Just bought my first 911

I just bought this 997 C2S cab on BaT and going to pick it up tomorrow. I'm really attached to my 987.1 CS so I don't know if I'm going to sell it or not. I'm really tempted to hold on to it and spend a little more time paying off the C2S. it will be interesting to compare the two cars.

Congratulations, it will definitely be interesting to hear your thoughts with so much seat time in the 987. Be advised, if it’s anything like days of yore, “ arrest me red”, (what R&T called guards red ) did feel that way as far as attention, nice car, hope you love it.

Thanks. I'll be driving it 1800 miles home so lots of seat time to get to know the car. I'm planning to take hwy 101 to 1 north when I get to LA, which I've wanted to do for years. this year for my Cayman, I've installed an ipd plenum with the 82 mm TB, a cat back exhaust to get rid of the secondary muffler cat, a numeric short shifter and cables, so it's a dream to drive and prob 320-330 HP. I will prob do the same upgrades to the 911 . which will be a little cheaper because it already has an 82 mm TB. also I am amazed to just learn that the 997 .1 has a separate cat from the headers! that's fabulous.

Love the car and that sounds like a great drive. Be careful of road closures on Hwy 1 though; there seems to be a couple of wildfires that have closed it until Sept 4 or 5.

If you can keep both do it you will be glad you did.

I've got 1,000 miles on the 997 and I think it's just hella desert wind but I had a couple of scary moments where the the rear felt like it was about to fishtail up at around 90 mph. I've never experienced that in the Cayman so it makes me wonder if something is going on with this car. the shifter is as smooth as butter! I would definitely not install a numeric with it feeling this good.

I think I would really have a hard time selling the Cayman if I decided to. I was shopping for a manual 987 Boxster and even considering a base model with a 5-speed, but I decided that a 997 manual cab would be similar but more interesting.

well this is a topic for the suspension forum but quickly, turning on pasm helped stabilize the rear end on the freeways with heavy winds so I left it on for the second half of the trip. when I turn off PASM it becomes clearly softer, more comfortable, which is fine in general but not if there are any side winds, apparently. it's like the rear shocks were rebounding off each other due to the wind. I was driving both mornings with the top down and I've never experienced this before where the wind punches me in the face. I'm talking literally being hit on the side of my head! like a fist. so that was hitting the car for hours and I think the 20-year-old shocks with pasm on just we're bouncing off of each other causing that up down fishtail feeling that scared me. and someone might argue that turning on pasm sport mode is obvious on the highway but many sections of highway were a disaster. but yeah... so maybe I need to get some new shocks and struts. maybe coilovers with pasm support. I think probably that crazy impacting wind was an unfair problem for the car. so maybe it's fine.

I've had both and I loved both. Currently own a 2007 997 .1 4s coupe. I would say that the 997 is definitely a better car for a longer cruise, but the 987.1 was unbeatable in the curves, and I miss that. Yep, guess you've just got keep 'em both . . .

this might sound crazy but I think the Cayman has more elbow room than the 997 ! that's the first thing I noticed when I got in the car. I feel more cramped inside. also the sports seats in both cars, the 997 seats are not as comfortable. the side bolsters put pressure on the kidneys while the same seat in the Cayman offers support slightly higher up. I've gotten used to it already but it was noticeable. and then there's the fishtailing thing which has never happened in the Cayman... that car has felt rock solid from 0 to 140. but when I get the 911 up to 80, I don't feel the same confident in the handling at speed. these are just my initial observations. I don't need one to be better than the other. it's not the same car. I'm not going to get rid of the 997 . but the Cayman is outstanding. I think that's the point I'm coming to here... it's worth more than $30,000. damn what a hell of a steel today.. everyone should grab one! and I've owned a 987 Boxster as well and it's just not the same. not better or worse, but not the same. that makes me wonder if a hardtop 997 would be a bit different...

wow, the convertible top is failing already, less than 1 week into ownership. knew I should have bought a coupe. I haven't owned one in a long time so I forgot how much I hate convertibles. I'll just have to take it to the local Porsche dealer and who knows how much that will cost. but I want it to be in tip top shape so just got to bite the bullet.

There's nothing quite like a full top down experience, but IMHO the coupe with the windows down and the sunroof open is almost as good -- and without the hassle of a convertible top. But sorry you're having the problem.

thanks. I'm going to try a couple of simple checks. after searching for the most common problems, I can check the hydraulic fluid reservoir (and I'll jump over to the convertible discussions here for tips). the top was working for a couple days and then suddenly had a hard time lifting and closing the top and now it can't lift at all. I don't know why the hydraulic fluid would leak out. but I'll give this a try before spending $2,000 at the dealer.

A beauty !

thanks! I spent a pretty penny on it. but when they were 50% less, I bought the Cayman, so I felt like it was now or never on a 997 and I am thrilled that it's a manual with the 3.8. I love it. oh so I promised a comparison... the 3.8 is shockingly fast. I thought the 3.4 in my 987S was fast. and it is. but the 997S is... okay so I've taken the Cayman to the track a few times. because you just have to with your first Porsche... got that out of my system, not doing it anymore... I have a dedicated track car... and the 3.4 winds up to 7000 linearly. the front straight at thunderhill West is about a quarter mile, small track, and in third I can hit red line and shift just as I come up to the first turn. so that's a a fairly slow wind up... the 997 ? I took it down a quiet portion of the freeway near my house and turned around. this is a one mile run that a lot of people use for this sort of thing. there's one mile between two overpasses. and in third, winding up to 6000 in the 997 , it took like 3 seconds... and it was 90 mph. so if I had kept going to redline? good grief that car is fast. I couldn't even get to redline in third without severely breaking the law... lol. I really do need to test this car at speed because of the fishtail experience I had on I-10. I didn't feel anything like that the other day on this one mile test run so maybe it was just the wind. there's a 2-mile test run further up the highway between 2 overpasses that are not regularly monitored. I got the Cayman up to 140 in 4th at 6000 and obviously it had a lot of room there for more... I'll see if I can get the 911 up to that speed to see how it feels. it will get there much quicker than the Cayman. but I'm curious about stability. these cars are both the same year, 2006. I don't know anything about the Carrera suspension. I imagine it's slightly better than the Cayman because of the price difference. I have yet to get it up on a lift.

Great fun!

For me the Cayman S is all about the handling. There are countless cars that can rocket from one underpass to another. There are very, very few that can match the cornering of the Cayman. That is what it was designed for. And boy oh boy did they get it right.

Now that I've finally driven a 997 a couple thousand miles, i found it has so much personality! distinct from a 987. both have similar mileage in the 40s with similar worn suspension. i want to replace all of the bushings in both. my 987 feels so tight on a canyon run while the 997 feels a bit sketchy to me. i don't have confidence & not for lack of wheel time. i don't hesitate with the Cayman, but with the Carrera , it doesn't feel right. need to get it up on a lift for a look. assuming that can be adjusted out, they are unique enough to own both. the 997 is definitely not just a better Cayman. the price difference is due to perception imho. i think the hardware is the same. the Cayman & Boxster don't have cheaper components.

A well driven 987 can beat a 911 / 997 around most tracks. Not in the straights, but in the curves. There's a reason Porsche race cars are mid-engine.

Like many owners, i installed an IPD/82mm in my Cayman, plus catback which may have added 25 hp (320). I haven't done any hard pulls on it since this upgrade. The 3.4 taps out above 6000 in my experience, despite the redline. Doing the same in the Carrera 3.8 unleashes a beast above 6,000. feels very different. I didn't even get close to red line before backing off. The 997 has TWO additional upgrade options: a dual CAI tube & headers (thanks to separate cats). along with an IPD/82, a reasonable +35 ( 10% ) for 390 hp. prob more. I don't plan to track it but upgrading the bushings in both cars would be a fun comparison at a track.

My 987.1 with the 3.8 FSI engine and Cayman R Suspension is all the car I’ll ever need. Not that I have much to compare it to. More of a motorcycle life I’ve lived. The power seems “sufficient”, and it feels great, but not required on the road to let it sing at 7000. The handling is confidence inspiring and satisfying. When I had a ticket in the $50m lottery, I was dreaming of the helicopter I’d buy if I won, but didn’t once think about buying a “better” road (Mountain Roads) car.

Wow, a 3.8 in a 987. sounds cool. I haven't done anything with the suspension in mine. it feels so solid even with 20-year-old OEM. I'm hesitant to lower it because I seem to have a hard time not scraping the front as is let alone with going lower. but it would look better closing the gap a bit. this 911 is my first experience with pasm and I love it! I took a drive up to Lake Tahoe this week. lots of construction on I-80 on the way up. with just one button the car would instantly soften over the rough patches. I wish my 987 had pasm now. there are nice sets of shocks / struts with adjustments (like Ohlin's) but access is not simple or quick on the side of the highway. and I don't plan on going to the track. maybe there's an aftermarket set with a pasm -style switch. I don't like it being soft all the time. too bouncy. but it's just nice to switch it on for a rough highway. I won't be doing anything to the 997 until I get the convertible top hydraulics repaired.

Yes. I got very lucky with this car. A common opinion is that Porsche “knobbled” the Cayman a bit, so as not to “compete” with the 911 . No LSD , smaller engine for eg. Mine has been unknobbled. 3.8, Wavetrac diff. I only upgraded the suspension due to a leaking shock and OCD. I’m also planning on keeping the car for ever. I wouldn’t say it was a huge upgrade. Slightly better handling (probably bigger upgrade if I was a better/faster/harder driver), or on the track. Slightly less comfortable over the bumps. Slightly more scraping.

keeping a n/a car forever now might be a legit promise. there has been a correction in EV but that's due to poor execution, overstepping, like the AI market. I think the car market is still headed that way. eventually every gas station will have "Borg nook" plug ins. I think our older cars will appreciate significantly not just because of EVs but because of all the shitty cars being made today. when they all fail and start being dropped into landfills, our cars will still be on the road.