Sorry, HJ, but you slipped up in yesterday's DT column.
You mentioned that Porsche 996s should not be taken to track days as they "can suffer oil-surge problems in extreme driving conditions, such as track days".
First, this only applies to the 911 Carrera models. The GT models (GT3, GT2 etc) employ a different sump design, specifically to cope with the very high lateral forces that the car can create.
Second, even in the Carrera models, an oil surge is possible only if the car is fitted with slick or near-slick tyres - on approved road tyres the car will not create enough lateral acceleration to cause an oil surge. And those owners who bother to RTFM will be warned loud and clear not to fit slicks, for this specific reason.
I can assure you from personal experience that the lateral forces in a 996 Carrera on a track day are stunning, but that the engine copes. Indeed, the car positively laps* it up and begs for more.
I think a correction in next week's column might be in order. If I hadn't happened to have heard this precise point discussed by an engineer a few weeks ago then I would now be in a state of near panic about the track day that I am about to book.
You also comment about relative prices of 993s and 996s. Late 993s are indeed more expensive than early 996s, but this is simple supply and demand. The 996 sold exceptionally well - there are over 15,000 in the UK. The 993 is a rarer sight.
And, of course, you have to ask one question. Why did the 996 sell so well? ;-)
---------------------
*sorry. I'll get me coat.
|
First, this only applies to the 911 Carrera models. The GT models (GT3, GT2 etc) employ a different sump design, specifically to cope with the very high lateral forces that the car can create.
So how did my mate kill a GT3 on a long bend due to oil starvation? and when I say kill, the engine was fit for little other than scrap afterwards.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
|
|
|
And, of course, you have to ask one question. Why did the 996 sell so well? ;-)
'cos they'd stopped making Vauxhall Novas? ;-)
|
Came directly from the first guy to use a 996 in the Porsche Cup (or whatever it was called) in 1998
Oh come on HJ. The Porsche Cup is a proper race series, not a track day. There is a world of difference between that and taking your road car onto the track for a day out.
readers road experience of 996 engine failures
HJ, there have been 996 engine failures following road use, but this is a well known issue relating to an oil seal, not oil surge.
If I spent my time on the track then my choice would indeed have been a GT3 of some sort, or possibly a Lotus. But most of my time in the 911 is on the public road, in whatever conditions our weather and our traffic planners see fit to give me, so it is a Carrera 4S. Believe me, I tried every competitor (and enjoyed every minute of the experience) but nothing touches the 911 Carrera as an all-round car if you are looking for an accomplished road car with the option to try track use.
As for 993/996 prices, I think we both have a point. There is indeed a high demand for 993s - not having driven one at length I can't say whether it is emotionally or rationally driven, but the sales figures for the 996 still speak for themselves.
|
There were about 47,000 993's produced worldwide. 996 numbers are up to somwhere around 175,000 so there's a lot more of them about.
The only 993's which fetch more than 996's are the late ones which over lapped slightly with the 996 and there are only about 5000 993's of this era. The fact that this model is the last ever air cooled Porsche and the last directly related to the original 911 obviously makes it something of a collectors item.
993's are nice enough cars and the early 996's did have a few problems but on the whole I'd agree with patently - as a day to day all round car the 996 is miles ahead.
|
Read on a Porsche forum somewhere:
The 993 is a sports car, the 996 is a GT car. This was on the basis of the 996 having more creature comforts and being more suited to longer journeys. I guess if you had both cars in the garage, the 996 is the one you would take if you were headed to the south of France. The 993 would be the choice if you were going out for a sunday blast.
Just what I gathered from people who have driven/owned them. I have never even sat in one.
|
|
Remember that the 996 also replaced the 928. Whilst the 996 may not be quite as much a small "sports car" in the same way as a 993 (or a Boxster come to that) you shouldn't get the impression it's some soft GT car - it's not. It's an incredibly capable sports car which just also happens to be able to gobble 800 miles of Europe in a day in comfort.
|
It's an incredibly capable sports car which just also happens to be able to gobble 800 miles of Europe in a day in comfort.
Spot on, pd. Almost exactly why I chose it - as a sports car it shamed most of its competitors, but if I want to use it to get from A to B instead of A to A then it still shames them!
|
|
|
|
