So, this may not be the best place to get a candid answer because of all of the 911-love but I thought I'd try. So, I'm coming from driving an AWD car and love the handling in the AWD. It to me feels very secure and has tons of grip around corners. Now, over the weekend, I got to test drive the 991 S and was floored by how great the driving experience was. (Thanks to Porsche of Fremont for the driving event). I had to make this on-ramp maneuver where I passed an SUV in a very short distance before getting on the highway and the on-ramp was curved. Not once did I feel the backend fish tail or lose any confidence that I was going to lose control even at the high speed I was doing on the curve. However, this is on dry pavement. So I'm asking previous owners, how do you feel about getting the S as oppose to the 4S? Have you had any horror stories about losing control in the S in wet conditions? Again, I hope you guys don't take this the wrong way and think I"m trying to bash the S because I'm not. I was totally sold on the 991 from my test drive. I'm just wondering if it makes sense to wait for a 4S or if the S is as solid as I felt after my test drive.

 

I've had both; the S is fine for me, and the 4S is overkill. But maybe this whole car is overkill!

Seriously, unless you live in a very icy area, wouldn't wait for the 4S.

 

If you are in a snowy, icy area do get the 4S, if not, it doesn't matter go with the 2S.

 

Obviously no one has driven the 991 4S but I assume it would be similar across all platforms. The 4S is probably a little heavier and would only have a handling advantage in inclement weather. It will likely tend to understeer more than the 2S which is safer for less experienced drivers. Usually the PSM is a little more advanced in the 4S which is safer as well.

I have a 996TT which is AWD and I've driven a modified 996 GT3 and until you are really pushing the car at it's limits (usually track conditions) you won't notice a large difference unless you are on a slick surface in which case the AWD is far superior.

 

Having had a 4S and now a GT3, I don't think it matters for handling unless bad weather is a concern. If you are tracking a lot, you might notice the difference, but you would have to be pretty experienced before it mattered. The 4S preloads the brakes when you abruptly back off the accelerator and the S does not (997 fact - maybe not true for 991). I think with all of the nanny systems on the 991 that it will still be harder to screw up badly in either car (assuming you order a car with all of those systems). You live in CA, so bad weather may not be a concern. I prefer the wider rear of the 4S just for looks but not needed IMO. However, if I were given the choice and money was not an issue, I would probably still get the 4S just because......

 

Ok, good points everyone. Will definitely weight into my decision. Living in California, the weather is definitely not going to be severe but from what it sounds like, even rainy weather won't be much of a problem for the 2S. I guess you gain some traction with the 4S but you'll lose some acceleration from 0-60.

 

If in California get a 2S. Sorry I missed your location on my previous post.

 

I thought all 997 S models preload the brakes?

 

I live in New England and my current (and future) 911 is my daily driver. My 997.2 and my soon to arrive 991 are both RWD only. For me just add four good snow tires and go. As far as rain goes, I have not had any issues. Just keep good tires on and use good right foot judgement!

 

Listen you should know that the C4S is a wide body vs. C2S being a narrow body, there are also many mechanical parts of the C4S which are shared with the Turbo that are not found on the C2S.

So I would (actually i have ) base your decision not just on handling and performance differences but also on the unique character esthetically.

Of course no-one really knows what the new 991 C4S is going to look like (for now), but based on what the narrow body 991 looks like in real life I've decided to wait for the 991 wide body...

Either way, good luck!

 

I'm waiting for the 4S

 

^ i wish i could get the C2S with the widebody. This is one aspect of the recent 911's ive never liked. If you have the widebody rear, you can fit such wide tires that you could never even need AWD (unless you're in snow or something?). With 295s on the back of my C2S, i'd have to be absolutely out of control to break them lose. Its not like the non-turbo cars have much torque anyway. For that matter, i even drove my C2S through snow last year no problem with cheap winter tires.

 

I had both a 997.2 in C2S and C4S trims and like the C2S much better. The C4S didn't have that lively feel that I get from a C2S.

I recently test drove a 991 C2S with winter tires after a large snow storm and it drove great (probably better than my AWD Yukon with All Seasons). With proper winter tires, the limitation is not traction, but rather clearance.

 

I would say they both handle equally well. They may feel a tiny bit different as far as driving feel, but both handle very very well. The advantage that the 4s provides and 2s drivers are bound to tell me I'm wrong on this, but the AWD does provide a security net for drivers who may not be as confident when driving closer to the limit. I have had te 2s break away from me before but that was my miscalculation. In the same scenario the AWD system has saved my *** and pulled the car back where it's supposed to be. The 991 however is supposed to be even better at handling and harder to break away at limits.

That said I will not be waiting for the 4s, and will be placing my order for a June allocation this month.
This article should give for some confidence about inclement weather and the 991 2s.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._s_comparison/

Was a good read and had high praise for the 9912s. I always love to read the comments on these articles, so many corvette fan boys blowing blood vessels over a dead argument.

 

I completely agree with the first paragraph.

However when I sat in a 996 GT3 vs my 996 Turbo they did not feel in the same family of cars, everything felt different and that's before you even got to the handling which was worlds different to me. Just my opinion though.

But I do not think the S and 4S will be that much different. The key question will be how Porsche has designed the handling of the AWD on the 991. The AWD on the 997 was poor from start to finish IMO, they tried to make it handle too much like RWD and overcompensated. But I would wait to drive the S and 4S and be sure of which one you want. Would be aweful to buy the S and like the 4S more when it comes out and have to take a bath to get one.