Very simply put. Totally agree. Best of luck with your car purchase decision.

 

Vette's and Vipers are not out of being considered but I want luxury with my sport. Those American brutes don't quality. The Porsche barely does. If I got one I would have to spend some bucks making the interior look better. Probably carbon fiber-ing it.
Thanks for the suggestion and info. I'll follow your advice to learn more about the car and try it again.
I also understand about breaking in a car but waiting until 5K miles seems a bit much.

Here is where I wish 6peed and other forums were more like clublexus.com
We have people all over the country and are willing to meet with newbies to help them out.
Anyone around here willing to do something like that?

 

I read a thread similar to this on the corvette forum. The opening statement was something like: "my grand sport seems slow." Obviously, the C6 even in base and gs models is quite fast, but the consensus was that the car was so good at laying down the power that it seemed fairly undramatic. With 991 times in the sub 4 second range, I have to believe it's the same phenomenon at work. In order to get the feel you want, you might need to think about more of a brutish car - either a 911 turbo or perhaps a Z06.

 

You need a turbo.

NA Porsches are weak.

Porsche should be ashamed at selling a 120k NA Carrera S w/ only 400hp.

 

I was comparing the 991 experience to my Lexus GS350. The GS doesn't have blistering power and 0-60 times are nothing special but 40-90 mph it pulls very hard. Hard enough to thrill and scare me. Takes off like a rocket. It's a strength of every Lexus I've had.
I also had a 2006 G35 that pulled hard enough to make me squirm in the seat. In fact, i raced a 911 and won when I had that car. I thought the guy in the Porsche was not a good driver but maybe it was the car.

 

OK, sorry but my BS meter is going off a bit here,...

First off there is no G35 that will beat a properly running 911 of any recent year and even before then. Back in '06 when I had a Cayman S and a friends girlfriend just bought a new G37 coupe he said it was all "that" and would easily take my CS,.....what a mistake that was. I wish we would have gone for pink slips

R&T has the following listed as best perf numbers for each:

0-60 1/4
G37 5.3 13.8
Cayamn S 4.8 13.3
911 997 3.9 12.4

So either the 911 was running on 3 cylinders, driver didn't know how to drive or he wasn't racing,....and sorry, I have driven a G35 and there is nothing scary about it in any way. Now my present 997.2 C4S is pretty darn scary running up to redline in 3rd and 4th gears it just pulls and the speedo just can't keep up, jumps 10mph again and again. A week ago someone in a new Dodge Challenger SRT 392 (470HP & Torque, but a 4,200lb pig) tried to see what it could do against the C4S at highways speeds, that was a mistake also. Porsches are deceptively fast, usually far better than factory quoted numbers.

Short of an LFA, GTR or the odd 3,800lb IS-F, no Nissan, Infinity or Lexus will even come close in a straight line or curve. Those who really know what each car is capable of do know the difference.

Now, lets get back to the matter at hand.....

If the base model 991 failed to impress then move up to the S and try it making sure all driving modes are tested,....although I can't think of one where a GS350 would be faster,....except maybe for when the stop/start feature has the engine shutdown at a stop light.

Short of that you may just have to stick with your Lexus and be happy in the fact that it performs to your liking.

 

And the most likely answer is finally spoken. Not knowing how to work a car relates to the above. Just shoving the big peddle to the floor is not knowing how to drive a car or (extract it performance potential.)

True performance cars require a little bit of knowledge. I never test drive a car before I have done my research, thus I can usually identify BS when I hear it.

 

Very simple. The torque of our engines do not really kick in until 4k rpm's From about 4.5k to 6.5k it's ***** to the wall.

Have you every ridden a two stroke dirt bike? If so you will know the expression "on the pipe". It means you keep the bike rev'ed to it's max power band and it will be "on the pipe". Our 911's are the same.

So do this. Go test drive another one, throw it in manual pdk mode and in second gear get the car to 5k rpm's and step on it. One word of advice, hold on to your ***. You will be on the pipe!

it's why our cars are best driven in manual pdk mode so you...the driver can control the power band. Even in sport mode you will miss a good bit of the power band. Now sport mode + is a different story lol.

 

Good Point. I raced MX in the 70s; brings back memories. Thanks,

 

I have been reading many informative posts on this forum which helped me a great deal when I bought my very first porsche (white, espresso, 991 C2S). People on this forum are very mature and informative, and I would love to be part of this community sharing the wonderful experience of porsche ownership for years to come.

OP: if you have nothing to add, please refrain from making the usual my car is better than 911 or my friend's car is better than 911 comments. I have already had too many of that when I used to have an M3 and C63. We all know that a 911 and GS350/G35 cannot be compared (no offense to those who drive those cars; my best friend has a GS350 AWD).

I think this is a great community and I hate this story of "I drove your car which has no power... 0-60 this and that... my friend beat your car... etc." It just wastes everyone's time. People have already answered your questions in a very mature and informative manner.

Just my 2 cents.

 

One thing about the 911 is top end is insanely fast and this stands for the Base 2008 911 I had ... I think you should go for another test drive and try it again ... it doesn't make sense that the GS350 which is around a 14 second 1/4 mile seemed faster than the base 991 which I beleive is in the low 12 second 1/4 mile time ... that is a HUGE difference

Not knocking the GS350, for a middle to large size sedan is certainly has excellent power but the bottom line is there is a large difference in the 1/4 miles ...

Wow this comment blows me away ... I find the interior of my 991 to be incredible ... I think Porsche Audi-ized the interior which can't be more of a compliment then you could ever get.

By the way you should test out a Corvette ... I had a C6 for 3 years and that car just begs to be driven plus the power is instant ...

 

+1 X 10000000000

I strongly agree that he might as well just stick to the lexus and be happy with it. why bother....

 

First off, I'm not saying anything about any car being better than another. A lexus and Porsche 911 are very different cars. I'm only saying I was disappointed in the way the base 911 I tested pulled in comparison to what I drive now. That's it and only it. I didn't say one was better than the other. Actually, I like both for their differences. I won't take back that I want a sporty car but it must be more powerful that the one I drove. Maybe I didn't know there was some secret way to extract the power. If I have to push a bunch of buttons and use the paddles, I won't be getting a 911. I just want to mash accelerators and brakes, while concentrating on steering and focusing on the pavement.

I started this thread for feedback. Some of the guys gave me useful information to consider. You haven't. If anyone needs to refrain from posting it isn't me.

Look everyone, I'm not here to **** on your beloved 911. I didn't even know such fanboy-ism ixisted here. My time here has been mostly objective conversation about the cars. Nothing is perfect. That aside, I have always wanted a 911. Now that I can afford one, it's time to consider it.

CA few weeks ago i test drove a BMW 650i. Yes, a completely different car but it has 400hp and about the same in torque. I mashed the gas just half way and got an explosion of thrust. It broke the tires loose. I haven't stopped thinking about that car since. Only it's behemouth dimensions keep me from ending my search. But I wouldn't mind spending 100K on that car. I won't spend over 100K for a sport car that can't match that kind of thrust.

Is that so horrible? I can wait for the turbo if I have to. Just let me check out the S and go from there.

 

Ill tell my story for what its worth First time I drove a 991 I wasn't that impressed. But I had not done any research prior and really didnt know what I was driving. Since I've driven several cars (cts v, m6, xkr and s5), done a ton of research and ended up with a 911. For me it is the best combination of dd luxury, track capable performance, looks and technology.

I'm learning how to drive it better every day. If I'm doing autopilot the car can be very tame - if I'm more engaged it gives so much performance quickly that I have to back off.

If low end torque is what u want, might give the new m6 a drive.

 

I had the 650i (prior model) and that car was very fast as well .. .I think you might be happy with it considering what your needs seem to be. The 650i pretty much gives you everything and again if the new one was like mine, you push the sport button and WOW everything becomes super aggressive plus the 8 cylinder sound is beautiful. I remember the sport button in my 650 changed everything as far as the steering got tighter and the accelerator pedal and the transmission became more aggressive.

Still I had my 08 911 at the same time and the 911 is much more of a 'Sports' car ... it really depends on what you are looking for.

If I were you like you said, go test the 991S and please remember to push the sport button. After the test drive please give us your thoughts ...

Best of luck !!

BTW your praise of the GS350 is making me think I need to test drive one when my E350 lease is up in a few months.