dllhg

Well fourth or fifth car

Been doing a lot of research on both. I was dead set on the SL65 . Soooo sexy looking and with a V12 TT and a factory limited 738 ft lbs whats not to like ? Wasnt thrilled to hear about how costly and what a PITA the ABC is. Heavy too. They just look so damn nice and tune only gets you a 10 second car. I would also really love a convertible hard top. I live near redwoods and near the ocean. Some amazing places to open the top and enjoy the amazing views. I rented a convertible once and was amazed how it felt. These can be had in the 38K-42K range now with pretty low miles. Not bad for a 190K car.

The 996 with X50 would be an amazing canyon carver. Can fined them all over the place in the 35K range. Tune only bumps up the power a good amount. Spend 6K and some packages claim 600 crank HP. Couldnt find much on track times for ones with tune only or 600 HP packages though. I know you can go a lot higher but those packages start in the 16-20K range plus labor.

One thing I hate about my E55 is if its cold or wet I might as well be driving a Prius cause it will just spin. Warm out and I can pull a 4 second flat on the streets since I upgraded tires. My wifes Turbo Cayenne I can just floor it in the rain and it just goes. AWD is very appealing. I dont like the looks of any of the rag top 911s though when top is up.

Any of you guys ever own both ? I dont know if the SL cars handle any better than my E55. I know they are heavier. Do they hook better off the line than an E55? They have 285 rear tires correct ? That should help quite a bit plus I am sure you could go to a 295 or maybe a 305 without rubbing.

Of course for about half the money I could look at a SL55 and toss an upper pulley, tune maybe some shorty headers and have a pretty quick car with the look I love more and have a convertible to boot.

ttboost

I am selling my SL65 to hopefully get into a 997 turbo someday. I had a fairly fast 996 turbo. If it wasn't for the weight, the SL would be an all around faster car.

V12TTenthusiast

SL65 is heavier, hooking off the line is okay if you have the right tires, like legal slicks. Also SL65 is much better in cold weather than hot weather and the ride is so smooth since these cars can heat soak fairly quick, and the trunk space is fairly decent for the type of car it is, can easily have luggage for 2 people. I have a 295 on my rear. Also if you get a flat or rim somehow breaks your getting a tow, when I had 19 inch rims I tried looking everywhere for the SL65 space saver wheel and you could only get it over seas. If you go to a 20 inch you not gonna have a spare period

I didn't like the 996 cause of the ride, but it will corner better, and you have space to put junk in the rear seat, but if I was getting a 996 turbo I'd prob spend more money on it like you said. Also I picked the SL65 over 996 turbo is because I wanted a convertible and I am not a fan of soft tops.

Also modding a 996 turbo is a little bit easier since there's a lot of people who've modded them. With the SL65 most people will go as far as ECU/TCU, IC Pump and Heat Exchanger, then people may add an LSD, exhaust or down pipes and intakes. After that stuff like trunk tanks, toe links are not that common mod but people have done them. Then your left with turbo work which prob only less than 1% of 600/65 people have done.

On the other hand if you get a 996 turbo you can prob find a whole list of mods from different vendors for performance part

So really its the question of do you want a really fast grand touring car for those long rides and a lot of power at the tap, or a car that will do well on the track and you can drive it home when you finish

Koru_Kinshi

As much as I love the 996 Turbo, I'd go with the 65. Nothing quite sounds or feels like a V12. Just the way it is.

aeroman

Having owned both I know they serve different needs. The V12 is hard to deny though plus the ride of the 65 is far superior to a 996.

dllhg

I was pretty set on the SL65 then the 996 now back to the SL65 again. I may have forgotten to mention I drive up a super twisty mountain road every day and push the hell out of my car. That being said with the PSS tires and my E55 in sport 2 mode it handles incredibly well even pushed close to its max. I would think the SL would handle as well or better.

Noticeable turbo lag on the 65 ? Heaard quite a few people complain about it on the 996. Seems like with all that massive HP and TQ with a big displacement there probably isnt much. Surprised there isnt much talk of turbo swaps on these. I know guys have done it but dont see much in the way of actual kits. If there was a 10K or so kit that would bump it to 700whp range that would be awesome.

I would really enjoy having a convertible. Love to have an insane canyon carving machine too but with the 911 ugly soft tops that wont happen for me. I love how the SL have a convertible hard top best of both worlds.

So SL for now and a 911 to add later

Quadcammer

x50 car with normal miles for $35k? in good shape? all over the place?

yeah, no.

H35

Stick with the SL65, it's a better car.

dllhg

Lots of 996 Turbos anyway. Few X50s the first day I looked under 40K normal miles. Found a very nicely modded 02 with 28K miles for 38K. Cheap cars now. Feel sorry for all those owners who paid 130K for them.

Quadcammer

There are a lot of 6 turbos out there and the asking prices are all over the map. A clean 02 with 28k miles would typically sell for about $43k or so. $38k is pretty cheap.

996TT if you enjoy a lighter more nimble car.

Quadcammer

better how?

V12Godspeed

I'd go with the SL. I loved the V12 so much I had to get one. I have a 993TT and while it's not a 996 its similar in purpose. Just something about having 800+ rwtq and able to have the baby seat in the back.

V12TTenthusiast

For your question about turbo lag on the SL65, no their isn't it's pretty instant. The turbos on the car are actually small as I have them out right now and I was shocked by the size

dllhg

Good input, thank you guys. Thought about replacing the E55 with a CL65 too a while back. Those are about 15K cheaper than a SL but basically like having the modded E55 in the end. The SL body style is so damn nice plus a convertible is pretty sweet.

V12TTenthusiast

If you do get a 65 I highly suggest getting a good 3rd party warranty if you know certain things are due like engine mounts, abc work, coils etc, best thing you can ever get for these cars.

If your wondering why I said engine mount job, its cause only for the SL600/SL65 engine needs to come out for engine mounts and its 20 hours book time so depending on a 100-150 per hour rate it can range from 2000-3000 just in labor.

As for the CL65 for have a V12TT in a luxury coupe for now 25-30k thats a steal. Only thing I don't like is the front bumper of the CL65 theres a few aftermarket ones out there but they have some things about the styling, and some flaws. Plus I'm looking for a black one, I've been seeing silver all over the place but people with black CL65s are asking more.

But its prob more comfortable in the back of a CL65 than a 996 turbo no rear seats on the SL65, you can't even but a toddler back there

dllhg

Did they really make less than 200 of the CL ? Read that a couple places. Maybe a replacement for the E55 someday. Especially if it can be made a lot faster than my E with bigger turbos. E is a lot lighter, can only imagine how fast it would be if it had the V12 TT engine ....