prior 993 owners

Guys I'd like your input about my situation. I own a 95 993 with 95,000 miles. It runs well and looks good but has some oil leaks and when the engine comes out, who knows how much else will need to be done. Probably at least the clutch. throw out bearing, etc. Here are my questions: 1} Porsche evolution being what it is, I've never driven a 996, is the newer technology better? Handling, engine reliability, fit & finish? I understand there were some water cooled engine problems early on. I used to own a 74 911S, and the 993 is a whole step up and forward and am wondering if the same can be said about the 996? 2} Rather than spending money on this car, should I take what I can get for it and jump to a low mileage turbo? After having had a supercharger on my current car, I couldn't live without the extra kick in the ***. 3} Should I rebuild my engine to 3.8 specs and put the supercharger back on and have a fresh car that way? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experience.

Go TT. Your car looks good but the 996 does everything better, especially the TT. Also, your car looks like an old beetle with a wing, jk.

I just went through this 6 months ago. I sold my 95 with 92k miles on the clock and bought a 2002 Targa. Neither of these are/were daily drivers, just weekend cars but I can tell you that I love the 996. Way more creature comforts, faster and an overall better car for me and my family for the weekend getaways. Also, the Targa has a fair amount of storage. I miss parts of the 993....the sound and I love the look, but the 996 is just way more practical for me at the moment. Good luck! Chris

I had a babied 1995 C4 with turboS features, 3pc cup wheels, chip, B&B exhaust (prior owner...can you say resonance), litronic, superb stereo...etc. I sold it to get a house...... So I know 993's. Top end rebuilds cost about 10k these days (see Farmer's Automotive via google, Joel R.'s recent PCA.org comments, or your local shop.....). As nostalgic as anyone wants to be, the air cooled cars cost a bit to keep. More than I want to spend, to be honest. I use the car every day.... I could have gotten a pristine C4S 1997/1998 or even a 993TT in very good shape. Not an S, but a good one with full records. I chose a superb 996TT. Got the GT-1 block (none of the dreaded and probably overblown, but real, RMS and engine issues...seems like the most serious ones were on earlier cars, fwiw....search a lot here and on pca.org and renntech.org, my advice). For me, I made the right choice. Short of a 997TT (a 700$ chip will give the 996TT the same power as a stock 997TT)....and variable turbine blade turbos whose life expectency is unknown (but on trucks for a while, so probably good)....the 996TT seemed to me to be a bargain. It blows away my souped up 993 (3.8L engine .....even ). Some say the 996TT is too refined. Maybe. But, when it goes....wow. So, not to me. It is a beast. Period (IMHO). I agree with M3killa....get the turbo. The 996 is a good car. The facelifted ones (2001+) are worth it, newest is best, but the turbo is just something else. I drove it all winter in show with snow tires...a tank. A/C: awesome. Heat: awesome. It is dynamatted (prior owner)....has a new nav system (PCM died.....) so sound is spectacular. And, I actually think that is looks more modern and "cool" than even the 997. The 997 is cool, but it looks more Audi inside than porsche (I have had 8 Audis between me and my immediate family in the last 10 years....). I hope the 998 goes more curvy/Porsche inside. If I didn't get the turbo, I would have gotten a C4S. I think the red tail is just cool...wish I could do the same on my turbo, to be honest. Good luck. JB

Just sold my 95 993 85,000 mi mint. Bought a 02 cab with 55,000 miles and could not be happier !

Had a '95 that was facing a large engine repair bill and finally decided it was not worth keeping. Purchased a 996 instead and relaxed under the comfort of a full factory warranty. I still prefer the style of the 993 over my current car and it probably won't be long before I trade it in on a 997 as a result. But everything else on the car is improved and it performs more like a modern car. The suspension is more compliant and the car is more refined. Transmission is definitely easier to row than on my old car. From a strictly quirky engineering perspective, I miss the air cooled engine just because I think it's such a quirk of modern technology to still have an air cooled engine in this day and age.

Tamiya, your '95 looked gorgeous !

But it's gone! sob sob sob sob... stupid oil-burning, o-ring leaking engine!

I wrote my honest eval on the two (993/996) on post #10 in the thread below https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/188480-please-read-993-s-or-2002-996-a.html Posted in the 993 forum so I got a lot of flack about it. I owned an NA 993, but I could tell you that I'm very happy, with no regret that I switched to the 996. also some talk on https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/195446-former-993-owners.html With your Qs above, I'll definitely go for a clean, unmolested 996 TT. Good luck.

Just went through this a couple months ago. I made the mistake around October of driving a buddy's 996 TT (X50 no less) and from that moment on I couldn't get that adrenaline rush out of my system. I spent the better part of 3 months looking. Went through a few PPI's and finally pulled the trigger at the end of January on my current vehicle. Previous P-car was a 98 C2S Arctic Silver. When I sold it the odometer was about 62K miles. Had Mo30 suspension with Bilstein shocks, new rubber, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, good news is my brother boughtthe car so I can visit anytime. The 993 was awesome, but the TT is so much better in most ways. I do miss the simple interior and the cool sounds it makes. In the TT it has all the comforts of any sedan. Heated seats, PCM, good sound system (compared to the 993), etc... The other thing I thought very interesting is the cheap HP you can get for these cars. With the 993 you needed to spend some $5K to get 20-30 HP and it's major surgery. This car you can get near 100HP with a 5 minute chip flash and $2K. Funny part of my whole journey is that this is my first water pumper of some half dozen P-cars and as soon as I got home there was a small puddle of water/antifreeze on the ground and I thought WTF??? First time there is water in my car and it leaks. Long story short it was a bad coolant tank cap. $18 to fix

Slant911, that's a beauty! What kind of hp are you putting out after the chip redo?

I hated to sell my '96 C4 cab, but w/90K miles on it, I figured I was at the top of the value curve. I enjoy my '00 cab a lot. Fit and finish is better, and not quite as brutal of a ride. My wife's kidneys thank me for that! Also more room in the back for our twins on the way next month.

Thank You!!! Have not dynoed so no idea for sure. However, according to others that have done the same software and have dynoed it appears that I probably have around 480-490 HP. It was definitely a noticeable change from stock at 420 HP.