996 Turbo - too fast to enjoy

[prtyqwerty]

Hi - I have been mulling over a 996 Turbo purchase for the last couple of weeks. I'm drawn to them for their looks and the engine. I know they can be expensive to maintain and am happy to take the hit there if it comes to it. The only thing really holding me back at this stage is the actual day to day driving experience. Background to this is a C6 RS6 I bough about e year ago - it's simply too fast for the road to enjoy consistenly. Am I going to be in the same spot or will the 911 experience make it worth it in the round?

[SuffolkDefender]

I'd say it's likely, wouldn't you?

A few years back I went from a 997.1 C2 to a 997.2 Turbo PDK, and felt exactly the same. The Turbo was just too fast to enjoy. The C2 offered a better experience because you could wind it up and sure, you'd get a ticket but you wouldn't be going to jail.

Similarly, I bought an F80 M3 about 18 months ago and sold it three months ago for the same reasons; wasn't exciting unless you were driving it hard, by which point you'd be well into goodbye-licence territory.

I'd say you've answered your own question.

[WCZ]

it's extremely fast, though it's slow compared to todays supercars (people will only buy a new car if it's faster than the older version)

it does depend slightly on the types of roads your going fast on though

[simonsti]

They are certainly fast on the road, but I wouldn't say too fast.

I recently had a test drive in a 992 GTS and it didn't seem a whole lot faster than my 996,
the 992 had a smoother power delivery but I like to feel a bit of school boost which the 996 definitely has.

[Discombobulate]

Depends if you love driving on a wave of torque, which you can do in a 966 turbo without going mad. I do. At least on public roads where you just can't explore the upper reaches - well not often, or safely anyway.

[Schuey_911]

simonsti said:

They are certainly fast on the road, but I wouldn't say too fast.

I recently had a test drive in a 992 GTS and it didn't seem a whole lot faster than my 996,
the 992 had a smoother power delivery but I like to feel a bit of school boost which the 996 definitely has.

LOL - I take it you haven't seen this then?

A 992 GTS has 100bhp more than the regular 992 Carrera that was tested here, and even the regular Carrera beat the 996 Turbo by a massive unbelievable margin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Cab0NZxNs

[AB]

There's been a few threads similar to this over the years. I have a 991 Turbo S Cab and had it not been a cab I'd sure I'd have got rid of it pretty quickly, haven't really used it since the end of the summer, too quick to enjoy sums it up.

Many cars are like this nowadays, even things that aren't that special.

[shalmaneser]

Schuey_911 said:

simonsti said:

They are certainly fast on the road, but I wouldn't say too fast.

I recently had a test drive in a 992 GTS and it didn't seem a whole lot faster than my 996,
the 992 had a smoother power delivery but I like to feel a bit of school boost which the 996 definitely has.

LOL - I take it you haven't seen this then?

A 992 GTS has 100bhp more than the regular 992 Carrera that was tested here, and even the regular Carrera beat the 996 Turbo by a massive unbelievable margin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Cab0NZxNs

Operative here is feel - often old school boosty motors feel a lot faster than their modern counterparts. I've got a 996 c2 and I think much more than 300bhp in 1300kgs would be a struggle to enjoy on the road assuming you actually want to rev the motor out.

[Schuey_911]

shalmaneser said:

Schuey_911 said:

simonsti said:

They are certainly fast on the road, but I wouldn't say too fast.

I recently had a test drive in a 992 GTS and it didn't seem a whole lot faster than my 996,
the 992 had a smoother power delivery but I like to feel a bit of school boost which the 996 definitely has.

LOL - I take it you haven't seen this then?

A 992 GTS has 100bhp more than the regular 992 Carrera that was tested here, and even the regular Carrera beat the 996 Turbo by a massive unbelievable margin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Cab0NZxNs

Operative here is feel - often old school boosty motors feel a lot faster than their modern counterparts. I've got a 996 c2 and I think much more than 300bhp in 1300kgs would be a struggle to enjoy on the road assuming you actually want to rev the motor out.

That's a fair comment, 'feel' being the key word. As long as it brings a smile to your face, then that's what counts

[simonsti]

Schuey_911 said:

simonsti said:

They are certainly fast on the road, but I wouldn't say too fast.

I recently had a test drive in a 992 GTS and it didn't seem a whole lot faster than my 996,
the 992 had a smoother power delivery but I like to feel a bit of school boost which the 996 definitely has.

LOL - I take it you haven't seen this then?

A 992 GTS has 100bhp more than the regular 992 Carrera that was tested here, and even the regular Carrera beat the 996 Turbo by a massive unbelievable margin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Cab0NZxNs

Yes I have seen the video thanks.

I wasn't driving on track and I know a 992 is faster, but all I was trying to say is that because of how smooth it was it didn't feel that much faster.

For me, a 996 turbo is plenty fast enough on the road.

[Schuey_911]

simonsti said:

Yes I have seen the video thanks.

I wasn't driving on track and I know a 992 is faster, but all I was trying to say is that because of how smooth it was it didn't feel that much faster.

For me, a 996 turbo is plenty fast enough on the road.

Fair enough simonsti, I understand what you're saying better now.

[Grantstown]

It’s normally aspirated cars with overly long gearing that are harder to enjoy on the road. Thankfully there are race tracks.

[The Wookie]

shalmaneser said:

Operative here is feel - often old school boosty motors feel a lot faster than their modern counterparts. I've got a 996 c2 and I think much more than 300bhp in 1300kgs would be a struggle to enjoy on the road assuming you actually want to rev the motor out.

Indeed. Years ago, I remember running a family friends' Evo VIII FQ330 back to him with my old man following in his 550. The 550 absolutely slaughtered the Evo on a motorway slip road but I drove the 550 back home and it didn't feel anywhere near as fast

Also before someone suggests the owner wouldn't have appreciated me thrashing his Evo, he was a fellow racer and he encouraged me to enjoy a brisk drive back in it

[Blue62]

I think a good chunk of it has to do with the drivetrain, my last 911 was a 992S with PDK, it just lacked the fun factor of previous 911’s and always felt too quick for the road. I think a manual 996T will be a hoot and fun at most speeds.

[Darranu]

I've had my manual X50 for 13 years now, whilst it certainly fast its not too much for the road, especially when compared to modern stuff out there.

The key for me is it feels quicker than it actually is, mainly due to the old school slightly agricultural & laggy engine which brings the power in with a bang. Its this what makes me hang onto it as it always puts a grin on your face.

You could pick up an RS3 which would be quicker in a straight line, but it would be dull in comparison.

The only issue I have is the traction, we all know the fun starts where the traction stops. The down side here been they're so planted, when they do break free your really pushing on so you're more stting yourself than grinning.

Get one bought.

[swanseaboydan]

Having had a few ‘fast’ cars and still having a clean license - you don’t need to drive around at break neck speeds to enjoy a powerful car - book some track days for that.

[maz8062]

Yes the car is too fast for the road, but you knew that anyway.

This car has max torque at 2700 rpm and Max power at 6k rpm. It also will max first gear at 39mph and 2nd gear at 70 mph and will do 200 mph or there or thereabouts.

There’s always been cars that have been too fast for the road, the difference now is that your chances of getting caught is significantly higher than years ago. This car is not about the numbers per se, it’ll be about how it makes you feel in those short bursts. The rush, the hilarity and sensation of immense speed. That is all that you can get out of it unless you trip to Germany and their unrestricted autobahns.

[MB140]

I have no first hand experience of driving it. My friend has one and took me for a blast down the A1, well in to jail territory (wrong side of 140).

Even he admitted he’d made a mistake. It’s a 1 trick pony, brutal straight line speed drag racing.

In terms of an actual driving experience, he regretted selling his 997.1 C2S

[bosshog]

Think it depends what you like/want from a car. Is it a daily and you like to have that 'knowledge' you can quickly power past anything if needed but cruise along in comfort all year round. Or do you want a car that has steering full of feedback and enables you to dial corners and find that balance between corner speed and powering out on fine days.
IMO the turbo is for the first option and something like a C2 996/7 for the second.

[964Cup]

Manual or tip? I had a 997.1 TT tip cab back in the day - that was definitely ditchwater unless you were really pressing on, I suspect because the combination of slushbox and turbos took all the immediacy out of the throttle unless you were on full boost and had the converter locked up. They also have a fairly dull chassis as standard, in my opinion - certainly you're not going to get the car moving around on the road at any sane speed.

On the other hand I now have a 720s, which is definitely on the fast side of fast, but never dull.

I'd get a 997.2 C2S unless you have some deep need for 4wd.