987 to 981, who’s made the change?

[celica88]

987 to 981, who’s made the change?

Anything you miss about the 987?

[simon clark]

What it looks like but nothing else..

Both fantastic cars but the 987 is ageing well

[kilarney]

Steering and gearing, smaller size. Everything else is better on the 981. Chassis rigidity much better on the 981 as is the ride compliance and the decider for me.

[dunc_sx]

kilarney said:

Steering and gearing, smaller size. Everything else is better on the 981. Chassis rigidity much better on the 981 as is the ride compliance and the decider for me.

Killarney, is there a difference in manual gearing between 987s and 981s?

Cheers,
Dunc

[stewieyan]

I changed from Boxster 987 to Boxster 981s
Very different cars.
987 is more pure, louder at low revs, more mechanical, more agile.
981s is more powerful, louder at high revs, more modern looking and more comfortable overall.
PCM is crap on both.

[celica88]

PCM is what?

[DoubleSix]

Crap on both

[asbi]

I would advise you to drive both - the biggest change I noticed was the steering, imho even on the 718 the steering is still nowhere near as feelsome as the 987…..

[DRH986]

I changed from a 987 gen 1 Cayman S to a 981 Cayman S. The negatives for me are loss of steering feel, too much brake servo assistance and loss of overall rawness. I don't like the PDK box and wish I'd bought a manual but appreciate I'm in a small minority on that. Positives for the 981 are better PASM damping and looks and a little bit more cabin space. I've had the 981 four years after six years with the 987 and really haven't bonded with it to the same extent as the 987. But it's still a great car and there's nothing tempting me to change it for, other than maybe a manual or my old 987 (now owned by a friend) with a view to some mods.

[andygo]

I went to test drive a Cayamn 981S, considering a swap from my mint 30,000 mint Cayman 987.2

The 981 is just a quantum jump from the 987. The chassis stiffness seems to allow a recalibration of the PASM making it more comliant and supple. Brakes are excellent, no need for the GT3 master cylinder swap as required on the 987. Front calipers are also different which nobody seems to pick up on.

Cabin on the 981 looks as though it much more cohesive and up to date.

As far as performance goes, my son and I entered a sprint at Curborough, having owned it for 10 days. The car broke the track record for the standard car class with my son driving, I wasn't far behind.

981 S is a fab machine although I have to say I'm thinking of a GTS as a keeper due to residuals..

[Nyloc20]

I had a 987.2 manual for a few months, quite happy with it so decided to chop my C Class Coupe in with it for a 981 PDK. I wish I'd kept the 987. I didn't like the heavy insensitive steering and although I know it was only slightly bigger than the 987 it always seemed much bigger and bulkier, particularly on narrow roads. I can only blame myself regarding the steering, due to an urgent business call I only gave it a two minute test drive up and down the street instead of a proper run.
It was a good long distance tourer, we had a great trip to Angouleme with some car mates pre-covid but I just didn't enjoy it on short runs. I got a very good resale price and bought an Elan Sprint and a Fiesta ST Line. Very happy, I might go back to a 987 at some time in the future.

[SV_WDC]

Where are people getting test drives to tell the difference in handling? I’m planning to upgrade from a 987.2 Cayman to a 981 GTS. When I was buying my Cayman most dealers wouldn’t allow a test drive.

[SkinnyPete]

DRH986 said:

I changed from a 987 gen 1 Cayman S to a 981 Cayman S. The negatives for me are loss of steering feel, too much brake servo assistance and loss of overall rawness. I don't like the PDK box and wish I'd bought a manual but appreciate I'm in a small minority on that. Positives for the 981 are better PASM damping and looks and a little bit more cabin space. I've had the 981 four years after six years with the 987 and really haven't bonded with it to the same extent as the 987. But it's still a great car and there's nothing tempting me to change it for, other than maybe a manual or my old 987 (now owned by a friend) with a view to some mods.

I could have probably written that word for word.

The 987 is a much better performance car than the 981, but the 981 does have some perks. Nothing tempting me to change it either, as modern cars with NA engines and manual gearboxes are few and far between.

[Fiammetta]

Just picked up a 987.2 after studying the market .Factored in IMS , RMS , bore scoring and arrived at the conclusion the 987.2 is the sweet spot .Largely due to the new full deck engine design .
Took Porsche 12 yrs to figure out how to cast a block .
Any how it feels driving like a sharper better handling 3.2 Carrara from the 80 s .
Fantastic turn in .
The 2,9 is safe enough power v s chassis for my reactions.

Raw old school 911 feel without the sweaty palms .

[celica88]

Fiammetta said:

Just picked up a 987.2 after studying the market .Factored in IMS , RMS , bore scoring and arrived at the conclusion the 987.2 is the sweet spot .Largely due to the new full deck engine design .
Took Porsche 12 yrs to figure out how to cast a block .
Any how it feels driving like a sharper better handling 3.2 Carrara from the 80 s .
Fantastic turn in .
The 2,9 is safe enough power v s chassis for my reactions.

Raw old school 911 feel without the sweaty palms .

You’ve got the 2.9? Did you try the S

[ChrisW.]

I think this is why the CR and original Spyder are so special.
1. As light as they could sensibly make them
2. Hydraulic Power Steering ... so great feel
3. More lively in the engine department and Gen 2 reliability
4. Cosmetically lovely ... carbon seats, flow forged alloys ... the feel of lightness and tactility also in their design ...
5. No need for PASM, both are the sweetest handling cars ...
6. Few gadgets to go wrong ...
7. Fast enough ?
8. For those that like PDK ... MUCH better than Tiptronic
9. On track the CR (maybe with small mods) ... for fine days and fundays ... the Spyder, just so beautifully made and the car can be driven in modest rain with just the outer roof which takes seconds to mount (but you do have to stop !) ... and the windscreen rail assembly in carbon fibre is just another work of art.

By comparison to which the later Spyders have become heavier and much less in the ethos of Spyder and for me, are stepping on the toes of Speedster ??

Questions.
How fast do you really want a road car to be ?
Where do you want the feel-good ? At legal or illegal speeds ?
How long might you plan to keep the right car ? The older cars will ultimately last longer than the newer ones if only because of the complex gadgets which are already causing owners problems ... and are they really better ? Electric handbrake ... PCM beyond 10 years ? ... PASM ... RWS ... active engine mounts ... even the latest apps and alarms seem to be a source of frustration ...

A bit of a rant, sorry, but food for thought ?

[Gibbo205]

ChrisW. said:

I think this is why the CR and original Spyder are so special.
1. As light as they could sensibly make them
2. Hydraulic Power Steering ... so great feel
3. More lively in the engine department and Gen 2 reliability
4. Cosmetically lovely ... carbon seats, flow forged alloys ... the feel of lightness and tactility also in their design ...
5. No need for PASM, both are the sweetest handling cars ...
6. Few gadgets to go wrong ...
7. Fast enough ?
8. For those that like PDK ... MUCH better than Tiptronic
9. On track the CR (maybe with small mods) ... for fine days and fundays ... the Spyder, just so beautifully made and the car can be driven in modest rain with just the outer roof which takes seconds to mount (but you do have to stop !) ... and the windscreen rail assembly in carbon fibre is just another work of art.

By comparison to which the later Spyders have become heavier and much less in the ethos of Spyder and for me, are stepping on the toes of Speedster ??

Questions.
How fast do you really want a road car to be ?
Where do you want the feel-good ? At legal or illegal speeds ?
How long might you plan to keep the right car ? The older cars will ultimately last longer than the newer ones if only because of the complex gadgets which are already causing owners problems ... and are they really better ? Electric handbrake ... PCM beyond 10 years ? ... PASM ... RWS ... active engine mounts ... even the latest apps and alarms seem to be a source of frustration ...

A bit of a rant, sorry, but food for thought ?

The 987.2 Spyder can be argued as the best modern road fun car Porsche have made in the last 25 years, they are just incredible.
I've driven the 986. 987, 981 and 718 generations:
986: Too dated, poor interiors and a bit under powered and engine issues, RMS, bore scoring. Cost a lot of money to bring a 986 upto new standard.
987: Over engineered on 987.2 series, Porsche had to fix their reputation, fantastic reliability, last of hydraulic steering which is still superior to even EPAS 718 steering. Also the perfect size for hustling down a b-road, gearing is lower due to smaller wheel/tyre size and lower rev limit. The 987.2 is just the best overall package if you want a true sports car for the road and odd track days.
981: Best sounding, great looking but the car grew in size and got heavier, lost a lot of the magic of the 987.2 cars.
718: Best handling, best for lap times, but sounds not great, still cannot match the hydraulic steering and expensive.

For me the 987.2 Spyder is the most fun you can get in the last 25 years from Porsche in a road car, I'd say the next best are the Cayman R and the GT3 RS 997.2 generation cars, they are just incredible and so much fun to drive on the road, even at legal speeds.

The newer stuff, I found the GT4 somewhat boring as a road car, the gearing is just stupid, the steering was nowhere near as good as my Spyder and the car was quite large in size, however the GT4 is a gorgeous looking car and the quality of finish is superb, also amazing on track, but as a car to enjoy on the road, the 987.2 Spyder and Cayman R they just do the road thrills side of stuff so much better and you can have fun within the speed limits.

[WCZ]

I was given one for a week by my OPC, hated the steering compared to my 987 and the non-s seem gutless compared to my s.

looked great though!

[Fiammetta]

celica88 said:

You’ve got the 2.9? Did you try the S

As said did my home work.
No because the 3.4 has DFI with inherent carbonisation potential issues .Also the spectre of bore scoring re emerges .BS is a complex topic but the primary factor is heat distribution around cylinder 6 .The 2.9 ,3.4 , 3.6 ,and indeed 3.8 share the same block same stroke just bored out .So the distance between cylinders reduces with inherent cooling , heat transfer risk = another bore scoring aetiology……from a long list sure .

The 2.9 thus far 13 y seems immune .

You want the max thickness between the bores not the minimum.
It ain’t rocket science .



Also totally subjective I hate the white dash on the S s = looks tacky from a demon tweaks catalogue some thing found on a Citroen Saxo boy racer mobile .

Edited by Fiammetta on Tuesday 19th April 16:59

[Fiammetta]

The best 987.2 vs 981 spider comparison is here imho .
Echos the base modals too .
Mentions steering and gearing in favour of the 987.2 .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlrrM_n_nHk


Also not wanting to sound big headed but I actually like blipping in down shifts ( man ) and matching rev to road speed as you brake heavy charging up to a bend / roundabout etc .
I think the reviewer calls It “ involvement “

I had a F 360;M with the F1 box ….too much electrotwackery and just felt uninspired, just a passenger in a technologically tour d force.

Yes it’s easy to get carried on a wave of sales hype with PDK / flappy paddles etc stood in the showroom.We have been there .

Edited by Fiammetta on Tuesday 19th April 17:13

Edited by Fiammetta on Tuesday 19th April 17:14