Drove a Porch for the first time

... and it was amazing!  Since my wife didn't want to hear anything about it I'll bother you guys instead.

Went out and did some test drives today, ND Miata, 2014 C7 Corvette Z51 and a 2007 911 Carrera S.  Mainly went out to try the Corvette, but the dealer also had a 911 and decided to try it without knowing any details or specs or anything about Porsches.  I really liked it!  The price is a little crazy, around $42k with 30k miles on the odometer and it looking a little beat up.  The first time I drove a Miata the feeling of the car stuck with me for days and I kept thinking and thinking about it until I bought one.  This feels the same way. 

What I liked - the engine sound, the steering, how it handled, good visibility, and the interior (mostly).

What I didn't like - the clutch throw was super long and chunky (it made a chunk noise as I let it out), the exhaust note could have been better (I'm nitpicking), and the price.  Oh and super scary maintenance and maybe IMS bearing explosions. 

So what's the secret for Porsche ownership?  Maybe scale things back and get a 2009+ Cayman S?  Do they all have such weird clutches?  I don't know!  But I'm super excited about going out and driving more of them.  Maybe even buying one.  I don't really mind spending that kind of money, but would prefer not to if there's a hidden gem that just does everything right and then doesn't need expensive repairs.

I really wanted to like the ND, but it didn't feel significantly different from my 1997 NA.   That might be a good thing, but not a $30k good thing.

I wanted to like the C7 too, but the interior was really cramped and the visibility wasn't so hot.  The interior was this ugly gray color that looked like my grandmother's Impala, yuck.  The engine was cool and it made great noises.  I went sideways just turning out of the dealer's parking lot, which was cool too.

Get a used 987.1 cayman S. Cheaper than all those options. They're reliable, yes even with an ims. I've never driven one that didn't have a short throw shifter mod lol 

The 987.2 is pricier and much more rare. 

Also, Porsche.

Pronounced Porsh-a. 

The IMS issue is overblown. Get a high mileage car that has been well maintained and driven hard (and I mean that) and you'll be fine. The 986/7 motors don't like to sit around and want high end oil. And I'm not talking M1, I mean Motul, Redline, and similar. 5k changes as well. 

My other car is a Crammit :)

Also, the ignition was on the left side of the steering wheel!  I thought I'd immediately hate it, but when I was done driving I didn't care anymore.  It was still weird.

The 987.1's look like they are in the 20's to 30's, which isn't bad.  The 987.2's are like hen's teeth.

yupididit said:

Also, Porsche.

I’m guessing he was making reference to the “Blonde painting my Porsche” joke...

http://jokes.cc.com/funny-blonde/nk5v6o/blonde-paints-a-porch

markwemple said:

Pronounced Porsh-a. 

I've got more stupid questions.

Can you add a LSD for a reasonable price to a Cayman?  Is it worth doing?  One of my neighbors up the road has been working on VW and Porch-Uh transmissions for over 40 years, he might be able to do it.  He installed a wavetrac in my GTI for a really reasonable price the other day.

In reply to ebonyandivory :

I figured it was a typo. 

I moved to Seattle, aka Sleazattle, to talk like John Vanlandingham.  Also you guys spell everything weird here anyway!

Also make fun and go laugh!  That guy reminds me of the original Angry German Kid!

Reasonable price LSD and Porsche in the same sentence. 

This only happened in a bad 1960’s movie. 

Groats said:

I've got more stupid questions.

Can you add a LSD for a reasonable price to a Cayman?  Is it worth doing?  One of my neighbors up the road has been working on VW and Porch-Uh transmissions for over 40 years, he might be able to do it.  He installed a wavetrac in my GTI for a really reasonable price the other day.

 

What advantages are you looking for out of a lsd in a Cayman? 

Porch>Patio round these parts. 

yupididit said:

 

Get a used 987.1 cayman S. Cheaper than all those options. They're reliable, yes even with an ims. I've never driven one that didn't have a short throw shifter mod lol 

The 987.2 is pricier and much more rare. 

My Cayman S came with the factory installed short shifter. That car had an awful lot of gears stuffed into a very small space.

In reply to yupididit :

Not sure really other than I gather it's better to have than not to have.  I drive a lot in the rain so I was thinking it might be good for that.

What did you think of the 911 handling vs. the C7?

I thought the ND feels pretty special. I have a '94 Miata race car and a street RX-8. One of the things I notice between the two of them is the RX-8 feels like the suspension works better. It's nothing against the NA, but there's 25 years between the development of the two of them. To me some modern cars like the ND feel like that difference again vs. the RX-8, the suspension just works better - It's more stable and controllable, with higher limits while being less disturbed by bumps (to clarify, stock vs. stock the RX-8 has higher absolute cornering limits vs. the ND, in part due to tires, just like the NA with stickier tires and wider wheels can turn harder than the RX-8).

...So saying that, since you found 911 so impressive, could you tell those of us sitting behind our keyboards more about how it feels? :)

Groats said:

I've got more stupid questions.

Can you add a LSD for a reasonable price to a Cayman?  Is it worth doing?  One of my neighbors up the road has been working on VW and Porch-Uh transmissions for over 40 years, he might be able to do it.  He installed a wavetrac in my GTI for a really reasonable price the other day.

 

A good LSD costs about the same for any car.  Pretty easy to pull a 911 (2wd) 6spd transmission, too. 

LSD would be good if you're doing a lot of tracking.  Otherwise, they still plant a lot of traction on corner exit.

There are lots of people around her who drive their Porch's on every sunny day.

Groats said:

So what's the secret for Porsche ownership?

No real secret, there are two pretty straightforward ways you could go about it: You could either look into picking up a used 914/924/944, or you could be born to rich parents

(Seriously, if I had new Porsche money, I'd buy a Lotus for the lower maintenance costs and nontoxic brand image).

Groats said:

My other car is a Crammit :)

Also, the ignition was on the left side of the steering wheel!  I thought I'd immediately hate it, but when I was done driving I didn't care anymore.  It was still weird.

The 987.1's look like they are in the 20's to 30's, which isn't bad.  The 987.2's are like hen's teeth.

I wouldn't say hens teeth, but when you're shopping for a very specific, very low volume car.........you have to be willing to travel. 

All 4 BMWs I've owned have come from at least 120 miles away. When I was in Tulsa, I had one shipped from Florida, drove one back Jersey, and another in OKC.

Now I'm in OKC, I just drove to Indy to get one. 

I drove a Porsche for the first time this summer. It was a bone-stock 944. I was not impressed. Granted, I had been racing my modified Miata all day and then had just gotten out of one of the S54-equipped Z3 M Roadsters.

GameboyRMH 

(Seriously, if I had new Porsche money, I'd buy a Lotus for the lower maintenance costs and nontoxic brand image).

I don't think Porsche has that bad of an image. I'd probably end up with a Corvette if I was in that market though. Which definitely has a much worse image.

I have a new 911 turbo and a 986 Boxster race car project (Spec Boxster). Both are great and I’m really happy with them. They’re certainly not perfect but are painstakingly well engineered track oriented machines. Porsches are not “value” purchases. They’re just great cars that do almost everything very well in one package. You almost have to forget the cost to value ratio and just decide if you want one. I hear that’s also how RVs work. 

The new 911 turbo is like anything else on the spectrum - you pay a lot more for a higher end toy and it’s noticeably better than the cheaper ones. But at the same point it time, for half the money you can probably get 70-80% as good of a car. I expect the same could be said going from the 911 turbo upmarket to a McLaren 720S or downmarket to a Z06 or F type R. Moving sideways in the market is more about preferences and priorities. 

It’s not worth stretching for a new one. Go used to fit the budget or buy something else that’s comfortably priced and don’t worry. They’re not so great that it’s worth making your finances become stressful. And often two cars will be better than the one expensive one if you have the space and time to use both. (We also have a family SUV and my wife has a Mini as her DD so we’re out of space.) But if you don’t have to stretch or you only can have one sports car, get a new one at some point in your life - they’re great!