Spot on.

FWIW, I never got used to the 996 Turbo clutch, I stalled it periodically, even as I was going to trade it in at the dealership for a GT2.

I never stalled the GT2 other than the one time that the clutch line was cut (really bad design) by road debris and slowly the fluid leaked.

 

I fully intend to drive a few thousand more miles before I decide to spend $2K+ on this issue. I imagine I'll get used to it eventually, but why they would make the clutch so mushy from the factory is beyond me.

I think if it wasn't so cost prohibitive, I would venture to guess a large number of owners would opt for this 'mod'.

 

bonehead - this is the BEST mod i've done for my car.

i felt much the same as you & stuka - the problem gets amplified a lot more when you have a heavy duty clutch - stalling was routine w/ the clutch assist.

without it, the clutch is *very* predictable and makes driving it a pure pleasure.


again - the best mod i've ever done - it's the way the car should have come from the factory.

- chuck

 

Dammit Chuck. Now I really want it
At what point is a clutch upgrade recommended (i.e. awhp/tq)?

 

i think 600hp you need stage 2

but to reiterate - i think the first mod, before chipping/suspension, should be clutch assist deletion - it really does transform the car into a 'driving' machine. trust me, it is worth every single penny.

- chuck

 

And cheaper than losing your shirt on the trade for a GT2 like I did.

 

i dunno about that, i'm down *a lot* on this car if i were to sell it today...

you traded in your Gt2? what did you replace it with?

- chuck

 

So I had the Turbo, hated the PSM and the clutch, traded it in for the GT2, loved it.

Problem was, the lease was done back when 85K was considered an amazing residual on the GT2. Needless to say, we ended up giving the car back because it was at least 20K over market on the buyout due to mileage.

At the moment, the 997 MKI in orange or yellow is the front runner because of the travesty of A91 engine in MKII, since it is a four seater.

Another option is 997 GT2/3 with backseats put in. But basically, I realized that a two seater is pretty useless because towards the end the GT2 mostly stay parked because on the weekends we never get to use the GT2 as a family. So about the only other option would be the Vanquish S.

But this all has to wait until we buy a house, which I am not sure how much longer we have to wait. Looking at the prices in 1998, I think the housing prices are still way inflated due to artificial low interest rates.

So we wait, and in the mean time, I get to drive around in my E30...

 

By 997 Mk.1 Do you mean the Turbo?

If you do spend the extra coin (a substantial extra at that) on a 997 GT2, you will not be sorry. It is heads and shoulders better than the 996 version. The suspension improvement cannot be described in words... and the way that power comes on... it is awesome.

Not sure if you really want to add back seats to a Gt2 or 3. Yes, it can be easily done, but personally, I think these are cars where you would actually want to add a real rollbar or cage, especially since the 2 includes factory mounting hardware to bolt in a cage.

In that sense, a Turbo may be more practical for your family's needs. Hope you get back in one of these cars soon.

As for the residential market here in Los Angeles, I think it has largely bottomed out except for the high end above $5 million. Foreclosures and short sales are actually getting snapped up quite briskly. If you find a good deal, it's not a bad time to make a move on it.

Interest rates are low, but jumbo loans are very difficult to obtain today.

 

Yeah, Turbo.

I love everything about the GT2, except the resale.

This and the GT3 seem to be the two P cars that if you put ANY miles on it the resale drops like a rock. It is probably worse than the F cars as far as how much mileage affects resale. I think this is probably the part that makes me hesitant on dropping the kind of coin compares to the relatively benign price of the Turbo.

I am not crazy about AWD, or PSM. But, I am just not 100% comfortable about putting backseats in the GT2/3, so I am just (or have been) walking around in circles.

See, this is the part that makes no sense to me.

You can't get anything decent without a jumbo, and jumbo's are hard to get. And yet, prices of these houses, while they have come down, they have not come down far enough for the transaction volumes to matter, it seems.

That just doesn't make sense to me.