Jump to content

2002 Carrera 4S loses some age


TTQ B4U

Recommended Posts

It's been a while since I've dug up images off my phone to post up and while I'm out of order in terms of dates, I'll start with this red beauty.

 

As a referral from Patrick's father, this car came to me in good shape but in bad need of paint correction. Swirled with over 15 years of car washes and poor care, the Guards Red wasn't worthy of being on this Porsche and while clean, it looked like it was 15yrs old.

 

The owner bought the vehicle from Byers about 2yrs ago. With just over 50k on the clock now, it's in great shape inside and out. The goal was to remove the vast majority of swirls, polish out the headlights and tails and finally ceramic coat it so as to keep it in great shape and minimize any need to wax it going forward. Given this is a nice weather only driver now, I think we're on track to meeting those needs as it's now swirl free and protected from the elements.

 

I'm not a Porsche guru but according to the owner this is a poor-man's entry into the world of 911's being it's not the sought after air-cooled cars. Means nothing to me now as I'd rock the shit out of this all day as it's super clean and I love the styling.

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165894884/original.jpg

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165894902/original.jpg

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165894883/original.jpg

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165894885/original.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the owner is a regular at cars and coffee. I've spoken to him twice about this car and he's a super nice guy. The before had a decent amount of swirls that guards red does a good job of hiding but were still visible in direct sunlight, I can't wait to see Tim's work in person.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

the owner is a regular at cars and coffee. I've spoken to him twice about this car and he's a super nice guy. The before had a decent amount of swirls that guards red does a good job of hiding but were still visible in direct sunlight, I can't wait to see Tim's work in person.

 

Thanks! The swirls in sunlight were painful to look at. It was awesome seeing him pick it up in the same conditions too. :)

 

Are Carrera 4S any faster or more powerful than regular 911 Carrera's?

 

Beautiful work as always, Tim!

 

Thank you sir! Can't say anything about the performance, but this one had a great clutch and gearbox. Don't laugh at the comparison but it was as easy and smooth as my S2000 from years back was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are Carrera 4S any faster or more powerful than regular 911 Carrera's?

 

Beautiful work as always, Tim!

 

No same engine just awd, but they do make a C4 turbo and that one obviously is much more power and also comes at almost 2x the price

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are Carrera 4S any faster or more powerful than regular 911 Carrera's?

 

 

Faster? no. Actually probably slower because of the increased weight. I think the later ones (3.6L) are 320hp and roughly 3200lbs empty, vs 2900lbs empty for the same 3.6L 320hp rwd coupe.

 

There are a couple reasons why people like them better:

 

- the car is basically a turbo Porsche widebody with a standard NA engine. The 996 turbo is also 4wd, and I believe certain options/configurations of the 4s means you get the same suspension as the turbo car. The turbo cars still carry a $20-30K premium over the NA cars and really you are only getting like 100 more HP for that.

 

- because it is a 4wd car, Porsche stiffened up the shell. They use the same 4wd shell for the GT2 rwd cars, so some people buy them and remove the 4wd to make a poor mans GT2 track car.

 

- It's awd. I don't know why but people in snow belts think the RWD car will be hard to handle in snow. It's actually not the case, RWD rear engine cars are excellent in low traction conditions, that's why beetles make such good dune racers. I have a friend that DD's an aircooled rwd 964, and he has no problems in snow ever. just don't be a jackass hooning it up. The other thing about AWD is people think it dampens the "snap oversteer" that Porsches are infamous for. I dunno, I still think you can't defeat the laws of physics and how weight effects a pendulum, but you can manage your adherence to the laws pretty well. Honestly, snap oversteer in a 911 is overrated, I spun my father's friends 1987 911 SC back in the 1990s at bridgehampton, you have to be really going for it to get there, and also you can't drive the thing like a front engine, rwd car. It's a different line and different throttle and braking points - learn them and snap oversteer becomes a legend. To be honest, my old '66 corvair was easier to snap spin.

 

from most of what I hear talking to people and reading, if you want a "track car" 996 for cheap to mod, get a 1999 rwd carerra, preferrably with high mileage (the cheaper the better). The car is still analog in a lot of places (last year of an actual throttle cable) and is also the lightest of all the 996 body shells. why high mileage? chances are the IMS bearing is less likely to fail, and also nobody wants 3.4s so it's a little cheaper/easier to get used replacement parts. the downside is all the flaws of the 3.4 and there isn't much left on the table in terms of cranking up the hp, but it will be reliable.

 

If you want a DD 996, even in snow, and you don't want to pay the insurance on a TT 911 or the premium of the 996 TT, then get the carerra 4s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...