Drove a 996TT - Interesting Thoughts

I drove a 996TT for a a little while a few days ago. It was definitely quicker in every aspect compared to my 02 996, but somehow it just didn't make me want to immediately trade up (which I can). I always thought that the Turbo would be the next logical progression after a regular 911, but now I'm beginning to wonder ...

Try the GT3. It will show you in your dreams at night.

+1.

Try a 600+hp TT with the front diff removed and maybe that will give you excitement you were looking for...

How much faster can you really drive? I ask myself that question, hurling down an offramp at 90. Would I go..um... FASTER in a TT? I dunno. Really, now, isin't 320bhp enough?

+1. I scare myself enough with what I've got. Can I really handle (or use) even more?

I got the exact same thing. While the TT sounds like the next big step up, when driving it I just feel........not much really. Its damn quick, and I got to hold onto the steering wheel to not get blasted out of my seat. But 1) I dont really need more than 300 hp 2) Dont feel that the TT is that more fun Never driven a GT3, and I need my car to be able to go the 70 miles a day to job and back on public roads. But good to hear I'm not the only one

+1 I am always amazed by someone who says... "I just bought my 996 and I wanna do some big HP engine mods...." i think....WHY???

-1

I would love - LOVE - to have that power and feel the acceleration. Nothing like the feeling of acceleration. However, 300hp is sure a lot of fun, and my car is a monster on public roads. I have several on/off ramps here in San Diego that I hit perfectly and I don't think a TT is gonna make those more fun - except accelerating away from them onto the highway. Even then, you can only accelerate for so long, and the 300hp in a light car gives so many thrills that any additional power would be just gravy. Last night I was on the way back from the Mosley/Collazo fight in Vegas, with cruise set at an even 100mph- just rolling along. Made it to San Diego in only 3 1/2 hours. A nice comfortable drive in my beautiful Carrera- can't ask for much more. Sure I'd love a TT, but I'm really in heaven right now.

I agree with everyone. For those who haven't done so already, I'd suggest driving/track courses first before getting a TT to fully enjoy the car. "Power is nothing without control."

[QUOTE=ElTorrente]... with cruise set at an even 100mph- just rolling along... QUOTE] That gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. I've made that trip before, was in College in San Diego and driving a 1982 RX-7, not quite the same as the Porsche, but I liked the drive and would enjoy doing it again in the P-Car.

I have a TT and had a modded 993 with a 3.8L head.....got the TT for one reason: the 964 block and the associated absolute reliability. Need I say more. 320 is more than enough. I don't want to deal with a dead engine ever after a warranty period. Might be 10%...maybe less. Maybe only 99 and 00 cars....don't know. Don't care. One can have a blast in a 964....to be honest, at a great price....for an every day to work car for the next 10 years...I got the TT. They are a bargain and will likely keep their price or go up as the GT1 block/engine derivation becomes more widely known. Love C4S's and actually like the red rear a lot....wide body for me rules, but I really just want a car that is bulletproof. The TT was the great block, no top end issues...it had it all. And, if we are all honest and actually get in one...it blows :-) away just about everything.

Good news is to each his own...to me the Turbo Porsche is the ultimate classic sports car. I'm on my second with an SC in between. They're all good!

"got the TT for one reason: the 964 block and the associated absolute reliability" Good point! I haven't driven a TT and I usually don't need any more power than my '99 Cab has. But I have to admit that there are a few times when I would like a lot more and I don't even know if the TT would be enough. I roadraced Suzuki GSXRs for 8 years, Super Sport and Super Bike 750s and 1100s and still felt there are times when you just need to go faster. As fast as possible under certain conditions is not fast enough and after racing it's hard to get really excited going sort of fast on the street.

Well I think most of us would no doubt prefer a TT to a normal Carrera. Most are just saying though, that we sure have awesome cars anyway.

A TT is like the best woman you've ever slept with. Once you experience it, you'll neve be satisfied with anything else. TW

Power, eh? I think the C2 also has enough for spirited driving on roads. I ride a 750 cc Suzuki GSXR and could easily go 1000cc (and more power) for very little money. They look basically the same too, just one is insanely fast and the other is stupidly insanely fast! In the end I went the 750 cc sport bike since I was less likely to go 'crazy' than with the 1000. But the 750 has tons of power too. Basically above a certain threshold, "power" doesn't really matter since the upper limits are never reached even under spirited driving ... Am I saying I wouldn't buy the TT given an opportunity? No way !!! I'd buy it in a heartbeat if I had some more car $$$ around. But the reasons wouldn't be horsepower. Sure it feels good to see xyz bhp on paper, but my mind would say "bhp whatever ... just LOOK at it!".

320 HP is enough for me too, however nowadays a lot of ~ $30K cars have 300 HP, so i wish that i had more just because I feel like I need to set myself apart from the STI's & G35's in terms of the all important HP number.

Thats the problem with the HP war....a STI has 300hp so you think, why is it that my 996 only has 300hp....AS LONG AS PORSCHE HAS MADE CARS....there were ALWAYS cars that had more HP for less money....where Porsche made its mark was making a COMPLETE car....a car that handled like it was on rails, stopped on a dime and just ran, as well as having very good build quality. Thats what makes a Porsche so desireable....Take any of those 30k 300 hp cars in the mountains or to a track, and it'll get spanked....yes you can mod a STI and it'll handle well as well as pump up the motor, but in 10 years it'll fall apart and be worth 5k....at best....in 10 years a 996 will still outperform most cars....Think about it....whats a 1997 Suburu, Infiniti, BMW, Mustang, Corvette, etc worth....and whats a 1997 Porsche worth? So your perception of wanting a faster car because your ego cant take a 30k car being faster off the line? get over it....and be happy your car is built to last, and built to perform....

Well said.

That being said...A TT is a WONDERFUL car....I just wouldnt buy it JUST for the HP....

The C4S to my eyes looks much better than any other 996. I love the rear reflector strip it accentuates the rear of the car and has a retro touch. The 997 turbo looks too sharp in the rear portion of the car as do the rims. On the other hand the 997 GT3 is amazing but back to the 996 turbo. This past weekend we went down to the Charlotte auto show and found many of the hopped up Rice Rockets had over 320HP so having a 996 turbo would have been nice. Then I would have had the straight line acceleration to keep up with the rice pack. The turbo was going to be my next P-car but my buyer fell through last month. I was considering the 2005 turbo "S". Having the C4S has allowed me to do track days and learn allot about my cars handling without placing myself in dangerous situations. There is a certain contentment with being very comfortable with the car you have owned for a while and set up exactly to your tastes. The C4S is a daily driver so a certain amount of wear and tear naturally is expected along with pant chip and possible dings ect. This would be more painful if I had the turbo. If I had to do it again I would buy the C4S but my next purchase will likely be either a GT3 or turbo. One aside is that riding my Ducati on Sunday I kept thinking 400-500HP car can't touch this. Its apples and oranges comparison but the bikes power 148HP/380lbs per weight is a cheap way to get your kicks-and cheaper than spending more to buy the turbo. For now the C4S stays and is thankfully paid for. A great point was made about the dependability of the 964 block which would apply to both the turbo and GT3. My .02 cents

Although the 996 doesn't have any more HP than some of the cars that you listed, it will be quicker because of its weight advantage. There are some fine cars that will take a nice leap in power in '08. The E92 M3 for example supposedly will offer a 400 HP engine. What's not certain is price but I expect it to be around the upper $50s/low $60s decently equipped. It will be interesting to see what its curb weight will be.

Good point. There was an interesting article in Road & Track, or one of the other big car magazines about "tuner" cars (modded subaru's, evo's, etc). They had all the big tuner companies bring their representative cars to a track for testing. These cars all had souped-up engines and bigger turbos and stuff (450HP and higher in many cases), suspensions, carbon fiber this and that, brakes, super sticky tires, and every type of mod you could think of to make them monsters on the road. So anyway, they spent the day testing them and arrived at the fastest car/time for the track. Coincidentaly, the magazine happened to have a brand new C6 Corvette (not a ZO6) for testing that day, also, in an unrelated article. Just a stock vette with normal street tires and stuff. They mentioned this as a side bar in the tuner article, but they lapped the race track like 3-5secs faster in the stock C6 vette, than the FASTEST of those tuner cars. I read that and it confirmed for me that you can't just bolt stuff on to any car and expect them to be world beaters. Sure they'd take me stop-light to stop-light, but not on the kind of roads *I* like to go fast on, plus, I'd pass them eventually anyway on a longer straight-away.

Go for the TT - it's retarded fast. An exhaust, flash, and air filter and you'll be at 600hp and then it's SCARY. It's not the top speed on the highway, it's the seamless power delivery and scary acceleration. There's nothing like it. Period.

My brother has a 996 TT and we trade once in awhile. It's just not the car for me. I hate the way the clutch feels. The boost kicks in at weird times during cornering, something I'm sure TT owners get used to, but I prefer the more linear feel of an NA engine. The car feels more numb and disconnected than mine. And I'm not into the looks - too much "look at me." That being said, the stronger 964 block is a huge advantage over the modern NA P-cars.

Principally I agree with you newport996, especially when we talk about the Japanese models that sell at $30K. I made some research and went to cars.com, looked into MY2000 (wanted to compare a 996s and not 993s) and compared the market for 996 C2 Coupes and BMW M5s (30-60k miles cars) . Here's what I found (BTW there are much more 996 out there than M5): 996 C2: new: $65K used: $29-44K M5: new: $69K used: $28-41K I think your argument needs to exclude BMW. IMHO, especially in terms of reliability, build quality and obviously also in terms of price. We just need to face it: the 996 is a mass production car, so it's built quality and resale value is not comparable with the one of older Porsche models; however, the image keeps the dream alive.

Why are folks on this board purchasing bolt on's and suspensions plus complaining about floatiness?

BMW 335 Coupe = 300HP = $41K, not too shabby, but ya, i'd still rather have my 996

Compare apples to apples....A M5 is like a GT3....they hold their value MUCH better tham the 540i of that era....

GT3 will make you want to spend $$$$$

NO!!!!!!!!! I've been tracking 01 to 03 TT prices and they are amazingly affordable right now.

I said the same thing once...then I drove and x50 TT... Now I have one enroute to my house. I was amazed when I went from the 944 to the boxster. I was amazed when I went from the boxster to a 996. I was amazed when I drove a 996tt x50. I am kinda screwed now as the next step up is $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Here's the TT factor - I'm at Vons picking up some dinner, C4S parked safely way the hell out, and this lowered black TT just rumbles by in front of me, cool as ice. What an incredible car. I suppose it's not about the speed you drive it every day, it's knowing you've got this absolute freaking monster in your garage that is one of the most capable cars in the world. I love that everyone's touting the 964 block, when everyone is hating on the 964's all the time.

Hey, the block has a 964 stamp on it....the TT has an engine based on the GT1 LeMans race car. The GT2 and GT3's have that too. The M96 is a good engine, has some disputed issues I won't go into. Me, the TT had none of the air cooled issues, none of the M96 issues, and is amazing. AWD for safety (I wanted AWD) to boot. I have actually come to like the 996 front a lot...even more than the 997 as I have come to feel it is more unique...more special. Just me. Having 70k left in the bank helps too. :-) 60k for good 25k mile examples now, 70k for amazing single owner stock TT's is just amazing. My 2c. JB

newport996, that the M5 is like a GT3 is your personal opinion. For me the best basis for an apple to apple comparison is the new car price. Both cars had basically the same start price. An M3 e.g. would not be comparable with a 996 C2; same counts for an 335i compared to a 997 C2 - just a different price class, so depreciation will develop differently. However, I agree that the actual number of produced cars does also count and here we're back to my argument: the 996 is a mass production car; not the M5. Here's another comparison of more exotic models: BMW Z8 MY 2002 new: $128K used: $90-$113K Porsche GT2 MY2002 new: $180K used: $76K-$140K

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It's been a little over year since I made this post. Well, I ended up getting a Turbo earlier in the year. Love the Turbo, but I do miss my 02 Carrera.

I love my 2000 996 carerra but sometimes wonder if moving up to a TT would be the right move. With prices where they are, it's not a huge jump. It would be a daily driver and i'd probably put 50K to 75K miles on it during it's life with (maybe more). I'd take a bath on my car but since the TT's are so affordable, I've been contemplating it...What is your overall observation after living with a TT for a while?

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OK. I'll bite. Why did you make the change?

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The Turbo is fantastic - fun to drive and super fast, the only criticism possibly is that it is a little too easy to drive and it feels a little soft for the caliber of car that it is. All this can be solved with a few mods if so desired. To each their own, but I must also admit that I was somewhat annoyed that an M3 or an Audi S4 could keep up with me in my Carrera. Granted maybe not on a track but >99% of driving is done on regular streets. No regrets with the trade aside from the depeciation hit I took on the Carrera. But then again this somewhat balances the depreciation hit the Turbos have taken. If the Turbo was not an option, I would have been happy witth the Carrera. On a side note, I also looked at a 997 Carrera S - just my opinion, but I didn't think it was worth the $ delta from my 996 Carrera.

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+1 You must have driven a real piece of crap. Going from my C4S to the Turbo was like....going into the big leagues. It was like driving a supercar. I have NO idea how any tru car enthusiast can ever say 300/320 BHP is enough. These days it aint sh*t. Besides, you can NEVER have enough horsepower. MORE (A LOT) of horsepower doesn't mean you have to drive it crazy. A 150hp honda can be more dangerous than a 630BHP ZR1!! Go hang on the Turbo forums for a while. My suggestion to the OP is, find a LOW mile 20k or less example and drive it all day. Your current Porshe will NEVER be the same!!! OOPS, just read through thread. NEVERMIND!!!!

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It depends on how you look at it. The feeling of acceleration is the exact same as it's always been. Just because a new car comes out that has more hp, or accelerates faster, doesn't make your current car any less slow or feel any different. I don't care if some random Joe Blow has a car that some magazine says is faster or whatever. My car is still fast and still a hell of a lot of fun, no matter what Ferrari or Corvette's latest offering does. Sure, it'd be fun to have more power, but I still have a blast with only 300hp, and can rarely use all that power as it is. My most fun comes from hitting entrance ramps near the limits, then accelerating for a few seconds as I merge with traffic. Spending tens of thousands of dollars more to shorten my acceleration time doesn't sound like a worthwhile investment to me.

I have to admit that if prices last year on turbos were as low as they are today, I wouldn't even give it a second thought, it's a lot of car for the money and I think I could get over the whole AWD thing pretty quickly! the modding upside is tremendous. If the cost to supercharge were significantly lower (say 8K installed range) I could see way more people going that route, but the vendors seem to have a very nice porsche premium attached!

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I've had genuine professional open wheel race car drivers tell me that they thought the C2 was all the car anyone needs on the street, which helped my buying decision somehwat, and I definitely agree on many levels. It's definitely not a matter of need, but since we aren't all racing 1000lb rocketships at our day jobs like those folks, I think we all tend to overcompensate by lusting after more power on the street. After all, these same folks would be faster in a mini cooper than we would be in GT2s. Anyway, in my case it would be totally useless in my very urban life, but I can't deny the right foot appeal, and I'm sure once my CPO starts running out I'll be in a turbo.

I agree that the base C2 and its 320 hp is more than anyone needs for the street. However, every time I come back from a track event, I'm convinced I need a turbo or a GT3!

Here is my take from a lurker/newbie on this board. I originally signed rennlist after looking at a few C2s. I had a budget of $35K in mind. I looked at a red 2002 C2 at a local porsche dealer and was hooked. I test drove quite a few NA cars from 3.4, 3.6 to C4S. In fact, I had 2 cars that I literally closed the deals on Both cars failed PPI. I was in love with a black 02 w/ 31K miles on the clock. In a way, I'm glad these turn of events happened because the next car I test drove was a beat up '01 996TT. Man, the experience in that car changed my outlook. That car was simply fast. Would I be happy with a 320 HP C2? Sure, I'd probably be just fine. HOWEVER, If I get a NA car, I can see myself regretting the "I could have, I would have, I should have" thoughts. Don't get me wrong, if a good deal on a mint C4S comes my way, I can easily sway back. Another thing is that I really, really like the looks of the widebodies. The full leather interiors and sport seats are all things I dig. The price difference between a C4S and Turbo are very close (around $5-10K). I've now increased my budget to $55K (from 35). I'm currently borderline on a few cars I've recently looked at because I think the economy is tanking and more people are getting desperate to unload their cars. The cars I've looked at in the past have all reduced prices. They're staying on the lots longer. Sellers are getting more desperate. There is this sweet 996TT that I've gotten down to 60K (with tax/licenses). I'm hoping that by December, these cars (mint/pristine ones) will hit 50. I could get one today but I dont want to settle for high mileage examples. However, the nice thing about the TT is that they have the GT1 engine block. This eliminates the fear of RMS/IMS issues for me.

Hooray, someone who feels like I do about the TT. For years I have lusted a TT but everytime I drive one I walk away feeling like it's nice but I don't have to have one. There is no denying the big HP is a rush, but the car feels heavy and ponderous too me and I alway wonder why not many TT's show up at track days. While they may currently be a great value (the 996's) the oldest is pushing 9 years old. I ended up painting my calipers red in my C4 and called 66% of the way there good (AWD, red calipers, but no big motor). I also came accross the following which which helps keep me in check: "The fact that somebody will pay $60,000 for a 5-year-old car, off warranty with really expensive repair costs is pretty good. Especially when he could get an in-warranty ZO6 for $70's. Ever try to unload a used Audi? After 5 years, you might get 25%. Still, when an engine could easily cost $25,000, and a transmission $12,000, how much risk should a used car buyer accept? Declining rates of depreciation are related to the cost of buying newer alternatives. The rate of decline will flatten somewhat, as it gets harder to buy high performance in the 40's, unless you want to be seen in an Evo. "

I am in the process of getting a TT, I have test driven 2 aready and depending on the PPI I might get the car. the car to be honest does NOT feel that much faster than a 3.6 C2. from 1200rpm until 3500rpm the car feels almost hte same, also the lower redline sucks, you almost have to keep your hand in the shifter all the time between 1-3 gear. However the engine is way way better than the M96 and the brakes + low prices of these days make the TT the ultimate bargaing at this moment..

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They do pull though, I feel like you could drive around practically all day in 2nd or 3rd

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Power to weight ratio. You are correct that there are more and more 300 hp cars around, however most weigh a ton. There are not a lot of ave cars out there with the power to weight ratio (or outright handling) of a 996.

I have not driven a 996 TT. Is there much if any turbo lag? I use to be into the Nissan 300ZX TT's and they were a blast to drive. 300hp stock but there was some turbo lag that got to be downright annoying at times when I wanted to the power now! I told myself back then that I would not own a turbocharged car again and would instead go for power from an NA. I'm sure technology has stepped it up though! Plus turbo wear out and are $$$ to rebuild or replace.

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Well, not exactly. The 996&997 GT3s both suffer from RMS issues, though from what I have seen it is a bit less prevalent. To the the original poster - did you ever test drive a GT3? I would like to hear your thoughts if in fact you did... Thanks, -Blake

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+1, My thoughts exactly!!!

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Never drove a 996 GT3, but have a couple of friends with 997 GT3s that I've ridden in. I needed something that could be a semi-daily driver and I thought that the Turbo might fit the bill better. It felt like you had to drive The GT3harder to go as quick, but addmittedly it did feel sharper than the Turbo. Overall, I did like the 997 GT3 and I'm sure I would have liked the 996 GT3 also.