Hey guys

I just wanted to thank you again for your responses to my "How Rich Do You have to be.." post. Nice group of people here.

Well, I picked up my 997 yesterday. I had driven them before and actually did NOT (surprisingly) fall in love with them on the test drives. To me, its been an acquired taste. But I loved how they looked and knew they were fast, and knew I'd eventually fall in love.

Its now day 2 and I've fallen in love with this thing. Driving it is quite an experience --- You're like some sort of chef or artist or DJ - you mix in some RPMs with the right gears and create this potent harmonic concoction of euphoric, adrenaline fueled intoxication.

The thing is badass and I love it. I was thinking about getting an S but I think this will be a nice entry point. And its plenty of power.

A few things. Now, I am actually kind of a crappy driver.. esp probably compared to you porsche people. So I need your guidance.

Here are some questions and observations:

1.) I find porsches to not be as ... torque-ey in the first gear as like ... bmws. Is this true? I find the true fun (power) comes when the car is in 2nd or 3rd gear at around 4000 rpms. Then if you goose it just blasts off.

What if I wanted it to really blast off in 1st? Do I rev it up and then drop it into gear? Seems like it would be harmful.

2.) Is it true that its unhealthy to bring the car into high RPMS? Like if I gun it in first gear when should I switch it into 2nd? I got her into 6000 a few times and one time I even got her into the red (by accident) where it cut off. Is this terrible for the car?

3.) I was turning around backing the thing up in front of a bunch of people, and I killed it by accident. Some dude was watching me. Real embarrassing. And I COULDN'T get it started again. Do you have to turn it all the way off and then on again? That is what finally seemed to do the trick.

4.) The car came with a built in k40 radar detector. Is this thing any good? Anyone ever heard of it? It seems like kind of a piece of crap.

5.) What should the PSI be on the tires? If I add some air to them will it show up in real-time on that little screen in the dash?

6.) This is kind of hard to descirbe, When I start my car, it seems like it takes some major juice to turn it over. Almost like starting up a prop airplane. Its just a real raw sound. I assume this is normal, right?

7.) What are the first modifications that I can do to this car? I am not really into changing the cars aesthetics, but I wouldn't mind doing a cold air intake or putting some sort of chip in it to give it a little more go. Is this possible?

Hmm, I have other questions but I cannot think of them. Thanks for your help

 

i'm not as experienced as most others here but here goes...

the higher end torque is normal for porsche has been since forever i think,
the engine has an auto over rev shut off but it's recommended to red line infrequently
yep you have to turn it off frustrating eh? it gets easier
it's a high end radar detector
normal psi varies by who you talk to and outside temperature, i'd say check your manual, the computer is a pretty accurate psi gauge
yep starting it up seems a pretty strong experience, especially when your in a garage.
most get exhaust upgrades and tuning and chip mods.

 

I think you meant to post this in the 997 section .

Since i have both cars I post in the Turbo section too but most of the guys who gave opinions before you bought the car may not read your post if they don't look here .

Perhaps a mod can transfer the thread .


I'll try and answer some of the questions that I know .

First .. it's my opinion that since this is your first Porsche and you are all excited take some time to learn the car without hammering the pedal . The upper limits of the gears are fine but once you hit the over rev it's not good for the car . There are different levels as to how bad the over rev is where a slight level 1 is not as severe as a catastophic money shift (level 5 or6) . Either way ... stay on the side of safety and dive carefully .

At start up the 997.1 does seem to take more effort than the 997.2.

The best radar detector is not to speed . Florida roads have both cameras and point A to B surveilance . If one wants to drive fast .. he has to go to the track.

Modifications --
I absolutely loved the Champion F77 package in my normally aspirated 997.1 car .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMWLpdVrhWU

 

Oh yes, I am very sorry I posted in the wrong area. Didn't mean to do that.

Thanks for the tips guys.

Im not driving the car too hard but yes I did redline it by accident..

 

1. The torque is higher up in the rev range especially in comparison to late-model turbo cars and most larger displacement V8s. As you suggested, I usually bring the car up to ~ 4,000 rpm and then let it go all the way to red line.
2. As Larry suggested, I would practice a bit more before really working the engine. It won't take long to find the sweet spot and how to carry out quick shifts. For the sake of the engine and clutch best not to get on the gas until the clutch is fully engaged.
3. Same thing happened to me the other day, I also learned you have to completely turn off the ignition before re-starting.
5. The TPMS is actually pretty good, but I would get a good tire pressure gauge and follow the instructions on the tire pressure sticker in the door sill.
6. This is one of the things I found most disconcerting after I picked up the car. During starting the car actually seems to labor and takes a good couple of cranks before coming to life. This may serve to pre-oil the engine and help reduce wear. With cars of our vintage 05-07 some problems have cropped up with the wiring harness and an indication that this might be a problem is that when the engine is warm it cranks more slowly then cold.
7. Had the car for two months and still just enjoying it in stock form. Not much for modifications, will likely save the mod money for the next version. When younger went crazy with mods, rebuilt and heavily modded engines. Spent lots of time in the garage and money on parts, but in the end i found it was better to save the cash and put it into the next version.

Enjoy, great choice!