Boxster - 6 months later

Soldato
Joined
31 Oct 2002
Posts
13,892
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
6 months ago I sold the TT and Elise and decided to get one car to replace them. I chose the poor man's Porsche, a Boxster S (or 987 if you're pretentious)

I wanted a soft top that was reasonably practical, fun, quickish, handled well, looked good and didn't cost a fortune to run. From reading the various reviews and old episodes of Top Gear and 5th Gear the Boxster seemed to fit the bill so I went searching.

I found a Porsche specialist near Reading which had a silver Boxster S for sale, 1 previous owner with 28,000 miles on the clock. It was quite light on options however it was in absolutely pristine condition having been recently detailed. I decided that I actually wasn't bothered about having Porsche crest embossed in my headrests or cruise control and that condition was far more important to me so I bought it. As part of the deal they gave it the 40,000 mile service so that I wouldn't need to service it for the next 2 years.

So far I've only done 2500 miles (I cycle a lot in summer) and my average fuel economy is around 18mpg however on a recent trip to York I averaged 34mpg so if I ventured near motorways more often it would be quite economical.

As standard the car is damn impressive, right from the way the power is delivered to the handling feedback is excellent. I can certainly see why so many people rave about the Boxster but as you know I enjoy modding my cars and in my first 6 months I did a few choice tweaks.

The standard 18" wheels were fine but I thought they looked a little small so I bought a set of 19" Carrera Classics which have made a massive visual difference in my opinion. I was reading about how restrictive the standard exhaust was and that good aftermarked ones can release around 20BHP by deleting the secondary cats so I bought a Remus exhaust which has deepened the exhaust tone nicely and enhanced the flat 6 noise when driving hard. Also fitted a few other small bits such as new number plates, LED number plate bulbs, JVC double DIN head unit, Porsche OEM mats, Wind deflector and a Rear Soft Storage Case.

I've got no immediate plans to change it, all my money is going into the business right now so I'll just change a few little bits then that's it.

* Remove snorkel from airbox
* Fit iPod connector, amp and speakers
* Find out what is causing the rattle from the roof behind my head
* Geo
* Remap (Softronic)
* Either debadge or buy new Boxster S badge after I snapped it off, doh!

And finally, some pics taken at the weekend.

boxster.jpg


boxster2.jpg


boxster3.jpg


boxster4.jpg


boxster5.jpg


boxster6.jpg
 
mark66, the Softronic remap would give about 15BHP and sharpen up the throttle reponse. It's a popular mod in conjunction with the exhaust in order to get the best gains overall.

Housey, I considered a Cayman but I'm a real lover of soft tops so the Boxster was more appropriate. If I ever bought a 911 it would most likely be a soft top one (I know, it's sacrilege!)
I actually quite liked the TT and whilst it was a bit understeery at times, I found it totally predictable. The Boxster is never going to handle like an Elise but it's close enough, and the comfort and added practicality make up for that.
 
So with the remap and the exhaust what do you hope for it to be running power wise?

It's 280BHP as standard and the exhaust has shown around 20BHP gains on every rolling road test that I've seen. The remap is about another 15BHP apparently so make of those figures what you will.

As standard it's got enough power to be fun so I'm not too concerned about what it'll be with the mods, I just wanted a better soundtrack and even better drivability hence the minor mods.
 
[TW]Fox;14982349 said:
Brilliant cars. Under-rated by the clueless but properly enthusiasts know just how good they are.

But it's a poor mans Porsche, only driven by guests on Jeremy Kyle innit.
 
Looks like the nearly doesn't include the red tail lights, IMO I think they really help the rear end look.

Isn't that just a Gen 2 thing?

I think I prefer the Gen 1 lights anyway, not too sure about having all red rear lights myself.
 
[TW]Fox;15050561 said:
Are the LED ones genuine Porsche?

If so, get those.

Yeah, they're the latest ones. I'm still undecided to be honest.

I'll take a proper look next time I'm at the Porsche main dealer
 
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