I'm looking at purchasing my first Porsche 911. I've been looking at several cars and decided to go with a later model year standard Carrera with some factory warranty instead of the S. The car has ~ 10K on it and I've had it out a couple of times. I'm moving from a small Japanese import, and thus the clutch, steering and gear shifter seem heavy in comparison. One question I had is the brakes seem to require quite a bit of force to stop the car, the pedal is not mushy. Also the rotors seem discolored (picture below), so I was wondering if I might be in for a brake resurfacing in the near future. Any advice would be much appreciated.

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I had a Miata & STi, and currently driving a 06 C4S.
As far as the clutch go, I don't find the C4S clutch any heavier than my 06 STi, but I am sure it's much heavier than cars like civic or yaris?! Even my Miata clutch was decent, and I drove my brother Lexus IS200 where the clutch is light as feather.
As for the brake, my previous expereience with average japanese car brake is that they are very sensitive, and much more difficult to modulate. On the other hands my STi and Porsche brake may not seem as sensitive, but they are firm, and much easier to modulate, and stop the car alot faster with the right amount of pressure put on the pedal.
I am not a brake rotor expect, my understanding is that the surface on the brake router usually shows rust after a car wash or rain if when it's sitting. However, after you drive the car and use the brake a little, the surface rust would disappear.

I would recommend you test drive another Carrera to compare. Also, it is very important that you take the car for a PPI

Good Luck

 

Thanks for the info. That's exactly what I was thinking, I'm going to rough it this weekend and take a couple of cars out for a comparison. What is the ballpark figure for a PPI and the time needed? The car went through its 15K Km service at the dealer 10 months ago and everything checked out fine. Since then the car has only had about 3K put on it, so I would say it is spending a lot of time in the garage. Everything else is clean and appears lightly used and well maintained, even has the original tires that still have considerable tread left.

 

I used to live in Richmond, BC, yet I can't tell you much, since I now live in Seattle, WA. for PPI.
You may want to PM ROTtec (Ray) who is a board sponsor. They are located in Vancouver/Richmond, BC.

 

What I think I see in the photo is the rust which forms after the car was washed if not driven . One drive and it clears .It's normal.

Comparing it to a Honda Civic Si which I also have the clutch in the honda is very light but the Porsche 997S has a terrific point of engagement feel. In fact in my Turbo I really disliked the power assist clutch . The 997S is ideal . In fact the Gt3 which is even more stiff is even better. One gets used to it quickly and realizes how well made and precise it is.

I can't recall the brake feel of the base 997 but I love the S and Turbo . It's totally different and again more engaging than a Honda . It's also better peforming.

In fact on the Turbo with larger brakes it's even common to hear brake squeal. It's normal .

These are very different cars . Even the rear engine configuration may take some adaptation in driving style but after several of thse cars (as well as many Honda .. love the Vtek /reliability/ ergonomics/technology for the price) my feeling is that its like learning a new language .

 

my 997s brakes seem firm and I like it. I'm able to control the slow downs very smoothly. My wife's Audi has very sensitive brakes and I find myself being a bit jerky with them.

 

I, too, have noticed the same things about the clutch and brakes. I used to drive my friend's s2000 sometimes, but when I got my 911 I didn't drive the s2000 for a few months. Then, when I finally did, I couldn't believe how light the clutch felt in his car. It took a minute to get used to. It also takes a minute to adjust to the brakes on my fiancé's Jeep Grand Cherokee when I haven't driven it in a while. They are extremely touchy.

 

Thanks for the information, here are some additional pics of the car.

 

Good luck with purchase. I'm in Vancouver too and this car looked like mine before mods (purchased 10 months ago). Definitely, contact Ray of ROTtec so that he can set you up with some LED lights and more.

 

i had gone back and forth on whether I need to be scouting out the S or the standard carrera, but made up my mind after hearing the S stands for "so fat, balding, middle aged man, go and have your midlife crisis somewhere else."

 

Lol...never heard that....

 

I found during my search an S could be had the same money, just depending on how far away you're willing to look. Certainly nothing wrong with a standard Carrera. But if you're wanting even more power (now or in the future) as they say, there's no replacement for displacement.