Boxster Spyder
Discussion
Well I parted with my 981 Spyder last week and thought I would briefly summarise my thoughts on 11 months of ownership.
I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
Interesting post that. Read quite a few comments about the gearing on these and the GT4. I think the Spyder is a fantastic looking and sounding car but have yet to drive one...was thinking about buying one some time in the next year but clearly need to try and get a decent test drive which might not be easy.
Gearing is definitely the weakest point of the car. Installing a short ratio box wouldn't be cheap either.
However, if you accept first gear as a useable gear for hairpins it is not so bad.
On mountain passes you need 1st to keep in the power band, so actually you do end up using 3 gears on spirited alpine drives. These are 1/2/3, where as in most cars you'd probably be using 2/3/4.
Approaching the car that way changes things, plus you probably won't be changing up at the absolute peak RPM anyway, so you don't up at the magic 82MPH in 2nd really.
I find the roof fine personally, and the steering great. Sound wise, it's probably one of the few cars of the last decade that doesn't need an aftermarket exhaust to make it sound right.
However, if you accept first gear as a useable gear for hairpins it is not so bad.
On mountain passes you need 1st to keep in the power band, so actually you do end up using 3 gears on spirited alpine drives. These are 1/2/3, where as in most cars you'd probably be using 2/3/4.
Approaching the car that way changes things, plus you probably won't be changing up at the absolute peak RPM anyway, so you don't up at the magic 82MPH in 2nd really.
I find the roof fine personally, and the steering great. Sound wise, it's probably one of the few cars of the last decade that doesn't need an aftermarket exhaust to make it sound right.
TB303 said:
Gearing is definitely the weakest point of the car. Installing a short ratio box wouldn't be cheap either.
However, if you accept first gear as a useable gear for hairpins it is not so bad.
On mountain passes you need 1st to keep in the power band, so actually you do end up using 3 gears on spirited alpine drives. These are 1/2/3, where as in most cars you'd probably be using 2/3/4.
Approaching the car that way changes things, plus you probably won't be changing up at the absolute peak RPM anyway, so you don't up at the magic 82MPH in 2nd really.
I find the roof fine personally, and the steering great. Sound wise, it's probably one of the few cars of the last decade that doesn't need an aftermarket exhaust to make it sound right.
Mechanical sympathy aside is there anything preventing the use of 1st whilst the car is moving?However, if you accept first gear as a useable gear for hairpins it is not so bad.
On mountain passes you need 1st to keep in the power band, so actually you do end up using 3 gears on spirited alpine drives. These are 1/2/3, where as in most cars you'd probably be using 2/3/4.
Approaching the car that way changes things, plus you probably won't be changing up at the absolute peak RPM anyway, so you don't up at the magic 82MPH in 2nd really.
I find the roof fine personally, and the steering great. Sound wise, it's probably one of the few cars of the last decade that doesn't need an aftermarket exhaust to make it sound right.
Interesting point indeed, and I do see the issues with the long gearing, but then I have never felt this drop off in power at the top end. I totally understand the comparison to older cars, and being able to chuck them about, however the same comparison can be made about any modern car. All modern cars are so capable that to drive them hard means you are breaking the speed limit very soon. When you compare to the spyder to modern cars, thats when you can see how special it is. But I understand each to their own with cars! interesting read either way, and I would love to hear that race honda!!
JeffC said:
Well I parted with my 981 Spyder last week and thought I would briefly summarise my thoughts on 11 months of ownership.
I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
cypriot said:
Interesting point indeed, and I do see the issues with the long gearing, but then I have never felt this drop off in power at the top end. I totally understand the comparison to older cars, and being able to chuck them about, however the same comparison can be made about any modern car. All modern cars are so capable that to drive them hard means you are breaking the speed limit very soon. When you compare to the spyder to modern cars, thats when you can see how special it is. But I understand each to their own with cars! interesting read either way, and I would love to hear that race honda!!
you are right about new cars and I feel my next car will be an older car.couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
in car 0-flat out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Z1PmyY_Qo
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
JeffC said:
you are right about new cars and I feel my next car will be an older car.
couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
in car 0-flat out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Z1PmyY_Qo
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
Great in car footage Jeff, you could tell you had extra speed in hand once you were into the lead - miss not seeing the Dunlop Bridge nowadays !couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
in car 0-flat out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Z1PmyY_Qo
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
EnS said:
JeffC said:
you are right about new cars and I feel my next car will be an older car.
couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
in car 0-flat out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Z1PmyY_Qo
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
Great in car footage Jeff, you could tell you had extra speed in hand once you were into the lead - miss not seeing the Dunlop Bridge nowadays !couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
in car 0-flat out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Z1PmyY_Qo
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
JeffC said:
cheers , was a mare of day, came off in race 1 and smashed hole in sump hence starting dead last and had severe brake judder had no confidence in brakes as the wheel about vibrated out my hands ! cracking circuit though just a shame it has noise issues stopping most cars getting on to do trackdays, pretty bizarre when you hear the racket off the planes as they fly over every 10 minutes !
What a race! some awesome driving there! hope you get that braking sorted. Now I see why "normal" modern cars to you seem mundane! cypriot said:
What a race! some awesome driving there! hope you get that braking sorted. Now I see why "normal" modern cars to you seem mundane!
Cheers yeh turns out one of the new discs was warped after the race at Croft the month before so sent it back and they skimmed it, seems ok on the road but will see what its like next time I get out ! EnS said:
JeffC said:
I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked,
Interesting Jeff that you would consider losing the manual interaction (because of taller gearing ?) in favour of the rapid PDK changes ?hard to believe these words are coming out my mouth but I would consider taking the Pdk over the manual !
JeffC said:
Well I parted with my 981 Spyder last week and thought I would briefly summarise my thoughts on 11 months of ownership.
I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
Great read Jeff, thanks for sharing. Firstly what Honda race car have you had? I have had many Honda road cars and a race car so have always loved the high revving short geared nature of them, you can actually drive them on the limit, and we still have an EK9. You sometimes do forget how much those cars are when you have a high powered sports car and on country roads, how you work the two cars, some times the lowered powered old school car can be more fulfilling. I have owned a few Porsches over the years having previously owned a 964 and a 997 this was my 3rd Boxster, I had a 987 3.2S then a 981 3.4S , I missed out on getting a car new and ended up buying this car at 500 miles from a fellow Pistonheader and on collecting the car was pretty smitten with it, the looks really did it for me with the lines of the rear and the ducted front bumper, the bucket seats and the leather dash were a lot nicer than what I had in my 981 S and just felt right a lot more hard core than the S and much more like what I expected from a Porsche , I did notice straight away that there was a fair increase in cabin noise, exhaust noise is mega easily the best thing about the car, but was also a lot more tyre noise and a fair bit of wind noise due to the lack of insulation , coming from 12 years of caterhams none of this was an issue and part of the character of the car. I did however struggle with the roof, not so much with the operation but more so if we were out and it started to rain ( and living up in the North East we get a bit of that ) the chew of getting soaked to the skin putting it up then as the shower passed I couldn't be bothered to get out and drop it again. I did try and drive through the rain one day at speed as I used to in my Caterhams but just ended up getting soaked !
I bought it in January so getting the car run in took quite a while as I never used in poor weather conditions and I would say for the first couple months I only managed a few hundred miles, I absolutely loved the drive even using the lower end of the rev counter the additional torque from the 3.8 over the 3.4 was immediately noticeable, I was really looking forward to increasing the revs and I was not disappointed as I edged it up towards 5500rpm towards the end of the running in procedure, It felt like it had a nice power band and I was looking forward to using all the revs , once I clocked 2,000 miles I started to push on a bit more and thats when things started to take a backward step in my opinion, the kick higher in the revs was there but the car felt to seriously drop off at the top end of the counter even compared to my previous 3.4 , the other niggle which to me was pretty major was the gearing on a car like this, for me its just too long and the only gear you can use all the revs legally in the uk is 1st , I recall driving Hartside pass top to bottom and only changed gear once ! the result in the next 1,500 miles I did in the car I rarely bothered red lining it and just short shifted all the time as it felt quicker this way , This wasn't really what I wanted from a Sports car, I also have a Honda race car that is short geared and revs to close to 10,000 rpm so the Spyder in comparison almost felt like a big diesel. over 3,500 miles my average mpg was 28mpg which shows how I drove it .
During the summer I took in Px an old 2001 Boxster S and driving that car was a bit of an eye opener, it looked dated inside and out but it felt so small and agile, the 981 is massive when parked along side and the engine in the old Boxster although much slower was much peakier and it urged you to rev it and due to it being smaller I felt more at home throwing it about , during this year I also bought an old Honda Crx Vtec road car, strangely I actually found myself during the summer on regular occasions leaving the Spyder in the garage and using the Honda and the main reason for this was I could actually drive the Honda hard, short gearing and high revs although slow as a slug I found it more involving to drive. Dont get me wrong I have had some great days in the Spyder its a very capable car and I could make some very good progress on back roads even without working the engine , I could push it hard and it felt really good even on the limit, I had read a lot of comments on here about the Eps but personally I found the steering feeling fine, my car had steel brakes and they were more than up to the job, I never used the Sports plus button just wasn't keen on the auto blip.
To conclude I am so pleased I bought the car I have loved owning it and financially it was a no brainer, I do think the Spyder is one of the best looking cars that Porsche have made, I could go in my garage and just stand and look at it but having owned one I am not so sure that I would buy another if I was looking for a drivers car and I say that based on the characteristics of the engine and gearbox trying to save the planet, I think I would perhaps try a late BGTS PDK with all the boxes ticked, however if Porsche ever decide to built a short geared high revving engine in a car as good looking as a 981 Spyder it would be sold .
The only time i really got to use my GTS to its potential and worked that 3.4 hard was when doing the NC500, as friends had much high powered cars and really know how to drive. Otherwise when i do take it for a blast down some lanes I to find shifting early and using the midrange, as the speeds are to high and gearing is long. I still prefer my manual than to PDK.
One thing stopping me doing a deal on a Spyder was the roof, and I have found that the GTS roof has been spot on when weather turns or joining a motorway for a while, 9 seconds jobs done at 30 mph. It really does make a difference. I don't think i would go Spyder now, If i wanted something more hard core i would consider a GT4 / GT3, more track time next year so a change to a GT4 or GT3 may well be on the cards, but its hard to part with a Manual X73 well spec'd GTS as finding another one like this wont be easy.
EDIT - Just saw the rest of your posts Jeff, KSwap CRX flys! I wanted to Kswap our EK9 Cup car, but changed it in the end. Great footage, makes want to get out in our EK9
Edited by JayK12 on Monday 19th December 18:35
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JeffC said:
you are right about new cars and I feel my next car will be an older car
couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
.......
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
Enjoyed that - the CRX must be bloody mighty !!couple of vids to wet your appetite of the aforementioned old honda
.......
and this is last time I drove it last race of season starting dead last to an outright win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gej2dzc3mNY
PS. to the new owner of my Spyder it was honestly never driven like that !!!
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