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    Second weekend with 997S: Parked next to a new Corvette

    Parked next to a new Covette in Kittery, Maine.
    Both cars looked great, but I'd always buy a Porsche. Both rear ends are very large and the quality of the two cars is much improved. The Corvette still looked like something from Detroit and the Porsche looked like it belonged on the autobahn. Enough said.
    -After the second weekend:
    1. I know I'm very happy with the 997s vs. a 996 turbo
    2. I have run the car over the Porsche recommended 4200rpms but have not gone over 6000 rpms. I'm straddling the fence between what Porsche says and other forum members have said. The dealer assured me that I was not hurting the car now or in the future. For other new owners, I'm driving it agressively without taking it to extremes. Whatever comes naturally when driving a high performance sportscar.
    3. I live in Seacoast NH and the winding road along the Atlantic is perfect for running the car hard. I've been 80-90 mph through the curves and PSM has never kicked in. Incredible acceleration through the turns with lots of confidence. I've been 125mph on Interstate 95 and the car was very stable on the below average road conditions. A new 3 mile private road course is being built in Tamworth, NH and I hope to test the top speed under controlled conditions.
    4. The interior should sell every previous Porsche owner. Not one squeek or rattle. I love the painted silver dials and the metal pedals. The balance between metal and leather throughout the car is very tasteful. My taste in music ranges from Metallica to Elton John and the Bose system gives me low, low bass and high fidelity clarity. In short, my wife got in the car on Saturday night and said, "this is sooo much nicer than your old one."('99 996)
    4. I spent over an hour customizing a car seat for my 4 yr old daughter behind the passenger seat. For those of you who are lucky enough to have great kids and cars, I cut the Graco booster seat($59 vs. $600 from Porsche) in the back to match the narrow seat. I made sure not to compromise the inherent structure of the seat and I removed the leather seat pad. I will never put her in the front seat until she is twelve regardless of the fact that you can turn off the airbag.
    5. I look at the current horsepower war as silly and meaningless. I think the law of dimishing returns has hit the sportscar market. Given the fact that any car manufacturer can easily engineer as much horsepower as they want in any car(i.e. the new 500hp M5), does it make it a faster and better car? Should we and are we going to sell our 997's.
    I think Porsche is one step ahead of everyone by acknowledging this issue and realizing that people don't drive in straight lines and want interaction with their cars. PSM,PASM,Sport Chrono,... are all enhancements to our driving pleasure if we want them and or need them. You can turn them off or not order them! Porsche is making cars that average drivers(like me) can drive well beyond their limits very easily. The 997 is one of the first cars to take advantage of current technology and will probably set a new kind of benchmark. It's breaking track records without large displacement.
    6. I am sometimes guilty of buyers remorse, but I have zero regrets on this purchase.

    Re: Second weekend with 997S: Parked next to a new Corvette

    Funny you should mention the booster seat. I am replacing my daily driver with a 997S in Feb 2005. I have a 3 year old son who I'd love to haul around in my 997S. Was the booster too big to fit in the back in its original size? Did you consider the Britax booster (apparently Britax makes the Porsche Zoom booster)? Thanks for any input

    BTW, nice review and thoughts.

    Re: Second weekend with 997S: Parked next to a new Corvette

    Rockhead,

    Great review. It covers the important things in life! I feel much the same and I think I'll follow your recommendations re RPM now that I am at around 750 miles at or below 4,200 more or less, which has been killing me!

    I wish I could have afforded this car when my kids were young. Unfortunately neither my 16 or 19 year old will ever have the thrill of driving in the back of Daddy's Porsche. Just the front!

    Congratulations. It was my second weekend too. And what a glorious weekend it was! We drove out to the Hamptons. Low 70's, beautiful light, wonderful foliage. Magnificent car! I felt very privileged.

    Paul

    Weekend 2

    Rockhead, very well put.

    Has anyone tried the 5.1 surround sound built into the Bose? It's new; it isn't on my buddy's 2004 996 TT. I have some 5.1 discs on order, will report. The audio system with plain old stereo CDs is phenonenal, better than I've ever heard, even compared to home systems.

    I haven't managed to kick in the PSM either. Much easier to do in a BMW. I know there's a limit, but I haven't found it.

    The natural grey interior in my car is exquisite. The leather should be used for handbags, not for absorbing my farts. I am not worthy.

    Re: Weekend 2

    -alin2
    5 minutes before I bought the Graco booster, I was in the local dealership looking at the Porsche items. The seat for the real little ones looked completely stupid because of the massive foam padding. I believe the "Zoom" is the one for greater than 30lbs and that one also appeared very large. Most importantly, both were shown in the front seat because when you buy them from the dealer, the dealer installs a front airbag deactivation switch. I also believe Britax is the manufacturer and we have the Marathon? seat in my wife's XC90 in the second row. Again, by NH law and my own safety concerns, she won't ride in the front seat. This narrowed my options completely because the back seat is shallow and slim. I wanted to permanently install one so that I always have the option of taking her in my car. My 4 year old daughter is 34lbs and barely makes the minimum weight for most the booster seats. Hopefully your son will make the minimum weight by your delivery. And yes, I felt the booster was too big at the base in its original size and I felt I did a really good job cutting it down. I even used sandpaper for metal to smooth all the rough plastic edges. At $50 bucks you can't beat the fit and all the surgery was done so that you can't see the ugly cuts. If I see a better booster with a smaller base(whatever the price)I will buy it and modify it.
    -booger
    I held mine until I got out of the car. I'm that anal.

    Re: Weekend 2

    Quote:
    rockhead said:
    -alin2
    5 minutes before I bought the Graco booster, I was in the local dealership looking at the Porsche items. The seat for the real little ones looked completely stupid because of the massive foam padding. I believe the "Zoom" is the one for greater than 30lbs and that one also appeared very large. Most importantly, both were shown in the front seat because when you buy them from the dealer, the dealer installs a front airbag deactivation switch. I also believe Britax is the manufacturer and we have the Marathon? seat in my wife's XC90 in the second row. Again, by NH law and my own safety concerns, she won't ride in the front seat. This narrowed my options completely because the back seat is shallow and slim. I wanted to permanently install one so that I always have the option of taking her in my car. My 4 year old daughter is 34lbs and barely makes the minimum weight for most the booster seats. Hopefully your son will make the minimum weight by your delivery. And yes, I felt the booster was too big at the base in its original size and I felt I did a really good job cutting it down. I even used sandpaper for metal to smooth all the rough plastic edges. At $50 bucks you can't beat the fit and all the surgery was done so that you can't see the ugly cuts. If I see a better booster with a smaller base(whatever the price)I will buy it and modify it.
    -booger
    I held mine until I got out of the car. I'm that anal.



    Thanks much. Any pics?? TIA

    Re: Weekend 2

    do you have the name or model number of the graco booster?

    Re: Weekend 2

    -trice
    Trash day is Tuesday and today is Wednesday. The box is gone. I have black full leather and the Graco booster is grey/black with red plastic on the sides for the seat belt. I bought it at Babies R Us. There were a number of them that I felt would have been good to modify in the $50-60 range. I wish I could take pictures to show you but I don't know how to add pictures to posts. When I cut the booster with a wood hand saw, I cut it at approx. 45 degree angle on the sides and cut it from the middle of the seat to rear. Both sides taper to the back without seeing the cut from the top. I will probably add a 3" piece of foam underneath the rear 3rd because when I removed the leather pad the carpeted seat got deeper towards the back. Again, I tried as best as I could to maintain the structural integrity and completed the project feeling that me daughter is safer with the booster snug in the seat rather than dangerously balancing between the wheelwell and the drivetrain. I would have liked a 5-point harness seat, but have yet to find one that I could modify. I really hope this helps.

    Re: Weekend 2

    i ended up getting a booster seat from evenflo. brought it to the dealer and it fits great in the 997. it's narrow in the back and widens toward the front. it's called evenflo rightfit booster seat.

    http://www.shopping.com/xPR-Evenflo_Right_Fit_Booster~RD-80922775172

    Re: Weekend 2

    -Trice
    I will consider this one in the future, because I would worry about where the shoulder strap falls on her. The booster seat I modified had a seat and upright back with seatbelt guides and padded wings. The seatbelt must fall properly across a child's shoulder and chest for it to be safe. Happy motoring.

    Re: Second weekend with 997S: Parked next to a new Corvette

    I couldn't agree more with your comments. This past Saturday I took delivery of a 997S (traded a 986S). I could not believe the drive home. It is undoubtably the best balanced car I have ever owned. Even my wife who has zero passion for autos said "now I understand." That coming from my wife is almost the ultimate compliment to Porsche.

    Re: Weekend 2

    Booger let me understand this. The Bose system is able to read the new 5.1 CD's?

    DTS 5.1 and Bose surround

    stew,

    Well, I thought so, based on the Porsche PCM manual stating that "Bose Centerpoint signal processing technology processes virtually any audio source into five separate audio channels..." I assumed this includes DTS 5.1, since the format is a readily available five channel format. I tried a disc and it didn't work. I wrote Bose, haven't gotten a useful response yet. Anyone know if any Bose auto system reads 5.1? Their press releases sure make it sound that way. I hope it's not empty promises made by the marketing department. I grew up in the town where Bose started and really respect the company, in particular their research capabilities and systems. I've had a pair of 901s my whole life. I built speakers there during summers in college.

    Re: DTS 5.1 and Bose surround

    The Bose Centerpoint technology is to "make" a 2 channel stereo signal from a CD for instance into psuedo-multicannel. The Bose system does not have the DSP to process true 5.1 chennel audio such as DTS, multichannel SACD, or Dolby Digital. In addition, it cannot use DVD-A.

    Re: DTS 5.1 and Bose surround

    I guess our cars don't include an "Upcoming vehicle system," as mentioned in the press release below. Any hope of a software upgrade in the future?

    New York Auto Show

    FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2004

    Combining over twenty years of experience in premium automotive sound with its proven expertise in home theater surround sound, Bose Corporation has developed a suite of advanced surround sound architectures specifically tailored to the automotive environment. Custom engineered Bose(R) surround sound systems are currently available in some of the world's finest automobiles, including the Maybach, the Porsche Cayenne, and the Audi A8L. The company expects several new Bose surround-equipped vehicles to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show next week.

    "We've taken two of the things we do best as a company -- surround sound and automotive audio systems -- and brought them together," said Brandon Westley, Vice President, Bose Automotive Systems Division. These are some of the most advanced systems we've created to date, and we feel they deliver an unmatched listening experience."

    Upcoming vehicle systems will feature an impressive arsenal of surround sound technologies, and offer a broad range of surround playback options. These systems will support a wide variety of both stereo and surround formats, including traditional CDs as well as discs in DVD-A, DVD-V and DTS formats. Some systems will also be compatible with MP3 files and satellite radio.

     
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