And we're back with a new season of Am I Doing It Wrong,
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And for the first time ever, we're going to have full video episodes on YouTube.
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Love y'all.
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Welcome to Renthousiast Radio, the podcast where Will and Derek navigate the winding roads
of Porsche Obsession, exploring the good and the bad of Porsche ownership.
Grab your favorite beverage, pull up a chair and join us for Renthousiast Radio because
life's too short not to talk about Porsches.
Welcome to Renthousiast Radio.
I'm Will.
And I'm Derek.
And today's episode I think will have a pretty broad appeal to people who range from maybe
somebody who is actually getting ready to order a custom built, if you will, Porsche from the
factory.
And I think it'll go all the way to being of interest to somebody maybe who is looking
at a pre-owned Porsche and trying to decide whether or not different options and features
make sense for the example you're looking at.
I think quite frankly this could also appeal to people who love playing around on the Porsche
Configurator.
They're online car builder and maybe you're just a dreamer and maybe you're never even
going to own one but you just have fun building your own car.
So Derek, I'm hoping that this one will land.
I know that we have some fun content planned but before we get into all of that, why
don't you share with the folks how they can continue to get great Porsche content
from us.
Gosh, you can get it on the video and you can get it on the audio, Will.
And so we're enthusiasts, the YouTube channel, Will is continuing to put up some great videos.
Of course, as we mentioned last week, his Boxster is up for sale, his Blue Boxster.
Will he, won't he accept an offer and sell it because it's gorgeous?
Yeah, just to square people away as they listen to this if they are looking for
a base Boxster, 987.1, I was pretty intent on selling it, Derek, but as I started
to have inquiries and as I started to really look at the car and as I found somewhere
a way to store the car in my garage that I didn't realize I had.
So that was part of the reason I was selling with space.
I'm really torn.
So in fairness to anybody who's listening, I think it's passively for sale.
So I'm fighting with it.
But anyway, let's get back on track.
11 After 9, my YouTube channel, 11 After 9, all spelled out.
Have a really fantastic video that at the time of this publication for
the podcast will be up on the demand GT4.
I'm actually really excited to share it with all of you because I really dig
into what makes the demand modification to the GT4 different and why it really
leaves all the other GT4s that I've driven in the dust.
And it's a pretty cool video.
So I'm excited to share it with all of you.
Check that out on 11 After 9, Derek.
Man, I as a new owner of a second 981 GT4, in other words, I've had two now.
I'm really intrigued by this, this video you have coming up on your channel.
What year is the GT4 that you reviewed though?
It is a 981.
So the same year as yours.
Killer.
Okay.
Great, man.
I'm going to check that out for sure.
It takes the car you have and just adds in kind of this brutality with motor
upgrade that I'm excited to share what I did as I recorded in 3D audio.
So you guys really get a sense of what it sounds like ripping into the highway.
So all good.
On the audio side, please share with your driving groups.
We're enthusiast radio on Apple and Spotify.
We are continuing to get some fantastic feedback.
And we're always looking for new topics for our weekly podcast.
So please feel free in the comments to add in below this video.
What would you guys like to hear us talk about?
And we'll give you our opinion, whether it's right or wrong.
So with that, Will, I'm actually excited about today's podcast because
I am not necessarily a new Porsche buyer, but I certainly look for
used Porsche and there's certain options that I've kind of come to believe
are really important and others I think are superfluous and I really don't need.
And so we're going to talk about some of those today.
And I think that the audience, whether they're surprised or not, are going
to find that you and I come down on opposite sides with a couple of these.
And so we'll dig right in.
Are you ready?
I want to open up by saying that this is a topic that seems to be really
how do I say this?
It seems to be captivating to Porsche enthusiasts.
What types of options do you have on your car and what are essential and what
aren't and what's worth paying extra money to Porsche when you're building
your car to put on it?
But what's interesting is I saw a Doug DeMiro video a while back and,
you know, everybody listening to this or watching this probably knows
about Doug DeMiro, the automotive content creator of the century.
But he was poking a lot of fun at Porsche enthusiasts and, you know,
our fixation on specs, specs, specs, specs, specs, specs back.
So, you know, I don't know what thoughts you have on why that seems to be
such a such a topic.
I mean, on the one hand, a lot of these things we're going to be talking
about today, like it's about practical use and does it enhance
the performance or the convenience of the ownership experience?
But on the other hand, is it not kind of this stupid,
like, micromanaging your, huh?
It's one-upsmanship is what it is.
Yeah, that's where I was going, man.
Is it like a cars and coffee bragging rights kind of thing.
And so, yeah, I think a lot of ways it is.
Yeah, yeah.
Now I built a Carrera T that I ordered a couple of years back now.
I don't know a year.
I don't know how long it's been, man, time flies.
But I had personal experience going through the configurator online
and kind of selecting the different options.
And I can say this, like, as the stakes go up, and I think
this applies to pre-owned stuff too, if you're looking at it,
like the higher the spec, the more the money.
And then that's when you start to get into this whole
internal conversation of, man, like this would be really cool
to have, but it's going to cost me more money.
And is it really worth it?
So I think that hopefully sets the table for the discussion
today.
I mean, I don't know if you want to add any big picture
ideas here, Derek.
And then we can certainly dig into the, you know, the
main points here of the different options we'll be discussing.
We know with Porsche, it's an a la carte menu when it comes
to these options and everything has a cost, whether it's
ceramic brakes or nose lift systems or the leather covering
on your air vents to match the color of your exterior, you
know, stupidest, stupidest option out there.
Well, there's one we agree on.
And so the fact of the matter is, is that the price of
cars can balloon very quickly.
And the base price is never the walkout price when it
comes to these cars.
And you find yourself to your point, you might be
optioning up a base Carrera and all of a sudden you're
surpassing easily what a Carrera S or a GTS would be.
So then you start having that conversation with yourself
that if I did a few less options, do I jump into the
next level of performance?
Where does that take you as far as classification?
So, yeah, that's something to consider.
I'll be honest, I think forums are a huge problem
when it comes to talking about options and the
importance of options because you have a lot of keyboard
warriors that are pontificating about the
importance of certain things and why if you don't have it,
you're not a real enthusiast or you don't know what
you're missing or fill in the blank.
And so I think in a lot of ways it comes from
uninformed opinions or maybe informed opinions, but
one person's opinion and it gets magnified out.
And someone reads that and says, Oh my God, like I
need rear wheel steer.
If I don't get rear wheel steer in a car, it's
not even worth getting that transforms the car.
Well, that's that person's opinion.
Yeah, like dude doesn't even own a car that has
that feature.
He watched some YouTube video where some commentator
who quite frankly might be in Porsche's pocket is
saying you got to get this, you got to get that.
And so all these opinions fly around and you
know, and sometimes it's difficult to go
experience an example that has a specific
option that you're considering.
And that happened to me.
We can get into it a little bit later with
rear wheel steering, rear axle steering.
Yeah.
And you know, the other thing too, Will, is
that in most automotive journalists will admit
this is that when they go on launches, you know,
Porsche, for example, will fly you to the Maldives or
to, you know, the most beautiful part of Spain
or, you know, somewhere in eastern Asia.
And it's just this most the most gorgeous place
will put you up in beautiful hotels, they'll
feed you wonderful food.
And they don't do it out of the goodness of
their heart.
And I'm not saying that journalistic integrity
is dead.
It's not of that at all.
But I have heard a number of journalists say,
well, listen, you know, maybe I thought it was
one thing on the launch, but now having driven
it more, I don't think that this option is as
good as I thought it was.
Dr. Murrow is a perfect example.
He very famously wouldn't take any journalistic
money.
He would pay for his own flights because he
didn't want to feel like he owed any of the
company's, you know, a good review.
That's it, man.
It's very hard to smash a car after they've
hooked you up with all of what you just
talked about, you know.
So, so I don't know.
You got two lonely content creators sitting
in our home offices.
We can be unbiased.
So I'd love to, I'd love to get in, get the
opportunity to review some of these cars.
So, yeah, exactly.
Porsche, reach out to us.
If we could get a couple of loners in our
driveways, yeah, well, what we can be
bought, is that what you're saying?
Look at my background, dude.
I'm not in the Maldives.
Not yet.
We're just a couple of podcasts away.
We're almost there, buddy.
All right, let's get into it, man.
Let's like, we've been deferring the main,
main event here.
So let's talk about the first, first option.
Nose lift systems, nose lift systems.
For those folks out there that don't know
what this is, Porsche created an option as
their cars became lower and lower and
more aerodynamic in the wheels and became
bigger and bigger.
They found that, especially with their
more high performance cars, they were
really running into curbs, potholes,
speed bumps, angled driveways, and tearing
off carbon fiber or rubber valances
that are under the cars.
So Porsche developed a system that in the
cabin, you can push a button and very
quickly the car will raise the nose
X amount and you get over it and then
it drops back down.
And I think, if I'm not mistaken, the
last two generations have the ability
to, with the GPS, if you had pushed
your nose lift system, like say coming
down a street that there's always a
speed bump, it will remember that and
then raise the nose of your car, you
know, as you're going down the street
automatically.
And so, Will, do you think this is a
worthwhile option?
Do you think this makes sense if you
were going to option out of Porsche or
should you look for that if you were
looking for a newer Porsche?
I, okay, so I think number one, it
sounds like a lot of like things that
could break.
So you better not own a car with
front axle lift out of warranty.
GPS enabled self lifting technology.
I mean, man, when I built my T, I did
not elect to have that.
I am kind of a staunch believer that if
you understand approach angles and
you're careful and you are fairly
seasoned with these cars, like you can
get around most places that could
scuff the underside of the front of
the car.
I also, like I can't speak to
particular models that have maybe not
that, what I'll call that throw away
rubber piece on the front.
So I can't say that this is
definitively the case for all of the
super low cars that you could damage
by accident by, you know, by bumping
the underside of the nose.
But when I do scrape and I hit one of
those like plastic pieces, you know,
that hang, it's the front, it's the
lip, you know, I'm talking about.
Yeah, there's, I feel like there's
two parts because Porsche is all about
air dynamics.
And so you have your, your lower
valence, which is below your
license plate that usually, you know,
kind of creates like a blockage
for air running under your car.
So it's not an airplane.
And then you also have additional
kind of rubber, I don't know what you
call them, almost like canards that
are under your car, maybe for
brake cooling and stuff like that.
Yeah, so you don't want to hit
paint on concrete.
How about that?
But there, but there is like,
you know, kind of, I think they're
designed to be replaced, these
rubber pieces on the front.
And, you know, when I do scrape,
it doesn't bother me in the least
because they're kind of throwaway
pieces.
So I'm not a huge front axle lift
person.
This does not apply technically,
but like my 993, my 1995 Porsche
911, that car is super low.
All right.
And I'm going to knock on my desk
here, but not once have I had an
experience of scraping the front
because you just, if you approach
it correctly, like at a 45 degree
angle, like you can get around
scraping the nose, you know, and
also just be smart.
Like if there's, if there's an
exit where you know it's a
challenge, like out of a parking
lot, just don't go there.
I couldn't disagree with you more
Will, I'm going to tell you why
you're wrong.
Well, you know what?
Actually, I can't tell you why
you're wrong.
I will tell you this.
I think it depends on where you
live in the U.S.
My roads in New England stink
and especially now they're
tearing all of them up.
And so what you'll often do is
be going down the road and then
drop about an inch onto broken
pavement and then there's raised
manholes that you are trying
to like a pinball machine
avoid.
And so I actually think nose
lift systems are fantastic.
I think that they're
a mandatory thing to have on GT
cars that are from the factory
really low.
You say that the rubber pieces
are kind of throw away.
I don't disagree that they're
you know, outside of like a
carbon fiber type of thing.
You can definitely replace them.
But I took a quick look and
to get a replacement rubber
pieces between seven hundred and
fifty and fifteen hundred
dollars.
And that's if you're going to
install it yourself.
And so if you can do
that, that's great.
But you know, you look at the
cost of what the nose lift system
would be if you built a car or
you know, bought it as part of
the used car, it might add up.
I mean, it might be equal as far
as cost. I don't disagree with
you that it is something else
to break.
Well, in New England, number one,
take all the money you're wasting
on front axle lift and move
south.
Wise up.
It's too cold up there anyway.
But that's fair, man.
I mean, I drive in North
Carolina where we don't have.
I mean, the roads are not in
that shape.
Oh, frost heaves, my friend,
spring up here and frost
heaves. You'll be driving down a
road.
It almost feels like it's
corrugated because all the
pavement has is crusted.
Now, listen, when you drive it
coming into a driveway, forty
five degree angle.
I agree with you, right?
As long as it's not too severe.
Yeah, but up here, we have
this thing where a lot of on a
lot of cut down streets, like
if you're doing, say, thirty
five miles an hour, they'll
have these what they call
speed humps.
And it's not like they're
painted yellow.
They're the same color as the
pavement.
Sometimes there's a sign,
sometimes not.
And if you hit these doing thirty
five miles an hour, like in my
truck, I'm thrown in the in the
air. And so having a nose lift
in my mind is a nice
convenience. And also in terms
of resale, I think it is
something that's generally
looked at as being positive,
especially as these cars
continue to get lower and
lower.
How how much does it weigh?
Any idea?
I don't know.
I don't wonder if you could
actually feel the extra weight
up front. I mean, that's kind of
part of what you like about a
9-11 is that floating front and
feel less less
so in the newer newer cars.
But it could be absolutely
ridiculous on my part.
But I have kind of wondered
about the weight in the past.
Yeah, I can't comment on that.
I mean, I definitely think if
you were to add it after the
fact, the weight on your wallet
is significant.
I mean, I've heard of these
things. Oh my God.
People do that. Eight, ten
grand. Yeah. So stupid.
Jesus, man.
OK. Yeah.
So whoa.
So we're split.
So it's yay for me, nay for you
on nose left.
So audience, make up your own
minds.
Dude, we have the speed bump
things you're talking about
down south here.
Come on down.
I'm going to teach you how to
drive a little better.
And I've never had a problem
with those. You just got to
kind of keep your eyes open
and swerve out and take it
out of 45. I kid, I hear
you. I mean, you're right.
I those roads up there suck.
But anyway, let's get into
the the next one.
We talked about it earlier.
Let's chat about rear wheel
steer and having option
that or not option that in the
past. Why don't you touch on
that? What that is for the
audience?
Man. So I did a lot of content
on my channel on this 992.1
now. Carrera T experience
that I had ordering it,
taking delivery of it,
initial impressions, longer
term impressions.
When I first started driving
that car, man, I loved rear
axle steering.
It made steering
effort far less
to get really kind of precise
turns. And, you know, it
felt surgical and it really did
remind me of my 981 GT4
and just how well it went
exactly where you pointed it.
As time went on, it became
this thing where it's cool
when you want it, but it would
have been awesome to be able
to turn it off.
And also it made the car a
little bit twitchy and feel a
little dangerous when you got
up to, I won't specify
numbers, but when you got up to
pretty blistering speeds,
maybe speeds you shouldn't been
doing.
Because the car just was so
responsive.
It felt a little bit like too
responsive, if that may say.
It was unforgiving.
And so I was super high on it
first. And now I
wouldn't. How about this? I
wouldn't buy another car
with it.
Interesting. I've never owned
a Porsche with rear wheel steer,
but I have owned a few BMWs
with that. So you want to talk
about complexity and something
to break down the line.
I mean, I think that this
definitely qualifies.
I'm not a big fan.
And as a matter of fact, so the
idea, of course, is that it makes
larger cars feel much more
smaller, more nimble.
Like you said, it's
tell me if I'm wrong here, but
at lower speeds, the wheels
turn in
opposite directions.
And so you can take a tighter
turn, but at high speeds,
they turn in the same.
This is such a it's such
an example of how like you and I
just see things differently and
not not necessarily in an
adversarial way, but just.
Yeah, when I ordered it, I like
skimmed over like how exactly
it worked. And then I filed
an under under the not
important tab
because what I really cared
about was, hey, when I jump in
the car, what does it feel
like? I don't really care
about how it works.
So yeah, I mean, not to
shoot you down. I'm sure there
are many people out there
that would be curious and
fascinated by like how exactly
it worked. But I just thought
I'd take a moment just to
point out kind of how I think
you and I you and I are the
ying and yang, you know, how
our brains were. Yeah, man.
That's right. I love it.
What I found with like my X
fives that had it, I couldn't
it's going to sound terrible as
a car guy. I couldn't park the
goddamn thing because it
would always I never knew
what angle the rear wheels
were at. And I would always
be off when I was parking in
a parking space. And I
drive every single day
and I park every single day
and all my other cars are fine.
But depending on which way the
wheels were going, I'd always
be a little off with it and
it annoyed the crap out of me.
I know that's such a weird
thing, but interesting. Yeah.
I am I'm just not a I'm not a
big fan. I have driven cars
with rear wheel steer.
And I feel like, well, let
me just put it this way.
Porsche comes out with the
the ST and it is supposed
to be the reincarnation of,
you know, the purity of
driving, you know, going
back to the 70s with the 9
11's. It does not have
rear wheel steer.
What does that say to you?
I don't know, man.
And let me just say this to you.
I do as I was listening to
you talk and I was thinking
back over my experience with
it, I had forgotten about one
one, I think we're noteworthy
point. I did have the
opportunity to drive a 991.2
with rear axle steering.
That generation offered it.
And I did find it to be
far less invasive
than it was on the 992.
And so I don't know what changed.
I don't care to explore that,
but I will say that, you know,
it's one of these where depending
on what you're looking for, like
I would really try hard to go
experience it, test drive one
with it before just jumping
on it.
Yeah, especially with or
without. So we're both
no for that.
Yeah, I'm not hell no.
I'm like experienced
it kind of cool, not in the
future. Not worth it.
How about
you know what? A lot of times
I'll give you a call and you're
driving in your car and you
have the glass sunroof
open.
And
and I took so much shit
for optioning my tea with
that glass roof.
I missed about it in many, many
videos. Yeah.
Sorry to cut you off. Finish
your point and I'll tell you
exactly why.
No, no, I want you to tell me
why you ordered it because I'm
curious because I think you
at least then you were a pro
having a big sunroof in your 9
11.
Man, I.
Hey, it's Raj and Noah and
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On the tee, I racked up a lot
of options and maybe I
over-spec the thing.
But that said, it was maybe
my one and only chance to build
my own car and go through that
exciting experience.
And so I added the options
that I want as a user.
The things that are important
to me or things that I wanted
to try.
And I included a glass roof
on that tee.
Now, for people out there
that don't understand the
Carrera tee trim level,
it's one notch above the base
Carrera.
And the idea is you're getting
some pseudo-performance bits.
It has a very driving focus
ethos to it.
It's like, you know, they say
that the correct spirit
of the car is just to have
like bare-bones options
that really only lend
themselves to a kind of a
visceral, if that even would
work, that term for 992.
Or 991.2.
Right.
And so I elected to put a
glass roof on mine because
quite frankly, I find it to be
very fun, entertaining,
therapeutic, relaxing,
what have you to have my roof
open as much as I can
as long as the sun's not
beating down too much
or it's raining.
And especially like, you know,
running, you know, back roads,
back country roads,
I just like to have the windows
down and the roof open.
Many, many people said
you're an idiot.
And this is all in the
comments under my videos.
Like, you're an idiot.
You don't know what you're
doing.
You, you know, option the car
with a feature that adds weight
to the roof, you know, which
is which was a no-no with that
car, right?
You want to not to add an
additional weight.
So I suspect
that and I can't know this,
I hate generalizations,
but many of these opinions
were likely formed by virtue
of watching the Carrera T
review videos, which
universally like just said,
what a great car this was.
And this is exactly how you
want to option it.
And I think you had a lot
of internet forum, you know,
keyboard warriors weighing in
with maybe
like uninformed opinions.
Like they weren't wrong.
It was contra to the ethos of
the car, but as a user man,
I like a glass roof.
Yeah, I think part of the
didn't the Carrera T have
like thinner glass windows
or something like they
but maybe save like two pounds.
I have no I don't all of the
weight, the weight savings
were so miniscule.
Anyways, it was a marketing
thing, man.
I mean, in my view, it was
not going to be meaningful.
And at one point they
I don't know.
I did it's been a while.
I mean, my memory sucks.
And I'm not great with numbers,
but I looked at the weight
difference.
Finally, I was like, OK, what
is the glass roof way versus
fricking carbon fiber?
And it was like, I'll make it up.
I mean, somebody's going to say
I'm wrong in the comments
because I probably am.
But like five pounds or
something nominal that like
maybe even 20 like who cares
kind of weight.
It was 20 pounds.
Well, it's up so high from
your son of gravity.
You're not going to be able to
go around the corners.
Yeah, it's going to cause the car
to roll and ultimately spin.
That's right.
That's right.
That's the famous thing
from Porsche is
was it was a Walter Roll
or any prudinger said,
you know, they every time
a GT car comes out, they want us
to shave off more weight.
But what he likes to say
to the drivers, why don't you
shave off 20 pounds and tell me
how easy that is type of thing.
Yeah, so so at the end of the
day, I guess to put a bow on
this one, I'm a huge fan
of it and I would have it
on every car that's appropriate,
which is funny because it's the
sun is out a lot more down by
you and beaten down a lot
more by you.
So to have a glass roof, I
would feel would make the cabin
a little bit warmer.
I'm not a big fan.
Well, I think if you're going
to do a coupe, I don't ever
use a sunroof.
Most of my cars have had them
for some reason, just because
I usually buy pre-owned.
But I never find myself
opening them because when
I'm at speed, they're
loud and it's annoying.
And so tunes, brother, hook
up your exhaust, make it just
the right decibel level, turn
up the tunes and roll.
So for that reason, it's why
a lot of my Porsches that I've
owned have been convertibles.
And I take it one step
further. If you're going to
have open air, you want to
enjoy the the atmosphere
and your surroundings and crank
up those tunes.
I drive, I roll with the top
down. And especially in the
911s and the boxters post,
I don't know, maybe 2012,
the convertible roofs have
mirrored the coupes in terms of
shape and silhouette.
And they've been
indistinguishable from a
distance. You know, like if
you had a black car that was
a convertible, you'd be
hard-pressed at 50 yards to
tell if that was a convertible
or not. So the earlier cars
I don't think looked as good
with convertible roofs.
If you were going to
appreciate them from an
aesthetic point of view.
Well, I'll make two more points
about this. Number one, you
know, and you guys have
beautiful fall up there too.
Autumn leaves are turning.
It's a nice cool day, but not
too cold. Like, I mean, we
have that too. And it's just
like no better feeling than
one of those days with the
with the sunroof open. That
said, I've had I'm trying
to think I've had three,
three sunroof cables break
like with the roof open. And
that sucks. So on 2993s, it
gave way. And then on one of my
three twos, it gave way. So I
mean, that's the plus and minus,
especially with the older cars
because, you know, it's not, I
guess you can unzip the
headliner and access it, but
you got to find somebody who's
willing to do it. And then
inevitably, they'll like leave
greasy fingerprints on the
headliner, which I'm really
getting in the weeds. But
anyway, the repairs are
likely necessary on the older
cars. And you don't know
when it was last done. And so
it becomes not fun when the roof
gets stuck open and you're
somewhere like where you can't
like just go throw it in the
garage until you can take it to
the shop. Oh, I think you might
be talking to yourself about a
center of smoothing forward on
older cars. Well, this is good.
Well, my 997.2, like 83,000
miles, the car has has it. And
I, you know, I'll open it
very infrequently because I'm
like, dude, I'm looking around
like, how would they repair
this? It would probably get
very expensive. It seems to
be going a little slower than
it should. I wonder if the
motor's burning out listening
for noises. Yeah. So the the
993, I want to say, I can't
remember if it was metal or
plastic gears Porsche on the
rotometers and in their sunroof
gearing use plastic gears a
lot. I actually had that, you
know, not to go too deep in the
weeds myself, but I've
replaced the gearing in a 993
roof. I've opened that up and
pulled it out and got a
refurbished one. And it's a
pain in the butt. So give me
a slick top and I'm good. But
here's a bigger question for
you will. Are you a fan of
pulling up to a red light and
having your 911 shut off on
you until you get back on the
gas? So the advanced driver
assistance systems ADAS, which
is now mandatory in Europe on
all newer 911s that every time
you turn the car on, it's
on and you have to deactivate
it every single time you turn
the car on. And optional going
back, gosh, I think my O-13
Cayenne has it, but that's
switchable that if you shut
it off, it stays off. What's
your take on that? Worth the
gas mileage savings?
I think they show that it's
really like inconsequential.
I mean, this is just more big
government kind of deal
telling, you know, with
emissions and stuff. I mean,
Derek, look, I have had cars
non Porsches that do that.
I find it to be mildly
annoying. I don't understand
like, isn't that going to
destroy whatever the hell the
starter mechanism is to do it
that many times over and above
just starting and stopping
the car naturally, like when
you fire it up. I don't know
those are the thoughts that I
have. I know that with my 991.2
that has that feature, every
time I get in the car, now
it's like almost like
subconsciously. I don't even
realize I'm doing it. I put
the car in sport, which
disables at least the, you
know, the auto start stop. So
not an issue for me. Hate is
maybe a little bit too strong
of a word, but disdain is my
thinking on any of these kind
of intrusive quote, unquote
driver aids. When it comes to
start stop for me, I roll
right past disdain and I am
firmly in hate. I think
they're annoying. You pull up
to a stoplight and it shuts
off, but then the lights
already turn green and then
you have that pause as the
car restarts and you get
going and there's been a
couple of times where
someone behind me has started
to go thinking I was going
to go, but the car won't
let me. Also, I believe that
some of the newer ones on
those start stop, it actually
kind of interrupts the
steering. And so you have to
be careful that if you're
coming to a stop and the
engine shuts off, that the
steering isn't affected too.
So there are other pieces
of ADAS that I think are
good. Like, hey, listen,
our 911s are small. You're
parked in a forest of
giant SUVs in a parking
lot and you're backing
out. I do like the kind of
the pedestrian stuff that
will let you know if a car is
coming by or a person's
walking as you're backing
up. I think that stuff's
great. I travel long
distances and sometimes if
you do just want to chill,
adaptive cruise control is
pretty cool. But I think
that kind of goes against
the whole reason of having
a 911. If you were going
to get a Panamera or a
Macan or a Cayenne or
something like that, I
think adaptive cruise
control lean assist all
day. Yeah, I mean, I
don't know. I hear there's
some convenience things
like, hey, I don't want to
go back out in front of
somebody in a parking lot and
smash the back end of the
911. I mean, I have a
rear view camera on my
2017 and that seems to be
sufficient. I mean, I'm on
more modern cars. Like, you
know, you do get the beeping
if it detects a car coming
or somebody walking behind
you. So I can't deny that
that's convenient. But I
just I don't like I don't
like when the car and
admittedly, I don't have
experience with pushes that
have all this stuff. Like
first of all, for me, the
adaptive cruise control and
maybe I'm obnoxious and
slows you down way too far
away from the car in front
of you. I know you can adjust
the the distance so that
you do slow down closer,
but it's still way too far
for me. I got to get them out
of my way. And if they can't
see me up on their ass
with their in their side
of your mirrors as I weave
behind them,
you're not in their back
seat. They don't know how
to get over. That's it. And
then, you know, secondly,
there's just certain things
that happen. I mean, I
had a suburban non-Porsche.
But this was back in the
day when that automatic
braking stuff was was
fresh and imprecise. But
one time I had a slam on the
brakes for relatively no
reason. And it scared the
hell out of me. And so I just
think that when a car starts
to do things that that you
aren't necessarily anticipating,
I don't I don't think it's
great.
And any system can fail for
sure. I have been in a
situation in a non-Porsche
where I reached down to
get something that fell on
the ground and the
automatic braking system
kicked in and saved me
from rear-ending a car
that had stopped very
short very quickly without a
blinker. So I mean, it
is what it is. I just
Eric,
I'm gonna come up there and
give you some driving lists,
man. First of all, you can't
take speed bumps at speed.
You can't. Now you're talking
about like running into people
because you're screwing
around on the floorboard of
the car. Like, what's up, man?
It turns out I'm a car guy
that can't drive. Well, I
mean, I'm glad that this is
more of a learning session
for me. But here's something
I think is completely almost
100% not worth it is the
sport chrono package that
people put on on Porsche
outside of the fact that
before we had AT&T business
wireless coverage, our
delivery GPS wasn't the most
reliable. Once our driver had
to do a 14 point turn to
get back on route, a 14
point turn and influence
or even live stream the whole
thing. Not good for business.
Now with AT&T business
wireless, routes are
updating on the fly and
deliveries are on time and
the influence of it get us
53 new followers, though.
AT&T business wireless
connecting changes everything.
Hey, it's Raj and Noah and
we're back with a new season
of Am I Doing It Wrong, the
show that explores all two
human anxieties we have about
trying to get our lives
right. Because we're still
doing a lot of stuff wrong.
But who isn't? That's why
each week we're talking about
the topics that we could all
use a little helping hand
with, whether it's making
new friends as an adult,
managing our emotions or
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doing things right. So the
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equipped to handle whatever
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Subscribe now and listen to
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It Wrong, dropping every
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And for the first time ever
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things to get wrong, we're
going to be right here to
help you do them better.
Love y'all.
It does give you sport plus.
I think Porsche first came out
with the chrono and they're
like, oh, this is so great.
It's a lap timer clock.
It sits on your dash.
It's this beautiful clock
that you can you can track
your laps, you know, going
around as you're at a track
day, which never happens,
not once, ever, ever.
And so then what they did is
they tied in. Well, it'll
give you a little more
horsepower. It'll make it a
little bit more, you know,
responsive when you have
your sport chrono and you
put this push the sport plus
button. The only thing I
do like about sport chrono
is that on manual cars,
it gives you the auto blip,
which is maybe not for all
purists, but I do like an
auto blip on on cars
kind of driving around.
But in general, the sport
chrono package, not a huge
fan in my mind, not worth
the money.
OK.
I don't know. I took like four
notes down as you were
talking.
I mean, I hate to say it,
but I do like the the wart
on the dash. I like the
clock. I think it adds a
little bit of a richer
look to it.
So I I I think I'm not going to
say that's 100 percent worth
it, but I do really like how it
looks.
The
second piece I'd say is it's
about resale, man.
It's kind of like people don't
know why they want it, but they
want it.
And if you don't have it, I
think it it puts a little
drag on your deal.
I think so. I mean, so I've
been told by a friend in the
business like they're
they're taking trades in on
time.
And
it's a problem not to have sport
chrono. I've asked I've run cars
by him and I was looking at that
didn't have it. He's like, yeah,
you don't want that. It's going to
it's just not that people
want sport chrono.
So there's that.
I love the enhanced
throttle response that comes in
the sport mode.
I mean, it just feels a little
bit more eager.
That's a sport.
It's sport plus.
Yeah, sport plus.
But I do I do like that.
Now that said, I mean, you
need to you need to be able
to feather the gas with that
because it will kind of get a
little bit unwieldy
when the the throttle is very
sharp. And maybe you're at
you're not that great with
modulating your foot on the gas.
In other words, you'll kind of
create a herky jerky driving
experience. Now the last thing
I love auto blip
in my cars that have it.
It is on all the time.
And you know, I feel like maybe
I'm not an imposter because I
have two cars that don't have
it. And so you got it.
You got a rev match if that's
what you're trying to do. So my
993 and my 997.2
neither of those have it, but my
GT4 and my 991.2 have it.
And, you know, I love it.
There's just something great
about that precise match.
And then when you are ripping
in twisties, you can downshift
mid-curve and it does not upset
the car. So I like it.
You know, it's it's fun.
Yep. It is a feature that
when it's not there or if it's
not on, I miss it.
I can definitely see people who
are getting a PDK want
the sport chrono package
because it does unlock
a faster shifting algorithm
with the PDK and it literally
makes the car faster.
I'm not a huge fan of it for the
manual cars that I've owned.
It's let me just put it this way.
It's not a deal breaker for me.
You know, my my my box
drought side doesn't have
doesn't have that.
And I don't miss it at all.
And as a matter of fact,
I think for a manual car,
maybe someone's looking for
more of a pure experience.
You have a sport button, you
know, do you want?
Do you want to even touch your
throttle with a with a stick?
I don't know. It's just not for me.
Yeah, I mean, I would agree with
your comments about more of a
pure natural driving experience
because my boxer does not clearly
have it. And yeah, maybe
requires it requires more skill
without the auto blip.
I'll just say that to really get
that rev match right and keep the
car. All right.
So that's a column and Derek can
drive ding.
All right. Moving on talking about
resale value.
PCCB's Horsha composite
brakes. Those are the carbon
brakes for those of you out there
that don't know what the PCCB's
are.
Well, what's your take?
I have never owned a car with
them. I would love to own a car
with them. I think it is bragging
rights. I think the practical
and you can correct me if I'm
wrong. But basically, these are
lifetime breaks, so you don't
have to worry about replacing
pads and that kind of thing.
I guess when you finally do,
it's crazy money, but it's
got to be a lot of high
mileage with track use.
I love the yellow.
I think on the right color, it's
pretty, it's pretty amazing.
And again, depending on the
color, I think it really sets
it off.
Do they throw a lot of dust or
is there no dust?
They can be noisy.
I know that they can be very
noisy. I don't think the pads
are lifetime. I think the rotors
are considered to last a long
time. Really?
We need to we need to reach
that research that I thought it
was I don't have to touch
anything for probably as long
as I own the car.
OK, all right, man.
Well, I stand corrected.
Either way, I think they're cool
to look at, but I don't see the
need for them practically speaking
on street.
It's bragging rights and it's a
cool look.
I don't I don't doubt that they
look cool. I think with a lot of
models of Porsche, the dealers
definitely try to push you to
get them because people look
for them, especially with the
GT cars. They feel like it's
mandatory.
I know people buy them and then
take them off and put steel
rotors on and save them,
which I think is ridiculous.
I am not a huge fan of them.
I understand that they are
superior brakes.
The rotors sometimes have taken
care of can last the lifetime of
the car.
But when they do go, they're
super duper expensive.
If they crack or if there's
any issues, you're in really
tough shape with them.
They are. They can be very
noisy over time.
And so living with them
sometimes isn't always great.
And Porsche's breaking system
in my mind is so goodwill
that I think when it comes to
steel brakes, they just do a
fantastic job.
So not a huge fan on this
side.
I can understand the pull if
you're at the track all the
time, though, that's different.
I'm just talking about street
tribe. We agree.
We agree, my friend.
So we covered some.
We have more. Maybe we'll do
another episode at another
time with a couple more of
people like this down on the
comments.
Add in what you folks think
and if you have any opinions
of what we talked about today,
we'd love to know.
But outside of that, man, take
it easy.
All right, Derek's been fine, man.
See you next time.
And that's a wrap for this
episode of Renthousias Radio.
We hope you enjoyed diving deep
into the world of Porsches with
us today. And if you enjoyed
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Hey, it's Raj.
And Noah.
And we're back with a new
season of Am I Doing It Wrong,
the show that explores all two
human anxieties we have about
trying to get our lives right.
Because we're still doing a lot
of stuff wrong.
But who isn't?
That's why each week we're
talking about the topics we
could all use a little
helping hand with, whether
it's making new friends as an
adult, managing our emotions
or even dreaming.
We'll be talking to experts
in their fields who are definitely
doing things right.
So the rest of us can be a bit
wiser and a lot better equipped
to handle whatever life throws
at us.
Subscribe now and listen to new
episodes of Am I Doing It Wrong,
trapping every Thursday starting
January 1st, wherever you get
your podcasts.
And for the first time ever,
we're going to have full video
episodes on YouTube.
Because as long as there are
things to get wrong, we're
going to be right here to help
you do them better.
Love y'all.
We interrupt this program to
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About this episode
Exploring the nuances of Porsche options, Will and Derek debate what's essential versus gimmicky in the world of Porsche customization. From nose lift systems to rear wheel steering, they share personal experiences and insights on how these features impact performance and ownership. The discussion also touches on resale value and the influence of online opinions, making it a valuable listen for both prospective buyers and enthusiasts who enjoy the Porsche configurator. The episode is filled with lively banter and differing viewpoints, providing a comprehensive look at Porsche options.
What Porsche options are actually worth it — and which ones are total gimmicks? In this episode of Rennthusiast Radio, Will and Derek go head-to-head on some of the most controversial Porsche features. From nose lift systems and rear-wheel steering to glass sunroofs, convertibles, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), we debate whether these options enhance the Porsche experience or just drain your wallet.
We also dive into hot-button extras like Sport Chrono, PCCB carbon brakes, and more — separating the must-haves from the overhyped. Whether you’re building your dream Porsche on the configurator, shopping pre-owned, or just daydreaming about the perfect 911, this episode will help you decide what’s worth ticking on the order sheet (and what to skip).
What Porsche options do you think are worth it? Drop your thoughts in the comments — we’ll feature some of your takes in future episodes.