M135i to 996/997?

[Phateuk]

Having read the buying guide on the 996 last week I've been lusting after a 911. As usually happens I started out looking at lowly £10-12k 996, then it went to 996.2 up to £15k, then realised for circa £20k I can get a decent 997.1. Being totally honest I love the looks of the 997, the 996 looks ok but not sure I'd be looking back at it while walking away..

Anyway, I'm currently in an M135i and wondering if anyone has driven both? I find the turbo shove of my current car plenty fast enough for road use, and reasonable on track. I've never driven a carrera but have briefly driven a 996 turbo on track which remains the most powerful car I've driven (sadly out of budget)! I'm concerned the NA 3.6 would feel a little slow at road speeds compared to the low down shove I get the the '1.

I've recently realised that I've become a little numb to fast cars on the road due to having them as dailies, (I had a C1 for a couple of days while my Z4 was in the garage, and when I got back in it, it felt really special. Up until that point I was a bit bored of it and wondered what all the fuss was over the N52 engine ) and such I'm thinking of the Porsche as a second car and getting something cheap to run to work in.

Has anyone owned/driven both and can provide any feedback? It won't be for a few months at least so don't feel comfortable going to traders for test drives with no intention of buying just yet..

Thanks!

[Phateuk]

LordHaveMurci said:

I've owned my 996 3.4 for 5yrs now, they are not 'quick' in a straight line, after your 135i it may feel a little lacking.

However, nothing is quite like a 911 when it comes to the twisty bits, you really would have to drive one for an extended test drive to see what you think.

That's what I thought, I'm thinking driving a slow daily (possibly lined up a 1.3cdti corsa ) will also make me appreciate it rather than driving it on the boring commute.

Is it worth going for the 3.6 over the 3.4 in terms of reliability? Or will either be pot luck?

[Phateuk]

LordHaveMurci said:

I tend to use my 172 Cup as my daily so the 996 does feel more special when I get to use it.

Think the 3.4 & 3.6 both have known issues, if slightly different ones. Buy a good one, get it inspected & keep a slush fund just in case, you won't regret it
Mine doesn't have PSE, REALLY wish it did so look for one that has it, sounds amazing.

I'll have to wait til I can get a drive in one then, incidentally I ran a 172 a few years ago and that certainly felt faster on the road than the on paper stats would suggest - most likely down to the low weight of it. Good little car that was..

[Phateuk]

Barton said:

I have a 997.1 C4S and an M135i.

The BM is 10mph quicker on my "test toad" but as others have said the 997 is much more of an event to drive and own. The 135i is an auto and much better for the kids so always gets the nod for long journeys

The BMW is driven by my wife mostly, but even after 8 months if both are on the drive its a very tough choice... the BM is so much fun and the "lairiest" car I have ever driven. I think that says a great deal about the BMWs abilities, but if one had to go it would be the M135i every day of the week despite the running costs differential.

To sum up - Owning a Porsche is a bucket list item, an M135i is not. Do it !

Edited by Barton on Friday 18th July 17:36

You're very lucky to have both! Sadly its one or the other for me at the moment I agree totally about the BM, such a great all rounder, after 5 months I still sit at work looking forward to the drive home. Most cars I've had I'm already picking faults with after this length of ownership but the 1 seems to have most bases covered.

What made you pick the c4 over the c2? I've been thinking after the auto bm I'd fancy a manual c2 just for the red balance. I imagine day to day on the road it isn't that noticeable but I like to do the odd track day which sways me towards the rwd Porsche

[Phateuk]

Thanks for all the feedback

It would seem my ideal solution would be the m135i for daily tasks and a 911 for fun. As above I think a turbo would suit me but given my initial budget of £12k is a bit out of range, plus if I end up spending low 20's I'm not sure I could turn down a nice 997 for an older 996 turbo despite the turbo looking amazing.

I'll continue reading up and saving some cash and hopefully report back here the new owner of a 911

[Phateuk]

Good food for thought guys

cslwannabe: I know what you mean, I think the boxter is such great value for what you get, and I could get a lot newer car for the money, but this seems like a heart ruling head situation I'm in and really fancy a 911

DanoS4: The turbo would be my dream car, and as a second car I suspect the running costs would be manageable, how do these fair on track? I know they're blisteringly fast but aren't they 4wd how does this compare dynamically with a c2?

Hedgeman: Yes this is my main concern about getting a 996, they do look pretty dated inside, the 997 less so imo (from pictures) although I haven't been in one. I appreciate it will be pushing 10 years compared to my 6 month old car and as such require ongoing maintenance costs and consumables.

I guess I've got some thinking to do..

[Phateuk]

mrdemon said:

imo never buy a stter as a run about, why spend 80% of your life in a stter.

B: the m135i is not that fast a car any way some people are saying other cars ie 911's and Caymans will be slower but the m135i is about 11 seconds to a ton !! A new Boxster is faster than that !

not that you are buying new but even a 2003 base model 911 does the ton faster !!!

So the quotes given on here are a bit misleading, also fast these days is sub 8 to a ton with the GTR and 911 turbo's doing the ton in the 6's that's twice as fast as a M135i

I see ORD has the same feeling, great minds and all that :-)

Edited by mrdemon on Monday 21st July 09:39

I see what you mean about the daily snotter, but I think this would prevent the nicer car becoming dulled down and feeling boring during commute traffic.

Comparing 0-100 is a better benchmark for outright speed of a car, however in day to day real world driving I wouldn't consider it that relevant, I do full bore 30-80 at least once a day but going up to a ton not that often due to traffic constraints an the fondness of my licence

[Phateuk]

mrdemon said:

you just become a far better driver driving the right car 100% of the time.

I don't get the stter thing at all, seems pointless to me and the money would go towards a better 911.

30-80 a Cayman/911 is quite fast below 90 you are just used to the torque and have prob got lazy.

depends what you want ? A to B fastest car out there is a chipped TTRS DSG :-) 4WD 430ft'lbs torque mine did 30-80- in 4 seconds and was a manual !!!
easy sub 4 for DSG cars.

My Cayman does 30-80 in 5.5 again a manual stock car but that's right on a gear change at 72 mph , 30-70 is 3.9 seconds.

m135i is about 5.3 30-80.

depends what you call fast, my TTRS was a laugh for a while having that punch (40-60mph was just a second) but once you are used to it that's that.

I'm not after the fastest car A to B, I'm after a car that feels special on the road when driven for pleasure (not commuting) and also fairly competant on track (I realise it will always be compromised due to being a road car).

The M135i does everything so well I'm concerned I'll miss the all round capability. As a road car I don't think I'd want for any more, on track you do notice it lacking above 100-110+ and as mentioned you look down and you're going slower than you realise - the acceleration really drops off over 120.

Maybe I should leave the porsche for now and keep the 135i for daily use and buy a vx220/elise

[Phateuk]

Seems a fair amount of you guys have a 911 and an M135i - looks like I need to work harder!

[Phateuk]

Gibbo205 said:

Phateuk said:

I'm not after the fastest car A to B, I'm after a car that feels special on the road when driven for pleasure (not commuting) and also fairly competent on track (I realise it will always be compromised due to being a road car).

The M135i does everything so well I'm concerned I'll miss the all round capability. As a road car I don't think I'd want for any more, on track you do notice it lacking above 100-110+ and as mentioned you look down and you're going slower than you realise - the acceleration really drops off over 120.

Maybe I should leave the porsche for now and keep the 135i for daily use and buy a vx220/elise

I you want truly epic feel, something that is a challenge then yes a 996 C2S or 997 C2S is absolutely spot on and will excel on both road and track. The 997 variant has more power and is a far nicer place to be. My C2S is the longest car I've owned, nearly 4 years now, I've also got an E46 M3 car as well which is a track project. To compare the two my 997.1 C2S out the box was doing around 1:25-1:26 lap times, out the box on PS2 tyres. With GT3 ARB's, front arms, aggressive road/track geo and some Supersport tyres, I was down to 1:23 driving smoothly and not at the limit, it was no slouch. My M3 in comparison was around 1:28, but it was setup wrong, now its in the 1:20ish lap time ability at Donnington, so the M3 is now quicker, with slicks it goes even quicker again.

But which do I prefer driving on the road? 911 the feel, communication and just the enjoyment of driving the thing is on another level, don't get me wrong the M3 is huge fun too, it should be its on KW Clubsports, Alcons and weighs 1300kg, but the 911 which its rear engine and immense amounts of rear traction is simply more fun to drive and the grip is unreal even in the wet.

I love the Boxster and Cayman too, but I can jump in a Cayman or Boxster and drive it pretty much flat out, sliding around and though its great fun it just does not seem the same challenge or as engaging as the 911.

A 911 is a tick box in life, do it and you won't be disappointed.

I am really swayed towards the RWD models like you point out. It's interesting about lap times in your 997 and E46, I was at donington in mine last month, was my first time there and managed a 1:31 (although I'm no race-driver, I'm sure the car could be taken round several seconds faster in the right hands ).

The real drawback of the track performance in the 135i is the brakes - it just doesn't give any confidence after a couple of laps, plus the dropoff in acceleration above 100. As it's not going to be a keeper I'm a little reluctant to sink any money into upgrades.

How would a 996/7 c2 perform on track running standard hardware, maybe with upgraded brake fluid and pads?

Edited by Phateuk on Thursday 24th July 08:42