I have owned many Porsches in the past. This time since I really don't drive that fast I thought I would give a non "S" a try. I have always had the "S" model in the past.

Wow.... this thing is slow! No torque to speak of. I know you are all going to tell me that the power is on the top end. Do any of you drive your car with the engine turning more than 5K all the time? IMHO Porsche really let us down putting this engine in a 991. The base car should have had at least 370 HP and 300 ft lbs of torque at lower revs.

You know it's embarrassing when you are at light and it turns green and you have trouble keeping up with Minivans and Toyota Corollas!

Opinions please?

 

4 second to 60 minivans and Corollas deserve more respect! I've owned 15 Porsches (including a 2009 C2S) and mine with a PDK is just fine. When I take off it revs to 3500 initially and I'm on the edge of wheel-spin. I don't find too many people passing me. I've driven the 991 S and although it feels slightly faster, but not much (.2-.3 sec faster to 60). But if you need more, put in an order for the turbo!

ChuckJ
PS If you think the 991 is slow, that black 356 used to take 13 seconds to 60.

 

Is this from a test drive? Or did you buy one without first driving it?

 

I think 'slow' is the wrong word here, and if you have trouble keeping up with a corolla or minivans it might be driver related.

The non-turbos were never the fast 911's, I come from a supercharged e92 M3 with 650 hp, and my 991 S feels definitely "slow" compared to the modified M3, but the overall driving feel is much better, and that would hold true to the non-S version as well. The fit and finish are just worlds apart IMHO.

Anyway, I don't think you can call any car with 350 hp slow, but yeah the power is on top, and that makes this engine so great on the track (same goes for the S65 in the M3). I take high-reving engines over low-end torque motors any day, especially on the track. And although I don't have as much torque as avette or a E63 I have no problems merging onto highways, or zip through traffic.

 

I think you and Chuck are both correct, and it depends on how you drive. You sound like you drive they way I do. Without the car being in sport mode, when you step on the gas as you would in a normal car, the performance is lackluster. I have an S and it is equally so. But, I don't tend to step down hard as Chuck seems to as I am nowhere near 3500 rpm off the line most times. Perhaps I should be. This is not a normal car and 3500 is a yawn for your car and mine so stepping down as likely Chuck does is just no big thing. We just need to adjust our driving to the car.

It is not a little torque monster like some Japanese cars where you just look at the accelerator and it launches. And it is not a muscle car built for max straight-line acceleration from a stop. I have one of those and it is great for torque. If you want off the line performance, particularly in normal mode, you need to step down harder than I normally do, get it to third, drop it down a gear (all of two seconds) and hang on. I find the sudden burst once you reach the power band to be startling and intoxicating. I just have to push harder than I normally would if i want to get to that point quickly.

Or, you might want to go get a $15,000 2007 Mustang and put a 4:10 gear in it. You also will need to hang on!

 

Thanks for all of the replies so far, much appreciated.

First, it's not a test drive I own the car. I did drive this car before I bought it but like most of us you don't want to beat on the car you want to buy especially when it only has a couple of mile on it. My last car was an 09 S PDK. It was a lot faster than my 991 or at least it felt that way.

To be completely fair I guess I should fill in some of the blanks. My 991 is a manual and it has about 1300 miles on it now. I have kept the revs down mostly with just a couple of quick sprints to 6K the last couple of times I drove it. You can feel the power start to come on after 5K.

Maybe after a few more miles it will loosen up a little more. Other than the power it's the best Porsche I have owned so far. Not one issue. My 09 burned oil like a 2 stroke. This car has not used a drop!

I know the PDK is quicker but I am old school and happier rowing my own gears. After break in and an oil change maybe I will try keeping the rev's up to see if that helps with the around town performance.

 

I believe you are confusing effortless with slow. While the car is not a dragster it is very quick. Is your parking brake off

 

I always joke with my son that a Honda Odyssey is the fastest accelerating car from the light. Their drivers seem to always have the pedal to the floor if you are next to them when the light changes.

 

You are so right.

 

I do not own a 991 but a 997.1

I test drove a standard carrera (325hp) and I didn't feel the "porsche" out of it. found it slow.
then tried the S (355hp) and man! night and days!

991 none-S have pretty much the same HP as my 997.1-S. and i'm sure I would feel the none-S like you do

I mean, i'm pretty sure it's more a feeling than anything else. between 325HP and 355HP there is only 30 HP. but feels like 100hp IMO
so on a 0-60, difference is probably minimal. just feeling i believe

I might be all wrong... new owner for 2-3 months :-)

 

Hi,

I know what the problem is: I have a Manual 991-S2 and I still hate the initial take off with the car.

I've had the same problem with my manual 392-Hemi Challenger with 470 HP and 470-foot-pounds of torque. The culprit is "drive-by-wire."
There are no more cables with the accelerator pedal and it's all electronic.

Long story short: I installed a Sprint Booster in the Hemi and it solved the problem.

I've also installed the Sprint Booster in my Jeep, and it solved that problem.

As soon as they make one for the 991, I'll buy one for my car. They don't add power, but they re-map the acceleration, which makes it much more linear than stock. In other words: a much more responsive pedal that will make the car respond better off the line with less effort.

And, no, you can't achieve the same results by pressing further down on the gas pedal as some may argue, it simply doesn't work that way. Linearity is key.

The Sprint Booster comes with a 30-day full-money-back warranty. Try one, I think you'll be quite surprised over the outcome.

I should also mention that I'd installed one in my recent ZO6; even though that car had a massive amount of torque, the Booster still enhanced the pedal feel off the line, especially while driving around town.

I'm not affiliated with SB in any way. I once believed it was all snake oil until a friend let me try his Challenger with the Booster installed: trying is believing.

Enjoy your car.

 

yes. I don't daily drive my C2, so on the weekends when I do drive it, I try to drive it to its fullest. but I will agree w/ you that the C2 is not going to make you **** in your pants.

 

Try starting in lower gears.

 

Wait until the break-in period is over and start redlining her... you'll be amazed. These engines need to be revved hard, and be kept in the higher rev band. You basically haven't really driven the car yet, you are in for a surprise. In order to fully appreciate the motor and chassis sign up for a PCA track event, great times, great people, and you'll fall in love with your car and appreciate the race pedigree.

 

I agree.

It is important to note that there is NOTHING wrong with staying high in the rev range on this car. When someone tells me its unrealistic to drive high in the rev range all the time, I laugh! It sounds nice and feels nice. So why not?