Anyone here own a 993?

[Jetpilot3]

After selling my lovely Imola NSX I've decided that I'll move to P-cars to give it a try. Before I bought my 91 NSX I almost pulled the trigger on a 97 Carrera S in Guards Red but the PPI indicated an accident. So...I bought an NSX having always wanted one.

But now I'm back to square one and would like to pick up a 993 and then an earlier NSX later on. Has anyone here previously owned either a 993 Carrera S or C4S? Pros, Cons, thoughts, comments?

It will be my daily driver as I want the added interior space. I've picked up the 993 Owners Book (500+ pages) and read thru most of it. I'm curious to know what is preferred (manual vs. tiptronic) CS or C4s...

Yes, I can post this on Rennlist or 6speed but I was hoping some of our great NSX owners who have owned or currently own a 993 would chime in...

Thanks,
Jetpilot

 

[martin]

After selling my lovely Imola NSX I've decided that I'll move to P-cars to give it a try. Before I bought my 91 NSX I almost pulled the trigger on a 97 Carrera S in Guards Red but the PPI indicated an accident. So...I bought an NSX having always wanted one.

But now I'm back to square one and would like to pick up a 993 and then an earlier NSX later on. Has anyone here previously owned either a 993 Carrera S or C4S? Pros, Cons, thoughts, comments?

It will be my daily driver as I want the added interior space. I've picked up the 993 Owners Book (500+ pages) and read thru most of it. I'm curious to know what is preferred (manual vs. tiptronic) CS or C4s...

Yes, I can post this on Rennlist or 6speed but I was hoping some of our great NSX owners who have owned or currently own a 993 would chime in...

Thanks,
Jetpilot

Hi

My brother has a 993 C4S. He knows a lot about pro's and con's. What you could expect of problems and things like that.

I will see if I get him to tell me little about it so I can post it here for you.

I do believe that he needs to get his engine overhauled for a large sum of money as it was something that was a recurring thing to those engines.

I will point him in this direction and see if I can get him to tell me things that you need to know.

Regards

 

[martin]

Hi

There is a C4S and there is a C4. I did not know that. I know my japanese supercar. But I do not know a lot about these germans.

Well I got a reply from my brother in a instant. So here goes. I hope it is usefull:

------------------------------------------
My brother's right, there's of course a lot of known isssues on Porsche 993 due to the large number of cars, age, and partly due to good web forums and similar.

The build quality of these cars are exellent, mine has flawless run for many years. My brother's hint of engine overhaul is not a specific 993 problem, but a general one due to insufficient cooling on the exhaust side of the cylinder heads. That can sometimes cause wear on the valve guides and oil leaks into the cylinders.

However, the oil consumption can be somewhat higher on boxer engines compared to other cylinder configs for other reasons as well.
But, to address the questions above, some prefer two-wheel drive due to the extra 100kg on the C4.

And remember, the four wheel drive is a simple viscous clutch arrangement with 5 to 30% front drive. This is not at all the much more complicated 964 C4 system. The latter is a four-wheeler, at least in Norwegian winter conditions, but the 993 C4 is not. I only really feel the front wheel drive in extreme track conditions, especially on wet surfaces.

The wider S model has a bit higher price tag, at least here in Norway, but I personally like the turbo-wide look.

Tiptronic is very convenient in daily use, but manual is better on the racetrack.

I also see that unmodified cars is much more appreciated compared to "upgraded" variants, but that really concern all car brands and models don't it?

So, this really cooks down to preferences and car use. I have a good compromise with my '95 C4 manual speed. It had the right price tag for me, is a really nice daily use car, and I really like passing my fellow C2-Porsche owners in narrow corners on the inside on trackdays. :smile:

I will happily comment on any concrete examples of cars, a general discussion about pros and cons is a bit wide in scope and a matter of subjectivity.

Regards,

Tore

--------------------------------------------------
Well that was what he wrote. I have added a few line feeds here and there to make it more readable.

About oil consumption. Yes it is in another league compared to the NSX. The NSX does not use oil. The Porsche does. It's normal for a Porsche. But it is something to get used to beeing a NSX supercar owner :smile:

However my brother's car may use more oil than normal for a Porsche due to the problems he talks about. I can't remember exactly as it is a long time since we talked about this.

A few pictures of his C4 can be found on his website which is http://tore.bergvill.com

The www.tore.bergvill.com does not work at the moment. But the link above brings you to the same website.

One picture of his his car can be found on this site too. It is hereSummer 2004 in a NSX

I hope the above was usefull. Please feel free to ask any further questions and I will let my brother know.

Concrete isn't that what we all try to avoid hitting with our cars? I think the correct word would be "specific".

Regards

 

[tosugrad]

Jet, check out RennList forums. There is a VERY strong 993 community.

Personally the C2S drives better than the 4 assuming you aren't driving in snow. Ive driven both extensively.

I looked for a 993TT for about a year before coming back to an NSX. I gave up after spend $$$$ on PPIs only to find out unreported damage or problems.

These are much lower quantity (993 Ss and TTs) produced cars than the NSXs so the hunt can be frustrating.

Having said that this is a better time than ever to buy in terms of price and selection.

 

[Cairo94507]

I owned a '97 C4S and loved the car. Bought it new and kept it until we bought the NSX in 2003. The only negative thing I would say is that the interior quality was not the greatest and it had its share of trips to the dealership for idiot lights going off for no apparent reason every now and then.
I like the 993 body and if I were to buy another coupe it would a '98 993 (last year they made that) or the new 997 body style. The 996 body looked bad and the resale prices reflect that. Good luck.

 

[DucTerry]

Check out the pelican parts forums. The people are great and some of them are huge wealths of Pcar knowledge. There's also a huge for sale forum.

 

[martin]

Hi

Rennlist is highly recommended by my brother. I have no idea if it is the PCar's version of what Prime is for us. But I think so.

If you looked around on my brothers site (both links work now) you would have found a link to this post on a diy LED install on Rennlist

I was actually thinking of a 993 C4 as a winter beater. But now I want a Tesla instead. Who knows what I will end up with in the end.

Regards

 

[beckertb]

I have owned a series of 993 TT's and currently own a 3.8 96 993 TT that I purchased last year. There is just something about these cars that make me keep coming back. They are small, quick and nible. Repairs are a little expensive but depreciation is almost non-existant (almost NSX-like). I really enjoy this old car.
Ben

 

[F1fan]

I've owned a 1997 4S since 2000. It's black/black and now has about 98k on it, of which I am only responsible for about 25k of. I only drive it 6 months of the year and I've had very few problems, none close to serious. Yes, the boxer engines do use some oil, but really not much at all. Most excess oil conumption issues appear to be from valve guide wear.

The S model is very stiking. it is basically the turbo car without the turbo engine. It uses the turbo brakes, suspension and wheels. From the rear, the excess width is very noticable and appreciated.

The all wheel drive is probably most noticable when the car is pushed hard. Don't forget that Porsches have a lot of oversteer.

I think that they go through tires quickly like I understand an NSX can. Or maybe i just like to push it through the corners.

Service is not cheap, but probably not that much more than an NSX, and, like the NSX, there tends to be good alternatives to dealer service.

They are beautiful, very fast and sort of common, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've seen several people in these forums mention that they are selling or have sold their NSX because it gets too much attention. Porsches get attention, but not like an NSX. I also own a 1982 SC model in black/black which is a real 80's sports car and very bullet proof. It's also kind of invisible.

One of the main differnces for me is that an NSX looks great in red. For some reason, red does not show off the lines of a Porsche and should be saved for Ferrari, NSX, Lotus Esprit type bodies. IMO. And white is oh so wrong. Again, IMO. :tongue:

 

[Jetpilot3]

Wow guys! Thanks for the replies.

I'm almost sold on getting a 97 or 98 C4S due to the need to drive it daily and Canadian winters. Plus I like the "Turbo-widebody" look so my hunt will start in the next few months...

Trust me I love the NSX but I'll need something with more room and I'll get another NSX when we've settled down in Canada. Still coming to NSXPO!

Martin - Thanks for speaking with your brother! If I have questions I'll shoot you a mail.

Osugrad - I've registered for Rennlist forums and have been lurking there for a year now. Its definately useful and alot of great posts similar to the quality we see here on Prime (mature). Yes, it would appear that the quality of used 993's in good condition are few and far between but that's part of the hunt.

Plus I've narrowed my coloring to Arena Red or Black.

Cairo94507 - I tend to agree the 993's are the best looking 911's to date plus a bonus being air-cooled (something so historic about that). 996's even on rennlist are taking a hit...no one wants them!

DucTerry - thanks for the suggestion!

beckertb - A) I love the 993's look and the way they drive but B) they seem to hold their value like the NSX does.

F1fan - Go team Brawn! Can you fire me pictures of your C4S to [email protected] ? I'd like to see the Black on Black coloring...do you have the 18" Turbo Twists on it?

Thanks again for the replies guys!

Cam

 

[The Kid]

I love the 993 Turbo's. If I had a bigger garage I'd have a 993 Turbo sitting in there:biggrin:

 

[Jetpilot3]

:smile:True dat buddy!

 

[Carguy!]

I own a 993TT and it has been a great car. I have modified it and now it is putting down over 600AWHP and is a monster. It was a great car stock and is now scary! If I had to do it all again I think I would just keep it stock.