To clear my mind, I drove two Porsches

"E90M3" (e90m3)
10/28/2017 at 14:39 • Filed to: unnecessary car shopping with E90M3

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Dropped the top and took it for a quick spin. This is the first Porsche I’ve driven. Immediately I got it, I see why people pay so much for these. Not that there was doubt in my mind, it’s good to confirm things though. I didn’t really like the clutch, but I think that’s because I’m used to my M3's clutch. The fact that it was a turbo engine was very apparent, it went from like 3k to the redline in no time.

After this drive I went over to the Porsche dealer. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! The clutch was brutally heavy in this. If felt like someone had messed with it. I couldn’t imagine living with it. My leg was starting to feel it even before we got on the road. Anyone else have this experience with a 911? The rest of the car was good, steering in both cars was pretty phenomenal.

I think I like my M3 more, probably because that’s what I’m used to, but I would love to add a 911 to the stable one day. To make things worse, I couldn’t afford both the M3 and one of these at my current job, but if I took that other job I would be able to, as if I needed more things to think about.

Also, I would like to add you get treated so much better at the higher end dealers than you do at the lower ones. I went to the Ford dealer and no one came out and talked to me, I had originally went to go see if I could test drive a Focus RS.

DISCUSSION (22)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 14:52

Ford’s are great, Ford dealers are shit

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
10/28/2017 at 14:54

Kinja'd!!!

Come to think of it, the 1M I test drove was at a Ford dealer. Probably helped that I went on a Tuesday morning and was like the only one there. Other than that I haven’t had a good experience at Ford dealers. I had forgotten how much of a pain it was to take my Explorer to the Ford dealer.

LongbowMkII > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 15:16

If it makes you feel any better they probably wouldn’t have let you test drive it

E90M3 > LongbowMkII
10/28/2017 at 15:18

I figured that, which is why I went to test drive the Porsches first.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 15:26

Yeah Porsche dealers tend to be great. They even treated me awesome one time I came in to test drive a three year old VW GLI listed at $18k on their used lot.

E92M3 > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 15:35

I’ve driven a 996 Turbo, and the shifter bothered me more than the clutch. It felt like it was shift by wire, as if there was no physical linkage to the gearbox. I’ve also driven a 997 Carrera S, and. 997 GT3. Both clutches were extra heavy. They both had aftermarket clutches, so I don’t know how the stock clutch feels. They were heavy enough that I would not want to get stuck in Atlanta traffic in either. Made me question the everyday practicality that people describe the 911 to have. I guess I should drive a stock one for comparison.

E90M3 > E92M3
10/28/2017 at 16:12

I always heard that Porsche made such great shifters, neither was better than the one in the M3. I think the clutch on the 997 have to have been modified. I’ve sat in ATL traffic in the M3, it’s doable. The 997 would be unbearable. The clutch in the 996 was fine, a little lacking on feel, but not significantly heavier or lighter than the M3's.

E92M3 > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 16:36

I think the 997 shifter is good, not S2000 good, but pretty good. The 996 I drove was just terrible. Not sure if it was modified or not though.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > E90M3
10/28/2017 at 22:43

humblebrag

Kinja'd!!!

clutch is fairly heavy, with “sport” pressure plate. I don’t mind the pressure plate so much, but the previous owner also put in a lightened flywheel which leads to a lot of feathering the clutch pedal from dead stops which makes it annoying.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > E90M3
10/29/2017 at 21:24

How do you like AWD? The Turbos are sooo good looking and the wider-body on the 4 is really nice, but I’m all about that rear wheel life baby!

E90M3 > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
10/29/2017 at 21:48

It really wasn’t that noticeable. I too prefer RWD, although I never really notice it. All the vehicles I’ve owned have been RWD/AWD, Explorer Sport, 128i, 328i, and M3. I did powerslide the shit out of the 3 the other day, as the tires are in need of replacing, and it put a massive smile on my face.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 11:50

The clutch was super heavy on the C2S 997 I drove, too. When I got back in my car to drive home, I thought the master/slave cylinder died BC it felt like the clutch just went all the way to the floor.

B_dol > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 12:27

Ford made me complete a trade-in appraisal for my car before I could test drive the Focus RS, even though I stated I would buy the RS as an addition to the car I came in.

Came back underwhelmed - perhaps too much hype, perhaps I couldn’t stretch its legs properly. Car looks the business, is the right size (utility) and has all the right numbers. Interior is meh, seating is super high, dash cluster is a snoozefest and the steering wheel is too narrow and too big of a diameter. No complaints about the suspension which many have found stiff.

E90M3 > B_dol
11/01/2017 at 15:28

Yeah, I figured that they wouldn’t even let me drive it. I would have liked someone to at least tell me that though.

It seems a lot of them are for sale with less than 2k miles on it, seems like it was way over hyped. Although one car that gets a lot of hype, the 1M, is a fantastic car and would own one if I could. Maybe if you’d been able to really thrash the RS you’d have a different perception, although you hear a lot of people say that they’re not really rewarding to drive, even flat out.

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
11/01/2017 at 15:32

Maybe it’s a Porsche thing then. It was pretty off-putting for me. It almost felt like a really hard Honda clutch in the way it was hard to find the point where the clutch bit.

I guess when I get one, when I figure out how to make more money without being miserable, I’ll have to change the clutch for a lighter one.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 16:00

Yeah, it must be. I don’t remember the clutch on the Caymans I drove so it must not have been anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it’s a 911 thing.

That being said, I did like the feel. It would be bad as a DD but not as a 1-3 times a week car.

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
11/01/2017 at 16:06

Guess there will be some more unnecessary car shopping in the near future for some more research.

I loved the way the steering felt. It was heavy, but not having the engine on the front axel made a different. All this unnecessary car shopping has made me want a Porsche. I think I’d need to have 3 cars, my M3, an AMG, and a Porsche; rotate them all so one isn’t my true DD.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 17:20

I could support all those decisions haha.

What is it about Ford dealerships though? I’ve had one good experience and that must have been a fluke. The other times I had a similar experience as you. One time, I went straight to the local Ford dealership from driving the M5 and the guy the (eventually) came out barely even let me sit in Mustang. Don’t even get me started on the RS. No test drives, “market adjustment”, etc. It’s a $35K car, get over yourselves. I get that I look young, but there are plenty of millennials with a lot of money. It can’t be that hard to distinguish joy riders from a potential customer, if you actually gave a damn. Luxury dealerships are better in every single aspect. Rant over. Haha

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
11/01/2017 at 17:53

Right now I just go for joy rides, but I make it seem serious. Being a millennial with a nice car goes a long way. I also apparently look young; I went to visit my younger sister last year, who was 23 at the time and all her friends thought I was the younger sibling. I don’t know what it is about Ford dealers and other non-luxury brand dealers. I think the only good experience I had a Ford dealer is when I went to go drive a 1M.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 18:13

My first Ford dealer experience was great. We did donuts in a brand new GT/CS. Every other time though... Funny about the 1M. Maybe they thought they could offload it on someone with an M car already.

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
11/01/2017 at 18:15

I think he saw the BMW and was like bingo.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3
11/01/2017 at 18:17

Meanwhile, I drive my Ferrari to the Ford dealer and no one even comes outside -_-. lolol