Why do we upgrade?
Discussion
Well, the reference to IT is more or less pointless, as IT systems, platform and asoftware becomes obsolete. Useless. You have to upgrade
When you talk about cars for fun, upgrade isn't the right word as you don't upgrade, but you change to have different experiences. To say a 72 st is better or an upgrade from a 997 GT3 is to say bungee jumping is better then rock climbing..
When it comes to daily driving (and IT for that matter) I like upgrades, it is nice to have all the comforts and driver aids as it makes the task of pure transportation easier, safer and less stressful.
When you talk about cars for fun, upgrade isn't the right word as you don't upgrade, but you change to have different experiences. To say a 72 st is better or an upgrade from a 997 GT3 is to say bungee jumping is better then rock climbing..
When it comes to daily driving (and IT for that matter) I like upgrades, it is nice to have all the comforts and driver aids as it makes the task of pure transportation easier, safer and less stressful.
Steve Rance said:
So would you say that speed is the criteria for an upgrade? ie; faster = upgrade, slower = downgrade.
Not a trick question.
you race, ask any race team if an upgrade you fit to the car would be good if it made it have a slower lap time ;-)Not a trick question.
that's not "speed" either, an upgrade in, areo, reduced drag, sus, tyes etc.
what one wants to drive is not and upgrade or a down grade hence we have most people not agreeing what's nice to drive.
PorscheGT4 said:
you have to be serious what an upgrade is though, not just talk bks because it makes a thread.
if some people want to down grade to a slower car because it's more fun, that's a down grade though choice, please don't call it a upgrade for the thread.
you race, ask any race team if an upgrade you fit to the car would be good if it made it have a slower lap time ;-)
that's not "speed" either, an upgrade in, areo, reduced drag, sus, tyes etc.
what one wants to drive is not and upgrade or a down grade hence we have most people not agreeing what's nice to drive.
It's an upgrade if it gives you more of what you want. For a race team it's speed and nothing else matters. the same does not apply for a road car. If it's faster/easier to drive/has the correctly coloured stitching/extended leather/more pose factor that one wants then modern cars suit that perfectly. if some people want to down grade to a slower car because it's more fun, that's a down grade though choice, please don't call it a upgrade for the thread.
you race, ask any race team if an upgrade you fit to the car would be good if it made it have a slower lap time ;-)
that's not "speed" either, an upgrade in, areo, reduced drag, sus, tyes etc.
what one wants to drive is not and upgrade or a down grade hence we have most people not agreeing what's nice to drive.
The option I chose was to keep an earlier car.
WHen my 991RS arrives in September, it will ultimately park beside my 8 year old 997.1RS which is the last model to be delivered with no stability control. I debated whether to hang onto my 7.2RS and sell the earlier car, which is not as good in any was as the .2, but I wanted the most contrast and was not going to keep them all, so I will still have a simpler manual car.
Thus , the upgrade is not an abandonment of some experiences unique to the earlier car. Many people I know have much older and much loved Porsches for the same reason.
The electronics in cars are certainly what dates them. I have a perfectly functional and impeccable 2004 SL500, not a mark on it, but the nav system with its 8 discs, the tiny screen, the built-in phone and so on are about as current as a radiogram.
I decided after that to buy strippers, and I have a Jeep and a Cayenne S with no nav system and a minimum of electronic aids, and can use a cheap, disposable Garmin or iPhone to fill the gap. I quite like the idea of the Apple interface which can be upgraded through the iPhone or laptop rather than some disgracefully price upgrade from Porsche.
WHen my 991RS arrives in September, it will ultimately park beside my 8 year old 997.1RS which is the last model to be delivered with no stability control. I debated whether to hang onto my 7.2RS and sell the earlier car, which is not as good in any was as the .2, but I wanted the most contrast and was not going to keep them all, so I will still have a simpler manual car.
Thus , the upgrade is not an abandonment of some experiences unique to the earlier car. Many people I know have much older and much loved Porsches for the same reason.
The electronics in cars are certainly what dates them. I have a perfectly functional and impeccable 2004 SL500, not a mark on it, but the nav system with its 8 discs, the tiny screen, the built-in phone and so on are about as current as a radiogram.
I decided after that to buy strippers, and I have a Jeep and a Cayenne S with no nav system and a minimum of electronic aids, and can use a cheap, disposable Garmin or iPhone to fill the gap. I quite like the idea of the Apple interface which can be upgraded through the iPhone or laptop rather than some disgracefully price upgrade from Porsche.
I've always thought of 'upgrades' as something you did with your daily driver when it got worn out. If your 911 is your daily driver - 996 then 997 then 991 - upgrading it seems pretty logical as reliability, safety, lights, lack of rattles etc all matter, and matter a lot if you use a car regularly for a DD. If you buy a car as a 'classic' or special 2nd/3rd/4th car then you 'change' it when (if) you've scratched that itch, or when you can afford to get a variant of the same model that you prefer (even it means going back, in the case of 911s, to the early 1970s.
PorscheGT4 said:
you have to be serious what an upgrade is though, not just talk b
ks because it makes a thread.
if some people want to down grade to a slower car because it's more fun, that's a down grade though choice, please don't call it a upgrade for the thread.
I dont mean to be rude, but like most people, you are trapped in the very box I speak of.ks because it makes a thread.if some people want to down grade to a slower car because it's more fun, that's a down grade though choice, please don't call it a upgrade for the thread.
Is a new house always better than an old cottage?
Is a 599 better than a 250GTO?
Is a new Ibanez guitar better than a 1962 Fender Stratocaster?
Is digital MP4 better than Vinyl?
Are transisitors better than valves?
Is a 2015 Mclaren F1 car better than an MP4/4?
etc etc.
Think with clarity and do not be influenced.
I think that an upgrade is something that gives you more of what you want. I went from an 1998 e36 M3 to a 2004 JCW mini a few years back. It felt like an upgrade at the time (newer, more reliable, better condition).
A few years later I sold the mini and bought a '92 964 coupe (older, more miles, less reliable but more engaging, more involving, great looking etc). This was also an upgrade because it gave me more what I wanted at the time.
Now I have a 996.1 gt3 which is an upgrade on every level I can think of but I am sure someone would disagree. It's all subjective after all.
A few years later I sold the mini and bought a '92 964 coupe (older, more miles, less reliable but more engaging, more involving, great looking etc). This was also an upgrade because it gave me more what I wanted at the time.
Now I have a 996.1 gt3 which is an upgrade on every level I can think of but I am sure someone would disagree. It's all subjective after all.
Edited by lboase on Wednesday 8th July 22:15
V8KSN said:
I would be really interested in your views as sometimes the upgrade path is not as clear as the manufacturers marketing department would have us believe.
Funnily enough I've been wondering much the same thing. I have a 997 c4s and it does everything I could ever imagine wanting from a car really. I've had it for 2.5 years, by which time I'm usually itching to upgrade, but this has grown on me so much I can't really ever see myself parting with it.Whenever It's in for work and I get a newish Boxster or Cayman they're always lovely for a blast, but I always prefer to come back to a manual gearbox and a proper handbrake etc.
I would fancy a cab for the next few weeks though....
I also have an IT company and run Windows 7 and a Blackberry bold.
Maybe there's something to be said for sticking with things you just like, or maybe I'm a caveman.Edited by richardrsc on Thursday 9th July 13:14
Edited by richardrsc on Thursday 9th July 13:16
V8KSN said:
Gradually we have been led to believe that these systems enhance the driving experience and make driving the car much more pleasurable. This is a debatable claim as its a purely subjective viewpoint depending on what you use the car for.
surely this has gone full circle now, everything I read about cars is about how modern electronics are ruining the purity of sports cars, eg hand wringing over electric steering on 991Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff