craig66

As the OP in a post regarding a choice between 991.2 and 992 and for which you were all so helpful I have made a decision.
Thanks to a dealer who threw me the keys of a 992 and a kind rennlister who let me play in his 991 for several hours I have made my final decision on my purist 992.

I currently have a 718 Boxster which for better or worse has lost a lot of its value and so I am likely to keep it as well. I love my boxster but wanted in addition as slightly different Porsche experience. I had a 996 and loved it but it just felt old, rough and was a little too raw. Also upkeep costs are very high and eventually I lost it to engine faliure. I know you are all shouting 997.2 with no issues for engine failure and the "last True Porsche" but honestly new is new and I love where Porsche has gone with the 992. I also love the warranty on the 992 and aside from its size I do feel that the 991 generation is sort of a lost generation and in some ways the 992 is coming back to its basics - take steering for example in the 992. I am a very spirited driver and love the feel of the engine and the torque .

I have opted for the 992 Base
The decision for the base over the S in the 992 was multiple. Firstly price was a big consideration but I also felt that the S was so amazingly fast that I would never get to enjoy a slow windup in the engine before having to cut back. With the base it is still super fast with 0-60 in 4 to sub 4 but I would stil lbe able to enjoy the gears for a little longer before reigning it in.
I know that means PDK but I have a knee that threatens me and I have PDK in my boxster which I drive almost exclusively in manual mode and honestly while its not the same as a manual it is damn close

Here are my options that I have spec'd

Aventurine green. I do love the Dark blue as well and I know the green aint as green as it should be but the dark blue is harder to keep clean and the green is every so classy.
Wheels likely to stay with the original. I like the look of the S wheels but the ride apparently is better with the base wheels (have not verified it myself)
Likely black although all three base interior colors seem to work with Aventurine and so have not decided
Will do GT steering wheel (heated) as live in the NE
I will do four way sport seats plus. I am the only one driving the car and so I do not need memory. The plus are a dream in my boxster and I am not a big guy so I do not need to worry about the bolsters or 18 different ways to maneuver the seat

The one question I have for you all is sports exhaust and sports Chrono
I understand that the Sports exhaust is not that much better and I should either leave it as stock or do after market?
Sports Chrono I am up in the air about. Some say that if you are not tracking in sports plus and you dont intend to do launch control then there is no real need for it. Others say that that is only one component of it and that the other changes such as engine mounts make for a much sportier ride. I would tend to agree with the latter but I do not have SC in my boxster and have a ton of fun. I could not tell the differncebetween SC and no SC when i bought my boxster

Would love to hear feed back on my build, the sports exhaust and sports chrono as well as any other features you think I might be making a mistake on.
My boxster was a stripper and I never felt I was missing out on anything and the base 992 actually gives so many things that were options when I bought my boxster (heated seats, climate control, rear view mirror dimming, etc)

Even without a sports exhaust and sports Chrono I am hoping for a 6% discount that could still have me with a sub 100K 992 !!!!!

Thanks all

gcurnew

You have most of this sorted out, and from my perspective your approach is sound. While any 992 is going to be a rewarding ride, when ordering there’s an opportunity to tailor the car specifically to how you drive and what you personally value performance-wise and aesthetically.

I thought I didn’t need, want or care about PSE. I did, however want PTV+ which is available on the C4, and the Sport Package bundled it along with Sport Chrono and Sport Exhaust. I though I’d never turn PSE on...then discovered within a couple of days of taking delivery that it sounds great to my ear, and I have it on about 95 percent of the time (I’ll turn it off when being a little stealthier is preferable to sounding like I’m trying to prove something with my “fancy car and obnoxious exhaust). I can’t imagine wanting more sound than PSE offers, and all the aftermarket solutions I’ve heard sound worse to my ears, with some of the higher cost and well known names in the aftermarket most objectionable. Bottom line: I’ve gone from not wanting PSE at all to a mindset that any 992 is best spec’d with it.

I have had a vacillating love it/don’t care relationship with Sport Chrono. For the first while with the car, I drove only in Sport Plus with manual shifting. Then I occasionally started using Normal mode with manual shifting to ease up on the abrupt changes at anything more than small throttle openings in Sport Plus, causing me to think for a time that SC was unnecessary. Then I got tired of how Normal softened up the shifts and the overall feel of the car too much and decided to try Sport Plus with auto shifting, which was my new favourite mode...for about 3 or 4 days. I have used Launch Control twice and can’t imagine using it again unless I was fleeing the scene of a heist, and Sport Mode with the horrible farting is a non-starter for me.

Now, at around 7k total kilometres and 6 weeks into ownership, I’m of the mind that SC is also really, really nice to have as it enables me to significantly change the character of the car and the driving experience based on moods/whims. As a not inconsequential aside, the ONLY mode my wife uses is Sport, with auto shifting. Without SC, my wife would probably be happy and I would be stuck with Normal mode only, unable to bring out any of the beast in a 992 without suffering the farting/backfiring in Sport.

Other options that might not make it onto a minimalist build are Surround View and LCA. Both my wife I debated the need for both, and now share the view that we’re glad we have them and wouldn’t want a 992 without them.

politeperson

Excellent choice. You have chosen the car the makes Mr P the smallest profit out of the range. They dont really want to sell you a stripper. So get one.
Excellent color too!
You are going to chose my car!


It replaced a Tesla Model S that was pretty quick. The 992 is in a totally higher level of fun however.
Definitely the best modern car I have ever bought by miles and miles.
The standard car is loaded, you dont need any options.
Do not chose Chrono or the Sports exhaust.
Save the money.

The base is plenty fast enough. I very rarely have to use full throttle, I have completed 9,000 miles in 6 months. It is a crazy quick car out of the box. Today I did 160 miles and got 34.2 mpg. I think that is great.
My reasoning on S/C is that launch control is hard on the car, ruins the tires and not suitable for public roads and it costs £2,000. Porsche of course disagree with me, however having driven the S with launch common sense prevails in my head.
The standard exhaust with the square tips sounds superb and performs brilliantly.
In fact in this video, these guys raved about great the Sports exhaust sounded and how it was an essential option, until they realised at the end of the film they had the standard option fitted. Ooops.

youtube.com/watch?v=t5aBiX07-II&t=13s

This is apart from the fact that the cost of the "sports exhaust" is more than $2,000. The price is £2,000 + the cost of the original exhaust you did not get. It is ridiculously expensive for an exhaust system.

I chose Sportex as a retro seat fabric. It was only a few hundred pounds. Because I chose it I could get contrasting chalk stitching on the black bits for free. I really like it. It put some retro stripes on too for fun.

The smaller diameter 19/20 inch wheels are huge. They give a comfortable ride and offer excellent handling too. I have not had any pot hole issues of kerbing issues yet. Tyres need air to work.

So I think the "basic" car is a bargain.

slwong23

I did not opt for SC or SE, primarily because I didn't have either on my Macan Turbo and therefore did not feel like I "needed" them on the 992. While they are very different vehicles, I rarely drove my Macan in Sport mode and really don't care for loud exhausts. I also really love the quad pipe look and instead added that option on my C2. That said, I really do like Sport mode in my 992 - both the drive and increased sound and use it often. I've probably used Sport mode in my 992 more within the first 6 months of ownership than in the previous 6 years with my Macan Turbo. If I were build another 992, it would likely be a Targa 4S so I would probably check those boxes, but you really don't miss what you never had.

Any 992 is an amazing car, so you really can't go wrong... options are such a personal preference and hopefully you'll get many opinions that will help make the decision easier. Good luck!

dashanin

You are my hero, sir! Base is an excellent choice in my opinion, and it will be my next 911. Overall an excellent build; here are my thoughts on options you mentioned. SC with PDK is almost a must have. Even though the latest generation of PDK is superb getting SC comes with versatility of having different modes for different applications, and active mounts do make a big difference. I'm not a big fan of launch control and never used it on any of my cars. SE is much less straightforward. I do believe that not getting this option will force you to upgrade to aftermarket at some point...but it may not be a bad thing as you can shop around and get the spec you want. I will say that $3K in factory SC is cheaper than anything aftermarket, when you factor in hardware and installation costs. Lastly, I do like the idea of base wheels but visually they look smallish on this car. Wheel wells are not filled in and if it were my car that might bother me long term.
Good luck with your order, and enjoy the traditional Porsche way of "less is more"!!

Ozy190

In my head, its a sports car. So get all the key sports features - the sport package is a nice bundle with sport chrono, exhaust and suspension.

I love the deep rumble of the sport exhaust and wouldn't change a thing there. The car feels like a lightweight when its turned off.
I love getting this thing going fast, so sport chrono is an absolute must.
The PASM is a very useful feature, but I do have it off half the time because I don't feel like rattling my teeth all the time.

Very personal preferences. But since you did ask for an opinion - I think ticking the sport package on a 'stripper' car without much else is the right way to go.

Phillip Berk

if you like a want a little more rumble out of the stock system I would go with PSE, if exhaust noise is just noise and the less the better then skip it. If you don't mind going aftermarket I would prob stick with the regular exhaust and go aftermarket, since it'll sound ever better and same cost or less. I think the S wheels or other options do look a lot better than the base 19/20 but thats personal preference. I haven't driven a 992 with the 19/20 but I have driven a base with the RS spyder wheels and it rode great in normal mode, and wasn't bad at all in sport mode. my friends mom just took delivery of a 992 C2 cab with the RS wheels, no PSE (just the cool quads) no SC and none of the really sporty options, just the luxury ones, Adaptive cruise, vent seats, nice lights etc. For her its perfect. it still sounds really good with the top down, and its a fun sporty daily to replace her bentley GT. on the other hand another friend just bought a 991.2 C2, loaded, sport plus 18 ways, PSE, SC, vent seats, PDLS+ and out of all those options the only must was sport chrono, so in terms of resale, the BS that you will never sell a car without it is like I said BS, but it will never really hurt you, and apples to apples, I'd take the car with SC, plus I love the look of the little clock, and having the drive mode selector on the steering wheel is really cool and useful, same with Sport plus, if you ever track its the best mode to use. But for everyday driving he uses sport since it sounds the best, love the backfires. (IK in the minority haha) at the end of the day. Get what you want and think will enjoy. But If It was my car I'd get the nice wheels, sport plus 4 ways, SC, Vent seats, adaptive cruise, and full leather since it makes a world of difference inside, Skip sport exhaust and a do a set of soul or fabspeed bypass pipes and X pipe. Good luck and keep us updated!

Cheshi143

Since you are ordering your car, if you can financially swing it with no issues, go for the sports chrono, you will regret not having it.

Sports exhaust by itself is not an absolute, however if you choose not to go with sports exhaust, at least go with the sport tips (quad). I have the base exhaust without the sports tips and it leaves much to be desired.

On the topic of paint, make sure you allocate $$ for either protection film or a quality nano coating as the paint on the 992 is rather soft and is very prone to chips and scratches. I would get either installed after delivery to ensure you get the quality and value that you want. Do not wait on this, once there is a chip you will see it forever.

Kevin33

I was of a similar mindset and went with a base, adventurine green, no PSE and no sports chrono as well. I've only got about 1,000 miles on it and only recently have discovered just how much the car changes going from normal mode to sport mode when driving a bit spirited. It's a pretty different experience with the car holding in 5th gear at hwy speeds vs. 8th and the exhaust making a wonderful noise when downshifting when in sport mode. To be honest, makes me feel like I may have made a mistake not opting for the sports chrono with its access to the "sport plus" mode which, as I understand it, kicks things up another notch.

carsrmyvice

If you’re going stripper go all the way! PSE and SC are great but you don’t need them.

rumnyc

For, you the main question is SC since SE does nothing for performance and optionally makes a loud car louder. SC for me is worth it for the steering toggle as i want to be able to easily switch between hooligan mode and docile mode. the other stuff are just a bonus. i am not sure if non SC cars also have PASM or not (its not clear to me) so thats another consideration.

i wish i had the disciple to go stripper base and be happy. I went to get stripper base, and ended up with c2s with literally everything short of pdcc.

Jon35

First world problem. I love it

gcurnew

All 992s have PASM.

craig66

Thank you all. As always varied opinions but I love the thought process that goes into the opinions.
Will need to decide in the next day or two but there are a couple of things that I know for sure

1. It is a Porsche and it is a 911 and so no matter what it will bring a smile to my face
2. Whether aI add in one, both or neither it won't make or break my experience and yes my decision might add a little or not at all but at the end of the day I will be in a responsive Porsche that makes me smile

Interesting I went through the same dilemma with my boxster and in the end it was saved by a good deal that I got from an on lot car that did not have SC. I love my boxster and I have a ton of fun. Would I have had more fun if I had SC..maybe but who knows and at this point I never even give it a thought.

Thanks all - love the input

Craig

ipse dixit

Go total Rambo.

No options. Base 992 C2.

That's it.