Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 I thought I'd post my first impressions of my 996. This has been a rather strange car purchase for me. The excitement of getting another Porsche was outweighed by the sale of my beloved Clubsport. That's why there wasn't any real fanfare on here in the lead up to me buying it. I had it for 4 years and it kind of felt like I was selling the family pet. So many good times and memories made it hard to let go. The Clubsport sold in a week which is testament to how good my particular car was, but selling it was a means to an end and getting a 996 was hardly a consolation prize. So now the Clubsport is gone I have been able to concentrate on getting to know my 996 and developing a new relationship. There's something to be said for buying an older car. Simple things like turning the lights on when I want to, not every time I go under a bridge, being able to see past the A-pillar instead of doing the head bob every time I make a right turn to see around an airbag filled pillar, 10 dollars for wiper blades instead of $80. No annoying beeps because I choose to put my seatbelt on after I turn the car on. I know they're little things but I feel like cars of today are so jam packed with BS gimics that they can take away from the driving experience. Take the Cayenne for instance. Once you've figured out how to program the seat and mirror position, you stick it in the memory. So every time I drive I jump in and select my memory position and proceed on my way. Get to my destination and turn the car off and the seat proceeds to crush me against the steering wheel as it returns to my wife's seating position. So while I'm sure this is some convenience function, probably linked to the key, it's just stupid. My wife is more than capable of selecting her seating position when she uses the car next. But I'm getting off track... The car might be 15 years old now but it certainly doesn't feel that old. The 10 year gap between it and my 3.2 seems much bigger than the 15 year gap to todays Porsche (purely guessing here as I've never driven a 991) From a performance perspective, it is so much better than the 3.2. Acceleration and cornering make the 3.2 feel very old and lethargic. But a lot of us know that acceleration and cornering are not the only elements of the driving experience and I still choose the 3.2 for the enjoyment of driving. But each car has a different purpose for me. The sound of the 996 when you get it singing is addictive, even in standard form. 2nd gear as it screams from 80 - 1XXkmh will have you smiling all the way to the magistrates court to get your licence back, especially if it's on a sweeping bend. I had an incident yesterday on the freeway when some turkey didn't check his mirror before changing lanes. A quick swerve at 100kmh and the car was un-phased and I barely raised my heartbeat, such was the confidence the car gave me. Didn't even beep the guy or give him the international sign of disapproval. Yet, the A to B driving is like being in a luxury sedan from BMW or MB. It's very sedate and quiet but plant your foot and your head snaps back and you're laughing all over again. I'm not sure how I feel about the tiptronic yet. Coming from a manual, I was always going to be less loving of the transmission. It is nice not having the clutch on the commute to the city but I feel like I've still got some learning to do. I believe it has something like 6 different shift patterns based on throttle position and the speed in which you change the throttle position. In a HSV auto, full throttle means kick back to the lowest gear possible and off you go very quickly. Do that in a 996 and it will either kick back to 3rd, 2nd or 1st depending on how quickly you push your foot down. At the moment I feel like the system is overcomplicating things. If I've got my foot flat to the floor it means I want to accelerate as fast as possible. I think that as I get used to it the different shift patterns will become more user friendly for me. I was a bit disappointed to discover you can't manually change gears with the console shifter. The buttons on the steering wheel are a little awkward and there's been a number of times I've knocked one of them while turning and it's dropped back to 1st gear mid corner. One thing I am considering doing is switching the wires on the left switch so the down shift is at the top instead of the bottom. That way up shifts can be done with the right thumb and down shifts with the left thumb, both on the upper part of the toggle switches. The only other negative for me is the seating position. I've never had a car so uncomfortable to sit in. The seats are horrible for my body shape. Way too much lumber support which can't be adjusted and the base has way to much slope backwards. The steering wheel is also very low with no up/down adjustment. But I'm not going to let that take anything away from the experience and will be something I'll slowly get used to. Build quality seems to be ok. Whilst it still feel solid, it does have a couple rattles inside that will require the volume turned up on the stereo. Overall I'm really happy with the car so far. It looks fantastic with performance to match. I wouldn't say it's the most practical car with two child seats in the back but the slight inconvenience is so worth it. The car is in today for some Eibach springs to get it sitting a bit nicer. The Cargraphic wheels look sweet so it should look the biz with the guards filled. All my stereo gear should arrive in the next day or two also so I'm looking forward to some nice stereo sounds. Undecided on what to do with the exhaust. I was going to do the Gundo Hack but now I'm leaning towards either something from Dansk or Fabspeed. I've got a bit of time to think about it. Will post some photos over the weekend of the new stance in the "Feeling Blue" thread. Thanks for reading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Nice post Simon. I've heaps of squeaks and rattles in mine... its a bit of a sh*tbox like that... but I love it that way, not sure I could live with that daily though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Nice post Simon. I've heaps of squeaks and rattles in mine... its a bit of a sh*tbox like that... but I love it that way, not sure I could live with that daily though!When you're coming from a Holden it's quiet as a mouse inside, but I was driving my wife's old 2000 318i BMW this morning and there isn't even a hint of a rattle or squeak in that. Her BMW is a PoS which has been destroyed by 2 kids and my wife's general lack of caring for it so it says somehting about the way it has been put together compared to the Porsche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 You won't ever hear me trash talk BMW, they know how to build a car and I'd have another in a heartbeat! I'm sure my rattles and squeaks are pretty easy to fix, I think mostly the squeaks come from the fix back recurs mounting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 "fix back recurs mounting" Is that a typo as I have no idea what you're talking about My passenger seat back rattles and so does the sunroof. Also something in the dash. I'm not too fussed about it all though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 "fix back recurs mounting" Is that a typo as I have no idea what you're talking about My passenger seat back rattles and so does the sunroof. Also something in the dash. I'm not too fussed about it all though. lol bloody hell, apple spell correct is the worst, especially on desktop! Fixed Back Recaros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Tony Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Simon, congrats on the purchase. You have a nice spread of porsche driving experiences now any pics of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Thanks Tony. Here's a couple pictures. I'll try to get some better ones over the weekend. IMG_2514 by Simonk76, on Flickr IMG_2506 by Simonk76, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TINGY Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Your 996 looks fantastic Simon, I am very fond of this model at the moment so your post has been very descriptive for me, now ive just got to find a way to talk the minister for finance into seeing it my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Tony Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Looks great Simon. Wheels suit it nicely. Missing my 3.2 a bit reading these posts.. will get back into one down the track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Your 996 looks fantastic Simon, I am very fond of this model at the moment so your post has been very descriptive for me, now ive just got to find a way to talk the minister for finance into seeing it my way. Would you like to borrow my "persuasion spreadsheet"? It's the perfect tool to baffle the better half with numbers and projections of future values, maintenance costs, and comparisons against other carefully selected marques. And once she looks completely confused you just tell her the drop in value compared to a brand new Holden is much less so then she'll be asking "why wouldn't you buy a Porsche"? I don't really have a spreadsheet...well at least not for a 996 but the wife and I still have a laugh at the gigantic spreadsheet I prepared to convince her we needed a new ski boat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TINGY Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 So that's the way you do it Simon. My wife knows that I'm well and truly infected by Porsche now and ive always liked this model. Ive heard so many different things about this model, splattered egg headlights so it was a bit of an ugly duckling, first of the water cooled so the "purists" shunned it but also a very capable and extremely well mannered vehicle that was very easy to drive. I like a bit of modern as well, ill never knock back cruise control or air con. At the moment it looks like there are some absolute bargains around, but also things are a bit lean for me at the moment so I may have to wait a while longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgy Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 That's just lovely mate... beautiful house too btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion03 Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Wow shiny ! why can't you adjust lumbar on the seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Wow shiny ! why can't you adjust lumbar on the seat? There's no option on my seats. There is a cap on the side of the seat base where you'd expect the switch to be so I guess mine wasn't optioned with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-p Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Hi Simon, Car looks beautiful. Great summary, I really enjoyed reading it. Cheers C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caver Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Enjoyed this post! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Great post Simon! Should be very useful for anyone looking to the 996 as a purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 25July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 The car is in today for some Eibach springs to get it sitting a bit nicer. The Cargraphic wheels look sweet so it should look the biz with the guards filled. OMG!!! That's all I have to say for now!!! Pics to come tomorrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterP Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Great looking car Simon, great read also. I think the 996 offer some pretty good driving at reasonable prices....I have to admit from time to time, the prospect of air conditioning is appealing !!! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-banger Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Great site-up Simon. Bodywork of your 996 looks clayed, polished, wax and waxed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastr Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 My 97 bm is like a tomb inside. I love driving it for 'the serenity'. I had a 91 before that, with well over 250k on it. It was even better screwed together. Sadly all modern cars seem to be going backwards in build quality, as the target audience doesn't keep them more than 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldblade Posted 25July, 2014 Report Share Posted 25July, 2014 Great read re the rattles we had a 986 for 10 years and in the mean time I bought 2 new BMW's and the BMW's were built sooooooo much better and the squeaks and rattles in the 986 were insane BUT The BMW never ever put the same smile on my dial. I miss our 986 As an Update our 981 is built a lot better and feels more like the BMW and it puts a smile on my dial. I keep thinking about trading our 3rd car VW EOS in on a 996 I think they are a perfect mix of rattles and refinement if that makes any sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonk Posted 26July, 2014 Author Report Share Posted 26July, 2014 Terrible day for photos but I couldn't wait to show you all. Very happy with the new springs. Sits perfectly and I mean perfectly. Centre of wheel to guard on all 4 wheels is mm perfect. The ride quality is good. Slightly firmer than stock but not too hard that it rattles your teeth out. Seems to corner flatter too. Big thanks to our good friend JustJames for supplying the Eibach Pro Kit springs and the good people at Jocaro for installing them. IMG_2604 by Simonk76, on Flickr IMG_2603 by Simonk76, on Flickr IMG_2602 by Simonk76, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter M Posted 26July, 2014 Report Share Posted 26July, 2014 Simon,The paint work on your cars always looks fantastic. Care to share your secrets please?ThanksPeter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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