Porsche Boxster 981 2.7 PDK
Discussion
After recently selling my 987.2 manual 2.9 Cayman (thread here), I picked up it's replacement today, a 981 Boxster 2.7 with PDK in aqua blue metallic. Bought from a nearby well regarded Porsche specialist, it's a lovely thing.
Like the Cayman before it, this car is best described as 'almost a daily' as I mix working from home with a few days at work per week. But with a change of job looming next year, and a much longer commute, I wanted to stay in a Porsche hence the swap to PDK and I decided to try a Boxster at the same time as life is too short not to mix things up. If it doesn't work, I'll just swap back to a Cayman
The car is a 2013, it has 20" Carrera S alloys, park assist with rear camera, hard back (heated) sports seats, sport design steering wheel with the paddles, upgraded CDR31 with Apple Carplay module, bluetooth phone connectivity and a PSE switchable exhaust. I may add cruise at a later date but the spec covers everything I need for now. It's been freshly serviced and MOT'd as well as having the wheels refurbished in the correct Porsche silver colour.
Plans are to tidy up a few very minor cosmetic bits and have the 12 year PDK service done. It's not due quite yet, but for peace of mind I'll get it done and then I can forget it and just enjoy the car. Bizarrely, in an odd quirk of fate, the previous owner has the same surname as me and has left his personal plate on! Not quite sure if I want to keep it yet but what are the chances?!
Updates and more pictures to come if there's any interest
Like the Cayman before it, this car is best described as 'almost a daily' as I mix working from home with a few days at work per week. But with a change of job looming next year, and a much longer commute, I wanted to stay in a Porsche hence the swap to PDK and I decided to try a Boxster at the same time as life is too short not to mix things up. If it doesn't work, I'll just swap back to a Cayman
The car is a 2013, it has 20" Carrera S alloys, park assist with rear camera, hard back (heated) sports seats, sport design steering wheel with the paddles, upgraded CDR31 with Apple Carplay module, bluetooth phone connectivity and a PSE switchable exhaust. I may add cruise at a later date but the spec covers everything I need for now. It's been freshly serviced and MOT'd as well as having the wheels refurbished in the correct Porsche silver colour.
Plans are to tidy up a few very minor cosmetic bits and have the 12 year PDK service done. It's not due quite yet, but for peace of mind I'll get it done and then I can forget it and just enjoy the car. Bizarrely, in an odd quirk of fate, the previous owner has the same surname as me and has left his personal plate on! Not quite sure if I want to keep it yet but what are the chances?!
Updates and more pictures to come if there's any interest
Stunning little car, enjoy.
I had a 981 2.7 Cayman and I loved it.
No sports exhaust but the sound of that 6 pot behind your head was intoxicating.
Mine was a daily and it was an impecable drive. Refined, easy to drive, but also massive fun when you pressed on. Oh and 38 mpg
on the daily commute is worth noting.
One of the best Porsche engines produce. Enjoy!
I had a 981 2.7 Cayman and I loved it.
No sports exhaust but the sound of that 6 pot behind your head was intoxicating.
Mine was a daily and it was an impecable drive. Refined, easy to drive, but also massive fun when you pressed on. Oh and 38 mpg
on the daily commute is worth noting.
One of the best Porsche engines produce. Enjoy!
I did the same thing. In 2010 I bought a 3 month old 987.2 Cayman 2.9 PDK ( Aqua blue) that I swapped in 2012 for a new 2.7 981 PDK Boxster in Agate grey with the same wheels as yours. The 981 was a step up in quality from the 987 and performance pretty much the same . Ride quality not the greatest with either car- 19” on the 987 and 20” on the 981.
Thanks all for the kind words, I do like the colour especially in the sunshine.
I think the 20s look great, they're a nice design to my eyes but there's no doubting there's a penalty in terms of ride. I can cope with it, but any firmer and it wouldn't work for me. I will most likely get a smaller set of wheels with more suitable tyres for the winter.
I think the 20s look great, they're a nice design to my eyes but there's no doubting there's a penalty in terms of ride. I can cope with it, but any firmer and it wouldn't work for me. I will most likely get a smaller set of wheels with more suitable tyres for the winter.
CantDecide said:
That looks rather lovely! I’ve a Cayman S or the same year and wondering about the Apple CarPlay upgrade - do you know which one was used and how do you find it?
Thank you. I've just checked the invoices and the bill (for £984.00!) simply says 'Supply and fit Carplay' which doesn't help much. I'll have a play with it tomorrow to see if I can shed any more light on things. Little update on the 981 Boxster.
Unfortunately not the best of starts to ownership when the battery failed on arriving home from collecting the car. Obvious from the warning lights on the dash, the alarm acting very weird and the PCM screen showing a sort of rainbow effect of different coloured lines. Then, a couple of days later, it became obvious one of the front springs was broken and the air con didn't work. A closer inspection revealed both air con condensers were punctured, one fan was faulty and on getting the car in the air, both rear coffin arm bushes were badly in need of replacement.
Credit where credit's due however, all sorted out quickly and FOC with a brand new AGM battery coded to the car, new air con condensers, a new fan, new rear coffin arms and two new OEM front springs. So, on to the ritual of cleaning and fettling to make the car mine and to start to gel with it.
First up, the boot and frunk switch had a small nick in it which had been touched up with a marker pen
So a new one was acquired and fitted, easy enough with the trim tools to pop off the scuff plate and swap over, remembering not to break the wires!
New OEM mats from Design 911 were fitted to freshen up the interior, the old ones were ok but a little worn.
Then I set to with the interior cleaning. It's all in great condition but I like to keep the leather cleaned and conditioned plus the Lexol stuff smells ace
Next up was sorting out the sagging side bolster on the drivers seat. Again, it wasn't a disaster but it was definitely letting the interior down.
I had it repaired at HS Auto Trimming in Cheltenham, Matt did a great job of tidying it up and stopping it sagging. He's also rebuilt it in such a way that it should be more resistant to sagging again in the future. Great service. (Excuse the pic of the old mats in the car, I chucked them back in whilst it was being worked on)
Finally for the interior, I removed the huge fluffy cover off the hands free PCM mic and moved it to a more appropriate position, one that didn't block the view of the digital speed readout.
Moving on to the exterior, the rear number plate was flapping in the breeze and in danger of going for a wander due to crappy sticky pads. I don't normally like drilling bumpers to fix plates on but having taken it off to give it a jolly good clean, it seems not everyone shares my high standards and there were some tell-tale holes already drilled.
So the plate was re-affixed with decent (actually sticky) pads and a couple of screws in the old holes to make sure it's not going anywhere. It looks tidy enough so I'm happy The previous owner's private plate is also coming off to be replaced with the original '13' plate.
Finally on the exterior, I've sorted out the front bumper. It was quite badly stone chipped and really let the car down, so I had it repainted by GT Refinishing in Wantage. They did a great job of matching the colour and it really tidies up the car, the rest of which is in amazing condition paint wise. It will most likely need doing again in a few years with the state of our local roads but I just couldn't live with it looking so bad compared to the rest of the car.
At the same time, I fitted the new Zunsport grills to the front to (hopefully) stop any more air con issues with punctured rads. Bizarrely the car was fitted with side and rear grills but not front ones
All of which brings us up to date. Next is the 12 year PDK service, sorting out a few interior rattles and enjoying it during the summer along side it's stable-mate.
Unfortunately not the best of starts to ownership when the battery failed on arriving home from collecting the car. Obvious from the warning lights on the dash, the alarm acting very weird and the PCM screen showing a sort of rainbow effect of different coloured lines. Then, a couple of days later, it became obvious one of the front springs was broken and the air con didn't work. A closer inspection revealed both air con condensers were punctured, one fan was faulty and on getting the car in the air, both rear coffin arm bushes were badly in need of replacement.
Credit where credit's due however, all sorted out quickly and FOC with a brand new AGM battery coded to the car, new air con condensers, a new fan, new rear coffin arms and two new OEM front springs. So, on to the ritual of cleaning and fettling to make the car mine and to start to gel with it.
First up, the boot and frunk switch had a small nick in it which had been touched up with a marker pen
So a new one was acquired and fitted, easy enough with the trim tools to pop off the scuff plate and swap over, remembering not to break the wires!
New OEM mats from Design 911 were fitted to freshen up the interior, the old ones were ok but a little worn.
Then I set to with the interior cleaning. It's all in great condition but I like to keep the leather cleaned and conditioned plus the Lexol stuff smells ace
Next up was sorting out the sagging side bolster on the drivers seat. Again, it wasn't a disaster but it was definitely letting the interior down.
I had it repaired at HS Auto Trimming in Cheltenham, Matt did a great job of tidying it up and stopping it sagging. He's also rebuilt it in such a way that it should be more resistant to sagging again in the future. Great service. (Excuse the pic of the old mats in the car, I chucked them back in whilst it was being worked on)
Finally for the interior, I removed the huge fluffy cover off the hands free PCM mic and moved it to a more appropriate position, one that didn't block the view of the digital speed readout.
Moving on to the exterior, the rear number plate was flapping in the breeze and in danger of going for a wander due to crappy sticky pads. I don't normally like drilling bumpers to fix plates on but having taken it off to give it a jolly good clean, it seems not everyone shares my high standards and there were some tell-tale holes already drilled.
So the plate was re-affixed with decent (actually sticky) pads and a couple of screws in the old holes to make sure it's not going anywhere. It looks tidy enough so I'm happy
The previous owner's private plate is also coming off to be replaced with the original '13' plate.Finally on the exterior, I've sorted out the front bumper. It was quite badly stone chipped and really let the car down, so I had it repainted by GT Refinishing in Wantage. They did a great job of matching the colour and it really tidies up the car, the rest of which is in amazing condition paint wise. It will most likely need doing again in a few years with the state of our local roads but I just couldn't live with it looking so bad compared to the rest of the car.
At the same time, I fitted the new Zunsport grills to the front to (hopefully) stop any more air con issues with punctured rads. Bizarrely the car was fitted with side and rear grills but not front ones
All of which brings us up to date. Next is the 12 year PDK service, sorting out a few interior rattles and enjoying it during the summer along side it's stable-mate.
A few more jobs ticked off the list today.
Having had a manual Cayman for the last almost 4 years I’m still getting used to the PDK box. First impressions are good although it seems to default to picking a gear where the revs are just above idle. So to put things back to factory settings and to undo the learned behaviour from the previous owner, I’ve done the PDK reset. Either this is a very bizarre reset procedure or someone’s got a great sense of humour Time will tell if it’s worked and learns the way I drive….
The car is in great cosmetic condition now the wheels have been refurbed and the front bumper painted. Thankfully, although the car has been used and definitely hasn’t been a garage queen, it’s nice and clean underneath except for the rear ARB, which is letting the side down with flaky powdercoat!
This was cleaned up with a stiff wire brush and some white spirits.
The plan will eventually be to remove the ARB and have it properly blasted and re-powdercoated but for now as a temporary fix, I’ve just put some black satin Hammerite on to stop things getting worse. The bushes were checked at the same time and look in great condition.
Finally, I cleaned and greased the PSE valves as they’re prone to failing and are pretty costly to replace if they seize. The PSE is great, I love the ability to switch it on for a bit of childish fun
Before, covered in s
te.
And then nicely cleaned and lubed both sides.
Having had a manual Cayman for the last almost 4 years I’m still getting used to the PDK box. First impressions are good although it seems to default to picking a gear where the revs are just above idle. So to put things back to factory settings and to undo the learned behaviour from the previous owner, I’ve done the PDK reset. Either this is a very bizarre reset procedure or someone’s got a great sense of humour
Time will tell if it’s worked and learns the way I drive….The car is in great cosmetic condition now the wheels have been refurbed and the front bumper painted. Thankfully, although the car has been used and definitely hasn’t been a garage queen, it’s nice and clean underneath except for the rear ARB, which is letting the side down with flaky powdercoat!
This was cleaned up with a stiff wire brush and some white spirits.
The plan will eventually be to remove the ARB and have it properly blasted and re-powdercoated but for now as a temporary fix, I’ve just put some black satin Hammerite on to stop things getting worse. The bushes were checked at the same time and look in great condition.
Finally, I cleaned and greased the PSE valves as they’re prone to failing and are pretty costly to replace if they seize. The PSE is great, I love the ability to switch it on for a bit of childish fun
Before, covered in s
te.And then nicely cleaned and lubed both sides.
Thank chaps for the kind words, much appreciated.
Two annoying rattles in the interior of the car were really pissing me off, thankfully now both have been found and fixed which does wonders for my sanity
The first was the passenger seat belt banging against the B pillar, easily solved by just moving the plastic clip higher up the belt to hold it firmly in place. I will in due course fix a small felt pad to the pillar but for now it's a million times better. Secondly the centre armrest squeaks when pressure is applied to it, especially when getting in and out of the car. I had seen videos of people putting in new armrest bases but at £90 for the base and with no guarantee this would work long term, I looked for a simpler, more cost effective solution.
It turns out the plastic latch guide flexes against the retaining/locking pin causing the squeak. 2 pieces of 3M felt tape cut to size and stuck on the latch guide has completely fixed it. It's absolute bliss not to have to continuously to listen to this when driving along
Also in the last few days, the alarm has been playing up with the hazard lights going off after locking the car and the siren not working to alert if you if a door and hatch isn't closed on locking. I found this excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmCtOMVgIY&t=... which details how the dry cell inside the siren unit can leak acid out and destroy the electronics.
The siren unit was changed under warranty on my car and it's now all working perfectly again. If anyone's interested and has the same issue, the part number for the siren unit is 1K8 951 605 F and it's located at the front of the car near the battery. It's simple case of disconnecting the old one with one bolt and fitting the plug to the new one. No coding needed either.
The car also went in for its PDK service this week and also to trace a minor rattle on the suspension at low speed on bumpy surfaces. It's a little early for the PDK service to be done but worth it for peace of mind. I'd much rather over-service a car than under-service it!
Both issues are all sorted now, the PDK has had new clutch and transmission fluid as well as a new tuning fork arm for the OSR suspension where there was a little play in one of the bushes. Please excuse the fifty state of the car, the weather's awful right now. It's too early to say if the PDK is smoother as a result of the service, but I'll keep an eye on things moving forward.
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Lastly, with the amount of work the cars had done since I got it, I gave it to Luke at LAP911 in Highworth so he couls do an 111 point check. I'm extremely OCD about my cars and wanted to see if there were any other pending jobs coming up and for us both to have a baseline knowledge so I can plan for the future. Thankfully, Luke's assessment was great, the cars in good condition with no outstanding error codes and it seems I've got a decent example. Great news all round and I wound thoroughly recommend Luke to anyone looking for a specialist in the West Oxon/Swindon area.
So now with all the mechanical and cosmetic jobs out the way, I can actually get and and drive the thing
Two annoying rattles in the interior of the car were really pissing me off, thankfully now both have been found and fixed which does wonders for my sanity
The first was the passenger seat belt banging against the B pillar, easily solved by just moving the plastic clip higher up the belt to hold it firmly in place. I will in due course fix a small felt pad to the pillar but for now it's a million times better. Secondly the centre armrest squeaks when pressure is applied to it, especially when getting in and out of the car. I had seen videos of people putting in new armrest bases but at £90 for the base and with no guarantee this would work long term, I looked for a simpler, more cost effective solution.
It turns out the plastic latch guide flexes against the retaining/locking pin causing the squeak. 2 pieces of 3M felt tape cut to size and stuck on the latch guide has completely fixed it. It's absolute bliss not to have to continuously to listen to this when driving along
Also in the last few days, the alarm has been playing up with the hazard lights going off after locking the car and the siren not working to alert if you if a door and hatch isn't closed on locking. I found this excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmCtOMVgIY&t=... which details how the dry cell inside the siren unit can leak acid out and destroy the electronics.
The siren unit was changed under warranty on my car and it's now all working perfectly again. If anyone's interested and has the same issue, the part number for the siren unit is 1K8 951 605 F and it's located at the front of the car near the battery. It's simple case of disconnecting the old one with one bolt and fitting the plug to the new one. No coding needed either.
The car also went in for its PDK service this week and also to trace a minor rattle on the suspension at low speed on bumpy surfaces. It's a little early for the PDK service to be done but worth it for peace of mind. I'd much rather over-service a car than under-service it!
Both issues are all sorted now, the PDK has had new clutch and transmission fluid as well as a new tuning fork arm for the OSR suspension where there was a little play in one of the bushes. Please excuse the fifty state of the car, the weather's awful right now. It's too early to say if the PDK is smoother as a result of the service, but I'll keep an eye on things moving forward.
[url]Lastly, with the amount of work the cars had done since I got it, I gave it to Luke at LAP911 in Highworth so he couls do an 111 point check. I'm extremely OCD about my cars and wanted to see if there were any other pending jobs coming up and for us both to have a baseline knowledge so I can plan for the future. Thankfully, Luke's assessment was great, the cars in good condition with no outstanding error codes and it seems I've got a decent example. Great news all round and I wound thoroughly recommend Luke to anyone looking for a specialist in the West Oxon/Swindon area.
So now with all the mechanical and cosmetic jobs out the way, I can actually get and and drive the thing
Edited by AndrewGP on Thursday 28th March 16:30
Edited by AndrewGP on Thursday 28th March 16:31
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