993 C2S in US specs

Guest · Oct 6, 2006

Hello everyone, just wondering if someone can help...

I am after a 'special' LHD 911 porsche and recently came across a 993 carrera S but in US specs and very very good condition... But a few things scare me about a US spec car (plastic bits on bumpers being the main thing).

Does anyone know what are ALL the differences between a European LHD 993 c2s spec car and the same car in US specs??

I know about the bumpers allready: does anyone know how i could remove the plastic bits at the front and the back??? i think they are horrible...
Or will i have to buy brand new front and rear bumpers if i want the car to look 'good'??

I also know about pressing the clutch to start the engine...

Anything else different?

Many thanks in advance.
Eric.

burrow01 · Oct 6, 2006

Hi,

Ride height will be higher than a RoW car (about 20mm I think)
The US spec cars from MY 96 onwards use ODBII to manage the engine etc - this can be more sensitive to emissions related problems, and give a "Check Engine" light as the valves potentially start to wear - US cars also seem to suffer more from valve wear.

The best place to find all the info is Rennlist, on their 993 forum, there is also info on removing the "bumperettes" - I think you just need to replace them with Euro parts

Cheers

Pete

Guest · Oct 6, 2006

Hi Pete,

I checked on the Rennlist but could not find anything the bumperettes... Any chance you can post a link or indicate how to find the info?

How do you think i should value such a car? £2k less than a EUR lhd spec' d car?

Regards,
Eric.

PTCSRS · Oct 6, 2006

Bigest diff in my view is the gearbox, they have alot higher gearing to avoid the gas gussler laws in the us, what this means is that a us spec car is slower!

burrow01 · Oct 6, 2006

ORIGINAL: erics

Hi Pete,

I checked on the Rennlist but could not find anything the bumperettes... Any chance you can post a link or indicate how to find the info?

How do you think i should value such a car? £2k less than a EUR lhd spec' d car?

Regards,
Eric.

Hi,

If you go to http://forums.rennlist.com and search for "Bumperette Removal" you should find something - this is one of the posts:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=116573&highlight=bumperette+removal

It looks like there is also a notch in the bumper that needs filling once you remove the bumperettes.

I used to have a US spec 3.2 cab, and the value was the same as for Euro spec lhd cars, maybe you could knock off the shipping cost if the car is still in the US?

Pete

Guest · Oct 6, 2006

Thanks guys, so it looks like removing the bumperettes front and rear is feasable?
It is a bit difficult to assess from raeding US websites as they have narrower reg plates than in uk.

Is the US bumper the same shape as a EUR bumper (front and rear ones) except that they have the nasty black plastics add-ons?

Gearbox is more ennoying......

Car is allready in the UK so no transport.

Any more experience / infos on the subject welcome.

Regards,
Eric.

Guest · Oct 6, 2006

Maurice, biggest concern is black plastic stuff, i could not sleep at night with such horrors on my cars.... [

]

I like this car, but won' t buy it if i cannot make it look like a EUR spec car. I really do not like black plastic.

And suspension higher then? hum did not look like a SUV on the pictures...

mikejb993 · Oct 6, 2006

Whenever I've looked at photo's of american 993's, one of the other things I have observed is the absence of side repeaters, or the indicators on the wing. Don't know if this is the norm or not, but worth pointing out.

mbrands · Oct 6, 2006

I don't know if the same applies for 993s, but often cars for the US market have all sorts of warning buzzers (like seat belt warning buzzer, door open buzzer, handbrake etc), which can be annoying, and notices (like 'objects may be closer than they appear' etched into the side mirrors, or airbag safety diagrams printed on the sunvisors). I think the airbags may be bigger and have more explosives packed in them too.

In addition to the greater ride height, I bet the US cars are heavier and that the engine is slightly down on power compared to the European version (because of the emissions regs).

Also, check that the radio works. FM radio stations in the US are on odd frequencies (eg 95.5mHz), whereas in the UK they tend to be even (eg 95.8mHz). Some radio manufacturers (I think Sony is one) tune in increments of 0.2 mHz and can therefore only hit either the odd frequencies or the even ones, depending on which market they were supplied for. This is presumably to stop Europeans from buying the same radio in the US for 30% less than at home.

Guest · Oct 8, 2006

been to see / drive the car yesterday.
Beautifull ocean blue with 48k miles in LHD and pcgb concours winner.

Having in mind what you have all posted (thank you V much! [

]).

The suspension of this car seemed to have been lowered: i could only pass 1 finger between the rear wheel and the wheel-arch...

1 big problem i found: although it has lots of history since beeing imported from the US, the service book DOES NOT have the sticker seen under the bonnet on the first page....
It does not have the first service stamp...
This enoys me a lot!

What i mean by this is that although the car was maintained throughout its life (8 services), the service book could be the one from any porsche (given that the sticker with the chassis number is not in the service book...).

I suppose service books should be delivered the same way in the US or the UK?? Annoying.

I do not know what to do. The day when i will have to resale this car i WILL be a problem and a subject of hassle....

kennyboy · Oct 9, 2006

Low suspension wouldn't surprise me Eric - a lot (and nearly all rennlisters) of the Americans fit sports or some other lowered suspension as they too think the standard US ride height looks ridiculous.

In fact many fit ROW M030 so maybe your potential purchase has this great upgrade already fitted? see other posts on how to find out.

Chris_James · Oct 9, 2006

Eric,
I have a US imported 1997 C2. I bought it in the US (used to live there) and imported to UK (including the UK Type Approval test) when I returned.
I can answer all questions raised in this chain and give you some more info, but suggest you call me as I haven't the time to write a long message.
Chris James
Mobile 07963 737256