Daily driving a 997 and some specific questions

[Todd Bonzalez]

After spending my weekend looking at M2s I've come to an odd mental crossroads where I think I want a 911.

I'm looking to buy a nice car that I can keep long term and enjoy. I'll be doing approx 10k a year with the odd euro jaunt etc.

I have a corvette engined M3 track car so absolute performance isn't what this is about and it will not see a circuit.

I think I'd be looking at a C2S'. Ideally .2, ideally guards red, ideally with the aerokit. How small of a pool of cars is this?

Does anyone DD one here? How do you find it? Are they okay with winter tyres in the winter?

Does anyone happen to know the ground clearance? My parking has a small kerb you see. The M3 sits at about 90mm and I can get that in fine with an angled approach. Sometimes the 997s look crazy low though so struggling to eyeball it.

Has anyone gone from M3 to 997? How did you find it?

Just tell me anything interesting about 997s you think I should know too. I've read lots and lots this morning but it's always nice to be able to chat with current owners and so on. Cheers.

[The_Doc]

I daily drive my 997.1 through the winter in Cumbria with Pirelli Sottozeros on it.

They are good tyres, but when we really have snow (eg >3 inches) I take my wife's X3

the winter tyres option is £1000, so don't bank on it being perfect for all conditions. Unless you buy studded tyres you'll bin it eventually.

The 997 is an incredible car though, as a daily driver, mine starts and delivers in -10° and in +30°. Reliable and fantastic.

[The_Doc]

The clearance is fine BTW, I very occasionally scuff the rubber flange at the front on a curb, but rarely. Stick a square bit of timber down at your curb if you struggle, it'll half the transition

I'll also say, over 30k miles I probably get 25-27 mpg. The radio entertainment system is ancient compared to modern cars, the phone integration is poor and generally its a loud car to drive (in)

I drove Great Yarmouth to Carlisle (300 mi each way) last month, and it was loud, safe in the standing water on the motorways, entertaining around the Broads and did 30.5mpg. Fab! I have PSE instead of a modern hifi system...

Edited by The_Doc on Monday 9th July 15:43

[Ape50]

Poor stereo and lots of road noise but an amazing car (mine is a 997.2 C2S). Ground clearence is actually very good but maybe avoid the lowered suspension option. I drove to Munich and back in one weekend and found it verycomfortable - 28mpg on motorways / 24mpg touring seems ok. Don't be too fussy with spec buy on condition.

[Todd Bonzalez]

Great stuff. I already identified the infotainment setup as a weak link and found the Pioneer AVIC-F88DAB with the 997 kit looks perfect.
I didn't expect huge amounts of road noise I must admit! I'll have to try and test drive one at a dealer I guess.
Getting on for 30mpg is acceptable for economy tbh. I only get around 25 in my daft little cliosport!

Re: condition not spec but I must admit I'm excited by the idea of putting it on E88s and having exactly matching road car/track car pair haha
I am a huge dork.

[Rich_AR]

Todd Bonzalez said:

Are they okay with winter tyres in the winter?
.

Last weekend I drove 1000+ miles from the UK to Prague (via Belgium and Germany).

Awesome with winters on (littler nosier than summer). Here's me last Xmas using it in Slovakia. (ok its not a 2S). Coped really well for the huge euro drive in winter as well



Stereo is old tech as per above (no music bluetooth, slighly annoying), but other than that, its a fine car.

[Steve Rance]

I have an M2 as a daily driver but the 997 C2 is a better car all round. The M2 is a very good car compared to it's contempoarys but If my mileage was lower, id take a 997 over the M2 any day. Perfectly practical proposition

[Corky]

Steve Rance said:

I have an M2 as a daily driver but the 997 C2 is a better car all round. The M2 is a very good car compared to it's contempoarys but If my mileage was lower, id take a 997 over the M2 any day. Perfectly practical proposition

Plus one, I don't have an M2 but I have a 997 Gen C2 that is used as a daily driver, I have had no issues with using it every day over the past 2 years.

[The Selfish Gene]

Todd Bonzalez said:

Has anyone gone from M3 to 997? How did you find it?

I did this..........well M3V8 ----> Discovery -----> Range Rover --------> 997 C2S

Comparison for me was grip levels. The M3 V8 was sideways everywhere. Literally everywhere in any road conditions. It felt like what a good modern TVR would have been if they hadn't gone bust.

I literally loved mine.

The 997 C2s is a totally different beast. So much more grip - so much better stability control. I rarely put the 997 too sideways. It, just, isn't about that with the 997. It's probably about the same in a straight line performance wise (I have slightly more horses in the X51 to an apparent 385bhp, it feels more)

It's lighter.

The steering on the 997 is infinitely better than the M3, and sitting position......in fact everything, it's just a better car all around than the M3. (and I LOVE the M3)

It's prettier too (subjective).

It's more expensive to run (significantly for me so far) but that could be because although the same age, the M3 I had was newer when I had it........if that makes sense.

Both cars are fabulous to own, and drive............but the 911, is well, a 911. There is a reason they are classed as one of the best sports cars ever made I think.

It's just DNA.

[Dr S]

Corky said:

Steve Rance said:

I have an M2 as a daily driver but the 997 C2 is a better car all round. The M2 is a very good car compared to it's contempoarys but If my mileage was lower, id take a 997 over the M2 any day. Perfectly practical proposition

Plus one, I don't have an M2 but I have a 997 Gen C2 that is used as a daily driver, I have had no issues with using it every day over the past 2 years.

+3

Had a 7.1 C2S as daily (on winters during the colder season). Now I am using a 7.2 GT3 as daily in a similar fashion. Great allround cars

[Polome]

Hi. I drive a gen 2 3.6 with lowered chassis. ( -20mm ). The rubber strip under the front bumper has 180mm clearance from the road and rarely contacts ,its the small flexible air duct flaps in front of the front wheels that are the lowest point.They measure only 65 mm clearance from the road and constantly rub on speed bumps. They are soft and flex easily it's more noise and scratch than damage. I've got Bridgestone fitted , fronts last around 15-18k rears 8-10k .they give good traction in snow up to 50 mm deep...I've experienced during certain snow conditions the front wheels rising above the snow giving little directional control through the steering whilst the rears just dig in and drive the car forward ...can be fun if the road is empty! The 3.6 feels fast enough on B roads ,but lacking a bit grunt for the track. I'm in my fith year of ownership , pretty reliable..battery..front & rear track control arms..discs , the fronts only last me a couple of years and are changed due to corrosion appearing on inside faces ( my cars is driveway parked so exposed to all weathers) older cars now suffer from cooling pipe/ brake line corrosion due to poor quality materials. Fuel consumption usually mid 20 , track down to 10 .Still a great driving car...the size is just right for B roads where it excels...good luck with your search..

Edited by Polome on Tuesday 10th July 17:08

Edited by Polome on Tuesday 10th July 17:55

[Cheib]

Owned a lot of BMW’s over the years including a couple of M3’s. Test drove the current M3’s two years ago and despite wanting to really like it I thought the chassis (since improved I believe) was really poor on country roads...and the engine did nothing for me either. On the other hand I knew my 997 GTS was the carI wanted wishing 2mins of getting in it. Road noise can be an issue but I believe tyre brand makes a difference and you might find the exhaust noise a bit underwhelming which a Sharkwerks X pipe or similar can fix very easily.

I’ve since caught the Porsche bug very badly....

I use a small Bluetooth connector so that I can play music/listen to podcast in my 997. Works very well. Lack of DAB more of an issue.

[andyc11]

I use my 997 GTS as a daily, covering around 70 miles per day. Used in all weather through both motorways and some fairly terrible country roads. I just keep the Bridgestone Potenzas on there through the year and bar a couple of scary moments (due to back roads not being gritted), has been fine.

If I’m honest, given the type of driving I do through the working week, I can’t help feel it’s a bit pointless. I average 24mpg, which isn’t bad but just don’t feel I get the enjoyment out of it due to being stuck in traffic and/or driving on terrible roads. Had some fairly big bills to cover extended warranty and MOT recently, which again is expected, but just doesn’t feel like I get the fun out of it to justify.

They’re amazing things and I’d struggle to part with mine - but I find myself grabbing the other car keys over the 911 ones for the daily drive. So just have a think about the type of daily driving you’re doing if it’s your only motor.

[Todd Bonzalez]

Great stuff, thanks guys.

After an exhaustive search online this week it's looking like in order to get a manual aero car I'll have to go gen 1. Does anyone know why hardly any gen 2s have the aerokit? Seems strange.

What's generally considered the best way to deal with the IMS issue? The ceramic 4 year bearing fix?

[griffter]

Todd Bonzalez said:

What's generally considered the best way to deal with the IMS issue? The ceramic 4 year bearing fix?

I’m in the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” camp:

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=108257&sid=92...

[James McScotty]

Todd Bonzalez said:

Has anyone gone from M3 to 997? How did you find it?

Just tell me anything interesting about 997s you think I should know too. I've read lots and lots this morning but it's always nice to be able to chat with current owners and so on. Cheers.

I switched from an E92 335i (almost an M3, but not quite) to a 1st gen 997 C2S (the one with the chocolate 3.8L engine). I ran it for four very enjoyable and trouble-free years as a DD, and put on around 40,000 miles. It's a fantastic car. I ended up trading for a 981 Cayman which then gave way to a 981 CGTS. All had/have manual transmission (I'm not a fan of autos in sports cars).

I think the Cayman is even better than the 997 was. It's certainly more confidence-inspiring than the 911. Might be worth a look...

[The_Doc]

I got mine borescoped by Hartech at annual service and now I have true confidence.