spark instead of the naturally aspirated engine’s twin-spark for simplicity.
911 in Motor Racing
911 Carrera 3.0 RSR
If we called Porsche 911 as the most successful road car in motor racing, few people would disagree. Since the first 911 finished 5th in the Monte Carlo Rally 1965, it started its glorious racing history until the last generation 911 GT2 and RS won the Le Mans category titles.
Early racing - Rallying
Early 911 concentrated on rallying - 4 wins in Monte Carlo (1968, '69, '70 and '79) and European Rally Championship ('70). However, being beaten by the small Alpine A110 in 1971, Porsche understood that 911 was too big to be an inherent rally star, thus virtually quit this field and concentrated in circuit racing.
Nevetheless, Porsche still built several 911s to race some less-competitive events, such as Safari and Paris-Dakar rally.
Golden Period - GT Racing
Concentrated in GT racing, 911 found itself virtually unbeatable in the following 10 years. In 1973, 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and Carrera RSR 2.8 (derived from RS 2.7 road car) dominated the Group 3 and Group 4 GT scenes respectively, beating Ferrari Daytona, DeTomaso Pantera and the 7.4-litre Chevy Corvette easily.
Next year, the RSR 3.0 won the European GT Championship in the same overwhelming style. In 1976 to 77, the Group 4 was dominated by 934 turbo, whose name indicating it was a variant of 930 designed for Group 4.
As you might guess, the Group 5 racer was called 935. This was the most successful production-based racing car ever appeared in the world - in 8 seasons, it won no less than 42 World Championship events and a staggering 70 IMSA championship races in the USA. Its outstanding record reached a glorious climax in 1979, when Klaus Ludwig and Don and Bill Whittington drove their Kremer Porsche Racing 935 swept all aside at the Le Mans 24 Hours. That was the first time the famous event had been won by a production-based car rather than a Group 6 car.
Evacuation
Entered the 80s, Porsche seemed losing interest in motorsport. It slowed down the development of 956 / 962 Group C cars and virtually stopped developing any 911 GT racing versions until 1990, when it established its own Porsche Super Cup for some low-level modified 911s to race in. At the same time, the revival of Le Mans GT Class racing led to the emergence of 911 LM turbo, 911 RSR 3.8, 911 GT2 etc, though all of these low-level modified cars were raced by private entry.
Analysing 911's Success
The success of 911 was one of the miracles in motor history. Many people still can’t understand that. In theory, 911's rear-engined layout was nothing other than old-fashion - it was simply an evolution from VW Beetle and Porsche 356. Its styling was also old-fashioned, with odd "frog’s eyes" headlights that contradicted to the mainstream design theme since the early 80s. While every sports cars incorporated tilted windscreen, 911 never tried to decrease the slope. In fact, the last 911 looked not much different from the one that appeared in the stand of 1963 Frankfurt motor show.
The fourth dimension of our world seemed forgotten the 911. What made it so timeless ?
1 Characterful Handling
The combination of rear-mounted engine and semi-trailing arm suspensions would have resulted in disastrous handling for somebody, but the Porsche tamed the 911 with an adequate suspension setting, grippy tyres and further enhanced with powerful brakes, making it one of the best handling sports cars. However, excluding the first Carrera 4, all 911s still preserved a degree of oversteer which distinguished it from others.
To novice drivers, handling the 911 was always a headache. You know its power slide enabled you to corner in the style of Stirling Moss, but that was neither easily accessible nor fool-proof. You must practice a lot to know how to live on the knife edge. However, to keen drivers, it was more like a demonstration of their superior driving skill, hence delivering driving pleasure and satisfaction unfound in other cars.
2 Consideration for practicality
However, with characterful handling alone, the early 911 would not have been commercially successful. From the beginning, it was known as a practical sports car, somewhat balancing the early handling flaws. Unlike contemporary Ferraris, it had a big front luggage compartment, a superb driving position, generous headroom and remarkable visibility.
The 911 had all the good ingredients of German cars, such as superior build quality, equipment and most important, reliability. It was probably the first sports cars to introduce galvanisation to inside and outside of bodyshell, and the first to offer 10-year warranty of rust-proofing. Fit and finish was better competition. The flat-six engines and running gears were all highly reliable and durable. Accompany with superb aftersale services, the 911 was one of the rare exciting sports cars that was really suitable daily use. The same couldn’t be said for Ferrari and Lotus.
3 Racing improves the breed
The 911 never got an engine as powerful as the top guns from Ferrari and Lamborghini, but it usually outperformed them in real world. In the illegal supercar street racing I saw (as already mentioned in the page for 911 RS 2.7), the first two leaders were both 911 Turbo 3.3, followed by a RS 2.7, a Carrera 3.2 and various other 911s and 944s. The first 4 were leading a Lamborghini Countach QV and a couple of Ferrari Testarossa, then an older 308GTB and lastly, a Mazda 323 turbo 4WD. This was not an individual incident. In fact, the 911 turbo of various versions won all but one Macau Supercar Cups in the past decade. The only car ever beat it was a F50 driven by a professional racing driver.
What made the 911 so outstanding in real world was the experience gained from motor racing. As we have learned earlier, from the very beginning Ferry Porsche decided the car must be suitable for racing, therefore adopted dry-sump lubrication and rear-engined instead of front-engined (although mid-engined was ruled out in favour of practicality). In the following years, the 911 adopted many technologies learned from and thoroughly tested in motor racing. For example, the Nikasil cylinder was transferred from the 917 endurance racer, so was the entire brakes for the first Turbo 3.3. Likewise, the turbocharging was first explored in the 917, but Porsche further tested it in the 911 Carrera RSR turbo before applying to the road-going Turbo. Without a racing program building around the 911, "racing improves the breed" could hardly be realised.
The value of racing program was that it provided an opportunity for proving new technology meeting the requirements for reliability and durability even under the highest stress. Therefore you can hardly hear a 911 engine (including Turbo) overheat. The same couldn’t be said for Ferrari and Lamborghini. Racing experience also concentrated engineer’s vision to reduce lap time rather than playing with horsepower game. As a result, the 911 always got powerful brakes that helped out-braking others into corners. In contrast, the Italian and British didn’t paid much attention to braking until recently.
Lastly, if not benefited from racing experience, the 911 wouldn’t have lasted so long. The continuous enlargement of the flat-six engine would not have been possible without thoroughly tested in racing models. To withstand the stress under racing, they learned what should be strengthened and what could be lightened, eventually enable the bore to be stretched to 102 mm without deteriorating reliability.
4 Continuous development and derivatives
Without long-term commitment to development, the 911 would have died long ago. Although the basic rear-engined layout was never touched, it received engine enhancement every few years. Then diversified into Carrera, Turbo (plus the rarer RS). Also came various body styles to choose from - Targo, Cabriolet, Speedster, Turbo-Look - and then added with optional 4-wheel-drive and Tiptronic. Besides, there were many "special" editions launched in regular interval, such as Club Sport, Turbo S etc.
Major updates like the 964 and 993 injected new lease of life for the last 10 years, including new engine, suspensions and transmission. Eventually, the 911 shared virtually nothing with its origin, except the basic layout and philosophy defined by Ferry Porsche. No other cars ever changed so much.
5 911 fever
Being a real driver's car, 911 won reputation all over the world. Its styling, originally ought to be disadvantage, became its strength. During the years, people got used to its odd-looking shape progressively and started to appreciate the "frog's eyes" headlamps, whale-tail spoiler and even the 5-big-gauges dashboard as "classic". I'm afraid its designer, Butzi Porsche, had never imagined that.
http://www.autozine.org/911/911_1.htm
356 was the first car carrying the name "Porsche". Based on the Beetle's drive train, further finished with a drag-free body and Porsche's own chassis, it became the most beloved sports car in the 50s accompanied with Jaguar XK120. Despite of frequent updating, its upgradability finally ran out in the 60s because of its VW origin. As a result, Ferry Porsche started working on the drawing board again to create a new sports car.
'As early as 1956 we started with the plans for a new model,' recalled Ferry Porsche. 'It was to be a comfortable touring car but, unlike the 356, parts from the large-series cars were not utilised as these were no longer suitable for further development.'
'Various models were designed, even some with a notchback with the aim of creating a true four-seater. But finally it remained a sports car in concept, with 2+2 packaging. We didn't want to allow the Porsche shape, which had become world famous in the meantime, to disappear. As a power unit, a 6-cylinder engine was chosen. But then it occurred to me, remembering our motorsport activities, that front engines were not competitive enough on a long term basis, and so we kept to the rear engine.'
The project was handled by body engineer Erwin Komenda. Ing Hans Tomala was responsible for engine development. Ferry's nephew, Ferdinand Piech (now VW's boss), joined at the final stage as chief of engine development. On the other hand, Ferry Porsche's own son, Butzi (who is a stylist rather than an engineer, now heads Porsche Design), designed the shape which later became one of the most memorable icon in automotive history.
Ferry himself, although without designing the car by himself, made every important decision, such as the general layout, the use of overhead camshaft and ruling out Komenda's "4-seater" concept. Remember, he was a very good engineer who designed 356, so his decisions were usually correct. Managing the whole project, he certainly deserved to be called "the father of 911".
The long-live 901 engine
'Had I known, at that time, that the unit could actually be stretched to 3.3 litres and still be completely reliable, even in racing form, I would almost certainly have decided that it was unnecessarily large and heavy, and would have asked the designers to scale it down', said Ferry Porsche, 'Now I am glad I didn't!'
The Type 901 flat-six engine was as legendary as the car itself. Think about it, although a lot of progress had been made during those years, the basic structure was never altered. For 34 years it remained to be air-cooled and, most important, the basic dimensions (governed by the distance between bore centres) remained unchanged. It sounds rather unbelievable, especially knowing the differences between the earliest and the latest engines - 2 litres versus 3.8 litres; 130 hp versus 450 hp - I can’t think of any other engines having so dramatic progress without a complete redesign. Actually, none of the successors of the 901 engine could be called as clean-sheet design. They were all limited by the old-fashion air-cooled and small dimensions.
Naming
Nevertheless, one thing was changed times to times: the name. From Type 901 (in order to coincide with the car’s name, although the latter was eventually changed to 911 under the protest from Peugeot) to Type 911, 930, then renamed to M30 briefly for the turbo, and at last M64. It is generally regarded that the M30 did not worth a new name because it was actually a revised Type 930 Turbo 3.3. In contrast, the M64 had the most changes.
Engine Type Year Application
Type 901 1964-70 All 2.0-litre models
Type 911 1970-77 All 2.2, 2.4 and 2.7-litre models, plus RS 3.0
Type 930 1975-89 All 3.0 and 3.3 turbo (excluding 964 turbo 3.3)
All 3.0 and 3.2-litre normally aspirated models
M30 1991-92 3.3-litre 964 Turbo and 964 Turbo S
M64 1989-98 All 3.6 and 3.8-litre models
Advanced design from the beginning
The original engine, Type 901/01 was deemed to be an advanced and highly specified engine for a production car. Its good elements included:
o Aluminium head and crankcase;
o Biral cylinders, i.e., cast iron cylinder liner with aluminium fins casting around;
o Cast aluminium pistons;
o Hollow, sodium-filled exhaust valve for better cooling;
o Forged steel crankshaft;
o 7 main bearings for fully counterweighted crankshaft;
o Hydraulic timing chain for valve gears.
The trend of evolution
During the 3 and a half decades, the Type 901 engine faced challenges times to times from tightening emission / noise regulations as well as the weight increment. The ask for cleaner emission and more flexibility (thus torque) without any trade-off in performance, cost and reliability guided the development of the engine. Porsche met the demand by increasing engine displacement times to times, plus some other latest development (some were learned from racing program), such as forged pistons, Nikasil treatment, turbocharging, intercooler, electronic fuel injection / ignition, advanced engine management program, variable intake system, twin ignition, low back-pressure exhaust .... the 901 engine and its evolutions met the goals yet achieved considerable improvement in performance.
From 2.0 to 3.8: the power of Nikasil
It is hard to believe an engine could be enlarged so much without even altering the distance between bore centres. The biggest difficulty faced by engineers was how to squeeze more capacity out of the unchanged dimensions. According to the original calculation - although Porsche had already built in considerable potential for development into the original design - it was expected to be stretched to maximum 2.7 litres only. Anything larger than 2.7 litres required a bore so large that the cylinder wall would have become too thin to be reliable. As the 911 was designed with endurance GT racing very much in mind, and admitted, strong reliability was always one of the core valves of Porsche’s philosophy, it seemed that the Type 901 engine would have never grown to more than 2.7 litres.
However, a breakthrough was made in the ’73 Carrera RS 2.7. It introduced Nikasil technology to get rid of the original Biral cylinder, hence allowing the bore to be grown from the original 2.0-litre unit’s 80 mm to as much as 95 mm while still had a sufficiently thick cylinder wall. To understand that, we must have a little bit explanation to the original cylinder design.
Since the first 911, it used so-called "Biral" cylinders, which is basically a cast iron cylinder liner with aluminium air-cooling fins casting around. Why not all-aluminium? because the pistons were also cast aluminium. It is commonly known that the contact between two aluminium surfaces always result in higher friction and wear than the contact between aluminium and iron. Therefore an all-aluminium engine without special treatment is always infeasible. Biral cylinders were employed to solve this problem.
As the Biral cylinder has two layers of different materials made in casting, the cylinder wall is inherently thicker than a pure aluminium cylinder yet doesn’t provide superior mechanical strength. Instead of cast iron liner, Nikasil treatment coats a layer of Nickel-silicon carbide, usually by electrolytic deposition, to the inner surface of aluminium cylinders. Since Nikasil layer generates even less friction than cast iron liner, revability and power are both enhanced. Moreover, it is only a few hundreds of a millimetre thick, therefore the bore can be enlarged significantly. Porsche had already tried this technology in the 917 racing car successfully before applying to the 911 RS 2.7.
This was only the beginning. In fact, the Nikasil gave the engine a second phase of life, enabling the bore to be increased to 102 mm (thus displaced 3746 c.c.) eventually. Of course, the stroke was also increased from the 2.7 RS’s 70.4 mm to the 3.8 RS’s 76.4 mm, thus involving some revisions to crankshaft and con-rods. The magnesium crankcase used since the 2.2-litre had to be changed back to the heavier aluminium one for the advantage of strength.
The production 2.7-litre unit once discarded the Nikasil treatment and in favour of a cheaper arrangement - pure aluminium cylinders matched with iron-coated aluminium pistons, which was just a reversal pair of the original Biral cylinder / aluminium piston. However, as Nikasil had superior power advantage, it was adopted again since the 3-litre engine appeared.
Pioneering Turbocharging
Although turbocharing had been appeared in Chevrolet Corvair and BMW 2002 turbo in the late 60s, Porsche 911 Turbo was unquestionably the first to cure the turbo lag problem and made turbocharging practical for road use.
The advantage of turbocharging is obvious - instead of wasting thermal energy through exhaust, we can make use of such energy to increase engine power. By directing exhaust gas to rotate a turbine, which drives another turbine to pump air into the combustion chambers at a pressure higher than normal atmosphere, a small capacity engine can deliver power comparable with much bigger opponents. As a result, engine size and weight can be much reduced, thus leads to better acceleration, handling and braking, though fuel consumption is not necessarily better.
Problems
However, no matter the Corvair or the 2002, they failed to make turbocharging practical for road use. The main obstacle was turbo lag. Before low inertia turbine appeared, turbines were very heavy, thus could not start spinning until about 3,500 rpm crank speed. As a result, low-speed output remained weak. Besides, since the contemporary turbocharging required compression ratio to be decreased to about 6.5:1 in order to avoid overheat to cylinder head, the pre-charged output would be even weaker than a normally-aspirated engine of the same capacity !
Turbo lag can cause trouble in daily driving. Before the turbo intervenes, the car performs like an ordinary sedan. Open full throttle and raise the engine speed, suddenly the power surge at 3,500 rpm and the car becomes a wild beast. On wet surfaces or tight bends this might result in wheel spin or even lost of control.
Besides, turbo lag ruins the refinement of a car very much. Floor the throttle cannot result in instant power rise expected by the driver - all reaction will appear several seconds later, no matter acceleration or releasing throttle. You can imagine how difficult to drive fast in city or twisted roads.
Porsche's Breakthrough
Like BMW, Porsche started developing turbo for the purpose of motor racing. In the early 70s, in order to fight with the 8-litre Chevy in Can-Am, Porsche created the mighty 1000 hp turbocharged, flat-12 engined 917 racer, which soon dominated the whole world. Successful experience led to the application of turbocharging to 911 Carrera RSR Turbo GT racer, which finished 2nd in LeMans. So far, Porsche made turbocharging became the dominating force in GT racing.
Next step was to transform turbocharging for road use. As we have learned, turbo lag was the biggest difficulty preventing turbocharging technology from being practical. To solve this, Porsche's engineers designed a mechanism allowing the turbine to "pre-spin" before boosting. The secret was a recirculating pipe and valve: before the exhaust gas attains enough pressure for driving the turbine, a recirculating path is established between the fresh-air-charging turbine's inlet and outlet, thus the turbine can spin freely without slow down by boost pressure. When the exhaust gas becomes sufficient to turbocharge, a valve will close the recirculating path, then the already-spinning turbine will be able to charge fresh air into the engine quickly. Therefore turbo lag is greatly reduced while power transition becomes smoother.
Turbo 3.0
This technology was first introduced to the Turbo 3.0 of 1975. The Type 930/50 engine was derived from the RS 3.0, with compression ratio reduced to 6.5:1 rather than 8.5:1, a KKK turbocharger generated boost pressure up to 0.8 bar (governed by a mechanical waste gate). Like the RS, it employed forged pistons, but the fuel supply was changed to cleaner (if less powerful) Bosch K-Jetronic mechanical injection while electronic ignition was first introduced. Power and torque jumped to 260 hp at 5500 rpm and 254 lbft at 4000 rpm respectively, compare with the RS's 230 hp at 6200rpm and 203 lbft at 5000 rpm. The turbo engine was lazier to rev but performed a lot stronger since middle rev, hence providing superior performance in an effortless way.
Introduction of intercooler
The 3.3-litre version of the turbocharged engine, Type 930/66, superseded the Turbo 3.0 in 1978. It raised output to 300 hp and 303 lbft. The increased power thanks to the use of intercooler between the compressor and the engine, which was located under the rear spoiler. It reduced the air temperature for 50-60°C, thus not only improved the volumetric efficiency (in other words, the intake air became of higher density) but also allowed the compression ratio to be raised to 7.0:1.
In 1983, the 3.3 Turbo was upgraded to Type 930/66, which employed a more sophisticated KE-Jectronic electronic injection and improved ignition. The result was increased torque to 318 lbft although peak power remained unchanged.
The introduction of turbocharger lifted the 911 into the league of supercars. Between 1978 and 85, the 3.3 Turbo was the fastest accelerating production car in the world, beating all expensive opponents from Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The M64 series: pushing to the limit
When the M64/01 engine appeared in the 964 Carrera 4 in 1989, its origin was already 25 years old. The distance between bore centres was never changed, but Porsche managed to increase the bore to 100 mm and the stroke to 76.4 mm (once again employed Nikasil treatment). That resulted in a displacement of exactly 3600 c.c.. Power and torque increased from 231 hp / 210 lbft to 250 hp / 228 lbft, even though now the catalytic converter was standard and emission regulations had been tightened.
Apart from the increase of capacity, most power came from the higher compression ratio, which was 11.3:1 compared with the previous 10.3:1. This was made possible by the introduction of twin-spark per cylinder and knock sensor. The former alone contributed to 10 hp and 3% reduction in consumption, thanks to more efficient burning. The latter was attached to each bank of cylinder and detected the shock wave resulting from knock. From the crankshaft angle, the advanced Motronic engine management system calculated in which cylinder the knock took place, and then retarded ignition in that cylinder. Therefore, the increase of compression was achieved without requiring higher Octane fuel.
The M64/01 engine also introduced a new "resonance" variable intake system which boost mid to high rev efficiency. Each bank of cylinders was fed by a common plenum chambers through separate pipes. The two plenum chambers were interconnected by two pipes of different diameters. One of the pipes can be closed by a valve controlled by engine management system. The firing order was arranged such that the cylinders breathed alternately from each chamber, creating pressure wave between them. If the frequency of pressure wave matched the rev, it could help filling the cylinders, thus improved breathing efficiency. As the frequency depended on the cross-sectional area of the interconnecting pipes, by closing one of them at below 5,400 rpm, the area as well as frequency reduced, thus enhanced mid-rev output. At above 5,500 rpm, the valve opened and increased high-speed efficiency.
Other changes included:
o 2.2 kg lighter crankshaft;
o Plastic intake manifold;
o increase valve overlapping, higher lift;
o quieter, all-new timing chain tensioners;
o drilled and sodium-filled intake valves, which were lighter and increase rev by 200 rpm;
o ceramic exhaust port liners, which reduce head temperature by 40°C and made sodium-cooled exhaust valves unnecessary.
M64/05 engine for 993
Modified from the M64/01 engine, with the following changes:
* Lightened con-rods from 632 g to 520 g per piece;
* Lightened pistons from 657 g to 602 g per piece;
* 10 g lighter valves;
* Redesigned cam box;
* Enlarged intake port;
* Freer exhaust system by means of larger silencer and catalyst;
* 98 RON fuel instead of 95 RON;
* Reinforced crankshaft thus made vibration damper unnecessary;
Overall speaking, the engine was 6 kg lighter than the predecessor and rev higher, thus generated more horsepower and torque - 272 hp and 243 lbft.
M64/21 engine with Varioram
The 993 engine was updated in 1995, mainly with the introduction of Varioram. It was a 3-stage variable intake system based on the existing 2-stage resonance intake. The space-engaging system can be seen easily above the engine (see picture).
The system added six long pipes for low-speed breathing, as longer intake manifolds always lead to lower frequency of air mass thus serve better for low rev cylinder filling. Below 5,000 rpm, only the long intake manifolds were used for breathing, thus resulted in higher torque at such rev. Between 5,000 and 5,800 rpm, the original resonance intake system with short pipes also intervened, but one of the interconnected pipes was closed so to provide better mid-range output. At above 5,800 rpm, both interconnected pipes of the resonance system were opened thus resulted in higher resonance frequency, and of course better filling at such rev.
Besides, the M64/21 engine also employed slightly larger valves. The output was raised to 285 hp and 251 lbft.
M64/60 - welcome twin-turbo
Ignoring minor revisions, the last new engine for the 911 was the M64/60 twin-turbo engine used in the 911 Turbo of 1994. This is not the first turbo based on the 3.6-litre M64 engine - it was the 3.6 single turbo which served the 964 Turbo of 1993. However, unlike its predecessor, it was an advanced design (if not ground-breaking) rather than a stop-gap design, employing a sophisticated engine management system including electronic boost control. In other words, the waste gate was governed by computer, allowing different max. boost pressure for different rev. For instance, a maximum 0.94 bar was available for 3,500 rpm, 0.6 bar for 5,200 rpm and 0.75 bar for 6,500 rpm. This made the engine extremely responsive and linear.
The advanced engine management enabled a rather high 8.0:1 compression ratio to be realised. Unlike Porsche 959, the twin-turbo of the 911 was arranged operated in parallel rather than sequentially. More accurately speaking, each turbocharger was driven by exhaust gas from one bank of cylinders, with individual waste gate. The pressurised fresh air from the two turbines combined together and served all six cylinders. Due to the advanced boost control and 750 c.c. more displacement, the 911 engine actually felt more responsive and linear than the sequential-turbo 959. In torque, the 911 also beat the 7 years older 959: 398 lbft of torque versus 369 lbft, no wonder 4-wheel-drive was compulsory in this Turbo. Ultimate power, however, was less impressive. It was not until the final form, Turbo S, that the 911 can level the 959’s 450 hp output.
To cope with the new found output, the twin-turbo got reinforced con-rods and hollow valves cooled by natrium. Like the 3.6 single-turbo, it had single-spark instead of the naturally aspirated engine’s twin-spark for simplicity.
911 in Motor Racing
911 Carrera 3.0 RSR
If we called Porsche 911 as the most successful road car in motor racing, few people would disagree. Since the first 911 finished 5th in the Monte Carlo Rally 1965, it started its glorious racing history until the last generation 911 GT2 and RS won the Le Mans category titles.
Early racing - Rallying
Early 911 concentrated on rallying - 4 wins in Monte Carlo (1968, '69, '70 and '79) and European Rally Championship ('70). However, being beaten by the small Alpine A110 in 1971, Porsche understood that 911 was too big to be an inherent rally star, thus virtually quit this field and concentrated in circuit racing.
Nevetheless, Porsche still built several 911s to race some less-competitive events, such as Safari and Paris-Dakar rally.
Golden Period - GT Racing
Concentrated in GT racing, 911 found itself virtually unbeatable in the following 10 years. In 1973, 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and Carrera RSR 2.8 (derived from RS 2.7 road car) dominated the Group 3 and Group 4 GT scenes respectively, beating Ferrari Daytona, DeTomaso Pantera and the 7.4-litre Chevy Corvette easily.
Next year, the RSR 3.0 won the European GT Championship in the same overwhelming style. In 1976 to 77, the Group 4 was dominated by 934 turbo, whose name indicating it was a variant of 930 designed for Group 4.
As you might guess, the Group 5 racer was called 935. This was the most successful production-based racing car ever appeared in the world - in 8 seasons, it won no less than 42 World Championship events and a staggering 70 IMSA championship races in the USA. Its outstanding record reached a glorious climax in 1979, when Klaus Ludwig and Don and Bill Whittington drove their Kremer Porsche Racing 935 swept all aside at the Le Mans 24 Hours. That was the first time the famous event had been won by a production-based car rather than a Group 6 car.
Evacuation
Entered the 80s, Porsche seemed losing interest in motorsport. It slowed down the development of 956 / 962 Group C cars and virtually stopped developing any 911 GT racing versions until 1990, when it established its own Porsche Super Cup for some low-level modified 911s to race in. At the same time, the revival of Le Mans GT Class racing led to the emergence of 911 LM turbo, 911 RSR 3.8, 911 GT2 etc, though all of these low-level modified cars were raced by private entry.
Analysing 911's Success
The success of 911 was one of the miracles in motor history. Many people still can’t understand that. In theory, 911's rear-engined layout was nothing other than old-fashion - it was simply an evolution from VW Beetle and Porsche 356. Its styling was also old-fashioned, with odd "frog’s eyes" headlights that contradicted to the mainstream design theme since the early 80s. While every sports cars incorporated tilted windscreen, 911 never tried to decrease the slope. In fact, the last 911 looked not much different from the one that appeared in the stand of 1963 Frankfurt motor show.
The fourth dimension of our world seemed forgotten the 911. What made it so timeless ?
1 Characterful Handling
The combination of rear-mounted engine and semi-trailing arm suspensions would have resulted in disastrous handling for somebody, but the Porsche tamed the 911 with an adequate suspension setting, grippy tyres and further enhanced with powerful brakes, making it one of the best handling sports cars. However, excluding the first Carrera 4, all 911s still preserved a degree of oversteer which distinguished it from others.
To novice drivers, handling the 911 was always a headache. You know its power slide enabled you to corner in the style of Stirling Moss, but that was neither easily accessible nor fool-proof. You must practice a lot to know how to live on the knife edge. However, to keen drivers, it was more like a demonstration of their superior driving skill, hence delivering driving pleasure and satisfaction unfound in other cars.
2 Consideration for practicality
However, with characterful handling alone, the early 911 would not have been commercially successful. From the beginning, it was known as a practical sports car, somewhat balancing the early handling flaws. Unlike contemporary Ferraris, it had a big front luggage compartment, a superb driving position, generous headroom and remarkable visibility.
The 911 had all the good ingredients of German cars, such as superior build quality, equipment and most important, reliability. It was probably the first sports cars to introduce galvanisation to inside and outside of bodyshell, and the first to offer 10-year warranty of rust-proofing. Fit and finish was better competition. The flat-six engines and running gears were all highly reliable and durable. Accompany with superb aftersale services, the 911 was one of the rare exciting sports cars that was really suitable daily use. The same couldn’t be said for Ferrari and Lotus.
3 Racing improves the breed
The 911 never got an engine as powerful as the top guns from Ferrari and Lamborghini, but it usually outperformed them in real world. In the illegal supercar street racing I saw (as already mentioned in the page for 911 RS 2.7), the first two leaders were both 911 Turbo 3.3, followed by a RS 2.7, a Carrera 3.2 and various other 911s and 944s. The first 4 were leading a Lamborghini Countach QV and a couple of Ferrari Testarossa, then an older 308GTB and lastly, a Mazda 323 turbo 4WD. This was not an individual incident. In fact, the 911 turbo of various versions won all but one Macau Supercar Cups in the past decade. The only car ever beat it was a F50 driven by a professional racing driver.
What made the 911 so outstanding in real world was the experience gained from motor racing. As we have learned earlier, from the very beginning Ferry Porsche decided the car must be suitable for racing, therefore adopted dry-sump lubrication and rear-engined instead of front-engined (although mid-engined was ruled out in favour of practicality). In the following years, the 911 adopted many technologies learned from and thoroughly tested in motor racing. For example, the Nikasil cylinder was transferred from the 917 endurance racer, so was the entire brakes for the first Turbo 3.3. Likewise, the turbocharging was first explored in the 917, but Porsche further tested it in the 911 Carrera RSR turbo before applying to the road-going Turbo. Without a racing program building around the 911, "racing improves the breed" could hardly be realised.
The value of racing program was that it provided an opportunity for proving new technology meeting the requirements for reliability and durability even under the highest stress. Therefore you can hardly hear a 911 engine (including Turbo) overheat. The same couldn’t be said for Ferrari and Lamborghini. Racing experience also concentrated engineer’s vision to reduce lap time rather than playing with horsepower game. As a result, the 911 always got powerful brakes that helped out-braking others into corners. In contrast, the Italian and British didn’t paid much attention to braking until recently.
Lastly, if not benefited from racing experience, the 911 wouldn’t have lasted so long. The continuous enlargement of the flat-six engine would not have been possible without thoroughly tested in racing models. To withstand the stress under racing, they learned what should be strengthened and what could be lightened, eventually enable the bore to be stretched to 102 mm without deteriorating reliability.
4 Continuous development and derivatives
Without long-term commitment to development, the 911 would have died long ago. Although the basic rear-engined layout was never touched, it received engine enhancement every few years. Then diversified into Carrera, Turbo (plus the rarer RS). Also came various body styles to choose from - Targo, Cabriolet, Speedster, Turbo-Look - and then added with optional 4-wheel-drive and Tiptronic. Besides, there were many "special" editions launched in regular interval, such as Club Sport, Turbo S etc.
Major updates like the 964 and 993 injected new lease of life for the last 10 years, including new engine, suspensions and transmission. Eventually, the 911 shared virtually nothing with its origin, except the basic layout and philosophy defined by Ferry Porsche. No other cars ever changed so much.
5 911 fever
Being a real driver's car, 911 won reputation all over the world. Its styling, originally ought to be disadvantage, became its strength. During the years, people got used to its odd-looking shape progressively and started to appreciate the "frog's eyes" headlamps, whale-tail spoiler and even the 5-big-gauges dashboard as "classic". I'm afraid its designer, Butzi Porsche, had never imagined that.
http://www.autozine.org/911/911_1.htm
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01-22-2006, 08:54 PM
#8
GT3 player par excellence
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texas 911, you trying to start a riot on rennlist, LOL.
ppl often think the car they have is the best. i think that's strange. the car i own is often the worst. that gives me an excuse to sell it and buy something else. the way i see it is that as good as 993 is or 964 or 911 2.7RS, i like to try as many as i can. of course if i got a 200 space garage, i would have a version of every porsche make (assuming i win the lottery), else i will keep changing cars.... why worry if 993, GT3 or cayman is better than the other. try them all and have fun.
ppl often think the car they have is the best. i think that's strange. the car i own is often the worst. that gives me an excuse to sell it and buy something else. the way i see it is that as good as 993 is or 964 or 911 2.7RS, i like to try as many as i can. of course if i got a 200 space garage, i would have a version of every porsche make (assuming i win the lottery), else i will keep changing cars.... why worry if 993, GT3 or cayman is better than the other. try them all and have fun.
01-22-2006, 10:43 PM
#10
Burning Brakes
I must say, as a 993 owner, I like the cayman - not enough to sell my 993, but I like it none the less.
As far as the 993 being the "ultimate" Porsche, I disagree. I just recently looked into a 996 GT3 and after a test drive, it's 10 times the car my C2 is! Unfortunately, after talking with the bank and doing some math, I'm just not in a position to spend $90k ('04 w/ 3,800 miles) on a replacement for a car that's perfectly fine!
No matter what you get, somebody else is going to have something better!
As far as the 993 being the "ultimate" Porsche, I disagree. I just recently looked into a 996 GT3 and after a test drive, it's 10 times the car my C2 is! Unfortunately, after talking with the bank and doing some math, I'm just not in a position to spend $90k ('04 w/ 3,800 miles) on a replacement for a car that's perfectly fine!
No matter what you get, somebody else is going to have something better!
01-23-2006, 12:58 AM
#11
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righton gordo993.
How far/long can one go on a test drive?
_________
900 miles so far. i drove it right home.
How far/long can one go on a test drive?
_________
900 miles so far. i drove it right home.
01-23-2006, 01:37 AM
#12
Race Director
Gordo,
I'm with you. I really do like the Cayman but that will be an add to my RUF.
I am extremely content with my RUF as it is a NB 2WD 993 first and foremost, but musters more HP/torque than a 993tt, so 997 Carrera S will not out-perfrom my car. In that sense, it's truely timeless, in look, heritage, and actual performance.
So why am I thinking about a Cayman? As a daily driver. While the RUF is superb car, it is not a daily driver:
(1) It'll kill me if it's stolen or dinged up.
(2) It only has frontal air bags.
(3) Being metallic black, it is a major pain to keep clean.
(4) I could use better gas mileage in a daily driver.
So if and when I have one slot open up in my garage, I'll convince my wife to let me get a Cayman as a daily driver.
CP
I'm with you. I really do like the Cayman but that will be an add to my RUF.
I am extremely content with my RUF as it is a NB 2WD 993 first and foremost, but musters more HP/torque than a 993tt, so 997 Carrera S will not out-perfrom my car. In that sense, it's truely timeless, in look, heritage, and actual performance.
So why am I thinking about a Cayman? As a daily driver. While the RUF is superb car, it is not a daily driver:
(1) It'll kill me if it's stolen or dinged up.
(2) It only has frontal air bags.
(3) Being metallic black, it is a major pain to keep clean.
(4) I could use better gas mileage in a daily driver.
So if and when I have one slot open up in my garage, I'll convince my wife to let me get a Cayman as a daily driver.
CP
01-23-2006, 03:32 AM
#13
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Well I'll repeat here the impressions of this "993 guy" after a first test drive of the Cayman S:
Originally Posted by Dan 96C2 St.Louis
I just came back from a long test drive in a Cayman (PASM, 19" wheels, sport seats, but no Sport Chrono) including some familiar winding roads I've driven at speed in my 993 (lowered, RoW M030 w/HD, G50/21 w/LSD, LWF, etc.).
While I still generally prefer the sight & sound of my 993, I must say the totally unfamiliar Cayman handled better, cornered flatter, felt tighter, lighter and more neutral, was readily "tossable," & covered the distance noticeably faster & w/at least as much "visceral feel." The engine just loves to rev & sounds better than any post '98 stock Porsche. The car is a joy to drive, is extremely competent & inspires confidence (which can be dangerous). And that's after just a few miles under my belt. I'll venture that on a track a 993 driver will only see the Cayman's add on fog lights in his mirrors moments before he's passed.
BTW, I drove & tracked my 993 for years w/o LSD & still somehow managed to have a blast. I always thought the vast majority of 993s didn't have LSD & that most that do were burned out long ago.
I haven't seen this much infighting among Porsche owners since that boxy VW put on a Porsche hat & tried to sit at the family dinner table.
While I still generally prefer the sight & sound of my 993, I must say the totally unfamiliar Cayman handled better, cornered flatter, felt tighter, lighter and more neutral, was readily "tossable," & covered the distance noticeably faster & w/at least as much "visceral feel." The engine just loves to rev & sounds better than any post '98 stock Porsche. The car is a joy to drive, is extremely competent & inspires confidence (which can be dangerous). And that's after just a few miles under my belt. I'll venture that on a track a 993 driver will only see the Cayman's add on fog lights in his mirrors moments before he's passed.
BTW, I drove & tracked my 993 for years w/o LSD & still somehow managed to have a blast. I always thought the vast majority of 993s didn't have LSD & that most that do were burned out long ago.
I haven't seen this much infighting among Porsche owners since that boxy VW put on a Porsche hat & tried to sit at the family dinner table.
03-05-2006, 01:32 PM
#15
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I drove a Cayman S yesterday (I am a 993 C4S owner) and thought it had a lot of promise.
Lots of upsides:
- Very balanced with the mid-engine.
- Felt more powerful than my 993
- Doesn't feel overweight to me at all
- Sport seats are very nice
- The shifter is shorter than mine, and feels very sports-like, and the clutch feels nice also
Downsides:
- Suspension is way too soft, both under braking and in esses. But soft is apparently what the core Porsche consumer wants, and it can be easily replaced with some PSS9's or whatever (once they are available).
- Engine sound is a little uninspiring (even compared to my stock 993 exhaust). This is just my personal preference, and again Porsche must have done research and figured this is what people want, and within a short period of time I am sure someone will offer an upgrade kit.
Overall it does feel more powerful and quicker than my 993 (or it at least would if the suspension were stiffer), and it feels more 'modern' for sure... fancy computers, less retro dash, and far less 'feedback' felt, which I guess mostly means less engine vibration transmitting through the steering wheel, shifter, and seat, but also more of a power-steering feel such that the steering wheel doesn't have as much counterforce in a highspeed turn.
Btw the dealer mentioned that the 997 Turbo is due this July and the GT3 within a month or so afterwards.
Personally I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Cayman S.
Lots of upsides:
- Very balanced with the mid-engine.
- Felt more powerful than my 993
- Doesn't feel overweight to me at all
- Sport seats are very nice
- The shifter is shorter than mine, and feels very sports-like, and the clutch feels nice also
Downsides:
- Suspension is way too soft, both under braking and in esses. But soft is apparently what the core Porsche consumer wants, and it can be easily replaced with some PSS9's or whatever (once they are available).
- Engine sound is a little uninspiring (even compared to my stock 993 exhaust). This is just my personal preference, and again Porsche must have done research and figured this is what people want, and within a short period of time I am sure someone will offer an upgrade kit.
Overall it does feel more powerful and quicker than my 993 (or it at least would if the suspension were stiffer), and it feels more 'modern' for sure... fancy computers, less retro dash, and far less 'feedback' felt, which I guess mostly means less engine vibration transmitting through the steering wheel, shifter, and seat, but also more of a power-steering feel such that the steering wheel doesn't have as much counterforce in a highspeed turn.
Btw the dealer mentioned that the 997 Turbo is due this July and the GT3 within a month or so afterwards.
Personally I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Cayman S.