Returning to the fold - 987 again or 981?

[jmcc500]

Ran a 987 Gen 1 Cayman for a while before trading to a 987 Spyder about 3 years ago. Ran that for a year but circumstances changed and I had to sell it.

I am now starting to mull over getting back into a Porsche. Loved the Spyder, but can’t afford another and unlikely to find one of the same spec again, so looking at 987 Gen 2 or possibly an early 981, though that would be a chunk more money.

Having read various comparisons from back in the day suggesting they drive quite differently, and the 987 may have had the edge in some respects, I was wondering what the current consensus is?

987 would be cheaper to buy, is the last of the hydraulic PAS I think, I loved my Spyder but now think perhaps the interior is a bit dated, and I guess a vanilla 987 won’t feel as special as the Spyder.

981 last of the flat 6 boxsters (for the moment), far nicer interior and styling (IMO), but £5-£10k more.

Anyone been through this thought process and got a view either way?

[Twinfan]

You've summed it pretty well! 987.2 and 981 have DFI engines so no chocolate engine to worry about, they appear to be very reliable. Interior and exterior styling preferences aside, it comes down to:

• hydraulic steering on a 987 vs EPAS steering on a 981
• PASM a bit harsh on a 987, PASM much improved and is excellent on a 981
• PDK not as good on the 987, on a 981 it's excellent and quick
• manual gearbox is the same on both and is superb
• minor extras on the 981 e.g. sat nav is better, reversing camera is available etc.

You'll need to choose what's most important to you and choose the car that suits your preferences best. There's no right or wrong answer.

[jmcc500]

Thanks for that.

Interesting about the PDK differences - I had been thinking of going that route as the OH is slightly more likely to drive that than a manual, but she is keen for it to be manual to minimise things that can go wrong. My Cayman and Spyder were both manual, but I quite like twin clutch boxes and am in two minds over that - now mentally eliminating 987 PDKs at least...

[DJMC]

I looked at both.

Chose 981 for extra cabin room (6' 1" 14st) and more modern tech.

Couldn't fit comfortably in the 987.

[gordmac]

Interesting, I am same height but heavier and find there is plenty room in my 987.2.
2.9l doesn't have direct injection.

[Stunters]

Purely as a thing to drive, I'd choose a 987.2 over the 981. But there are no wrong answers here, and as a fan of the 987 chassis you'll enjoy either car.

Steering feel is a definite step backwards on the 981, which would be the decisive factor if it was my own personal decision. 981 feels a bigger car, even though its physical footprint isn't much bigger.

Interior of the 981 is much improved, other than the handbrake - which is electronic, and sited by your right knee in a RHD car. This may be a dealbreaker on its own! 987 interior is perfectly OK although it is more basic, but still has plenty of charm IMO.

[DJMC]

jmcc500 said:

Thanks for that.

Interesting about the PDK differences - I had been thinking of going that route as the OH is slightly more likely to drive that than a manual, but she is keen for it to be manual to minimise things that can go wrong. My Cayman and Spyder were both manual, but I quite like twin clutch boxes and am in two minds over that - now mentally eliminating 987 PDKs at least...

I don't think there have been that many PDK issues. Iirc they're supposed to last the lifetime of the car with no replacement parts.

A clutch wears, and my experience of the 981 clutch is it's heavy. This may put your wife off manual?

981 electronic handbrake by your knee takes some getting used to, but you do get "hill hold" (in a PDK, not sure about manual) which applies it automatically when the incline negates the PDK's forward idle creep so as to stop you rolling backwards.

[Twinfan]

Manual cars have hill hold too, or just just drive off with the handbrake on and it's released automatically.

[DJMC]

Twinfan said:

Manual cars have hill hold too, or just just drive off with the handbrake on and it's released automatically.

Thanks for the info.

[skinny]

Twinfan said:

• manual gearbox is the same on both and is superb

Are the gear ratios the same? I keep hearing of very long gearing on the 981 manual which really puts me off, so (along with the lower cost and better steering) i was thinking about the 987.2, but if the gearbox is the same then i think the looks of the 981 brings that back on top.

[OPOGTS]

The 981 is a step up for sure....... the game has moved on.

But.... it’s a more grown up experience and the steering feel is almost none existant.

Depends what you want really?

[Twinfan]

I think the gearbox is the same, although the 987 has smaller wheels (19" max versus 20" max) so potentially very slightly shorter gearing overall depending on spec.

Long gearing has been an issue for a while, it's not a new thing.

[gwsinc]

Value for money wise I’d say a low mileage 987.2 is the way to go.

[Venisonpie]

skinny said:

Twinfan said:

• manual gearbox is the same on both and is superb

Are the gear ratios the same? I keep hearing of very long gearing on the 981 manual which really puts me off, so (along with the lower cost and better steering) i was thinking about the 987.2, but if the gearbox is the same then i think the looks of the 981 brings that back on top.

The gearing is a well known but perhaps underestimated problem. These engines need revs to extract decent performance which with long ratios equals high road speeds at high revs. As such in most situations you mainly end up using the lower part of the rev range where the acceleration is not great and for the most part have a pretty average car speed wise.
I ran a 981 as a company car when they first came out and even with a PDK box it was hugely frustrating. The engines are magic but you never really get to experience them as much as you would like.

[bcr5784]

Venisonpie said:

The gearing is a well known but perhaps underestimated problem. These engines need revs to extract decent performance which with long ratios equals high road speeds at high revs. As such in most situations you mainly end up using the lower part of the rev range where the acceleration is not great and for the most part have a pretty average car speed wise.
I ran a 981 as a company car when they first came out and even with a PDK box it was hugely frustrating. The engines are magic but you never really get to experience them as much as you would like.

+1 You can reach the legal limit in 2nd, even with PDK and very comfortably exceed it with a manual.

Edited by bcr5784 on Wednesday 5th June 08:19

[Venisonpie]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That's interesting, how much lower are the box ratios and where do you end up with in gear speeds? A manual gen 2 987 with a gen 1 box might be a great combo if it simply bolts in?

[Singh911]

gwsinc said:

Value for money wise I’d say a low mileage 987.2 is the way to go.

I'm not so sure about that. I went from a 987.1 to 981 a few months ago. I found that a late well spec'd 987.2 was only a few £k less than a 2012 981.

I thought long and hard about spec - went for a 2.7 manual - on the grounds that I want to be able to use the revs and not do silly speeds which the 2.7 lends itself to far more than the S.

I found the build quality and chassis a lot better put together than the 987.1 which used to shake a lot more over bumps. Much better roof, the gearbox is epic. I do miss the steering feel though.

Mine didn't come with the sports exhaust so I went over to Carnewal in Belgium and Gert's mod is brilliant.

Cheers

[Ultrafunkula]

I had to decide between a 987.2 S or a 981 last summer and chose the former. Apart from the £4k price difference (the 981 would have been slightly better specced but not well enough) the extra power of the S clinched it for me along with the looks - I think the 987 looks more 'Porsche' than the 981.

My S is manual and I've never had an issue with the gearing, coming from a manual Audi S3 they both exceed legal speeds around the same time but the S3 had an extra gear change at 60ish. I don't really see how an extra gear change is preferable, as I get to hear the F6 for longer before hitting 70!

[Ultrafunkula]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Certainly I never wanted the PDK, I only like manual shifts (hence the manual S3, although it was a bad example of a manual shift and clutch action). The longer gearing has never been an issue for me for whatever reason, I was expecting the worst after reading about it though.
One thing may be the roads I drive on, long open b roads and dual carriageways generally. Combined with the Remus exhaust, I find the car a pleasure to drive even at lower speeds/revs.

[kilarney]

I have a 987.2 s and had a 981 before it. Due to the smaller wheel size on the 987 I dont find the gearing a problem but I most certainly did on the 981. The transmission and FD ratios are otherwise the same I believe.