Anyone upgraded from a 996.1 C4 to a 997.1 C4S

[tob_today]

There's a lot more than you think that are rebuilt. When a garage gets lumbered with a car that's scored they'll send it off for a rebuild, get minimum amount of work done to make it right, then move it on without stating it's been rebuilt.

Yes good point Alex, and also hence it's important to verify when someone says an engine has been "rebuilt". There's varying degrees. Not easy for the average buyer. If someone is really cautious better either factoring rebuild into purchase price (not easy unless already failed) or buying already rebuilt by well known engine specialist (e.g. Hartech) and verifying with them direct before purchasing (although these cars carry premium, but only % of rebuild cost).

 

[Clanky]

Apologies, it was meant to be a belittling comment, more the other way round and a compliment to the robustness of the 3.4 engine compared to all the M96/97 engines that followed it.

Once Porsche moved on to the Gen 2 3.6 M96 engine of the 996.2 the modifications they did to the engine (different cylinder liners, pistone, etc.) created a big problem - bore scoring. These inherent problems were not fixed in the design of the 997.1 engines. Most will tell you buying a gen 1 997 (especially 3.8 and even more 3.8 tiptronic) will not be a case of if it scores the bores but when. Once this happens then the only remedy is an engine rebuild incurring a cost of anything between £5k - £15k.

I think everyone on this forum would agree to never buying a gen 1 997 without first having the bores checked (unless it had already been rebuilt with a known excellent engine rebuilder like Hartech). It is the number one highest priority on these cars when buying one.

If you want to educate yourself a bit more on the subject read these:

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=57807

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=90714

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=89494

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=90752

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=103834

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=128713


With regards to me asking about seats. I've not sat over a long journey in any 997 seats or the comfort seat of the 996. I have the 996 sports seats in mine and find them extrememly comfy, especially over 1200 mile, non stop trips. At some point I may pull the trigger on a 997 and was asking which seats they were in that and yours to understand which are the best seats.

So you understand what I mean the below photo shows 3 different variants of the 997 seats. The ones on the left are the comfort seats, the middle the sports seats. Notice the shoulder supports (or wings) and the seat base sides on the sports seat that give the extra hold when sat in them. The 996 ones are virtually the same for both comfort and sport. Do you know which ones you have in your 996 and which ones were in the 997 you prefered?

Hope both the topics above make sense stupidget.

Regarding this, there is a difference there. The left is comfort, the middle is the 18-way adaptive & right is the racing bucket. Whats missing is the sports seat which looks like the comfort but is manual only. It also has a deeper base & side bolsters but not too sure about the shoulder wings or lumbar support.

 

[Alex]

For visual reference, this is the 996 sports seat:

 

[Alex]

And 997 sports seat:

 

[drmark]

Well I really, really, REALLY should not have taken this car for a test drive. Blimey what a stunning piece of kit. It felt solid and grounded, the gearbox change was like a hot knife through butter, the seats hugged me more than the ones in my 996, the clutch felt lighter than the one that I recently had fitted (!!), the steering was spot on and not the slightest bit floaty, the engine ran smooth as anything and the temp gauge never moved from vertical even when sat in traffic for ages. No creak from the suspension or knocking from anywhere. I was shocked at how much quicker it was than my 3.4 996 C4, it was just amazing.

:grin:

 

[stupidget]

Just resurrecting this thread for an update.

I did decide to part-ex my 996 C4 for the 997 C4S and whilst it was initially incredibly good fun, it ended the way that I'd been warned about, the dreaded bore scoring!!! On the initial inspection there were only the slightest/tiniest signs of scoring which you'd probably expect on a 16yr old car, but after 8 months I noticed that I was starting to use slightly more oil and the near-side tailpipe had to started to become noticeably dirtied than the off-side one. There was no way that I could afford a rebuild so I made to the decision to get rid.

So two weeks ago I'm at the garage again booking my merc in for a service and what do I spy sat on the forecourt, yep, my old 996 C4!! When I asked the owner what it was doing there it transpires that the guy who'd bought it had been made redundant and the garage bought it back off him. So obviously I took it out for a drive and I have to admit, as sacrilegious as it may sound, I actually found it more fun to drive than the 997. For me it had a much rawer/analogue feel to it whereas the 997 was more refined and ,dare I say it, a less exciting drive. Don't get me wrong the 997 was an amazing car and the sports mode was great fun, but very rarely used, but I think that I actually prefer the 996. So basically I'm having a chat with the garage to see what deal he can do for me

 

[photek]

Awww, hopefully there's a happy end to this tale :lol:

(hopefully the previous owner has treated it well..?)

 

[IMI A]

986/996 are more fun the cars move around beneath you. On the 997 with cartoon size rears you never lose traction especially on the awd models. However do try a 997.2 C4S too :wink: