Punko

I have been looking at 911's for a while....help me decide and get off the hamster wheel.

I am just about ready to buy a 2003 911 turbo, 80,000 km's.

However, there is a 2005 911S and a 2006 911S with similar km's for a similar price.

My current car is a 2007 Z4 M Coupe.

AWD vs RWD
415 hp vs 355 hp
415 ft lb vs 295 ft lbs

Is the 997 S a "wide" body car similar to the 997 turbo? Does it have the turbo brakes and suspension similar to a 996 4S?

Which car is more reliable?

Any advice would be appreciated...

00Coupe

There are 100s of posts on this debate...

I was in the same position and chose 996tt....

More reliable and powerful engine vs nicer headlights and interior is what it comes down to..

Either is a nice choice just stay away from accident repairs and get ppi done..


997s is narrow body c4s is wide..

997s has similar size brakes as 996tt, 997tt are bit bigger....

wc11

997 C2S's are not wide body.
Only Turbos & C4's

Both great cars.
Personal taste in the end

boman993

I'd get the turbo to avoid any RMS and IMS issues that you may or may not run into with the NA 997s.

No, the two S cars that you are looking at are narrow body. Widebody 997s are: Carrera4, Carrera4S, Targa4, Targa4S, Cabrio4, Cabrio4S, GT3RS, GT2, GT2RS, Turbo, and TurboS.

996_North

Turbo for all the reasons above and 'cause it's a turbo.

jumper5836

I agree with the above posts but got to point out that the 997 narrow body is almost as wide as the 996 widebody. Believe me they are both wide enough to not be goddy. Anymore wider and taller starts making it look like a basket ball ****. I prefer the look of the narrow body 997 to the widebody.

Punko

Thanks for all the posts....I think my decision is made.

996 turbo, awd, more torque.

996_North

Pics or it never happened! Good luck with the transaction

Knight

Good choice, the 996TT is realistically far superior vs 997 NA. Mezger engine block, full leather interior I'm assuming and basically you cannot find super car performance in that price range from any competitors. If your into HP, the amount you can get from that engine is pretty damn well....amazing!

Like Boman mentioned, if given a choice I'd stay far away from the possible IMS issue.

Pags993

+1 Mezger engine block would seal the deal for me personally.

destro

You should drive them both. The dealers in Toronto should have a few on the lot and they'll take you out in them. Atleast that's what I did. 996 and 997.1 cars (excluding Turbo / GT3) do have IMS and RMS issues as people have mentioned, however there are remedies for them... so I'd factor that into the purchase price.

That being said the 996 Turbo is the fastest / most reliable 911 for the price. However it used to be the range topper and is more complicated so you need to factor that into the price... if you need new turbos, or you want an exhaust upgrade... its crazy expensive.

Quinlan

Actually, turbos and exhaust are not any more expensive than for any other car with this performance capacity. If you NEED new turbos (ie you somehow blew the originals), there are lots of used ones out there. If you WANT new turbos (upgrading to higher hp), you will probably have to also invest in tuning, intercoolers, plenum, etc. Be prepared to get onto a slippery, expensive slope.

The same thing with exhaust - if you want oem, there are plenty out there that guys will almost give away. If you want aftermarket, figure 2-5,000.00. Not cheap, but not Ferrari either.

Personally, with stock tune mine is more than capable. Gobs of power and very drivable. I have the Europipe exhaust, which makes it sound (in my opinion) the way it should have sounded from the factory.

Dubbin'

I was in the same dilemma!

After owning a c6 Z06 I realized that power was not everything! I drove both cars and the 996 Turbo is a fantastic car. For me it came down to the looks. No one can argue that the 996 is far from the 997 in terms of styling. I ended up with a 2007 S with full leather and chrono. I love it and do not regret the decision one bit.

Like others said. Whatever your decision will be, I am pretty sure you will be satisfied.

Mark

jumper5836

There are countless other failures in m96/m97 engines other then IMS. scored/slipped/cracked cylinders, cracked heads, disintegrating timing chain pads ... etc
Better to go with a 9A1 engine or the mezger.

BioBanker

I had the same decision process and ended up in the turbo. Its so awesome.