I sold my '07 997.1 base Carrera January 2014. It was a non-S and a Tiptronic. I really liked the car, but I had buyers remorse every time I saw an "S", and even though I bought the "Sport" program for the Tiptronic, it just didn't do it for me. So I was in the market for a "deal" on a relatively low mileage "S", and 6MT. 2 weeks ago I found a pretty good deal in Austin (now in San Antonio) and the car had been reduced given some nicks here and there. I had a PPI performed and it came back clean. The Car Fax showed no accidents and gave an accounting of owner history. I noted it has the RMS replaced as well as a other items. The only issue with the car is the bumper had been resprayed and not a good job at a perfect match, and it has a few blemishes (scratch here and there) with the paint. Overall, mechanically sound. I was all in. The car has 49K on the clock and essentially clean and very strong. What a difference over a base Carrera with a Tiptronic!

I immediately ordered H&R springs and ECS 15MM and 5MM spacers (should have gone to at least 7mm up front) which I had installed during the first few days of possession. I debated whether to go with coilovers as I had with my prior 997, but I had it too low, hit a pot hole and damaged my front bumper cover and the driver's side radiator - an expensive repair. Besides, I think the H&R springs drop is perfect. I also ordered and received today front LEDs and rear Dectane/Depo LEDS to modernize the look. I really like the Dectane/Depo rears over the ROTec I had on my former 997; the fronts are essentially the same, but with no resistor issues like I had with the ROTec.

I surveyed the site and looked at those who lowered their cars with Lobster forks and I'm was all in - love it. The former owner didn't care for them as I would have (i.e., cleaning the wheel barrels) and it took me a good day to remove the grime and tar from them - still not perfect. Some time in the near future I'm going to have them refinished in their original color - not a fan of them blacked out.

Additional power out of an N/A engine is out of the question. I had an E46 M3 'Vert that was supercharged and that was good for 500-550 HP on stock internals (FMIC), but it wasn't really usable. Lessons learned. I'm going to take some good driving courses to get the most out of ownership, and upgrade the suspension as time goes on. I'm just over-the-moon to be back in the drivers seat, and this time an "S" with not a lot of miles, relatively speaking - looking forward to adding them - she's a keeper.

However, at some point in the future I'll address the paint - overall it's just the front bumper and I'm thinking I'll get an OEM Aero Kit and call it good.

Regrets on the low light/quality pictures

 

Looks very clean

 

Lowering the car w/spacers really makes a big difference on those lobster claws. H&R will definitely be on my list to do(buy). Your car looks very nice & congrats.

 

Thanks, gents. I'm stoked!

 

Congrats and welcome back! Beautiful car, well done.

 

Congrats, looks great!

 

Congratulations! That is the way to buy a car. Enjoy every mile.

 

What a machine! (Just like mine so I am biased). I love the Lobby's with a lowered, silver 997. To me it is a classic Carrera look. Congratulations, awesome car.

 

Congrats! I would love to see a better view of your front 5mm spacers and why think 7mm would better.

When you did the H&R did you also do a full alignment?

 

Amazing looking car! I agree that the Depo's modernise the look a lot

 

Thanks for the compliments. I'm just amazed at the difference between my last Carrera and the "S".

Regarding the front spacers, I'll take a picture this weekend, but there's definitely room to push it out another 2mm to 5mm without rubbing. However, having said this, I don't know that it would be worth to get another set as opposed to just saying what's possible. I love the car now the way it is. Moving forward, it's as I said I'm just going to enjoy it, take some lessons, additional upgrades on the suspension and address a little more power with the IPD Plenum and GT3 throttle body. The shop that did my suspension work focuses on Porsche both air/water cooled and stated it's a great bang for the buck.

Oh yeah, the shop did a full alignment and she's super straight.

 

plenum/TB isn't bad. Feels like about 5HP on my butt dyno... like the noise it creates too. throttle response suffered low rpm range though with the large Compettion TB.

 

Very Nice! i love it. I'm also an ex E46 M3 Vert owner.

What brand LED DRL's did you go with? They look good.

 

Did you get a tune? The independent Porsche shop that installed my springs and aligned the setup told me this setup would yield a nice increase, particularly in torque, but exhaust and a tune would be required.

 

Thanks. I missed my 'vert and shortly after I sold it I had regrets. I really miss the CFR500 setup along with all the suspension work, but then I wanted back in a Porsche 911 and couldn't have both.

Regarding the lights, the last setup I had on my other Carrera was from ROTech, front and rears. I have to say the Dectane/Depo look much better. The front setup doesn't require a resistor whereas the setup from ROTech did. I'm not sure if this front setup is Dectane/Depo, but it may be slightly different as it has a black edge around it. The other car was black and looking at the pictures I can't tell. But they do look terrific.