Quality Control: 2013 Gen V vs. 991 Carrera

[PilotaX]

In terms of QC, my 2013 991 Carrera is now losing by an even wider margin to my 2013GTS LE. Last night I received a recall notice about the 991 Carrera's exhaust system. Apparently, NHTSA believes 991 exhaust systems are prone to fall of and damage cars following behind. Guess I need to get that fixed...

Porsche issues to date: computer computes gas mileage incorrectly (goes from about 16 to 99.9 MPG after a while, dealer can't replicate it so they reset it for me... which I'd already done once), burns one quart of oil every 750 miles (Turbos are known for this, but not the NAs), binding and frequent "bonk" noise in front suspension, muffler prone to falling off.

That makes four problems thus far for the Porsche, zero for the Viper. (FWIW, I didn't have anywhere near that amount of trouble with past 997s and 996s. The problems started when former CEO W. Wiedeking effectively bankrupted the company with some seriously crazy "financial engineering" ... but I digress).

In fairness, I haven't driven the Gen V as much yet since I just got it a month ago. But, it's looking much better so far in terms of QC by the factory, with no problems encountered yet.

 

[ViperSmith]

Considering there are at most 300 Vipers on the road, I'd wait before casting the QC stone.

I hope all works out well, but the 991 has been out for awhile now...

 

[PilotaX]

Considering there are at most 300 Vipers on the road, I'd wait before casting the QC stone.

I hope all works out well, but the 991 has been out for awhile now...

Fair point. Hey, but at least if the Viper exhaust comes loose, it's not going anywhere.

 

[slysnake]

NHTSA believes 991 exhaust systems are prone to fall of and damage cars following behind. Guess I need to get that fixed

Might be a design feature to take out the competition. Either that or they didn't worry about it as they felt there wouldn't be any cars slower behind it. j/k hehehehe

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

You must have got a bad one. I have a Porsche 911 Turbo S and have had No issues at all and runs 10.70s @ 130 stock.Never had any problems with my 3 Vipers either..

 

[Policy Limits]

hmmmm good to know since I just shopped a 991 c4s cabrio against the granturismo. surprised actually as german engineering is usually on point.

how's the new snake? comfort ok? easy to operate? satisfied so far? hoping for a wow factor....

 

[PilotaX]

hmmmm good to know since I just shopped a 991 c4s cabrio against the granturismo. surprised actually as german engineering is usually on point.

how's the new snake? comfort ok? easy to operate? satisfied so far? hoping for a wow factor....

I love the new GTS. Comfort is "ok". By that I mean it's on par with say a Porsche GT3 RS, but certainly no Aston Martin or anything like that. The suspension is much improved for every day roads. The twisty roads around here are all pretty bumpy which doesn't work as well for the 2009 (versus say a track where the pavement is usually much smoother). I think California ran out of money for paving... With the 2009 you have to compensate quite a bit more for a bad surface. The 2013 glides over the bad stuff pretty well. Maybe not quite as well as a Porsche, but pretty close.

The engine is probably the sweetest part of the car. I swear the HP seems underrated, though I haven't dyno'd the car. I'm just comparing seat of the pants vs. the 2009. Feels more like 60-75 HP more than the 09. Of course there's better gearing and a lighter flywheel that explains some of that. The transmission is silky smooth. Probably the best manual I've had to date.

The stereo is vastly better! Climate control works much better too. Other controls are all pretty intuitive and easy to use. I haven't played with many of the "apps". Had a passenger use the HP app once while I was driving. He also used the g-meter. If some of the data can be stored it might be interesting. But, then again, data acquisition has gotten pretty darned cheap so I'm not sure how much I will use the apps that come with the car. I think I have a year of free use, so I guess I'll decide later.

The quality of the interior is way better, much more on par with Porsche. Re the seats that some have complained about, they are more comfortable than the optional Porsche GT2/3 race style seats, though not as comfortable as the standard seat that comes in a 911. They aren't quite as supportive in the side bolster area as Porsche's more race-oriented (street car) seats. But it may be that SRT understands the fitness level of American buyers better than Porsche, and has made a few allowances in that area. Any way, if I were SRT, I'd offer two different seats because not everyone is going to like the more race-oriented seats that are in the 2013. (I don't think Porsche sells many of their track-oriented seats either; my local dealer has even tried to talk me out of them several times.)

I haven't had the 2013 on the track yet. With the race season going on right now, I probably won't have time to try the GTS on the track until the Fall.

I also haven't tried out the traction control yet. As a habit I always turn off traction control. I dunno, I may be missing out. But, when traction control systems first started becoming more widely available, they absolutely killed lap times and ruined all attempts to steer a little with the throttle. But I do think it is a smart idea to equip the car with TC (even if it weren't required by law now). It's a lot of car, with tons of torque and high limits that require a decent amount of skill to bring it back if you exceed those limits. I think for guys that haven't done track days before, it'll help save some bodywork at a minimum.

 

[Bruce H.]

Thank you for taking the time to give your impressions of the Gen V. I've been surprised that there hasn't been much feedback yet, but this is great. Hopefully you'll find it does well on the track, and will share those details also. I think I'm set on an SRT with Track pack, so I don't expect it to ride quite as well as you describe with the more basic dampers and sound deadening. I'm leaning more towards track performance so that's fine. Thanks again.

Bruce

 

[PilotaX]

Bruce it will be a great track car. I've driven it hard enough to know that much ready.

 

[PilotaX]

You must have got a bad one. I have a Porsche 911 Turbo S and have had No issues at all and runs 10.70s @ 130 stock.Never had any problems with my 3 Vipers either..

I miss my 997 turbo. Should have kept it. Would have been the perfect compliment to the Vipers.

The 991 is fun too on the right roads. Just a little disappointed in the quality so far. But I'm on the list for a New turbo and that'll come soon enough; hopefully it will have fewer problems, more like the 997 turbo.

 

[ViperSmith]

new turbo S is a whopping $181 starting

 

[VENOM V]

Doc, thanks for sharing. Good to get some real-world feedback from an actual owner. Enjoy! Hopefully it won't be long for me to take delivery as well. I'm signed up for a track weekend at Laguna Seca, end of June. As long as I get my snake in time to break it in beforehand, I'll be happy. Just drove a ZR1 in a Ron Fellows class at Spring Mountain, it will be interesting to compare the two.

I'm also going back to take the Level 2 class in October, plus one more day in the ZR1. I'll be driving my Viper up there, and the school director says I can track the Viper in the evenings after the classes end at 4pm. I'll be driving the ZR1, then the Z06 and Grand Sport. They also think they'll have the new C7 by then, that will be interesting. That will be a direct A-B comparo between Vette and Viper, I look forward to reporting back my impressions.

 

[PilotaX]

Venom glad to see another Viper owner using the car as intended!

Are you going to the Viper day at Super Car Sunday? I'm planning to take the 2013 up.

 

[VENOM V]

Venom glad to see another Viper owner using the car as intended!

Are you going to the Viper day at Super Car Sunday? I'm planning to take the 2013 up.

Sounds like a kick but I'll be slumming it with my lady in Italy

Besides, my Viper won't be here by then. There is a NorCal-SoCal meet up planned in the future, in Santa Barbara I believe. I will be there!

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

I ordered a new 991/911 Turbo S also.Ya,200 Large when I got done w/options.I really don,t see how they can improve over the current Turbo S. 30 more HP.Should be close to 10.50s stock with that....Well See Will not be delieved til Jan.2014...

 

[bluestreak]

Porsche is owned by VW now and it seems the quality is starting to resemble the parent company. lol.