Raced my friend in his 996

[dvkim]

A friend of mine recently bought a 996 Cab. Before this he had a Boxter, and was always frustrated that he could'nt keep up with me. So naturally his ego could not let him wait to go head to head with me in my stock 94' X. with 40k miles.

So the other night we were both driving home from a party, and we stopped on the road, to launch.

We raced 6 or 7 times, and every time he would get a full car lenght on the launch, and maintain it through the gears. A few times we started out about 10-20 mph in 2nd, and it was more even. I looked up the specs, and his 996 does 0-60 in 4.8, and my car 5.2. I guess the numbers don't lie. Has any one else had some fun against a 996?

 

[WeakestLink]

I thought the 996 Cab should be slower than the NSX. Even if it is an 02 with the added hp, I thought the cab was 5.4 or greater 0-60. (I don't know actual test results) The 02 996 coupe should be as fast (maybe a little faster) as the NSX but I would have thought the cab would be significantly slower. Interesting.

 

[nsxtasy]

It sounds to me like the difference may be due to driver launch technique.

 

[Chuck]

Why would anyone in a NSX begin a race at 10-20 mph in SECOND gear? The key to success with a Honda motor is staying in the power band. If ever I race someone, I always try to be in MY powerband, not there's.

 

[CHOICE]

Your NSX is around seven years older with 270 HP, vs the 3.2L 290 HP. It may hve been different. Besides, you still have the better car overall. I say (write) this because until last week, I had both a 2000 996 cab and an NSX. The 996 drives great but the interior and the overall build quality is crap. I've had 7 P-cars and after the 996, I will NEVER NEVER purchase a P-car again. Long long time ago in Stut. Germany, they chose the parts of the leather chair based on what part of the cow the leather came from. The door closed like a bank vault. Now, it's no better than a hand built KIA. My passenger door wouldn't open, the inst. cluster feels like card board, the shifter alum. is plastic painted, etc. Porsche sold their soul for profit only.

Regardless, last week I traded both 996 cab and NSX for a 2003 500 SL. This week I bought back the NSX. The 996 is a wonderful driver, but it's too bad about the quality. It took Porsche 10 years to catch up to the NSX NA engine with a 3.6L. Take my advise, if any NSX owner is envious of the newer 996, please don't be. Grass is not greener.

 

[NSX UNITED]

I'm sure not too many (if not none) NSX owners are envy of the 996s. In fact, I went to a Porsche dealer looking for the C4S before I chose the NSX over it. Porsche are nice, except they are too cheap to include any today's-must-have options as on other cars. The only Porsche that is truely suprior to the NSX is, of course, the almighty Turbo (my friend has one and he steals the spot light from the crowd all the time, damn him

). However, I still like the ride quality of NSX much better.

------------------
'98-T Kaiser Silver/Black

 

[AaronR]

I just got rid of a 996 will the full aerokit (looks like a gt2 racecar) and got a 94 NSX with 15k. I do not miss the Porsche at all! I have never had so many oil leakes, sqeaks, and dealer visits in my life. Plus the dealer was so rude, they act like you owe them something even though you are there with a broken car time and time and time again! Makes no sense. I'll tell you where the grass is greener....Right here!

Ps- I had a Boxster S too and it was no better.

 

[erobbins]

I own both a 91 NSX and a 2000 996 Cabrio. The Porsche is faster, both on the road and track. Even so, I prefer driving the NSX in both environments.

EDR

 

[SamGrant951]

Ill admit I have a liking for the older Porsches much more than the new ones. the old ones have a certain prestige. But reliability wise my porsches have always been great as long as serviced regularly. sure prob not like a honda/acura. But nothing beats the turbo rush.. nothing.
yes, i do want a NSX within the year, but I will always own a Porsche. The NSX will be the daily driver as I couldnt imagine a more beautiful daily driver exotic with the upkeep of my GS-R.

 

[dvkim]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
It sounds to me like the difference may be due to driver launch technique.

I'm definitely not a drag racer, but his car simply has more torque. Even if I got a perfect launch, his car is a little faster. I still like the handeling, and the overall feel of my X way better.

 

[dvkim]

The 996 drives great but the interior and the overall build quality is crap. I've had 7 P-cars and after the 996, I will NEVER NEVER purchase a P-car again. Now, it's no better than a hand built KIA. My passenger door wouldn't open, the inst. cluster feels like card board, the shifter alum. is plastic painted, etc. Porsche sold their soul for profit only.

I has an 88" CAb, great car. Although much more difficult to drive than my X. The new 911, reminds me of a Nissan Z interior.




[This message has been edited by dvkim (edited 22 May 2002).]

 

[nsxtasy]

Going back to the "which car is faster" issue...

Originally posted by dvkim:
I looked up the specs, and his 996 does 0-60 in 4.8, and my car 5.2. I guess the numbers don't lie.

No, but you need to get the right numbers. The 5.2 figure for the 3.0-liter NSX coupe is about right. I don't know where you got the 996 figure; the ones I've looked up are different from yours.

Porsche makes several different versions of normally aspirated 996, with different weights and capabilities:

- Cabriolet is slower than the Carrera coupe, because it is heavier
- Carrera 4 may be faster or slower than the Carrera - faster because the 4WD gives greater grip, but slower due to the greater weight of the 4WD system
- automatic transmission (Tiptronic) is slower than manual; I assume your friend has a manual.

Here are some published 0-60 test figures for the NA 996:

Carrera - 4.9 (Road & Track 3/02)
Carrera - 5.5 (Car and Driver 7/01)
Carrera 4 - 5.0 (Motor Trend 7/99)
Carrera 4 Cabriolet - 5.6 (Road & Track 7/99)
Carrera Cabriolet Tiptronic - 5.4 (Motor Trend 9/99)

Here are 0-62 figures from Porsche's website; the fact that they're 62 mph (100 kmph) makes them off slightly, but they should give you another data point on how these models compare with each other:

Carrera - 5.0
Carrera Tiptronic - 5.5
Carrera 4 - 5.1
Carrera 4 Tiptronic - 5.6
Carrera Cabriolet - 5.2
Carrera Cabriolet Tiptronic - 5.7
Carrera 4 Cabriolet - 5.2
Carrera 4 Cabriolet Tiptronic - 5.7

Incidentally, his car may have more torque, but that doesn't make it faster. What the NSX lacks in torque, it makes up for with gearing, and the fact that its torque curve is so flat. If you're interested in a comparison of power and torque, click here.

Also keep in mind that his car is probably substantially heavier than yours, assuming it's a Cabriolet, which could easily nullify any power advantage.

Bottom line: I don't think it's necessarily true that his car is faster than yours. In fact, if it's a Cabriolet, it's almost certainly slower.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 22 May 2002).]

 

[erobbins]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
Bottom line: I don't think it's necessarily true that his car is faster than yours. In fact, if it's a Cabriolet, it's almost certainly slower.

I must remind everyone that the numbers which Porsche pubishes are notoriously conservative. They are probably 8-10% better than what is listed on their website or marketing materials in ideal conditions.

Even so, I can't understand why people won't take first-hand experience... I have owned both a 91 NSX Coupe and a 00 911 Cabriolet for two years now, and drive them both extensively on the road and track. I can tell you... the 996 is the faster car. In fact, I am just as fast in my 996 on good street tires on the track than in my NSX with Yokohama A-032Rs.

One other note - any 996 series equipped with PSM (Porsche Stability Management), either in RWD or AWD configurations, will walk away from an NSX on the track in the wet with it enabled. It allows you to explore the absolute limit of the vehicle and tires in wet (or other) conditions without scrubbing off speed in an understeer condition or losing it altogether because of oversteer.

I'm not arguing with anyone here... don't get me wrong. It's just a simple fact that all things being equal (driver, track, etc.), the 996 is the "faster" car, although it doesn't feel like it while driving it.

I prefer driving my NSX on the track... I feel more connected and in control of the vehicle. The 996 has power steering, throttle by wire, PSM (when it's not disabled), etc... too much help when driving the car, even if it does make you quicker from point A to B.

EDR

 

[smoore]

i can tell you with my nsx 91 w/ h/e and around 2800lbs i have raced my friend dark blue 996 with the 18 turbo wheel and his car is all stock from a stock he can't hang but once rolling it's close i had the edge with a passnager but for a stock 94' nsx that is heavyier it wouldn't surprize me if the 996 had the edge imo

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by erobbins:
Even so, I can't understand why people won't take first-hand experience...

Because the magazines use multiple professional drivers who need to be able to get 100 percent out of every car they drive, and they drive them bone stock using precise measuring equipment under controlled circumstances, leaving out the influence of any variables or perceptions. That's why someone saying "I know X car is faster" without any such controlled circumstances just doesn't cut it. Not for me, anyway.

If it were really true that one car is faster, it would be impossible for the magazines to find the opposite to be true.

Yes, Porsche's numbers may be conservative; but as I already stated, I presented those numbers only to give an idea which Porsche model is faster than which other Porsche model. Whether you like it or not, the car magazines say that the 996 Cabriolet is slower than the five-speed NSX Coupe 0-60. That's because they've driven each one on a test track with their professional drivers and those are the numbers they came up with. And that's good enough for me.

 

[NSEX]

I've raced with my friend's 996 coupe with tip tranny. I beat him off the line, but once it's rolling, I couldn't gain anything on it. On the highway, we're exactly the same fast up until 280km. He told me that his tip Porsche is only .1 sec slower than manual above 150km or something like that.
BTW, my NSX is '91 with I/H/E