Is a 997 turbo fast but boring to drive?

[9e 28]

The Red Devil said:

9e 28 said:

That mildly tuned turbo hits 0-300kph in approx half the time a GT3 gets in there. Circa 26 secs vs 50 secs. That pics at the start. Turbos finished 1.5 mile run by the time GT3 is still passing half way mark! Porsche leaves so much on the table with turbos can't understand why people who are driving a turbo at 70% of whats its capable say its dull. Get some GT2 RS turbos on them or k16/39 hybrids and blow the doors of virtually anything this side of 675 LT. Cross country they take your breath away. Doubt a 675 LT or 488 GTB would stay in touch on a typical leafy, damp UK road. Awesome ability and thoroughly recommended but they need to be tailored a bit too get the best out of them

Wholly agree..

Ah but according to the know all's modifying it devalues it........This is the muppetry out there, narrow
minded, bicycle riding, soya milk drinking, guardian reading, bulb planting liberal bullst.

Also, apparently if you have Grey leather you don't know what you are talking about, all coming from
people who have most likely owned only a few cars, what's that saying about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing?

I suppose for the majority of owners a stock turbo plenty quick enough. I'd buy a 9e 30, 9e 28 or 9e 25 over a stock turbo in a heart beat - there are indies out there now that are far more experienced than OPCs on the mezger turbo, GT3 and older cars as they have pushed the boundaries with this platform far beyond any OPC. I think the issue with many tuned cars is that the upgrade work has been carried out by a fly by night outfits. A new Mezger engine on a non exchange basis is £40,000 inc fitting. On an exchange basis just shy of £30,000 inc fitting so I can understand the reticence of noobie buyers and people generally wanting to buy stock cars. In fact when someone is looking for a 997 turbo I always suggest buy from an OPC with two year warranty. You may pay a bit more but with the amount of expensive things that can go wrong for that extra peace of mind is well worth it IMO. For experienced buyers obviously a different story and they should buy from anywhere at the right price and if it has a tune make sure its a good one.

I know of so many people who have sent their 996/997 turbos which have a mezger engine, a master piece of engineering, to fly by night tuners and got a pretty dyno print outs claiming well over 650bhp and when they're not right checked by a reputable tuner circa 500bhp and a tune thats likely going to need a new engine due to a truly terrible map just upping boost but not keeping any of the other trim levels like AFRs, EGTs and IATs in check and often running lean. Kaboom....

Its a shame those guys that have had their engine blow to due to irresponsible tunes or been lied to that they have 650bhp + do not post up their experiences.

Here's one previously tuned by Delta Mike Sierra - cost him circa £25k-£30k to rebuild. At least he's got back a bullet so alls well that ends well.

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=108685

[Steve Devaney]

They are excellent road cars and those who say boring are entitled to their opinion but are just plain wrong.
Get a manual box and have all the interactive fun you need with more power than any sensible person can fully utilise but this in no way makes them boring.
Fabulous looking cars, great spec and with the gen1 Mezger lump, a sure fire classic that will be held in high esteem as virtually all of its T predecessors are.
You wont lose any money if you decide its not for you and you sell on next summer but they are a thing of beauty and you will be hooked - trust me

[Digga]

Any well sorted turbo from 996 generation onward is a hugely capable and useable road car. More than anything it is the torque delivery afforded by an almost completely lag-free engine, which transforms overtaking to a new level and enables stress-free progress on our roads. granted, if you've just opened up the throttles to overtake a 40mph dawdler in a NSL you'll have to be sharp to make sure you're not exceeding the speed limit, but the freedom the acceleration gives you has to come with responsibility.

I don't honestly believe getting your kicks at the limits of grip is a responsible pursuit on public roads. Granted, you might argue there's the odd occasion where you really can see for miles and know there's no one and nothing to hit if you fall off the blacktop, but mostly, enjoyment of that sort needs to be saved for the track.

[W1TAK]

I've got a 997.2 Turbo S and I love it, I certainly don't consider it boring in any way and it suits my needs perfectly ( weekend blaster, sometimes commuter car ). I owned a 996 GT2 before which was a bit of an event every time you turned the ignition key but ultimately it was wasted on a normal driver like me, plus I was expecting it to kill me all the time and the suspension was rock hard you had to drive around imperfections on the road!

I swapped the GT2 for the Turbo S (not exactly, but financially) and have not regretted it, the latter being 10 years younger and a much better all rounder.

Also, 997 PDK box suits the Turbo S I don't think you could lay down the power in a manual in the same way, it makes the car more drivable in the driving conditions we have here in England.

I did consider a 997 GT3 which I am sure are brilliant, but they are getting a bit old now, I couldn't stomach paying over 80k for one either.