Early vs Late 993
Discussion
I've been looking to sell my E36 M3 and buy a 993 for some months now, have started to look at dealers and have a few questions that you may be able to help with.
I've narrowed my search down to a 993 2/4 manual coupe, ideally I would prefer a vario C2 car. However, I havent driven them back to back and was wondering what the collective opinion on the two variants is? I notice that the likes of 9M do remaps for 993s, am I better getting an ealier car and having it rempped, some pople say these have better gear ratios...? Or is the difference irrelevant, and I should concentrate on buying on condition!
Confused
I have 28k to spend.
I've narrowed my search down to a 993 2/4 manual coupe, ideally I would prefer a vario C2 car. However, I havent driven them back to back and was wondering what the collective opinion on the two variants is? I notice that the likes of 9M do remaps for 993s, am I better getting an ealier car and having it rempped, some pople say these have better gear ratios...? Or is the difference irrelevant, and I should concentrate on buying on condition!
Confused
I have 28k to spend.
depends on what your long term plans are?
Are you keeping it for a long time? If so go later it will serve you well.
Getting rid in a year? Go older it will depreciate less.
Tuning it? Go older A: less depreciation, B: cheaper to start with, C: certain tuning options incompatible with varioram.
Basically go with the best car you can find for the budget you are HAPPY with.
Are you keeping it for a long time? If so go later it will serve you well.
Getting rid in a year? Go older it will depreciate less.
Tuning it? Go older A: less depreciation, B: cheaper to start with, C: certain tuning options incompatible with varioram.
Basically go with the best car you can find for the budget you are HAPPY with.
smtk said:
I notice that the likes of 9M do remaps for 993s, am I better getting an ealier car and having it rempped, some pople say these have better gear ratios...?
Talking to JZM they told me on earlier cars the ECU couldn’t be reprogrammed
Utter rubbish and yet another piece of mis-information by JZM, 9M did my pre-VR and I got and extra 30 bhp. If you want to talk to people who know how to tune cars, 9M is the place to go
I've had 3 993s, two non vario and one vario. They all felt different to drive, so try examples of each to see what you prefer.
Early non vario - revvy, cammy, lower gearing so a redline blaster
Later non vario - same engine but higher gearing, felt a bit weak in midrange
Varioram - more midrange but pronounced 'step' in delivery, subjectively less eager to rev
Henry's mantra applies here - buy on condition. The common stuff that may need replacing with an abused car are a full brake disc and pad replacement and a new clutch. This can run a couple of K. Tyres are around £500 a set.
Top tip - they are even better with a fat supercharger slapped on top
- however all the induction gear gets binned by this process and the conversion requires a non-vario throttle body IIRC, so the early cars are better for supercharging... 
Early non vario - revvy, cammy, lower gearing so a redline blaster
Later non vario - same engine but higher gearing, felt a bit weak in midrange
Varioram - more midrange but pronounced 'step' in delivery, subjectively less eager to rev
Henry's mantra applies here - buy on condition. The common stuff that may need replacing with an abused car are a full brake disc and pad replacement and a new clutch. This can run a couple of K. Tyres are around £500 a set.
Top tip - they are even better with a fat supercharger slapped on top
- however all the induction gear gets binned by this process and the conversion requires a non-vario throttle body IIRC, so the early cars are better for supercharging... 993C4 said:
I notice that the likes of 9M do remaps for 993s, am I better getting an ealier car and having it rempped, some pople say these have better gear ratios...?
Talking to JZM they told me on earlier cars the ECU couldn’t be reprogrammed
Utter rubbish and yet another piece of mis-information by JZM, 9M did my pre-VR and I got and extra 30 bhp. If you want to talk to people who know how to tune cars, 9M is the place to go
easy tiger dont shoot the messenger
abarber said:
I thought '96 cars have surface mount rom chips that either need to be desoldered or replaced, or is that cr@p?
JMZ told me the ECU would need to be replaced as the early units cant be reprogrammed
>> Edited by smtk on Thursday 18th May 20:38
smtk said:
I notice that the likes of 9M do remaps for 993s, am I better getting an ealier car and having it rempped, some pople say these have better gear ratios...?
Talking to JZM they told me on earlier cars the ECU couldn’t be reprogrammed
Utter rubbish and yet another piece of mis-information by JZM, 9M did my pre-VR and I got and extra 30 bhp. If you want to talk to people who know how to tune cars, 9M is the place to go
easy tiger dont shoot the messenger
SMTK, not aimed at you, just that JZM tend to rubbish anything that does not come from them
cyberface said:
I've had 3 993s, two non vario and one vario. They all felt different to drive, so try examples of each to see what you prefer.
Early non vario - revvy, cammy, lower gearing so a redline blaster
Later non vario - same engine but higher gearing, felt a bit weak in midrange
Varioram - more midrange but pronounced 'step' in delivery, subjectively less eager to rev
Henry's mantra applies here - buy on condition. The common stuff that may need replacing with an abused car are a full brake disc and pad replacement and a new clutch. This can run a couple of K. Tyres are around £500 a set.
Top tip - they are even better with a fat supercharger slapped on top
Cyberface, I thought only the US got G50/20 non-vario cars? Best of the bunch imho is a Vario with the G50/21, think thats mainly some of the 96 / early 97 cars. Shorter gearing and more punchy.
>> Edited by abarber on Thursday 18th May 23:07
Have to throw my 2p in here, vario tends to not feel as fast because there is si much torque in the midrange, and you hear rather than feel the difference at 4.5k rpm when the induction lengths change.
On the other hand, non-vario "feels" like it could be faster, even though it's unlikely to actually be faster, because there is less midrange and then you really feel a change after 5k rpm (feels much more eager to rev).
In either case, a sports exhaust helps the top end breathing (again won't produce any more power but will feel more eager to rev above about 5.5k rpm).
I will echo those people who have already said though "buy on condition". Ignore the vario/non-vario aspect, and you can pretty much ignore the C2/C4 aspect on 993's too.
Now the difference between a C2S and a C4S, that's a whole different issue (which has been discussed many times on here before)
Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!
VS
On the other hand, non-vario "feels" like it could be faster, even though it's unlikely to actually be faster, because there is less midrange and then you really feel a change after 5k rpm (feels much more eager to rev).
In either case, a sports exhaust helps the top end breathing (again won't produce any more power but will feel more eager to rev above about 5.5k rpm).
I will echo those people who have already said though "buy on condition". Ignore the vario/non-vario aspect, and you can pretty much ignore the C2/C4 aspect on 993's too.
Now the difference between a C2S and a C4S, that's a whole different issue (which has been discussed many times on here before
) Hope this helps, and good luck in your search!
VS
Always buy on condition. 28k should get you a late c2 with good mileage from a dealer. I'd advise going private if you know what you're looking at. For 28k you'll find someone eager to sell who'll take the deal. I got a C2s with 47k and full main dealer for that money. 6 months later sold it to the trade for 30k, happy days!
VS welcome back...where have you been???
Buy on condition...an early well-sorted 993 will show a clean pair of heels to a late 'dog'! There is so much more to worry about...clutch, gearbox, brakes etc...
My early 993 C2 was a little sweetie and went like the wind to the red line! A later C4 with Vario, that I drove, felt like something was holding her back....horses for courses.
Buy on condition...an early well-sorted 993 will show a clean pair of heels to a late 'dog'! There is so much more to worry about...clutch, gearbox, brakes etc...
My early 993 C2 was a little sweetie and went like the wind to the red line! A later C4 with Vario, that I drove, felt like something was holding her back....horses for courses.
abarber said:
Cyberface, I thought only the US got G50/20 non-vario cars? Best of the bunch imho is a Vario with the G50/21, think thats mainly some of the 96 / early 97 cars. Shorter gearing and more punchy.
>> Edited by abarber on Thursday 18th May 23:07
You could be right - I'll have to check my 993 book
The early 993s I've had definitely felt lower geared compared to the Vario car, but there was also difference between my '94 (current) car and the '95 I first had. Then again, my memory could be addled The non-vario isn't faster than the vario at all, but there's something about the engine that feels more natural, if that makes sense - the stepped delivery in the vario car seemed a bit 'forced' and the top end felt a bit strangled...
I've got a 95MY, 94 production car. It does about 26 (true) mph per 000 rpm in top and has very close ratio gears. The engine really goes above 4500 rpm, you have to decide whether to change down one two or three gears when overtaking quickly. I started looking for a late low mileage car, but was disappointed by many I tried, finished up buying a very simple unmolested two owner c2, it was still on the original 16 inch wheels. I understand that there can be a problem with the cam drive on post 95 cars, the drive sprocket is located by a nut only, no Woodruf key, and are prone to slipping resulting in significant loss of power, had mine dynoed, it was on spec for power and a bit over on torque. Support the condition not miles argument, but it is also a real benefit to be able to understand how a car has been used/ treated by speaking to the previous owners back to purchase if possible, much more informative than a service record, it will also enable the likelihood of major repair items like the clutch to be estimated.
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