993 buying advice
Discussion
steve-p said:
varioram from sept '95...when you have the engine lid open look on top of the engine diredtly and it says "varioram"...this gives it away
Actually that's not strictly true. I know a lot do have the Varioram script, but equally a lot don't. For example mine was built in late '96 and it does not have the script.
I concur, I know of a few early varioram cars that do not have the inscription.
I also have seen these..but thankfully have it on mine!
If buying i would buy on condition and not care if it had varioram or not some say that the pre-varioram is easier to tune if that is what you want to do ?
Best to check the registration date, the pre varioram inlet tracts are less complicated than the earlier ones with the earlier ones looking flatter in appearance...if you can actually tell the difference while driving you are a better man than me.
Chances are worn shocks or bad alignment will make more of a difference with the way the car drives.
As we appear to be getting oh so anal about varioram scripts on manifolds, i would like to point out that the varioram system first appeared a few months early on the RS models before it was used on lesser versions
...I have yet to see an RS without said script...
If buying i would buy on condition and not care if it had varioram or not some say that the pre-varioram is easier to tune if that is what you want to do ?
Best to check the registration date, the pre varioram inlet tracts are less complicated than the earlier ones with the earlier ones looking flatter in appearance...if you can actually tell the difference while driving you are a better man than me.
Chances are worn shocks or bad alignment will make more of a difference with the way the car drives.
As we appear to be getting oh so anal about varioram scripts on manifolds, i would like to point out that the varioram system first appeared a few months early on the RS models before it was used on lesser versions
...I have yet to see an RS without said script...How does varioram add value to a car?? for £250 you can get a mild chip on a pre varioram and come away with the same 285 bhp with a better low end torque delivery.
These cars are now 8-9 years old,,,any accident damage repairs, servicing record, mileage and colour/extras are going to affect the value more than varioram.
Drive them both it's not like an E36 vanos kicking in or anything as exciting like that.
These cars are now 8-9 years old,,,any accident damage repairs, servicing record, mileage and colour/extras are going to affect the value more than varioram.
Drive them both it's not like an E36 vanos kicking in or anything as exciting like that.
What about the tiptronic?
if you live in central London,,,then why not? if you are also considering a mid '90s Merc SL...then at least you get the looks and handling of a porsche..if however you want to DRIVE the car and indulge in track days a tiptronic may not be ideal.
You have to consider that tiptronic expanded the market for Porsche once the 928 had gone. If the above criteria fits then a Tip is fine for you. Note the earliest 993 had a tip gearbox...this was gearlever controlled..from '95 Tip S was available,,,this had the gearchange available on the stering wheel. If a loaded gun was pointed at my temple and I had to take a Tip...I would cheekily enquire if i could take a Tip S version.
if you live in central London,,,then why not? if you are also considering a mid '90s Merc SL...then at least you get the looks and handling of a porsche..if however you want to DRIVE the car and indulge in track days a tiptronic may not be ideal.
You have to consider that tiptronic expanded the market for Porsche once the 928 had gone. If the above criteria fits then a Tip is fine for you. Note the earliest 993 had a tip gearbox...this was gearlever controlled..from '95 Tip S was available,,,this had the gearchange available on the stering wheel. If a loaded gun was pointed at my temple and I had to take a Tip...I would cheekily enquire if i could take a Tip S version.
As for exhaust upgrades - I would look at RSR mufflers (from Robin Sun). If he is still making them, they can be purchased from Gert at Carnewal.com. Fantastic sounding, and great value for money. They are actually on an exchange basis (ie you get sent a pair of RSR mufflers, and send your old units back in return).
As for tiptronic.....
Kind of defeats the purpose of the car imho.
As for tiptronic.....
Kind of defeats the purpose of the car imho.ek993 said:
As for tiptronic.....
I can't see the logic of that. The purpose of the car is to provide a fast, enjoyable sports performance in an eye-catching vehicle. Granted, a Tiptronic box makes a marginal difference to the performance, but life with a Porsche is not all about trackday performances. I wouldn't take mine on a track for a variety of reasons, though it would be fun to be able to give it a high speed run or two. On the other hand, I do have to negotiate quite a lot of town traffic since I'm London-based, and it's a lot less wearing to have the auto box.
As for the previous comment about it being reactive rather than proactive, that too is arguable. With the Tiptronic 'gear lever' and the S version's steering buttons, you can be as proactive as you wish. The changes are lightning fast - probably better than most manuals can achieve unless you're a racing driver - and you can really enjoy the fun of wringing the engine's neck if you're so minded.
Don't be put off Tiptronics: if you want the manual version, fine, but give a Tiptronic a try-out. You may be very surprised!
I agree with Tarka, Tiptronics are underrated, They do shift gears quicker than your typical non-race driver, should the sense of occasion present itself. Fantastic when exiting corners or nice empty roundabouts, As for flat-outness through the twisties, just ask the Kawa-Ninja how close he could hear the flat six as he tried oh so hard to lose the Tippy on the mighty A686, no matter what he did the car & the box was glued to his no. plate. (ahh.. memories...). to my mind you really do get the best of both worlds, I have never been the auto box type (had a big fat Omega V6 manual in a previous life), but i to was in London, and saw the advantage of just torquing through the traffic, and when you break through, Just press the go pedal with intent and it totally transforms the car into a nutter on nuts, there is something appealing about a car as acompished as this having literally two personalities (right Tarka?), the handbook says it has 5 driving 'programs' i have only managed to 'find' 3 at best, maybe you can other Tip drivers can give an insight. The only thing is though, unlike some people, i would have liked to chuck it around a track, but there in I guess,lies the rub, maybe just 4 gear ratios are not enough for a track session, anyone ever Tipped around a rack before?. C'mon admit it, when you are stuck on the M4 in 3 Gobs Prescott's Bus Lane mayhem, just as you see the beckoning dread of Brentford. Stuck, and yee-yawing your way between bumpers, and that ol' left foot is putting in some serious footwork, don't you just wish, don't you...?
The Tiptronic system is a dream compared with most auto boxes. I ran a 928S4 with an auto box for seven years, and have been idle enough over the years to have had other autos as well, so have plenty of experience of them.
The 928's auto box was pretty unsophisticated, but the engine had so much grunt that it didn't really matter. You could 'trickle' in heavy traffic (and God knows that's getting worse in the South East!) without the hassle of constantly shifting (or riding) a clutch. When the road opened up, a quick kick-down dropped you down a couple of gears and the car simply took off. Simple and impressive, but certainly not sophisticated.
The Tiptronic system can play the same rather lazy game, if that's your bag, but I find that it has that extra dimension of a sequential box to make life more fun when the road opens up.
One thought: over the years of automatic gearboxes and no use for my left foot on a clutch, I've developed into a left-foot braker. That gives me another fraction of a second in response time and (IMHO, of course) makes me safer.
The 928's auto box was pretty unsophisticated, but the engine had so much grunt that it didn't really matter. You could 'trickle' in heavy traffic (and God knows that's getting worse in the South East!) without the hassle of constantly shifting (or riding) a clutch. When the road opened up, a quick kick-down dropped you down a couple of gears and the car simply took off. Simple and impressive, but certainly not sophisticated.
The Tiptronic system can play the same rather lazy game, if that's your bag, but I find that it has that extra dimension of a sequential box to make life more fun when the road opens up.
One thought: over the years of automatic gearboxes and no use for my left foot on a clutch, I've developed into a left-foot braker. That gives me another fraction of a second in response time and (IMHO, of course) makes me safer.
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