[ds968]

I met up with a co-worker / friend who recently bought a 2009 911, and took the cars out on a twisty and scenic fun run this morning. I drove the six speed of course, an event which happens too infrequently ( maybe twice a month, if even that ...) . I call it an event because the ear to ear smile lasts from the moment I get into the car, to the moment I park it back in the garage. I wish I could say the same about my tiptronic 968, but regretfully other than in appearance these two cars are so vastly different from one another in the way they feel to me it's a major let down when I drive the tip , if I do that soon after taking a drive in the six speed. And other than the transmission the only other difference between the two is the suspension, and the exhaust catback. Maybe the different suspension feel, and the BB exhaust note count for 25 % of the fun factor with the whopping 75 % attributable to the stick shift, but overall it's a night and day difference between these two cars. The tip becomes simply a benign, ho-hum car by comparison.

But as a daily driver it maintains enough of a smiles per miles characteristic compelling me to keep it around for a while longer and sinking even more money into it to fix the seemingly never-ending problems it has.

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[Rap]

You should buy a track car. Then you wouldn't feel so bad about sinking money into the tip. The track car will cry out for continual mods and updates which you will willingly do. Then the tip will seem like a bargain in comparison.

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[az968]

10 yr's ago I was looking for a 968, after losing my 911SC in an accident. A friend was selling his cab tip. My wife loved the looks so we took it for a drive a for couple hours. Then hopped in another friends coupe 6-speed and did the same drive. Impression was the the cab tip was a wonderful Boulevard cruiser and would be great in local freeway commuting. And a long way from a sports car. The coupe 6-speed still didn't compare to the 911SC but much more fun to drive and more comfy for my wife. So we found one. And haven't regretted the decision.

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[flash]

dan - something to remember about the tip car is that power is down on that one a good 10% from the manual car.  that's quite a bit.  in relative terms, a chip and airbox only make about 8% on a manual car, and everybody raves about the difference.  also, due to the added resistance of the driveline, and the fact that it only has 4 gears, it "seems" a lot slower than it really is, because you spend so much more time in each gear.  the manual fakes you into thinking you are going faster than you really are, because you get to shift.  that tip car though will still stomp a normally aspirated manual car, regardless of what goodies are on it.  it's all relative.  i'm actually very happy with how much power the tip SC kit puts out.  it's enough for you to be breaking things.  no, it's nothing like the sub 5 second 0-60 dashes you can do with the manual SC kit, but it's not slow.

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[ds968]

Wait, what ?! The 968 six speed still did not compare to the 911 sc ? In which way ? Although granted , this is all a subjective matter but I've driven a 1980 911 SC, a 964, a 2004 Carrera 4 ( cab ). a GT3 , a 2009 911 ( yesterday ) and not a single one of those , IMO could hold a candle to the one-with-the- car feel and fun of driving the 968 six speed coupe. Not even close. Funny though, I enjoyed the raw, primitive and slower 1980 911 more than I did any of the other more modern and more " sophisticated " 911s. I'd even have a hard time trading in my six speed for Flash's Targa. If value was not in play, that is. If it was, I'd sell it and buy myself a fleet of 968s. Like I said , different strokes for different folks


Bob ( flash ) , it's not just the sensation of speed per se, the tip just feels heavy ( actually isn't it about 80 lbs heavier to begin with ? ) and " bulky " somehow, too quiet , and frankly boring ..even in tiptronic mode where I supposedly control the shifting manually ..

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[flash]

lol - in terms of pure performance, i'd rather be driving a supercharged 2 liter 5 speed MGB.  i often muse about building one.  however, i no longer wish to suffer the uncomfortable environment.  that's why i got the targa.  faster, corners better, and a whole lot more comfortable.  shifting manually, i find it actually more fun to drive than the manual 968, with the added comfort of not having to when i don't want to.  really looking forward to getting it out on the track.

 

as for the early 911s though, i never could stand the way they drove, sounded, or felt.  i didn't like the bathtub seating position either.  i can appreciate the immediacy of the power application to the wheels, but that's about it.  everything it did with that power made me crazy.  i'd take an old MGB over that car any day of the week.  i'm a momentum driver.  you can't do that in a 911 if you want to keep it out of the hay bales.  that's what actually drew me to the 968.  were there a way to have made a real power top, a better phone interface, and an automatic trans capable of the power i wanted, i may have kept the 968.

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[az968]

Actually, I rather liked the "Flingability" of my 83 911. I had it quite well dialed in and I could toss it about in ways I can't the 968. Of course the 968 is a marvelously well balanced car and much less likely to bite you than the 911 was. Higher top end and way better on long trips. Easier to drive fast. But, oversteer in the twistes is just so much fun. Stab the brakes, turn in, stomp on the gas when the back end starts to move out, correct the steering line, and sideways thru the corner! Yee-haw! But I was so much younger then. I drive a lot of newer 911, Cayman, Boxsters now and they are great cars, but no "pucker factor" like my '83.

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[ds968]

From everything I hear, I might actually enjoy driving a Lotus Elise or an Exige , or a Miata , or a RX7.   Problem is I'd never be caught dead being seen stepping in or out of those cars, they look like Toys-R-Us gifts for your kid's seventh birthday.   But then again, I've always been a " form over function" guy, with perhaps a 60-40 balance in favor of form, and the 968 six-speed gives me every bit of both the 60% and the 40% as well, so pretty much an ideal car for me.             

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[968Syncro]

Prior to the 968 which I've had for 11 years now, I drove an '82 911 Targa for 11 years.  There is little comparison, so many differences, the 911 is nimble and easier to control, or in other words like a sports car.  To me the 968 still feels very heavy, I guess because the lump is in the front.  But then I always had on the list to overhaul the 968 suspension -- possibly like the specs Flash put on his.  Sure the 911 can feel a bit raw, and even skittish, but at about 85 mph and above it absolutely got to work and became a smooth and fast sports car.  I don't think the 968 could ever approach the same "sports car" feel and performance -- its a GT car.  And yes I drove a MGB ('71) for 2 years, but that was like driving a soap box derby compared to the 911.  But at this time, I like the 968 much better for what I want right now -- yes Tiptronic, which I'll never leave to regress to a stick.  If I let go to the 968, I would replace it with another tiptronic Porsche (probably a 996 since they are priced right these days).

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[flash]

my mgb outhandled and outcornered any 911 i could come across, and would have outdone the 968 as well.  of course, the suspension was very little MG.  i had a sliding rear axle with a 4 link panhard, huge springs and swaybars, revalved front shocks, custom control arms, and really big tires for such a small car (the same size as on the front of the standard 968).  at under 1900lbs, i could toss that thing around like crazy.  the blue 968 had gotten close, but the extra 1300lbs limited its ability.  the targa feels very much like my blue car, except with the added front drive wheels, really grips nicely.  yes, it is a bigger and heavier car, but the package works well.  what i like most is that it doesn't plow like a 911 when you push it into a corner.  those cars were a constant dance between over and under steer.  nervous doesn't begin to say it.  that's why they called the 968 the "predictable porsche".  a bit more boring perhaps, but easier to drive fast.  with the supercharger, it became even more boring to a degree, but again, easier to drive fast.

 

i probably should have made a targa for it, but i did not want a manual version, and the rest was just going to be too big of a job.

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[az968]

Re Flash's MG mods - why am I not surprised at the list   

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[flash]

lol - i actually had a targa top for it too.  only one i had ever seen

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[flash]

if i go back, it may be something like this:

 

http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/veh...n-edition/

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[94SilverCab]

From everything I hear, I might actually enjoy driving a Lotus Elise or an Exige , or a Miata , or a RX7.   Problem is I'd never be caught dead being seen stepping in or out of those cars, they look like Toys-R-Us gifts for your kid's seventh birthday.   But then again, I've always been a " form over function" guy, with perhaps a 60-40 balance in favor of form, and the 968 six-speed gives me every bit of both the 60% and the 40% as well, so pretty much an ideal car for me.             

 

I drove a friend's Elise, it was a complete, responsive beast and I enjoyed the hell out of driving it...for about 10 miles...there is no way to comfortably cruise in that car, oh my aching back.

 

JMHO,

 

Jay

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[kmckmc]

 

Center:US spec,6sp; Right:RoW spec.6sp

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