I'm wondering if anyone has replaced their 911 with a Plaid, or own both currently. I'd love to hear your perspectives.
I've searched, and also found some helpful threads on rennlist - however, a lot of these threads were before the track mode update.
I previously dismissed the plaid due to concerns about the yoke and brakes. However, with the additional track mode regen for braking and steering wheel now available, along with the torque vectoring, my interest has again been piqued.
I don't push my 911 (991.2 GTS) enough to fully appreciate or require its handling, imho. In the canyons, I drive leisurely, maybe going 4/10th at the very most. I don't track it either. From a practicality standpoint... well, my daily driver is a Subaru Outback. I'd be replacing both with the plaid. During my test drive of the Model S LR (no plaids available to test drive), I found the comfort, tech, and instant torque to be extremely appealing. I didn't mind the fit and finish - it was good enough. Currently, the one thing making me hesitate is the tesla vision and parking assist capability, or lack thereof.
Just curious if anyone had some thoughts or similar experiences?
Also, any insight on how handling with track mode is in the canyons?
Thanks for your time.
I have a 991 GT3 and an X, does that count? : )
I've driven the S and I've tracked a 3.
The 911 is a helluva a different kettle of fish.
(I've also tracked and PCA time trialed in a 964 RS, 993 turbo S, 996 GT3, 997.1 GT3, 997.2 GT3 RS amongst other built track jalopies … not my first rodeo, not meaning some feeble "flex" after all this is TMC, not rennlist, it's just a bunch of numbers that Porsche people recognize. : )
4/10ths in a GTS is still a speeding ticket and still on the edge of "socially unacceptably" quick.
But let's assume 4/10ths means "less than 7 mph over the posted limit and situational awareness".
If I were to replace a Subi and a 911 with an S, I'd go with the LR. I don't see the point in the Plaid. Also, the S is an impressive EV for money. Huge range, far more 0-60 than can be used reasonably on public roads, proven design and these days, yes, initial build quality is generally decent.
They'll get all the parking assist stuff working, but I'd want HW4 if I bought an S/X in '23. It's speculation as to whether or not Tesla would retro support any of the radar/uss tech. I assume Tesla will acquiesce to radar and maybe even lidar (and excuse the decision as "due to regulator demands, we're implementing radar, lidar and USS in HW5 … anyone with an FSD license will be offered a 100% purchase price refund, there will be no retrofits.") I don't see how Tesla escapes the class action liability of selling FSD for so many years with just "mere failure to realize a long-term, aspirational goal is not fraud." Tesla must have paid millions for those lawyerly words that any high schooler could concoct to explain using chatGPT to write their final paper … : )
Back to comparing 911 to Tesla, the funny thing is you can go faster in a 3 or an S (or an X for that matter) but it's so uneventful, so quiet and unobtrusive that the Tesla goes unnoticed whereas the Porsche (or Ferrari, etc.) are so ostentatiously loud and eye-catching, they "look like" they're going faster.
Reminds me of an ad years ago where a new sports car (Nissan Z?) is parked on a quiet suburban street and an old guy is walking by and stops to look at the car and angrily yells out "slow down!"
I'd say the 991.2 GTS is probably an in-demand vehicle and should sell for a decent number. Try bringatrailer, carsandbids, rennlist for enthusiast buyers.
I'd say the Plaid is … ho hum … just too much for the street and not enough for the track … it's an in-betweener … unless you want to modify it for track driving (apparently not) then it's an answer to a question that's not really asked for anyone who doesn't want the "I've got the fastest one" self-image (that nobody else can see or cares to see.) Compared to most 911s, a Model 3 Long Range is already an impressively quick vehicle (just don't try to go around a turn too quickly or use the brakes on track, etc.)
Personally, I'm keen to update our X but Tesla Vision leaves me cold. There's HW4, there's whatever comes next. Tesla is in flux.
Also Tesla is shifting to "Superchargers for profit" so they're trying to "sunset" lifetime free SC programs.
What I see in Tesla's first 3 months of '23 and all of '22 is a shift to "sell a lot of razors, make a lot on selling razor blades."
So I've been asking Tesla (no, I don't expect them to listen to me) to allow me to transfer my "lifetime free Supercharging" and paid FSD license to a new Model X. No change in long term revenue from them, just the incremental revenue of me updating the hardware. Of course they've had many such requests, so they're offering the six-year free SC deal. I see that as their first concession in the negotiation. Tesla has been steadily dropping prices and there's no reason to suppose they'll stop. They want more vehicles at more Superchargers. The exception being, they want to "end of life" all the free Supercharging licenses. Me, I see myself with the "old" X in the garage for a decade or more, not just the next six years. It's well sorted, it's in great condition, it's indistinguishable from the '23 and it has FSD and free SC, so it costs "nothing" (except exorbitant insurance premiums.)
