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A polite hello and my 996 plan

E

ellis51773

New member
Just wanted to introduce myself to you all as a new member but current non-996 owner. I've floated over here from the MKIV Supra owners club where I usually reside and am currently on my 3rd Supra (96 Facelift Twin Turbo) which is pretty much stock bar a few visual tweaks (pic below).

I'm here to gather advice, info and get involved in the 996 scene before I buy one. My love of the 911 goes back to when I was 5 and got my first matchbox car - a lovely brown 911 Turbo (which I still have 40 years later!) and it remains the car I'd dearly love to own (but may never do so!)

I've set a time of 12 months from now to gather as much info (and money obviously) as possible in the hope that at that time I can start to look earnestly for a 2002 onwards C4S (or a Turbo). I've already been over to the Hartech site and gathered the PDFs from there and a few from here which are making invaluable reading. Richard Hamilton's name and this site were highly recommended by a 996 Turbo owner over on the Supra Owners site (Daman - if he's here!) so am looking forward to becoming an active member and meeting some local owners (Lincolnshire) to get good advice and tips.

Whilst the Supra shares many performance and weight characteristics with the 996 C4S I feel this is where the similarities will end - 2 very different beasts! Am looking forward to finding out just how much.

Current car - 96 TT Supra - low level spoiler added/a touch lower than standard/19" Jade Rs/RSR Cat Back exhaust/resprayed in Honda Dark Metallic Grey
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Ellis! Enjoy your search - that's half the fun if you are not under pressure and not in a rush. If you are thinking about a C4S you might also want to consider a Turbo, as they aren't a lot more expensive to buy or run.
 
Hi Richard - thanks for the welcome - you come highly recommended! Whilst the 996 Turbo would be my car of choice I fear my budget won't stretch that far - most turbos seem to be about a third higher in cost than the C4S so that alone may well dictate my choice. Mind you, a year in the car world can see some odd things happen so who knows in 12 months' time.
 
i would follow richard H advice as gospel. he and GT4 have encyclopaedic knowledge. i learnt a lesson by not going on the forum beforehand. buying a 996 1999 for 18300, 32K on clock. It was fine needed some work but i got paranoic about the IMS. spent money on new IMs (LN) as didn't want a 5-10% engine blowout. When it was stripped no issues but it a matter of luck or multifactorial. So suggest you go for turbo as don't have IMS issues or late 2005 on 997 (Save ups bit longer)
 
Very nice! I've driven a lot of Japanese cars and the only one I felt handled like a Porsche was the supra. It feels a lot like a 944 to drive but has an even better engine. Just a pity my friends car had a lot of problems[&o] A 996 turbo would be an excellent choice for an upgrade. Dry sumped, hard as nails, much better handling but somehow a similar feel to it to drive.
 
Thanks for the replies folks - I'll see how the saving goes over the next 12 months and what's in the pot at the end of it - that will dictate a great deal!
 
Welcome, I used to have a 300zxTT back in the day, never like the Supra personally but your car actually looks very tidy indeed! :)
 
Cheers Steve! After a fair bit of reading of various info sheets from here and Hartech it was inevitable that the internet would throw up some of the horror stories surrounding the 996 engine failures (IMS, cracked linings etc) and was wondering just how many members on here have actually experienced such issues. It seems that the 996 Turbo (being a different engine) doesn't suffer from the same ailments but the 3.4L and some 3.6L cars have these horror stories around them, either low mileage cars or high mileage cars. Confused and bewildered? Slightly! But I'm pretty sure that these scare stories do blow out of proportion the real story. Be intrested to hear other's views though.
 
I guess it's the same as most cars, you hear bad stories on forums, and there are and will be some dogs around that people will be trying to get rid of, but hopefully you should be able to get an indication from an inspection and the history (IE changing hands lots, paperwork not adding up etc etc). Go armed with the excellent buying guide from here and having read up, and check all that you can. Back that up with common sense and an inspection and you should be good. Not to say that those precautions will pick everything up mind, but it gives you a good start. I've been on here a few years, and I have only ever read of perhaps two or three engine failures and not specifically relating to IMS. My car is now at 114k, and is still on the original seal and bearing. RMS has never been an issue either. Some people are getting paranoid and fitting IMS guardians; I am going to just drive mine until it blows up and then get it rebuilt if I need to. It may never happen so I don't plan on spending my time worrying about it :) All in all, buy a well looked after one that checks out and you should have no worries.
 
Cheers Steve, I usually take these internet stories with a pinch of salt. Most seem to be US based - might be because there are more 996s running around over there. I'm arming myself with as much background info as I can and the tick-list is growing. What I need to do is get to some local (ish) meets and see if I can get a few owners to allow me to be a passenger in their cars. Having had 3 Supras with the auto box I'm not averse to the idea of the auto/Tip box on a 996 but I'd like to hear from oowners of both the manual and Tiptronic and try to get either a test drive in both or cadge a passenger ride in member's cars to judge the difference.
 
[:)] Call me biased! but IMHO the C2 with PMS is nearest to the original concept of the 911 - it's lighter and smaller than the C4 and Turbo. I've had mine nearly 7 years and it's only had a battery fail and still looks like new - enjoy!
 
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