wastedyolk

Hi All,

I am pondering getting rid of the BEAST and going to a Porsche 996 Turbo. Wanted to hear experiences, opinions, etc. Thanks in advance!

GT-ER

They are such different vehicles that there is really no comparison. It's like trying to compare an E55 to a Corvette. Their purpose it totally different.

996 Turbo's are sweet as hell for sure, but they aren't meant for grabbin grocery if you know what I mean.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

996 TT are nice!

qwe4565

my friend has 2002 996 turbo with 30k in mods.. let me know if your interested..

betrezra

Keep the e and get the p car.

320 dreamer

i can put my pop up canopy 2 chairs and my cooler in the back seat area. and i have a cage in there. groceries go in the truck!
the turbo is a true beast. many call the e55 a beast but theres never been a 55 run over 200 mph at the mile or run a 9 sec 1/4 mile. how much power do you want you are limited by your budget. amazing handling brutal power and the finest leather interior i have ever had.
dig deep these arent cheap to mod or fix. but they are the definition of chick magnet!
coolant lines, slave cylinder leaking and 2nd gear popout, fuel pump supply line failure, and spoiler hyd. failure are the main issues with the 996 turbo.
rennlist and 6speedonline are great forums to learn about them

GT-ER

Same applies to an E55. SLR's have done it ( and they are heavy as hell ) so it's all a matter of someone popping the $$ into an E.

Regardless, 911 are nice.

WPOZZZ

996 turbos have incredible performance and surgical handling, much better than the E55. However, I found them a little unengaging as it is too easy to drive. I prefer something that'll make me work for it. I've tried to reconsider them and looked at a few last month and unfortunately, I still feel the same way.

On a sidebar, I took my modded 930 out tonight and it sure was fun to drive...in the rain! There's something to be said about taming a beast that is known as the widowmaker. No ABS, no traction control, no AWD, no power steering. Just me and the car.

PACougar

At Least your 930's a car, try driving a 7000lbs 1000whp 2wd truck in the rain. Plus it's got a big single turbo rather than twins or triples, so the lag makes it even more exciting There's a fine line between fun-insanity and stupid-insanity, I think I passed it while ago!

cij911

Absolutely an awesome car. If you are replacing the e55 with a 996TT, you will likely be happy with your choice if :

(1) you don't need 4 doors (or have another car for those occasions)
(2) you don't need to haul a lot around (or have another car for those occasions)
(3) live in a part of the country with nice roads (the suspension can be too stiff for crappy roads IMHO)
(4) you enjoy carving up the canyons as much as high speed blasts
(5) want to get involved with PCA and POC racing or driving schools

Maintenance is not that bad as long as the car has not been abused ....good luck & enjoy

chawkins2001

My father has a 996 TT with bolts ons and is a X50 P-Car, there is a major difference between the two.

This is my comparison, the e55 feels alot faster down low, and out the whole, you have a sense of violence taking place when romping on it. I feel that the E55 handling is far inferior to the amount of power the car is making and struggles to keep up. That is what I like though, and really makes you pay attention to what you are doing while sprinting the car out the hole.

Now the P-Car is much more rounded, the suspension and handling keeps up with the power of the car. It corners on rails, and the harder you push it in the twisties, the more it likes it and eats it up. I felt that the delivery of power is much more tame, and you notice the turbo lag. The ride is considerably more harsh and it definitely will drop more panty's than the dated look of the e55.

WPOZZZ

The 996 in itself has a very stiff chassis, one of the stiffest stock chassis cars I've driven. I remember going to my aunt's house and making the turn onto her street. The incline is something like 40*-45* and my car would make the turn on 3 wheels.

PA Cougar - sounds like you have a nice turbodiesel. Bullydog?

Manuyc

hyperion667

I have recently aquired a Pcar also....while it isn't a TT is is fun as HELL to drive and offers a completely different experience for me personally.....it's a stick, and a coupe and a whole lot of fun!!!
I say go for it, and if you have the means, keep the Benz too because you'll like the different performance

emericr

I owned a 997S before having the C63 and I have driven a 997TT extensively.
IMHO, I did not like either Porsche because of the low end torque and the lack of sensory feedback. I had done exhaust work on my 997S and that did not come close to the V8 bark of a C63. When you get on it past 4K rpm, the performance was there but that just did not do it for me.
I am a full believer in the saying "there is no replacement for displacement".
The 55 does not bark as much as the 63 but the higher performance is easier to do and will match the 996TT.
It won't attract as much attention with the Poliiiice so that is a good thing too.
I did drive the new 991S with PDK and it is a great performer but I will end up with a CLS63PP. I feel you can have more fun in the Benz on a daily basis then the P car because I live in Florida and there are not too many curve roads if you know what I mean. That is just a personal opinion and someone else could have the opposite view so go drive the P again like you would normally drive it (ie not like you stole it lol) and it should help you making a decision.
I agree that if you can swing it, keep the Benz and get the TT.

scottrx7tt

I just traded my 996Turbo for my current E55. My car was an 02 Tiptronic car, with an EPL 1 bar tune, and AWE exhaust. It was a little slow off the line until the Turbos spooled, then it was quite fast, BUT my current E55 would have blistered it it is a Renntech stage 5 car. The nicest thing about the 996turbo is you could drive it daily. It is rock solid, bullet proof, and AWD, what more could you want. THe only downfall is the interior space is quite small.

Exotic-metal55

I am also looking at adding a Porsche TT, so fully understand but keep the E55 and add the P car!

PACougar

Thanks, it's a has a completely built motor and all of the tuning was through EFILive

grimm

Keep the E55 if you can. Even though the turbo is nice, it lacks in comfort and utility. It's definitely fun but you really need to consider what "luxuries" you'd be losing. The turbo is not very practical as a grocery getter or a long distance drive vehicle. If you are in traffic a lot, then you'll have to deal with the MT which some don't mind, but it can get irritating.

Not to mention that you'll likely be paying much more for basic services--and if you end up with a 996 with the 2nd gear pop-out problem, well--prepare to fork out some cash to fix that.

Good luck on your decision.

tscales

Well, as the owner of both, I suppose I'm qualified to comment

I love my 996TT. It is my daily driver. It's a 2004 X50 and I turned 85,000 miles today. Maintenance has been much lower than the E55. I bought it when I lived in Iowa and drove it year around (snow tires in the winter). We took it out this weekend with the toddlers in the back and the top down and they loved it.

It is a great car and great fun.

Now, having said all that, if I could only keep one, it would be the E55. It is MUCH more fun stop light to stop light. The difference between an SC and big TT is huge. Off the line, the lag is horrible (worse on an X50). It does kick you in the butt when they spool up, but you actually have to be careful with it.

One car = E55
Two cars = E55 + 996TT

betrezra

ts - good post...... 996tt = good 2nd or 3rd car

hyperion667

wow, it's awesome how much love there is for Porsche here

DougZ

I am a new member here. I was looking at 996TT before I got my 2005 E55 couple of weeks ago. I liked the Porsche a lot but for half the price I like the AMG lot more. I am really impressed with the power and the smoothness of the transmission. I am getting older so automatic is a good option for my daily driver car. If I could afford the second car just for the weekend I would get the 996tt.

Hammer Down

If your gonna go 996 go 996 GT2

grimm

Well, if you find a 996 GT2, know you'll have one of only 317 ever brought to the US during its production (2002-2005) .

The GT2 is a great car but it will kill if you if you don't respect it. It is very tail happy. There's a reason why they call it "The Widowmaker"

The turbo is a much better daily-ish car if you had to go for a 996 over the turbo. The GT2 is definitely not a car you'd ever want as a primary vehicle.

And besides, a 996TT can be had for around 40k. The 996 GT2 runs nearly double that, and I'm not sure the OP is looking at that price point.