Mrs Mick has desires on a Porshe 911

Mick

You could try this lot:

http://www.portiacraft.com/

They've been trading for many years so I presume they can't be all bad and there's some interesting information there.

If you are set on a 911 and it is to be used all year round, you may be well served considering the Carrera 4, the 4 wheel drive system taking some of the edge off the bite others have referred to above, particularly in damp weather.

One of these days I'd love to be in your position - the 993 with its air cooled engine and diminutive size looks fantastic and is allegedly bullet proof, albeit servicing will be more expensive, smaller cabin and noisier. But what a noise!

Peter

Respect Mick.

Mrs Mick will love a 911 if she likes a sporty drive.

I've had a couple. My first was an old 3.2 Carrera which I had for about 5 years, I then nearly got what I paid for it when the time came to move on.

It was a blast and nowhere near as twitchy as I had been led to expect. Mrs M is hardly likely to push it in the wet like men think they can. In the dry, you would really have to be going mad to upset it. But any rear wheel drive car will step out in those circumstances.

Have fun.

Steve.

At 6ft 4.5in would i fit in a Boxster or would i need shoehorning in?

Diccus

quote:

Originally posted by Diccus62:
At 6ft 4.5in would i fit in a Boxster or would i need shoehorning in?

Diccus

At 6ft 3in I found it a bit small. Banged my head on the side rail of the roof a couple of times.

Willy.

Chaps

i have just returned from a week in Cornwall and am now organising two or three weeks in Spain.

I will do nothing until I return from Spain and will then look more closely into it it.

This thread has been full of excellent information and please feel free to carry on contributing more.

Regards

Mick

Anybody over about 6'1" would be a bit of a squeeze in a boxster or 911, IMO. Leg room, not head room would be the limiting factor. In all 911's up to the 996, in a RHD model, the driving position is offset to the left. Someone over 6'1" or so may find their thighs rubbing on the bottom of the steering wheel & not be able to get the seat far enough back.
As far as dealers web-sites care concerned, Portiacraft are OK, but to get a fuller picture of the present market, also look at ;-
http://www.porsche.com/uk/approvedused/pre-ownedsearch/
http://www.paragon.gb.com/default-flash.asp
http://www.carpages.co.uk/go.asp?session=3%404%40http:/...43431%40651465%40108
Hope that helps a bit,
matt.

quote:

Originally posted by manicatel:
Anybody over about 6'1" would be a bit of a squeeze in a boxster or 911, IMO.
Hope that helps a bit,
matt.

Somewhat out of date (and production) now, the 968 had buckets of leg and headroom. Also the 968 Sport was a much better drive than the boxster, though that was back in 2001.

Willy.

quote:

Originally posted by Willy:
Somewhat out of date (and production) now, the 968 had buckets of leg and headroom.

Yup, I'd agree with that.

quote:

Originally posted by Willy:
Also the 968 Sport was a much better drive than the boxster, though that was back in 2001.
Willy.

I'd totally disagree with that. Having owned a 968, a 2.7 Boxster and now a 3.2S, the S especially whoops the 968. The 968 was fast but crude, the Boxster feels way more wired into the road by comparison. Plus the sound... :->

That they say, is progress

Cheers,

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Hammerhead:

I'd totally disagree with that. Having owned a 968, a 2.7 Boxster and now a 3.2S, the S especially whoops the 968. The 968 was fast but crude, the Boxster feels way more wired into the road by comparison. Plus the sound... :->

That they say, is progress

Cheers,

Steve

Steve,

We'll have to agree to disagree on this. I was contemplating a boxster as a replacement for my 968 Sport so borrowed one whilst my one car was in for a service. Twenty minutes later I was going sideways on a road I know intimately. At the same speed in the same conditions the 968 sport would not even be starting to think about loosing grip. Furthermore when you did push the 968 sport to it's limit is sent very clear signals that it was about to drift. With the boxster I got nothing. Straightening up the boxster was also a messy business involving several oscillations, granted that may have been unfamiliarity with teh car but in my own car feather the throttle, flick the steering and it's sorted.

Probably what I disliked most about the boxster was the exhaust note. It seemed to have been tuned to emit a "fart" at a particular engine speed (can't rememebr where). Sure it would impress bystanders but it just annoyed me.

At the end of the day I said to the salesman, "It all depends on how it feels when I drive my own car again". Took about 50 yards to make my mind up. The 968 sport was transmitting all sorts of information about the road and the car that simply wasn't there with the boxster.

Of course I can understand that these are two very different cars.The 968 sport was very physically demanding, heavy steering, heavy clutch, heavy everything, hell in city traffic and exhausting on a long run. The boxster by comparison was so light even my 12yr old daughter could drive it (though not for long at the rate she's growing). However I would disagree with your "crude" assessment, after all one motoring magazine described the club sport as "one of the best drivers cars, full stop".

Regards,

Willy.

PS 968 long gone, mostly due to issues with QoS at the local Porsche dealer. Still hankering after a ragtop though...

quote:

Twenty minutes later I was going sideways on a road I know intimately. At the same speed in the same conditions the 968 sport would not even be starting to think about loosing grip.

Was it a new car with new tyres? I've only managed something like that once in my 987 and that was when it was a day old and the tyres were not yet run in.
John

AAAh, the 968. I absolutely loved mine, should've kept it longer. The CS version is/was a fantastic car, especially if you loved grabbing hold of a car & driving it by the scruff o' the neck. It was so contollable, on certain tracks it could/would beat 911's in the cup races.
As far as the back end letting go, my understanding is that a mid-engined car like a boxster will tend to let go with a "snap", whereas something like a 968 lets go a lot more progressively, hence the adjustment to driving style needed. Assuming getting the back out is your thing, that is.
BTW, anybody ever driven a 968turbo? That must be some car!
IMHO the 968 was culled prematurely, to make way for porduction of the Boxster & 993 when Porsche were close to going belly-up, & so drastic measures had to be taken. It was a shame to do that, but it was the right decision for the company, looking at their rather rude health now.
The Boxster is a superb car, which is incredibly easy to own & drive. This fact appeals to many, but will limit it for some.
I did see a 968 ragtop for sale recently here.
http://www.portiacraft.com/
Might be nice, certainly cheap enough, & built when Porsches were bullet-proof.
matt.
matt.

quote:

Originally posted by John Channing:

quote:

Twenty minutes later I was going sideways on a road I know intimately. At the same speed in the same conditions the 968 sport would not even be starting to think about loosing grip.

Was it a new car with new tyres? I've only managed something like that once in my 987 and that was when it was a day old and the tyres were not yet run in.
John

Car was the dealers demonstrator and sufficiently run in to discount the tyres being an issue. Bottom line was I had expected at least as much, if not more, feedback from the boxster as from the 968. Through the steering wheel the boxster was close but in the 968 everything the back end was doing was transmitted through your back end. There was an intimiate and immediate knowledge of what the rear of the car was doing which simply wasn't there in the boxster. I guess Mick (and many potential boxster customers?) would have really hated the 968 sport!

Willy.

quote:

Originally posted by John Channing:
Was it a new car with new tyres? I've only managed something like that once in my 987 and that was when it was a day old and the tyres were not yet run in.
John

Well that's reassuring now I really can't wait to collect mine

quote:

Originally posted by manicatel:
AAAh, the 968. I absolutely loved mine, should've kept it longer. The CS version is/was a fantastic car, especially if you loved grabbing hold of a car & driving it by the scruff o' the neck. It was so contollable, on certain tracks it could/would beat 911's in the cup races.

Would be quite happy to go head to head on the track in a 968CS against the then current 911.

As far as the back end letting go, my understanding is that a mid-engined car like a boxster will tend to let go with a "snap", whereas something like a 968 lets go a lot more progressively, hence the adjustment to driving style needed. Assuming getting the back out is your thing, that is.
BTW, anybody ever driven a 968turbo? That must be some car!

Believe there were only ever 2 of these built by the factory. Other's have since been upgraded.

IMHO the 968 was culled prematurely, to make way for porduction of the Boxster & 993 when Porsche were close to going belly-up, & so drastic measures had to be taken. It was a shame to do that, but it was the right decision for the company, looking at their rather rude health now.
The Boxster is a superb car, which is incredibly easy to own & drive.
This fact appeals to many, but will limit it for some.

The 968 sport was a lot of fun when you were in the mood but it was physically hard work. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

I did see a 968 ragtop for sale recently here.
http://www.portiacraft.com/

SWMBO would kill me!

Might be nice, certainly cheap enough, & built when Porsches were bullet-proof.
matt.
matt.

Willy.

quote:

Well that's reassuring now I really can't wait to collect mine

There is a warning in the manual that the tyres do not achieve full grip until they have about 500 miles on them, so certainly be careful initially. Generally though, the Boxster has so much grip I doubt you would get anywhere near its limits on the public highway.
John

quote:

Originally posted by John Channing:

quote:

Well that's reassuring now I really can't wait to collect mine

There is a warning in the manual that the tyres do not achieve full grip until they have about 500 miles on them, so certainly be careful initially. Generally though, the Boxster has so much grip I doubt you would get anywhere near its limits on the public highway.
John

Sounds like a challenge to me

Willy.

quote:

Originally posted by Traveling Dan:
Having said that, you still have to be awake and alert when behind the wheel, especially in damp/wet conditions. For example, if you get the power down (even within legal speed limits) at the wrong time on a roundabout exit you can find the back stepping out of line pretty quickly.

I would second the view that you don’t need anything more than the Carrera 2. I tried both Carrera 4 (slightly heavy and sluggish in comparison to the 2) and GT3 (downright twitchy and scary) and settled for the Carrera 2 as the ideal everyday performance car.

Dan,

would the 4wd version be safer in the hands of someone inexperienced with performance cars?

cheers, Martin

Martin,
IMO, if someone is inexperienced with sports cars, you probably would not feel a lot of difference on a public road unless you were really putting your foot down out of a corner, for example, or in adverse weather. The limits of grip on a dry road surface of a carrera 2, driven sensibly(ie legally or there abouts)are going to be greater than the drivers skill/bottle. The C4 would come into its own on a greasy/wet/icy road, but I wouldn'y rely on it to rescue bad driving.
Against this, the C4 will usually tend to understeer in extremis, whereas a C2 will oversteer if seriously provoked, eg driven like a lunatic and/or on a track. A C4 does cost more, is heavier on fuel & is a tad slower.
All this is with the caveat that a driver can lose control of any car if driven badly enough, but the days of 911's losing the back end are pretty much consigned to folklore. IMO this cliche was created when "yuppies" all got 911 turbos back in the 80's. They had all the gear but no idea, & basically just drove badly. one of the worst things you can do in a 911 is "lift off oversteer", where you are going around a bend, & take your foot off the gas mid-bend. This can cause the back end to snap out, so just fight the instinct & keep your foot steady on the gas.
There are several books on 911 driving techniques, Vic Elford & Paul Frere are 2 authors worth looking out for.
Oh, & the 968 vs 911 thing, on tracks where there are lots of corners, & not many long straights, well set up 968cs did occasionally get the better of 964's due to better handling. Of course on most tracks with longer straights, & not so many tight bends, the 911's better power came out on top.
Summing up, I would think that very few enthusiasts ever regret getting a 911c2.
matt.

quote:

but the days of 911's losing the back end are pretty much consigned to folklore.

Absolutely, I had an older one with none of today's safety controls. The car handles superbly and grips like a good'un. You would have to seriously provoke it to end up through a hedge backwards.

All this chat stems from young guys who, of course, were being stupid or on track days and really pushing it. Under these circumstances the weight in the back makes it different to other track cars.

Any rear wheel drive car like BMW, Merc etc., is more prone to oversteer in wet/icy conditions and needs similar caution.

Steve.

who needs a Porshe?

side profile

quote:

who needs a Porshe?

People who don't want to put up with intermittent Italian electrics etc etc.

I think the pictures are of a Nissan, not an italian car. Maybe it looks like a Brera from the rear, hence the "italian electrics" thing?
I'm sure there are people who would rather have a Nissan than a 911.
The Porsche is a design icon, arguably the best real world car, voted performance car of the yea

Hmmm, don't know what happened there. Anyway, what I was saying was that basically a 911 is one of the best cars of all time, a 12 year old 911 still commands a £30k price tag, & the Nissan is err well its a good car. Full stop.
matt.

Ooops it's not an Alfa is it. If its Nissan who wants to drive a car from a manufacturer that has a model called a Cedric?