981 options you wish you had (not) specced and why?

[FrankCayman]

J12KJR said:

whilst I am no auto electrician logic suggests that as they are just switches you should be able to change round the wiring so that the push becomes a down shift and the pull becomes an up shift. I realise that the buttons would be engraved incorrectly but it would be a small price to pay for an intuitive solution.
Someone will probably be along soon to say it isn't that simple.

But that would invalidate the warranty.

[m999psw]

At traffic lights or rail crossing where I am likely to be stopped for a while I just pull on both paddles which disengages the clutch/gearbox and if on an incline use the handbrake, which disconnects automatically when you pull away!

[J12KJR]

FrankCayman said:

J12KJR said:

whilst I am no auto electrician logic suggests that as they are just switches you should be able to change round the wiring so that the push becomes a down shift and the pull becomes an up shift. I realise that the buttons would be engraved incorrectly but it would be a small price to pay for an intuitive solution.
Someone will probably be along soon to say it isn't that simple.

But that would invalidate the warranty.

Fair comment Frank, I wonder whether Porsche could do it in which case you would expect there to be no effect on the warranty.

[cibble10]

FrankCayman said:

I have a manual so the issue doesn't effect me, but I do feel your predicament.

I've just returned a loner today which had PDK with the Paddles rather than buttons. The paddles are a far more logical and superior way to change gear with a PDK.....but I did miss the multifunction steering wheel terribly....plus you end up with 2 paddles and 4 stalks...it looked a right mess!!

Do you think you may change the steering wheel? Such a shame you're not totally happy with the spec.

Thanks for your comments. I formally owned a Cayman R with the sports steering wheel and paddles. I loved the paddles and DCT box but considered the steering wheel low rent. Soooo, on choosing my spec for the BGTS I wanted to retain PDK but spec a better looking steering wheel. I'm really happy with the carbon MF wheel but knew the buttons might be a challenge, but I thought one I could adapt to. Sadly I still find them far from intuitive. A good friend has retro fitted paddles to his Carreras 4s and I think I will likely follow suit albeit it will cost me bout £800. It is a pity Porsche don't offer this either as a build option or a post build retro fit. With the new tech on the 981 I think not having a MF steering wheel must be a bit of a chore, as you suggest.

[FrankCayman]

cibble10 said:

Thanks for your comments. I formally owned a Cayman R with the sports steering wheel and paddles. I loved the paddles and DCT box but considered the steering wheel low rent. Soooo, on choosing my spec for the BGTS I wanted to retain PDK but spec a better looking steering wheel. I'm really happy with the carbon MF wheel but knew the buttons might be a challenge, but I thought one I could adapt to. Sadly I still find them far from intuitive. A good friend has retro fitted paddles to his Carreras 4s and I think I will likely follow suit albeit it will cost me bout £800. It is a pity Porsche don't offer this either as a build option or a post build retro fit. With the new tech on the 981 I think not having a MF steering wheel must be a bit of a chore, as you suggest.

I must admit, I was rather shocked as to how cheap the sports steering wheel felt - almost like a games console steering wheel! Pleased to be back behind my simple matt black multifunction wheel!

I hope you resolve the paddles to your complete satisfaction - you have a wonderful looking car....and I am dead jealous your allowed to have black and silver number plates over there - they finish the car off a treat!

[miskalachi]

So managed to add dual zone climate to my spec and whilst doing that, ended up adding Carbon door sills and black painted wheels (partially)

Options / budget never really ends with Porsche!

[PowerMalc]

J12KJR said:

whilst I am no auto electrician logic suggests that as they are just switches you should be able to change round the wiring so that the push becomes a down shift and the pull becomes an up shift. I realise that the buttons would be engraved incorrectly but it would be a small price to pay for an intuitive solution.
Someone will probably be along soon to say it isn't that simple.

I tested a Boxster with the sport wheel and paddles but surprisingly could not get on with it as I found I kept fouling the stalks behind it and I do not have big hands!
So after using the standard buttons for a while my process is using my right thumb to change up and my left index and forefinger to change down. For me this works about 95% of the time but then I would confuse myself by using my right finger to change up, doh got wrong gear!!
So I asked my OPC if they could disable the right downshift button and the left upshift button. They did have a serious look at it but came back and said no. They said it would probably throw up fault codes and could not be done. At no point was warranty invalidation mentioned.

[FrankCayman]

miskalachi said:

So managed to add dual zone climate to my spec and whilst doing that, ended up adding Carbon door sills and black painted wheels (partially)

Options / budget never really ends with Porsche!

Ha ha.....you need to stop now....otherwise you'll add more options!

I had a 'wobble' after ordering mine, but luckily I was unable to change the spec as it was too late.....which saved me £1K!!

[cibble10]

FrankCayman said:

I must admit, I was rather shocked as to how cheap the sports steering wheel felt - almost like a games console steering wheel! Pleased to be back behind my simple matt black multifunction wheel!

I hope you resolve the paddles to your complete satisfaction - you have a wonderful looking car....and I am dead jealous your allowed to have black and silver number plates over there - they finish the car off a treat!

Many thanks. I'll feed back when done. Just noticed my formally typo!!

Yes, we are a bit spoilt with number plate choices. That said, the local government is now trying to introduce a new width and emissions tax so as to fund the bus service! It is causing uproar

[koorby]

maxpower5 said:

koorby said:

I've been driving for 34 years and never once have I engaged the handbrake at a red light nor was I taught to do so.

Did you learn in an automatic?

Nope, taught in a manual and drove manual for first 15+ years. Handbrake was only used for hill starts at lights or from rest.

[cibble10]

miskalachi said:

So managed to add dual zone climate to my spec and whilst doing that, ended up adding Carbon door sills and black painted wheels (partially)

Options / budget never really ends with Porsche!

I have those options. The sills was the only one of all my options which I felt wasn't quite as expected, but it does look smart so no panic What main body colour?

[cibble10]

FrankCayman said:

But that would invalidate the warranty.

It seems there are two distinct OPC camps. One says that ANY modification invalidates the car's whole warranty, which in my view seems wrong. The other says that if a mod creates a problem then any connected remedial work is not covered under the warranty. I would suggest that the latter is more likely correct otherwise stone guards, new or non-approved winter wheels, spoilers etc would not be allowed.

[cibble10]

J12KJR said:

whilst I am no auto electrician logic suggests that as they are just switches you should be able to change round the wiring so that the push becomes a down shift and the pull becomes an up shift. I realise that the buttons would be engraved incorrectly but it would be a small price to pay for an intuitive solution.
Someone will probably be along soon to say it isn't that simple.

Hopefully someone will respond as I would prefer this as a first option but replicating the paddles. Disabling the other half of each button would then result in buttons that replicate the paddles.

[bcr5784]

PowerMalc said:

I tested a Boxster with the sport wheel and paddles but surprisingly could not get on with it as I found I kept fouling the stalks behind it and I do not have big hands!
So after using the standard buttons for a while my process is using my right thumb to change up and my left index and forefinger to change down. For me this works about 95% of the time but then I would confuse myself by using my right finger to change up, doh got wrong gear!!
So I asked my OPC if they could disable the right downshift button and the left upshift button. They did have a serious look at it but came back and said no. They said it would probably throw up fault codes and could not be done. At no point was warranty invalidation mentioned.

I have to say I was not expecting to like the paddles on the Sports wheel, but surprizingly I do, but only in limited circumstances. I see what people say about interfering with the stalks, but I avoid that problem. FWIW if I am driving manually (quite a lot of the time) I use the gear lever to change gear almost invariably - I know exactly where it is, uninfluenced by how much lock I have got on and where my hands are on the wheel. If I use the paddles in manual I have the problem with the stalks, or get confused about which paddle to operate on sharp bends and roundabouts. So, practically speaking I only use the paddles when in auto, and then generally only to change down prior to an overtake. I relatively rarely use the upshift paddle.

On the track it would be different - with your hands fixed on the wheel the paddles would come into their own - but since I don't intend to track the car that is no value to me - but maybe to some.

[miskalachi]

cibble10 said:

I have those options. The sills was the only one of all my options which I felt wasn't quite as expected, but it does look smart so no panic What main body colour?

I've always thought the standard sills look pretty cheap and because I've gone for GTS interior pack I thought it would look well all together. The exterior colour is Jet Black

[cibble10]

miskalachi said:

I've always thought the standard sills look pretty cheap and because I've gone for GTS interior pack I thought it would look well all together. The exterior colour is Jet Black

Should look stunning... a photo of the sill for you (I had this to hand as I discussed this on line with someone else who was considering sill options). I have a leather/carbon interior so it matches, I just thought it should look more impressive

[ilduce]

FrankCayman said:

Adam B said:

Why? Your all still bought a Porsche and spent the extra on tight arsed options. So Porsche made more profit which is managements aim.

It's annoying but this will only change if people start buying other brands which offer better value

I like the fact that Porsche give you the option to build your spec. I see it as better value.

I'd rather have a lightly spec'd Cayman at £44K than one the Porsche build with all the options on that I don't want and sell for a list price of £50K. Base Caymans are a massive bargain when you consider they are less than some 2 series BMW's.

Let's face it, trying to compare a Golf with a Porsche is pretty silly really. It's rather like saying 'My new build 3 bedroom detached property has 3 ensuite bathrooms and only cost £250,000, when there's a Barn conversion up the road made out of old wood for £600,000 that doesn't'

Hmmm, probably not a great analogy, but you get my point!

Very poor analogy. It should have been, two new builds: One for £250k with 3 bathrooms, double garage, solar heating, triple glazing, fully carpeted, landscaped gardens and the other for £500k with one toilet and the seat is extra.

More seriously, they don't have the massive power advantage over other cars any more so they can't say all of the money goes into the engine. The suspension isn't made of gold and the build quality is no better (and sometimes worse) than other cheaper cars so how can they justify the massive price difference?
I can see your point about not wanting a fully loaded car but some of the basic options should be standard.(£80 for 2 mats FFS!) This would still leave a massive option list of things to personalise your car (and spend lots of money on): coloured dials, extra leather interior options, coloured seatbelts, leather/coloured trim etc and of course the performance mods: carbon brakes, PASM etc.

For the record my CS only had Black 19's, Xenons and cruise: about 6k of stuff but it still resulted in a disappointed salesman.

[FrankCayman]

ilduce said:

Very poor analogy. It should have been, two new builds: One for £250k with 3 bathrooms, double garage, solar heating, triple glazing, fully carpeted, landscaped gardens and the other for £500k with one toilet and the seat is extra.

More seriously, they don't have the massive power advantage over other cars any more so they can't say all of the money goes into the engine. The suspension isn't made of gold and the build quality is no better (and sometimes worse) than other cheaper cars so how can they justify the massive price difference?
I can see your point about not wanting a fully loaded car but some of the basic options should be standard.(£80 for 2 mats FFS!) This would still leave a massive option list of things to personalise your car (and spend lots of money on): coloured dials, extra leather interior options, coloured seatbelts, leather/coloured trim etc and of course the performance mods: carbon brakes, PASM etc.

For the record my CS only had Black 19's, Xenons and cruise: about 6k of stuff but it still resulted in a disappointed salesman.

Perhaps if Porsche increased the list price of their cars by £80 then chucked in mats for free, that would help? :-)

[Mario149]

FrankCayman said:

Perhaps if Porsche increased the list price of their cars by £80 then chucked in mats for free, that would help? :-)

I actually think it would! No one realistically is going to not buy a car over some £80 floor mats, but having to spec them onto base price because a Porsche of all vehicles doesn't come with them just simply pisses people off. So either way Porsche get their £80, it's just with the suggested method they have happier clients. It's almost like they enjoy giving their dealership staff a hard time.

[bcr5784]

Mario149 said:

I actually think it would! No one realistically is going to not buy a car over some £80 floor mats, but having to spec them onto base price because a Porsche of all vehicles doesn't come with them just simply pisses people off. So either way Porsche get their £80, it's just with the suggested method they have happier clients. It's almost like they enjoy giving their dealership staff a hard time.

Absolutely, but pretty much the same argument could be applied to telephone prep, parking sensors, climate control and some would argue quite a lot more. Like others have said it's not going to upset many people by charging through the nose to personalise the car with fancy trim options, chrome petrol fillers or gear knobs - but it does upset them to be charged £400+ to connect a phone or (when you add everything you have to spec up) £3000 if you want sat nav as well. And you still don't get DAB!