Modern GT/RS - Which one?

[Tp81]

I was going to mention the 993 and noticed that Mike beat me to it. Fast but not intimidatingly so or I should say even at reasonable speeds you get the feeling you are moving well. The most recent car run North I had a brief stint in my friends 997 GT3RS, incredible car but you have to be going much harder, the car is just so good and capable.

993 is a lovely spot in between old and new. I suspect a good 964 might even offer a similar feeling, I just don't have any experience of these.

[Slope330]

FWIW Tom although i only had access to a 964 rs in recent years it really is different beast to the 993 ........brilliant braking and pointy steering, the 5 speeds are no disadvantage on the road ,but 6 really help for track days
However the 993 rs ,even rs cs will be better on appalling B roads where the nerves become a little strained in the 964

still both fabulous cars in their own right .............the 991 gt3 series 1 or 2 very much more civilised but as mentioned bigger on single track , Alpine roads etc and frankly much faster .........but id not think thats what Feroz is after ?

[smallspeed]

Strut failure on that gt4 is scary!
Get similar cracks and failures on e36 BMW’s but can be prevented with a decent shin under the tower and a decent strut brace above.. ...that looks like a proper parent material tear though

Is that standard suspension on the gt4 though? Looks like it has camber adjustment..

[map]

Just a thought - and probably a bit too left field but if you're after relatively modern manners with a more old school lack of electronic "nannying" the 1st generation 986 Boxsters are hard to beat for driver enjoyment.

Yes I have one so there's bias - or experience - depending on your perspective.

ABS, but not necessarily any of the other three or four letter acronym Driver Assistance Systems, comfortable enough for a fuel and food only run the length of France and half way through Italy, not so big that you need a load of space to use them, decent pace plus a good amount of storage space and the roof down option for when the weather or your mood calls for it.

Nobody takes any notice of them, you can pretty much leave them anywhere - so a carefully sourced one that's running refreshed suspension/more focused geo, a lightweight single mass flywheel and if it is your thing a "sporty" exhaust makes for a quick, responsive under the radar sports GT of sorts.

My 986 was the gateway drug to the 3.6 911SC that I also have - the DNA is definitely there in terms of feedback and the sense that you need to drive it.

[yoda]

Correct Vic, not after particularly fast but want it to be fun at moderate speeds with a bit of go to overtake safely etc. Pretty much everything from the 2.7RS onwards is fast enough or too fast if you ask me! Had a 964RS and great on track but hard on the road.

Modified Boxster or Cayman would probably be a great drive, low key and sensible money. Might not tug at the heart strings though.

997.1 GT3 vs 993 RS is interesting. Any views on the 997.2 GT3?

Thanks all for the feedback.

[inaglasshouse]

Hi Feroz,

Poor man's 993 RS? Meaning a 993 rwd narrow body with the suspension sorted. Replace the boat anchor seats if you like. Like Paul Ferryman has just built.

And indeed like my 993 (Bilstein adjustable PSS10s, RS geometry by Centre Gravity):

...(yes I am biased !)...

But I think you've had 993s? Maybe not exciting enough?

Cheers, Richard.

[yoda]

Hi Richard

My 993 was very nice but relatively standard. Rebuilt suspension, motor sound pack and some Techart exhaust boxes. Nice car and I did take that to the Alps too (seems the best way to evaluate cars!) and it was fun but not exciting enough as you say. Great package but the engine didn't sparkle. I went with a friend who had a 996.2 GT3 and we swapped cars a lot - the 993 was smaller and more playful with great steering. The GT3 was dominated by the engine which was amazing when you were on it. Some combination of the two might work.

Would be interesting to try a mildly worked over 993 and see if that hits spot but then back to the modified / project vs something from Porsche motorsport. maybe I need to do a "Ferryman" and build my own but with some mild performance mods rather than relatively close to standard as his lovely car is.

Or something like this? https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds ... 94/6676667

[inaglasshouse]

But what mods would you do to the engine on a 993, if you find the standard unit a bit boring? Suspension is easy, but I'm not sure what the reasonable cost / benefit upgrades are on a 993 engine? Porsche had done most of the work by then...

You're very welcome to try my 993, but it's only tweaked in the suspension department.

[Slope330]

returns on reasonable engine tweeks for 993 are debatable ..........anything close to 330bhp is close to unreliability
Lightweight flywheel is a great starter for responsiveness
Valve pockets makes u a safety margin for wherever ur going but where are u going?
to make proper progress u need to spend ..............really spend , standard engine with bigger barrels and pistons ,heads , cams ..........injection .........to motronic , solid lifters ..........buy and rs and be happy , reliability and responsive 310 bhp all day maybe better...........i remember a viagara blue one with a few miles Feroz cud have had for very little money .......................those were the days !

[yoda]

I wasn't thinking serious engine work but a reliable 290 bhp and more fruity noise would be fine. Lighten the car a little and good suspension set up and you are away!

Yes Vic, I know. And I love the colour too. What a plonker I am.

[Yellow491]

As vic says ref expensive to get lots of power out of a 993,one sensible way though if its pre vario,is a larger throttle body from fvd,and a remap by wayne can tickle 300.Then loose a 100kg like i did on my rs which can get more expensive.
Have to say having had a boxter spider for two days as a curtesy car,it was a great drive,dare i say it better than most gt3!,light,fast,nimble and sounded the best porsche road car i have heard in years.

[majordad]

Paul, I'm trying hard to imagine you in a Spider , but can't. I did buy a 2005 SLK AMG350 in September though, just for those times we old guys are temped with somthing different.

[BILLY BEAN]

I wasn't thinking serious engine work but a reliable 290 bhp and more fruity noise would be fine. Lighten the car a little and good suspension set up and you are away!

Yes Vic, I know. And I love the colour too. What a plonker I am.

A 993 varioram has close to the 290 as quoted by Porsche. Mine on rolling road showed 292 which is indicative of a healthy 993 varioram.

If you want more BHP then the 993 Turbo has circa 400 I believe ( stand to be corrected).

The 3.8 litre engine conversions are very expensive for the additional modest output but do seem to produce a significant benefit in torque.
As Richard said earlier some suspension improvements and a good geo set up are very cost effective options to sharpen the handling.

[yoda]

Agreed, power is not the objective but just want it to be more engaging. It may be as simple as the exhaust note.

Paul - I know a few people who have been impressed by the Spyder. I figured a GT4 would be better but for road trips and B road blasts maybe the Spyder is a good bet.

What a great courtesy car ..... where do I sign up for one of those (preferably in or around Wales)?

[Yellow491]

Paul, I'm trying hard to imagine you in a Spider , but can't. I did buy a 2005 SLK AMG350 in September though, just for those times we old guys are temped with somthing different.

My mum was a hairdresser once,that should qualify me:)
Seriously cracking little car that spider.
Only just seen the gt4 tower broken,must have hit a curb or pot hole hard i would have thought.A good friend punched his strutt up through on a 993gt2 many years ago at the Nurburgring.Happy new year.