I had a question for those of you that have had experience driving both the 4 and S. How different do they handle and is there a noticeable power difference between the two? I am trying to make a decision between which 911 I want to get and either an M3 (e92( or M6 (e63). For what's it worth, my heart is telling me Porsche!

On a side note, I will be using this vehicle as a daily driver. So here is Seattle, I don't NEED all wheel drive, but it would be nice. I would go for a 4S but I haven't found any in my price range with low miles. Any help would be appreciated!

I apologize in advanced if there is a thread on this topic, I couldn't find information searching on this site. There was a post on rennilist but it did not have many contributions.

Thanks!

 

I just found a thread on 6speedonline, but feel free to respond if you have any pearls to offer

Especially any Seattle members that have a "Next time will get..." statement

 

If you are driving in snow there is no question C4. If you drive in snow and have the coin to purchase a C4S then that's what I would buy. No snow is SUNNY South Florida so the C2S is what fit my needs. Search service require,emits on the all wheel drive B 4 you buy.

 

Located right down the street in Kirkland and have owned 2 S cabs... never had a problem and used the first as a DD. Never drove in snow and because you live here you will understand when I say "and there are plenty of other folks living in Seattle that have 4wheel drive vehicles that shouldn't be driving in snow, either. "

Get what you love, enjoy it.

Best of luck,

KS

 

Thanks Gary, I may try to hold out and find a 4s in my price and milage range. There are a few 4's in California that are in great condition, I may just be jumping the gun. I will look into the service requirements, I don't know if it will be much different.

Ksozay, great to hear you've been successful with the 2 S's. You are absolutely correct, It gets crazy when it snows a few inches out here. I lived in Indianapolis for 3 years, with all the Ice and snow storms. I rarely saw 4x4's in the ditch. Here, they are in a tree shortly after snowfall. Funny thing, my reps complained for 4 wheel drive cars and when they got them they ALL called in a snow day on the first 2 inches of snow! LOL.

Back to the topic, I have driven a 996 4S and 997 S. If I can find one during my travels I will try a 997.1 4 to see if the ride/power is there. If not I may go with the S. Both great cars I'm sure!

Ksozay, did you get your car out if state?

 

personally, I'd try to hold out for the 4S. In addition to the improved traction in wet or snowy weather, the 4 looks better with the wide body. The S has a lot of options that I wouldn't want to pass on like PASM, big red brakes and of course 3.8L. Therefore, I'd try to get both. Keep in mind, the 4S's tended to be highly optioned cars with other goodies like PSE and full leather so you're actually getting a lot more car.

 

Thanks for the advice, I haven't seen the price difference to be significantly more either. The most difficult thing is finding one! I see that there are a bunch of cars in SoCal, I may have to just keep my eye out for cars down south.

 

there's a few advantages of buying from socal
a. cars rarely see snow if at all. and don't see a lot of rain either.
b. lots of garage queens down here so you can get a low mileage car
c. more selection. once i read that 50% of all porsche production went to California. not sure if that's still true or not.

 

I test drove an S ended up buying am 06 Carrera 4. It's a daily driver year round in Boston. I would never change. I had no issue all winter with Pirelli snows and I absolutely love the car. Without the all wheel drive id be sunk all winter

 

in TX, the 'S' was the no-brainer (for me). go for the added power and pasm!!

 

4S all the way. Just look at my beauty, factory aerokit and all!

Forget about all weather traction. Everyone always brings this up like your going to fart around in deep snow and salt with your Porsche. Forget it.

Just remember, Porsche clocked the 4S faster around the Nordschleife 2 seconds faster than the 2S in DRY conditions. Now herein lies the advantage.

 

Your question is a little ambiguous. Are you comparing a 4 to a 4S or 4 to a 2S, or a 4S to a 2S? etc. Obviously the S models in both RWD and AWD have more power and features. And as stated above the AWD cars have better traction in wet or snowy conditions. I personally prefer the more nimble steering in the RWD cars, although at high speeds the AWD cars do feel more planted with that extra weight up front. Finally, there are those who prefer the AWD cars for the wide hips, in which case you need to decide if that visual feature is important to you. Drive them all (2, 4, 2S, 4S) to see what you like best.

 

A regular C4 would be a better daily driver in parts of the country with terrible roads and bad weather. The C4S has 19" rims and a slightly lower suspension. Both disadvantages for bad weather and roads. While the extra S power is an advantage - it really depends how you plan to use it. Swapping rims/tires on the S will help - the 18"s will still fit and some 17"s.

 

The .2's have new headlights, new rear taillights(LED's), new PCM, direct fuel injection engines, and offered PDK. And you are correct about it beginning with MY09

 

Here's a picture of the difference's in the tail lights.



PCM is the control center for audio, navigation and communication functions.

the .1 and .2 both have xenon head lights