Porsche virgin - New (to me) Boxster S 981
Discussion
Hi all
6 months ago after 4 years of prevarication (choosing between an A5 cabriolet or a Boxster), my Dad surprised me by turning up with a metallic black 2011 981 S. I'd never really given much thought to Porsche before and had been encouraging him to by the A5 (particularly for touring around Europe). It is a stunner .. with incredible spec - full black leather, PCM, PDK, Park Assist, Bose .. in fact, just about everything aside from Sports Chrono package. It rather blew my socks off ... and then I drove it ... that sound ...
Anyway ... long story short ... I looked around and found a late 2011 987 Black Edition with SC and PDK. When I went to see it, it didn't really have the same affect on me. I then spent an hour in the showroom and some how left committed to a Dec 2012 981 S in GT Silver Metallic, with Carrera red full leather (with head rest embossing) and Carrera 20" wheels. I haven't got SC .. but not really bothered there. I have the multifunction wheel .. but may look at changing to Sports Design / Paddles at first service if I don't get on with it (right now I think it's fine). I have front/back assist lots of aluminium trim, PCM 3.1 with Sound Package Plus (Bose would have been nice). Only thing I really would like to have had is cruise .. but basically .. close to perfect spec for me. I picked it up last Saturday ... and I'm still shaking.
Aside from joining up and saying hi ... I wanted to benefit from the wisdom of other owners.
The car has 11k miles and seems spotless inside and out (perhaps two small stone chips on the bonnet (which I think is Aluminium so should not rust in the same way as steel ?) and two on the drivers side silver leading edge to the air intake (I guess that is just a vulnerable plastic)).
The engine is really smooth ... on start up you see nothing out the exhaust ... the note changes (a little like a choke coming on) after a few seconds and you notice something puff out - not dark .. but a light puff of something ... and a few secs later engine note drops again .. and no more puff.
What I did notice after just 200 miles of driving (perhaps 100 around country roads < 45, 60 on motorways < 80, the rest perhaps 60 on country roads and maybe 4 0-70 full throttle bursts and another 20 30-80 fairly full throttle bursts) is that the interior (as far as you can see) of the tail pipes are coated black. I wiped off (with a kitchen tissue) thick layers of dry soot from the first 3-4 inches. It is also present on the rounded tip of the pipes.
Looking at the forums .. it seems a lot of people got nervous about this back as far as 2009. Some seemed to relate it cylinder scouring. From the forums, it seems that the Direct Injection used on the 3.4 987 and 981 naturally produces this soot and that it is only a sign of scoring if only the left pipe (indicating cylinder 6) is sooty and the other isn't.
It's been quite a few years now since this scoring scare and the 987 / 981 soot questions ... what is the current view ?
Is scoring an issue on 2011 and later 3.4s ?
Is it down to driving patterns or a weakness in design ?
Is the soot completely normal - i.e. do nearly all 3.4 owners experience it ?
Do people believe that the soot points to likely problems when the cars get older (3+ years) - i.e. coking up of the engine internals ?
As long as engine is at running temp, is there any danger with short bursts of full throttle ?
I'm trying to ignore most of this and just enjoy what seems like an amazing car .. it would just be good to get the view of longer term owners and if possible to recognise things early.
Cheers
Paul.
6 months ago after 4 years of prevarication (choosing between an A5 cabriolet or a Boxster), my Dad surprised me by turning up with a metallic black 2011 981 S. I'd never really given much thought to Porsche before and had been encouraging him to by the A5 (particularly for touring around Europe). It is a stunner .. with incredible spec - full black leather, PCM, PDK, Park Assist, Bose .. in fact, just about everything aside from Sports Chrono package. It rather blew my socks off ... and then I drove it ... that sound ...
Anyway ... long story short ... I looked around and found a late 2011 987 Black Edition with SC and PDK. When I went to see it, it didn't really have the same affect on me. I then spent an hour in the showroom and some how left committed to a Dec 2012 981 S in GT Silver Metallic, with Carrera red full leather (with head rest embossing) and Carrera 20" wheels. I haven't got SC .. but not really bothered there. I have the multifunction wheel .. but may look at changing to Sports Design / Paddles at first service if I don't get on with it (right now I think it's fine). I have front/back assist lots of aluminium trim, PCM 3.1 with Sound Package Plus (Bose would have been nice). Only thing I really would like to have had is cruise .. but basically .. close to perfect spec for me. I picked it up last Saturday ... and I'm still shaking.
Aside from joining up and saying hi ... I wanted to benefit from the wisdom of other owners.
The car has 11k miles and seems spotless inside and out (perhaps two small stone chips on the bonnet (which I think is Aluminium so should not rust in the same way as steel ?) and two on the drivers side silver leading edge to the air intake (I guess that is just a vulnerable plastic)).
The engine is really smooth ... on start up you see nothing out the exhaust ... the note changes (a little like a choke coming on) after a few seconds and you notice something puff out - not dark .. but a light puff of something ... and a few secs later engine note drops again .. and no more puff.
What I did notice after just 200 miles of driving (perhaps 100 around country roads < 45, 60 on motorways < 80, the rest perhaps 60 on country roads and maybe 4 0-70 full throttle bursts and another 20 30-80 fairly full throttle bursts) is that the interior (as far as you can see) of the tail pipes are coated black. I wiped off (with a kitchen tissue) thick layers of dry soot from the first 3-4 inches. It is also present on the rounded tip of the pipes.
Looking at the forums .. it seems a lot of people got nervous about this back as far as 2009. Some seemed to relate it cylinder scouring. From the forums, it seems that the Direct Injection used on the 3.4 987 and 981 naturally produces this soot and that it is only a sign of scoring if only the left pipe (indicating cylinder 6) is sooty and the other isn't.
It's been quite a few years now since this scoring scare and the 987 / 981 soot questions ... what is the current view ?
Is scoring an issue on 2011 and later 3.4s ?
Is it down to driving patterns or a weakness in design ?
Is the soot completely normal - i.e. do nearly all 3.4 owners experience it ?
Do people believe that the soot points to likely problems when the cars get older (3+ years) - i.e. coking up of the engine internals ?
As long as engine is at running temp, is there any danger with short bursts of full throttle ?
I'm trying to ignore most of this and just enjoy what seems like an amazing car .. it would just be good to get the view of longer term owners and if possible to recognise things early.
Cheers
Paul.
I have just done 750 miles in our May 2013 Boxster S on a spirited trip to Wales! The total mileage is now 4,000. I am not aware that you have to worry at all about bore scoring on these engines. As for the soot, just drive it harder! You have nothing wrong and nothing to worry about. Gratuitous picture attached!
Many thanks
I'm loving it ... have to say.
I would add that the 987 S (2011) my Dad has is stunning. It does seem to make a real difference if the original purchaser spent a fortune on options - full leather in particular.
I actually had a deposit on a 987 Black Edition ... but when I got to the Porsche dealer, after driving my Dad's metallic black / full leather, the solid black non full leather and rather tired looking pre-prepped Black just didn't feel on the same planet. The only option that had that mine and my Dad's don't was the Sports Chrono ... and for me ... it isn't something I really want ... can understand track guys would feel different .. oh .. it did have the Sports Design wheel with paddles ... I've had a quote to switch to that ... but quite like the multi function flexibility, particularly with the 981's rather super full graphic right dial - full moving map sat nav on a dial while your passenger is playing with the PCM radio ... inspired :-)
I still struggle a little with an options list costing 25% or the car. Mine was more 18 months old than a vanilla S would be brand new. I kind of liked the old Supra Turbo I had which came with no options ... everything out of the box (very last UK registered Mk3 in metallic grey).
Paul.
I'm loving it ... have to say.
I would add that the 987 S (2011) my Dad has is stunning. It does seem to make a real difference if the original purchaser spent a fortune on options - full leather in particular.
I actually had a deposit on a 987 Black Edition ... but when I got to the Porsche dealer, after driving my Dad's metallic black / full leather, the solid black non full leather and rather tired looking pre-prepped Black just didn't feel on the same planet. The only option that had that mine and my Dad's don't was the Sports Chrono ... and for me ... it isn't something I really want ... can understand track guys would feel different .. oh .. it did have the Sports Design wheel with paddles ... I've had a quote to switch to that ... but quite like the multi function flexibility, particularly with the 981's rather super full graphic right dial - full moving map sat nav on a dial while your passenger is playing with the PCM radio ... inspired :-)
I still struggle a little with an options list costing 25% or the car. Mine was more 18 months old than a vanilla S would be brand new. I kind of liked the old Supra Turbo I had which came with no options ... everything out of the box (very last UK registered Mk3 in metallic grey).
Paul.
Edited by pgamble on Thursday 3rd July 20:44
Well, I've had my 981 Boxster S from new and can confirm that soot on the exhaust tips is perfectly normal and it has done it from day 1, so nothing to worry about there I'd say - can't say I've noticed a thick layer inside the exhaust pipes but then I've not really looked too closely either.
As for using full throttle, why not, the car is designed to be used. Make sure the oil (not just the water) is up to temperature (check the gauge in the binnacle, mine probably runs at 100 - 105C when fully warmed) and fill 'yer boots! Being an NA engine, you need to rev it to get the performance out. 4k revs is about where the variocam kicks in.
As for using full throttle, why not, the car is designed to be used. Make sure the oil (not just the water) is up to temperature (check the gauge in the binnacle, mine probably runs at 100 - 105C when fully warmed) and fill 'yer boots! Being an NA engine, you need to rev it to get the performance out. 4k revs is about where the variocam kicks in.
Edited by Moog72 on Friday 4th July 15:52
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I'd read on this and other forums that you need to wait up to 15/20 mins of town driving for oil to get up to the normal operating levels of 76-110C. I had mine set the vehicle display so I could see oil temp and confirmed it does come out of the blue at circa 76C after perhaps 10 miles and 15 mins. Water on the other hand gets to running temp after 5 mins.
Interestingly, my Dad's 987 only shows water temp - not oil ... so he'd never know when it was good to use the heavy shoes.
Spoke to Porsche Mid Sussex service today and asked about oil temps. Their service manager said Mobil 1 is so good you don't need to worry about oil temps ... also said that they take these engines apart after 100k miles and they look like new ... scoring is a thing of the past obviously ....
Does make it rather hard to know what is ok. I obviously don't want to run the car hard before it's ready ... but many trips are only 20 mins ... so that means for the first 15 I can't exercise it ...
Also means that people without oil temp readout are rather in the dark ... (yes .. I know they may read on forums like this, but the majority of drivers won't read forums at all so won't know that after water temp is at 90 they still need to stay off the pedal for 15 mins).
What are people's views on this ?
Another odd one ... my rear boot light wasn't coming on. Last night it started working .. didn't change anything.
Finally ... those lovely sculptured doors and deep large intakes on the 981 ... they don't half attract stone chips ... I've heard nothing while driving and avoided being within 100yds of anyone in front ... and already have 4 little ones ... 2 one each door :-(
Paul.
Interestingly, my Dad's 987 only shows water temp - not oil ... so he'd never know when it was good to use the heavy shoes.
Spoke to Porsche Mid Sussex service today and asked about oil temps. Their service manager said Mobil 1 is so good you don't need to worry about oil temps ... also said that they take these engines apart after 100k miles and they look like new ... scoring is a thing of the past obviously ....
Does make it rather hard to know what is ok. I obviously don't want to run the car hard before it's ready ... but many trips are only 20 mins ... so that means for the first 15 I can't exercise it ...
Also means that people without oil temp readout are rather in the dark ... (yes .. I know they may read on forums like this, but the majority of drivers won't read forums at all so won't know that after water temp is at 90 they still need to stay off the pedal for 15 mins).
What are people's views on this ?
Another odd one ... my rear boot light wasn't coming on. Last night it started working .. didn't change anything.
Finally ... those lovely sculptured doors and deep large intakes on the 981 ... they don't half attract stone chips ... I've heard nothing while driving and avoided being within 100yds of anyone in front ... and already have 4 little ones ... 2 one each door :-(
Paul.
Hi all
So, interesting time in the last two years since I got the 981s. Lots of happy driving but some big disappointments as well.
Last August, I noted what sounded like metallic crackling from the rear of the car. I thought it could actually be bits of gravel on the metal guard tray under the engine. Long story short, the car went in and was away at the OPC for 3 months. They told me I shouldn't drive the car with the noise, so it had to be resolved. During that time, various external engine things were changed with no luck. The engine was then dropped to do some other stuff which didn't work and finally the engine was dropped again and dismantled. There was no indication of the fault. Whilst this was a bit of a nightmare, the dealer (and Porsche UK) did support me in getting a complete new engine with all the ancillaries at this point and it was covered under the warranty as it should have been - but credit should go to the OPC for making this happen. It wasn't cheap.
After getting it back and having to 'suffer' a 2500 mile running period for the first time, I noted two new problems.
1. I was getting a rattle from the roof above the passenger seat roll arch. I was told that this was a known issue with the 'corrugated' sound insulation rubbing against the canvas. Apparently it can happen even with new cars and when it does there is very little that can be done to resolve. It is near constant and not just over bumps. It can be heard when doing 50 with the windows open. To me this is just unacceptable but I'm told as it is just a noise it is not covered after the first 2 years of warranty. Has anyone else had this issue and had any luck in resolving. Loving the car even as much as I do, something persistent like this will ruin ownership.
2. I had my 4 wheels refurbished when I bought the car. This was done willingly by the original OPC even though there was only a couple of mild bits of scratching on 2 of the wheels. A year after this, when washing the car, I was using a wet cloth (I only ever use hot water and autoglym car wash) a large patch (8" by 2 1/2" of the dark grey metallic just wiped straight off. This was accepted as an issue and the dealer worked with my new OPC to get the wheels refurbished by the latter's preferred wheel specialist. That was in Sept 2015. In Sept 2016 my car disappeared to the OPC for 3 months re the above engine issue. Whilst the OPC had cleaned the car a number of times when hoping the engine issue was resolved, I had only done 3 times between then and now (the car is in a garage all the time it's not driven and has only just completed the 2500 run in, so not used much. Having cleaned the car after the post run in oil change, I noted that all four wheels where showing quite bad corrosion on the silver spoke facings that all starts on the chamfered edges, The wheel refurbishment outfit has told me (and the OPC) that whilst they normally offer a 3 yr warranty, as these are 'diamond cut' wheels, they only have a single year and I'm outside of that now. I was staggered. The OPC has also told me that because the wheel companies only offer 1 yr, they no longer arrange for refurbishment of 'diamond cut' wheels. Your only option is to buy new. The wheel company did offer me 25% off the £672 inc VAT cost of another refurbish resulting in a £504 total cost to me. Initially they indicated that because the car had been laid up for most of the time since the 1 yr warranty ended and that all four wheels had suffered that they would be flexible and help on price, but they have now said no - 25% is the best they will offer. I'm more than a little staggered. If these wheels are so susceptible to corrosion and Porsche won't arrange refurbishment, I wouldn't think they were fit for purpose for such an expensive item on such an expensive car. I also can't rationalise how a refurb company would think expecting 12 months life out of the work was acceptable. This is all rather new to me, so I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts / input.
If I'm off base on any of the above, do let me know. If so, I guess I will either have to stump up for a new roof or sell the car. Re the wheels, I guess I will just have to spend £4-£5k on new ones. In that case, I'd need to source non diamond cut ones that are the same 20" (as I can't go through this type of issue again, however beautiful they are). These don't appear on the current TekEquipment price list. Any ideas on suitable Porsche 20" wheels that are not diamond cut but still look awesome on an 'S' ?
Cheers
Paul.
So, interesting time in the last two years since I got the 981s. Lots of happy driving but some big disappointments as well.
Last August, I noted what sounded like metallic crackling from the rear of the car. I thought it could actually be bits of gravel on the metal guard tray under the engine. Long story short, the car went in and was away at the OPC for 3 months. They told me I shouldn't drive the car with the noise, so it had to be resolved. During that time, various external engine things were changed with no luck. The engine was then dropped to do some other stuff which didn't work and finally the engine was dropped again and dismantled. There was no indication of the fault. Whilst this was a bit of a nightmare, the dealer (and Porsche UK) did support me in getting a complete new engine with all the ancillaries at this point and it was covered under the warranty as it should have been - but credit should go to the OPC for making this happen. It wasn't cheap.
After getting it back and having to 'suffer' a 2500 mile running period for the first time, I noted two new problems.
1. I was getting a rattle from the roof above the passenger seat roll arch. I was told that this was a known issue with the 'corrugated' sound insulation rubbing against the canvas. Apparently it can happen even with new cars and when it does there is very little that can be done to resolve. It is near constant and not just over bumps. It can be heard when doing 50 with the windows open. To me this is just unacceptable but I'm told as it is just a noise it is not covered after the first 2 years of warranty. Has anyone else had this issue and had any luck in resolving. Loving the car even as much as I do, something persistent like this will ruin ownership.
2. I had my 4 wheels refurbished when I bought the car. This was done willingly by the original OPC even though there was only a couple of mild bits of scratching on 2 of the wheels. A year after this, when washing the car, I was using a wet cloth (I only ever use hot water and autoglym car wash) a large patch (8" by 2 1/2" of the dark grey metallic just wiped straight off. This was accepted as an issue and the dealer worked with my new OPC to get the wheels refurbished by the latter's preferred wheel specialist. That was in Sept 2015. In Sept 2016 my car disappeared to the OPC for 3 months re the above engine issue. Whilst the OPC had cleaned the car a number of times when hoping the engine issue was resolved, I had only done 3 times between then and now (the car is in a garage all the time it's not driven and has only just completed the 2500 run in, so not used much. Having cleaned the car after the post run in oil change, I noted that all four wheels where showing quite bad corrosion on the silver spoke facings that all starts on the chamfered edges, The wheel refurbishment outfit has told me (and the OPC) that whilst they normally offer a 3 yr warranty, as these are 'diamond cut' wheels, they only have a single year and I'm outside of that now. I was staggered. The OPC has also told me that because the wheel companies only offer 1 yr, they no longer arrange for refurbishment of 'diamond cut' wheels. Your only option is to buy new. The wheel company did offer me 25% off the £672 inc VAT cost of another refurbish resulting in a £504 total cost to me. Initially they indicated that because the car had been laid up for most of the time since the 1 yr warranty ended and that all four wheels had suffered that they would be flexible and help on price, but they have now said no - 25% is the best they will offer. I'm more than a little staggered. If these wheels are so susceptible to corrosion and Porsche won't arrange refurbishment, I wouldn't think they were fit for purpose for such an expensive item on such an expensive car. I also can't rationalise how a refurb company would think expecting 12 months life out of the work was acceptable. This is all rather new to me, so I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts / input.
If I'm off base on any of the above, do let me know. If so, I guess I will either have to stump up for a new roof or sell the car. Re the wheels, I guess I will just have to spend £4-£5k on new ones. In that case, I'd need to source non diamond cut ones that are the same 20" (as I can't go through this type of issue again, however beautiful they are). These don't appear on the current TekEquipment price list. Any ideas on suitable Porsche 20" wheels that are not diamond cut but still look awesome on an 'S' ?
Cheers
Paul.
Thanks for the quick response. No, the noise issue was an odd one. Whilst they told me I shouldn't drive it, they couldn't actually find the cause, hence the new replacement.
Re the wheels, I've looked at the Tequipment UK site (http://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/tequipment/) and the catalogue only shows 18 and 19" wheel options for the 981. Can you tell me where I might find the 20" ones ?
Cheers
Paul
Re the wheels, I've looked at the Tequipment UK site (http://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/tequipment/) and the catalogue only shows 18 and 19" wheel options for the 981. Can you tell me where I might find the 20" ones ?
Cheers
Paul
You're only looking at the winter wheels options I think.
Use the address you posted and scroll down to the section called "Tequipment accessories finder". Hit the "Click here" button and it'll open another window. Select "Great Britain" then hover over the 718 models and you'll see a link to the 981 series cars. Select that, choose your car, then you'll see the full list of accessories
Use the address you posted and scroll down to the section called "Tequipment accessories finder". Hit the "Click here" button and it'll open another window. Select "Great Britain" then hover over the 718 models and you'll see a link to the 981 series cars. Select that, choose your car, then you'll see the full list of accessories
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