rodan Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 First, this is not an attempt to show that the LGT is better than a Carrera. It's merely a (little bit long) relation of my recent experience, confirming what I knew all along: that the LGT is a pretty darn capable car... A short while back, a friend I ride motorcycles with bought a very clean, 50K mile, 1999 Carrera (996, two wheel drive). I've always really liked the 996 Carreras, and often thought of having one as a 'weekend' car at some point, as they are pretty affordable and have a good reputation for reliability. Not to mention, they're beautiful cars, and while not being the fastest thing around, handle pretty darn well. So, anyway, my friend let me drive his the other day. We went down the local twisty road, which consists of 16 miles of great fun, with corners marked 15mph up to areas where 100mph is possible in a fast car, or a bike. Now, his Carrera is a Tiptronic, which wouldn't be my first choice. I found, however, that it works very well in practice, with smooth, fast upshifts, and downshifts as well. The power was about what I expected for a 300hp car, solid, without being breathtaking. The tach did need to be North of 5k for anything really interesting to be happening. The handling was dead neutral, and I couldn't make it do anything nasty with the throttle. Obviously, it wasn't my car, so I wasn't going nuts, but my friend did tell me afterwards that was the fastest trip he'd ever made down that road... The Carrera impressed me as being a very solid performer, but what really amazed me is how similar it felt to the Legacy. My LGT is basically a stage II 5MT, with iON springs, Tokico struts, Cobb Sways, SS brake lines and Carbotech pads. Nothing special, but it works pretty well. The ride, handling, power and braking all felt very similar to the Porsche. My brakes were a little sharper, but pads and bleeding could probably get the Porsche to the same level. I had more grunt off the slower corners, but the 996 had more on top. Anyway, I came away from the ride thinking how similar the cars were to drive. The next week, I got the opportunity to take my friend for a ride in the LGT. First, I drove, and I pushed a little harder than I had with the Porsche, 'cause it was my car, and I wanted him to know what it could do. Then, I let him drive it. He's a more conservative driver than I am, so didn't go as fast, but was suitably impressed. His exact remarks were: "I had no idea that this car was this capable!" Overall, you really could throw a blanket over the two, performance wise. On a track, I think the Carrera would pull out a slight advantage, while in the real world, I'd give the nod to the LGT. Obviously, newer and more powerful Porsches are going to be faster, but also much more expensive... Anyway, as gorgeous as a red 996 is, I'm going to be looking for something with a bit more 'pop' for that weekend car, when the time comes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-TT- Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 sounds like fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Five Sti-L Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 I had an encounter with a 996 Carrera awhile back, and came away sharing your same enthusiasm and appreciation for the LGT as well. In short, my LGT was able to hang with the P-car in transitions/corners while it pulled away in acceleration. I'm a stgII as well but with less suspension/brake mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Pen Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 very nicely written review... sounded like you had a good time.. i have not driven a carrera but they look quite fun.. and another report on how underappreciated the lgt is in the performance world.. you should check out a 911 turbo.. they are getting cheaper for the early 2000's.. and will shirly outperform your buddy's carrera.. the mid to late 90s have become quite the collectors cars and prices are very extreme... sorry for calling you shirly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 For nice boxer powered coupes... 996 Carrera 4 or 4S (or should that be 4$...) were my favorites... Until the purer chassis Cayman came along. but for all weather, all year, an AWD 911 on separate summer and snow tires would be a nice car. Probably capability on par with Legacy GT or STI, if not quite as blisteringly quick from zero as a turbocharged motor... And the design, and finishing of the car, in Porsche's case, is much nicer. Stepping up to the Porsche 911 Turbo is really the $$$$$, in more ways than one, and then again opens a bit of performance gap again, for 4 times the original price. If I could only afford a used Porsche, or only one car for rain, shine, ice, and snow... an AWD 911 with a set of snow tires/wheels, an AWD 911 would probably beat out the rest, maybe even Boxster/Cayman's mid-engine layout... Then the question is, narrow-body Carrera 4, or widebody Carrera 4S. The post-facelift 996s got the Turbo/C4S headlights anyway, and the narrow body almost looks lighter, and sleeker. I do like the C4S's full width red band between the tail lights... I wonder if the engine lids between narrow and wide bodies are interchangeable, or if the tail light shape and curve are just too different. http://www.jameskettner.com/c4s/leftrear2.jpg OR http://www.356-911.com/post1974/2004porschemodels/press/optimisedpress/996carrera4.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 So a modded awd, manual trans, turboed, LGT performs on par with a rwd, auto, stock N/A first year 996? If I seem a little harsh sorry, but I never get people comparing stock vs. modded cars. First off I'd be willing to bet your friends brakes are worn out or that the rear brake pads are hanging up. When those brakes are working right, they'd blow a LGT's out of the water. Secondly Porsches should never come in automagic period! It's a different animal when they are manual and awd. The 996 C4's are very capable in the snow with snow tires. The only limiting factor is ground clearance. Right now 993's are stupidly expensive. People consider those to be the last "real" 911 since it was the last body style of aircooled 911. They were fairly problem free, a fun drive, and still one of the best if not (in my opinion) looking 911. To a lot of people they "looked" like a 911 and not Boxsterish like the 996s did. As far as 996 reliablity well I got stories with plenty of info, but I probably shouldn't scare people. For reference..993 http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~na/pics/cars/porsche/911Turbo.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Pen Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 while the 993's are as you said stupidly expensive... they are sexy thats pretty much my dream car... its the most practical, best looking, sports car ever made imo... thats why i love porsche's to begin with.. you buy a porsche to drive... you buy a ferrari to clean and stare at.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 ^+1 my dream car= http://news-images.caradisiac.com/IMG/jpg/9/9/3/0/2/993_TURBO_S_DSC05389.jpg 993 Turbo S I got to drive one once. If i had the money, id own one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Pen Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 pure sex its just raw performance.. not much else to it.. nothing flashy on the interior.. i love it they only made so many turbo s' and only in 97 i believe correct??? i was just looking at 996 turbo's.. you can obtain a 02 996 turbo with >50k on the odomoter for ~$50k... not to shabby... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-Five Sti-L Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 ^^ Yeah, prices on high-end cars (both new and used) have dropped tremendously over the past several months, due to the economy. I saw multiple low mileage 996TT's for sale with some mods asking in the low-mid $50's range. Heck, brand new Bimmer //M's are selling for BELOW MSRP these days!!!! If you've got the $$ for it now is the best time for an expensive toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psi365 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 A good example of a 993 still goes for about what they cost new. New a 993 was about mid $40k for a C2. Now with 30k miles and in descent shape they still go for high $20k- low $30k range. We just sold a 96 993TT with 33k on it for about $60k iirc. New that car was something like $80k. Not bad for a 12 year old car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camber Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 ^^ Yeah, prices on high-end cars (both new and used) have dropped tremendously over the past several months, due to the economy. I saw multiple low mileage 996TT's for sale with some mods asking in the low-mid $50's range. Heck, brand new Bimmer //M's are selling for BELOW MSRP these days!!!! If you've got the $$ for it now is the best time for an expensive toy. In Ontario, they were offering 0% financing up to 72 months on all 2008 BMW models(yes, all the M cars). Also, you have to remember, Canadian car market sales have actually been increasing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wang Lung Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I have no problem comparing my Stage2 5EAT '08 LGT that cost me about $33,000 to my best friends MT 2001 996 that he paid $44,000 for. My car isn't as fast. But it's 98% there. And I can put two adults in the back and tour the foothills. And as crappy as my radio is, it's still better than his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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