Thread: Edumacate me!
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Old 06-14-2011, 11:26 AM   #3
Aron in Toronto
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Toronto
Posts: 157
964 = 1989-1993
993 = 1994-1998

The 964 was said to be 80% new or revised parts from the from the previous 3.2 generation despite the similar body style while the following 993 had the first major body changes in the 911 line since the impact bumper cars appeared in 1974.

The 964 were available as a coupe, cab and targa with in 2wd and AWD, in either 5 speed manual, or tiptronic transmission.

The 993 was also available as a coupe, cab, or with an all new glass top targa, again in either 2WD or AWD with a 6 speed manual or tiptronic (now w/ steering wheel buttons to control the up/down shifts). The AWD was a simpler mechanism than that of the 964, and many feel the trade off in the later AWD is preferable as it may be more robust and less costly to maintain. The 993 also benefited from an improved rear suspension. In 1996 the North American model of the 993 switched from OBD1 to OBD2 and had a Secondary Air Injection (SAI) ports that are prone to clogging and will trigger a check engine light that causes smog test issues. IIRC this is caused by premature valve guide ware (as early as 50k mi in some cases) that allows oil to burn/contaminate the SAI ports and require either costly guide replacements or other remedies to solve the smog test issues.

The 993's were also available in wide body configurations in both 2WD and AWD (S & 4S), and these seem to be the most valuable NA models. Both the 964 and 993 were available as turbo as well.

The 993's are the last of the air/oil cooled 911 and bring highest prices (in general) and the 964 appear to represent a sweet spot value wise for the buyer who appreciates their looks but will benefit from the technical improvements over the earlier 3.2 Carrera.

Both models also came as special models that have their own following.

I'm sure I've left out many critical bits of info but this will give you some idea of the differences.

Aron
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