Discussion
i was looking at this post for a long time before i took the decision to sell my 981 S with FULL extras...I exchanged it with someone who wanted a boxter 
he already had 2 993s..hence he exchanged it with my 981 s. my new 993 is far much slower than my boxter s..technology way back..already have issues with lights, ignition barrel etc..BUT...I LOVE IT!!!!
I think it is the best thing that i have done so far in terms of cars..I already have it for 4 days and all of my friends are far much more excited with the 993 than the 981..the sound of my new 993 cannot be compared to the 981 s that I had..slowly slowly now i will now start spending money to bring it back to a brand new condition as the car mechanically seems to be ok
Will keep you updated
he already had 2 993s..hence he exchanged it with my 981 s. my new 993 is far much slower than my boxter s..technology way back..already have issues with lights, ignition barrel etc..BUT...I LOVE IT!!!!I think it is the best thing that i have done so far in terms of cars..I already have it for 4 days and all of my friends are far much more excited with the 993 than the 981..the sound of my new 993 cannot be compared to the 981 s that I had..slowly slowly now i will now start spending money to bring it back to a brand new condition as the car mechanically seems to be ok
Will keep you updated
Every time I see a 993, or a 964 onthe road nowadays, I stop and look at it until it's gone.
If I get a chance I talk to the driver
I'll glance at a Boxster or Cayman
There's an old Zinnabar 2.7 Boxster I see around Wallingham occasionally.
Now there's one that catches my eye.
If I got one, that'd be it.
I'd lightweight it.
Reminds me of the old. Speedsters. From the sixties.
No one wanted the old flat fours for years.
Now they're pretty much in buyable.
For a second Porsche I reckon they're much more usuable.
I'm nervous leaving the 993 out and about for fear of it getting hoisted.
They're worth a bomb in parts now, so there bound to be firms out looking for an easy one.
I'm not ruling out rolling up in a Boxster yet
If I get a chance I talk to the driver
I'll glance at a Boxster or Cayman
There's an old Zinnabar 2.7 Boxster I see around Wallingham occasionally.
Now there's one that catches my eye.
If I got one, that'd be it.
I'd lightweight it.
Reminds me of the old. Speedsters. From the sixties.
No one wanted the old flat fours for years.
Now they're pretty much in buyable.
For a second Porsche I reckon they're much more usuable.
I'm nervous leaving the 993 out and about for fear of it getting hoisted.
They're worth a bomb in parts now, so there bound to be firms out looking for an easy one.
I'm not ruling out rolling up in a Boxster yet
I test drove both last year. 981 is a lovely modern boxster but 993 is a legend.I'm checking currently similar choices that including 993 option and still could not decide! Of course it's a personal choice but it is something you might regret in the future, so how about renting/borrowing 981 for a few months then think again? 
I'm fortunate to enjoy th ebest of both worlds: I've got a loaded Boxster GTS PDK I specced and collected from factory last year and a 993 Manual C2 Cab - the latter is probably one of the best driving 993s in the country. At 130k miles the drivetrain is tight, no slack in the gearbox. It dynos at factory power on SRR, has had a massive road orientated suspension refurb (new top mounts, new OE springs, Koni FSD shocks, polybushing front strut brace and custom Center Gravity geo) has refurbed calipers and replacement brake lines....the list goes on. It's magic. Is it better than the Boxster? It's a completely different beast.
On the right UK B road nothing comes close to the 993. Narrow, quick but not too quick, needs revs to go, sounds awesome with the Carnewal GT exhaust, great interaction with manual 'box, easy to heel and toe, scares you occasionally if you run out of talent and of course looks beautiful. Only thing I'd change would be to add an LSD as when the back lets go it's quite sudden and different geos don't seem to change that much. Only really an issue on track so I prob won't get it done unless I start tracking it more again. Other than that the clutch biting point always seems a little high no matter whether it's new clutch or old, replaced master/slave cylinders etc!
BGTS is also a marvel. Dead good looking car again, genuine junior supercar looks to my eye providing you spec it in an interesting colour (i.e. not silver or black), quick but not too quick, very adjustable chassis, provides childish exhaust noise enjoyment, awesome PDK gearbox with much improved gearing over the manual, *gorgeous* interior (I have red GTS interior and sports buckets). In an ideal world I'd like the brakes to be firmer but that's only really an issue when I'm on track. HPAS instead of EPAS wouldn't go amiss either, but I'm actually enjoying the "calmer" feel EPAS brings and frankly all steering in every car feels dead compared to my Caterham. And on smooth European roads the different between HPAS and EPAS seems even less. On an alpine pass on a Euro road trip, nothing beats the GTS. PDK makes 1st gear genuinely useable for the hairpins and the chassis means you can genuinely attack the road in a way you just can't in the 993 therefore it gives in the way a 993 can't. How do I know? I was lucky enough to do, amongst other similar routes, the Stelvio Pass --> Fluela Pass --> Davos run 2 years in a row: last year in the BGTS and the year before in the 993.
In short, they're both epic cars and you're not going to go wrong with either. My gut feeling is that 993s are overpriced, especially given how much they cost to run properly. On the flip side, you're still going to be burning money in depreciation for the moment in a 981 GTS - although that may change in the next 12 months given the reception the 718 is getting. And both are more fun to drive on the road overall than my old 7.1 GT3.
Finally and probably a bit controversially, my 981 comments above only apply to the GTSs and high specced Ss. I had a 2.7 Boxster PDK loaner in somewhat poverty spec (no PASM but 20" rims, no chrono, chairs, no PSE, no full leather) and I really disliked it. Ride was fidgety, not enough engine noise, engine and gearing a complete mismatch (god knows what the manual version is like), seats didn't hold me, interior looked low rent, the list goes on. And that's the second time I've been given a car like that. I was given a similar spec 987 in 2009 or so, and that interior wasn't great either even though the car was worth £45K back then. For base 981 money that I didn't have to DD I'd be all over something like an Elise 220 instead - Porsche seems to have the knack of making a Cayster GTS look cheap for what it is and a 2.7 (exacerbated by being badly specced) look overpriced to me!
Anyway, piccies of my 993 and BGTS to finish
On the right UK B road nothing comes close to the 993. Narrow, quick but not too quick, needs revs to go, sounds awesome with the Carnewal GT exhaust, great interaction with manual 'box, easy to heel and toe, scares you occasionally if you run out of talent and of course looks beautiful. Only thing I'd change would be to add an LSD as when the back lets go it's quite sudden and different geos don't seem to change that much. Only really an issue on track so I prob won't get it done unless I start tracking it more again. Other than that the clutch biting point always seems a little high no matter whether it's new clutch or old, replaced master/slave cylinders etc!
BGTS is also a marvel. Dead good looking car again, genuine junior supercar looks to my eye providing you spec it in an interesting colour (i.e. not silver or black), quick but not too quick, very adjustable chassis, provides childish exhaust noise enjoyment, awesome PDK gearbox with much improved gearing over the manual, *gorgeous* interior (I have red GTS interior and sports buckets). In an ideal world I'd like the brakes to be firmer but that's only really an issue when I'm on track. HPAS instead of EPAS wouldn't go amiss either, but I'm actually enjoying the "calmer" feel EPAS brings and frankly all steering in every car feels dead compared to my Caterham. And on smooth European roads the different between HPAS and EPAS seems even less. On an alpine pass on a Euro road trip, nothing beats the GTS. PDK makes 1st gear genuinely useable for the hairpins and the chassis means you can genuinely attack the road in a way you just can't in the 993 therefore it gives in the way a 993 can't. How do I know? I was lucky enough to do, amongst other similar routes, the Stelvio Pass --> Fluela Pass --> Davos run 2 years in a row: last year in the BGTS and the year before in the 993.
In short, they're both epic cars and you're not going to go wrong with either. My gut feeling is that 993s are overpriced, especially given how much they cost to run properly. On the flip side, you're still going to be burning money in depreciation for the moment in a 981 GTS - although that may change in the next 12 months given the reception the 718 is getting. And both are more fun to drive on the road overall than my old 7.1 GT3.
Finally and probably a bit controversially, my 981 comments above only apply to the GTSs and high specced Ss. I had a 2.7 Boxster PDK loaner in somewhat poverty spec (no PASM but 20" rims, no chrono, chairs, no PSE, no full leather) and I really disliked it. Ride was fidgety, not enough engine noise, engine and gearing a complete mismatch (god knows what the manual version is like), seats didn't hold me, interior looked low rent, the list goes on. And that's the second time I've been given a car like that. I was given a similar spec 987 in 2009 or so, and that interior wasn't great either even though the car was worth £45K back then. For base 981 money that I didn't have to DD I'd be all over something like an Elise 220 instead - Porsche seems to have the knack of making a Cayster GTS look cheap for what it is and a 2.7 (exacerbated by being badly specced) look overpriced to me!
Anyway, piccies of my 993 and BGTS to finish
Mario149 said:
Only thing I'd change would be to add an LSD as when the back lets go it's quite sudden and different geos don't seem to change that much. Only really an issue on track so I prob won't get it done unless I start tracking it more again.
Interesting - mine is setup quite aggressively and doesn't let go suddenly.What tyres have given you this effect?
Orangecurry said:
Mario149 said:
Only thing I'd change would be to add an LSD as when the back lets go it's quite sudden and different geos don't seem to change that much. Only really an issue on track so I prob won't get it done unless I start tracking it more again.
Interesting - mine is setup quite aggressively and doesn't let go suddenly.What tyres have given you this effect?
Orangecurry said:
Mario149 said:
I'm on Bridgestone S02s.
As an aside, they stopped making the KZ-N3 in late 2013, so your rears will be older.Perhaps it's time to splash out on something newer?
Might explain things a bit. They've been on the car 2 years as I don't do a lot of mileage in it anymore. I ordered them online after I did a set on a 10k mile Euro trip 2 years ago and my mate helped me out by going to get them fitted while I was out of the country so I never actually bothered to look at the age, just assumed they were reasonably new. Oh well, live and learn! You might have just saved me the cost of a diff, probably owe you a drink! That said, I may run them through the summer while it's warm as on the road they're fine and it seems a shame to bin them with 5mm+ tread on them.
What do you recommend instead?
Edited by Mario149 on Monday 6th June 10:38
Mario149 said:
Just checked, fronts are early 2013 and the rears are late 2011 Might explain things a bit. They've been on the car 2 years as I don't do a lot of mileage in it anymore. I ordered them online after I did a set on a 10k mile Euro trip 2 years ago and my mate helped me out by going to get them fitted while I was out of the country so I never actually bothered to look at the age, just assumed they were reasonably new. Oh well, live and learn! You might have just saved me the cost of a diff, probably owe you a drink!
That said, I may run them through the summer while it's warm as on the road they're fine and it seems a shame to bin them with 5mm+ tread on them.
What do you recommend instead?
The more I think about it, I would think the setup is what gives you the 'let-go' feeling, but older tyres may or may not be a factor - it depends what temp extremes/sunlight/etc they've been exposed to over the years. Might explain things a bit. They've been on the car 2 years as I don't do a lot of mileage in it anymore. I ordered them online after I did a set on a 10k mile Euro trip 2 years ago and my mate helped me out by going to get them fitted while I was out of the country so I never actually bothered to look at the age, just assumed they were reasonably new. Oh well, live and learn! You might have just saved me the cost of a diff, probably owe you a drink! That said, I may run them through the summer while it's warm as on the road they're fine and it seems a shame to bin them with 5mm+ tread on them.
What do you recommend instead?
Edited by Mario149 on Monday 6th June 10:38
The S-02 is exceptionally good as a warm weather/track tyre, as they don't seem to overheat easily.
What pressure do you run?
As to alternatives, that is the big question on 255/40/17 - 265/35/18 is relatively easy.
I'm hoping that Michelin produce the PS4 in 255/40/17, but they haven't done yet. They do in 245/40/17, but I'm not sure how that'll look/feel, though people do use that size (on the track?) as there is more to choose from?
I'm experimenting at the moment, and I'm actually on 225/45 on the rear
Orangecurry said:
What pressure do you run?
Depending on air temp and how hot I think the tarmac is, I generally drop them 3-4 psi from standard when cold, say to 32-33 psi and start from there. From memory 38-39 psi when hot feels good, but it really depends, I kinda just go by feel and adjust as necessary. If something doesn't feel quite right after everything is up to temp (e.g. it feels a bit imprecise/wobbly = pressure too low, bit too skittish and less grip than expected = pressure too high) I just come in and tweak the pressure accordinglyGassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff