First Time Porsche Owner - 981 Boxster

[WhisperingWasp]

I am the proud new owner of this!



981 2.7 manual, Aqua Blue, two-tone leather interior (Agate & Pebble I think...?). Really nice condition & history - interior is exceptional. I particularly like the sports plus seats (heated & cooled ) with the crests, the rollover hoops in silver and it is on my favourite wheels too. Only disappointment is I thought it had DAB and it doesn't.

Ideal-world plans for the car would be:
- Apple CarPlay module
- Wheel refurb
- Calipers painted red maybe?
- Maybe something with the exhaust (no PSE)
- Front bumper respray perhaps

All of the above are very much "nice-to-dos" and I just intend to enjoy it this spring & summer.

Only immediate must-dos are a brake fluid change around April and the rear tyres look low. Has P Zero N tyres all-round at the moment so will probably replace with the same but happy for recommendations.

[paulguitar]

WhisperingWasp said:

I am the proud new owner of this!



981 2.7 manual, Aqua Blue, two-tone leather interior (Agate & Pebble I think...?). Really nice condition & history - interior is exceptional. I particularly like the sports plus seats (heated & cooled ) with the crests, the rollover hoops in silver and it is on my favourite wheels too. Only disappointment is I thought it had DAB and it doesn't.

Ideal-world plans for the car would be:
- Apple CarPlay module
- Wheel refurb
- Calipers painted red maybe?
- Maybe something with the exhaust (no PSE)
- Front bumper respray perhaps

All of the above are very much "nice-to-dos" and I just intend to enjoy it this spring & summer.

Only immediate must-dos are a brake fluid change around April and the rear tyres look low. Has P Zero N tyres all-round at the moment so will probably replace with the same but happy for recommendations.

Congrats, and welcome to the Aqua Blue Club, the best colour. Here's mine:





I have considered getting Carplay done but have held off. There is already Bluetooth streaming and a (dated) satnav, and I have read some stories of battery drain and other possible issues with an aftermarket add-on.

Mine is on P Zero tyres but when they are due for replacement I will be putting Michelin Pilot Sports on.

Mine is an S, but I reckon the smaller engine you have sounds even sweeter. I was watching that particular car on eBay out of interest. Great to know a Pistonheader has it.

ETA I see you have extended leather as well, lovely stuff.

[M11rph]

Looks fantastic. Congratulations.

P-Zeros definitely lose a lot of grip below 4mm IME. The default answer is Michelin PS4s , more outright grip, last longer but do slightly numb the front end feel/response.

I'd consider the Continental SportContact 7 if available in your sizes. Smallest is currently 19".

Have a play with the typre pressures too. There's usually a "Normal" and "Comfort" set of pressures. Don't let the names put you off, most cars drive and handle better with the lower "Comfort" pressures.

[Trevor555]

Enjoy...

Beautiful cars...

That sound

[MOBB]

Enjoy, I love mine

And go for a Carnewal GT exhaust, trust me……….sounds so much more serious, but still sounds like a Porsche

[MOBB]

Just noticed you are in Northants, same here, happy to give you a listen of the exhaust :-)

[CantDecide]

Congratulations on a lovely looking boxster! I can recommend the Isudar car play unit (they sell it on Amazon) and if I can fit it, anyone can. Works well, also added a reversing camera (bit of a pain to take lots of interior out to route cable, but worth it).

On the exhuast front, I can recommend the Carnewal back box (they rework the original to make it sound much better, it does). Have it on my 981S and it definitely improves the sound without being too loud or droney. You can get it delivered to the UK on an exchange basis or take your car to them in Belgium and have it fitted whilst you wait.

[IroningMan]

Very nice - lovely colour.

I fitted a Mr12Volt CarPlay adaptor to my 987.2 and it’s been very good. I’d second the suggestion of Conti SC7s - although I suspect pretty much anything would’ve been an improvement on the Bridgestones that I had before.

[leef44]

Congrats

That looks lovely. I think that would be the model I would go for if I was to look now. I would prefer the 2.7 to be able to make it sing more often with the revs climbing.

I thought the exhaust sounded pretty good on this when in the higher rev range. Is there a need to upgrade it?

[MOBB]

It’s not necessary, but well worth it

[WhisperingWasp]

paulguitar said:

Congrats, and welcome to the Aqua Blue Club, the best colour. Here's mine:





I have considered getting Carplay done but have held off. There is already Bluetooth streaming and a (dated) satnav, and I have read some stories of battery drain and other possible issues with an aftermarket add-on.

Mine is on P Zero tyres but when they are due for replacement I will be putting Michelin Pilot Sports on.

Mine is an S, but I reckon the smaller engine you have sounds even sweeter. I was watching that particular car on eBay out of interest. Great to know a Pistonheader has it.

ETA I see you have extended leather as well, lovely stuff.

I really like the colour. Very different to what I've had in the past and obviously different to most Boxsters. Any side-on photos of yours please?

I like the idea of Michelins but the fronts are 2years/~10k old. Saying that though, they're not exactly brand new are they, so maybe I do just go for Michelins or the Contis. Is the N-rating important?

I've obviously got the base car with the base exhaust but it does sound good. Very pure if you know what I mean, ie not artificial at all/piped-in sound.

I'll add the seller's pic of the interior as I haven't taken one yet:


And this side view just 'cos I like it! I think it looks a bit R8 V10

[WhisperingWasp]

MOBB said:

Enjoy, I love mine

And go for a Carnewal GT exhaust, trust me……….sounds so much more serious, but still sounds like a Porsche

That is the one I've been leaning towards. Maybe with twin tips too?

I'm in Bedfordshire nowadays so not far away - where are you?

[WhisperingWasp]

CantDecide said:

Congratulations on a lovely looking boxster! I can recommend the Isudar car play unit (they sell it on Amazon) and if I can fit it, anyone can. Works well, also added a reversing camera (bit of a pain to take lots of interior out to route cable, but worth it).

On the exhuast front, I can recommend the Carnewal back box (they rework the original to make it sound much better, it does). Have it on my 981S and it definitely improves the sound without being too loud or droney. You can get it delivered to the UK on an exchange basis or take your car to them in Belgium and have it fitted whilst you wait.

Thanks for the recommendations. Trip to Belgium and France sounds tempting. Reckon it'll be a great road trip car with the deceptively good boot space(s)!

[guyvert1]

Wow, that is a great looking Boxster, not to mention being the 2.7 manual, very good choice... Perfect for the coming Summer :-)

[WhisperingWasp]

IroningMan said:

Very nice - lovely colour.

I fitted a Mr12Volt CarPlay adaptor to my 987.2 and it’s been very good. I’d second the suggestion of Conti SC7s - although I suspect pretty much anything would’ve been an improvement on the Bridgestones that I had before.

I've seen these - little blue box yeah? Does it still need the insides messing with?

I do like the Michelin side-walls though...!

[WhisperingWasp]

leef44 said:

Congrats

That looks lovely. I think that would be the model I would go for if I was to look now. I would prefer the 2.7 to be able to make it sing more often with the revs climbing.

I thought the exhaust sounded pretty good on this when in the higher rev range. Is there a need to upgrade it?

It certainly needs to be revved that's for sure and it does howl nicely toward the top of the rev range. Not very torquey compared to the straight-6 BMWs I've had previously.

[WhisperingWasp]

guyvert1 said:

Wow, that is a great looking Boxster, not to mention being the 2.7 manual, very good choice... Perfect for the coming Summer :-)

Thanks Guy. Can't wait for roof down with cooling air coming through the seats .

[Flying machine]

Looks like a great spec and a very nice car! What a nice interior, and great change from the usual grey or black. Cooled seats are a really nice extra on a hot day!

[IroningMan]

WhisperingWasp said:

IroningMan said:

Very nice - lovely colour.

I fitted a Mr12Volt CarPlay adaptor to my 987.2 and it’s been very good. I’d second the suggestion of Conti SC7s - although I suspect pretty much anything would’ve been an improvement on the Bridgestones that I had before.

I've seen these - little blue box yeah? Does it still need the insides messing with?

I do like the Michelin side-walls though...!

Mine’s blue, but it’s about 18 months old and I think they’re grey now; they do involve opening up the head unit to add a video card, but it’s all plugs, screws and clips, no soldering and their ‘how to’ guide is excellent.

[paulguitar]

WhisperingWasp said:

paulguitar said:

Congrats, and welcome to the Aqua Blue Club, the best colour. Here's mine:





I have considered getting Carplay done but have held off. There is already Bluetooth streaming and a (dated) satnav, and I have read some stories of battery drain and other possible issues with an aftermarket add-on.

Mine is on P Zero tyres but when they are due for replacement I will be putting Michelin Pilot Sports on.

Mine is an S, but I reckon the smaller engine you have sounds even sweeter. I was watching that particular car on eBay out of interest. Great to know a Pistonheader has it.

ETA I see you have extended leather as well, lovely stuff.

I really like the colour. Very different to what I've had in the past and obviously different to most Boxsters. Any side-on photos of yours please?

I like the idea of Michelins but the fronts are 2years/~10k old. Saying that though, they're not exactly brand new are they, so maybe I do just go for Michelins or the Contis. Is the N-rating important?

I've obviously got the base car with the base exhaust but it does sound good. Very pure if you know what I mean, ie not artificial at all/piped-in sound.

I'll add the seller's pic of the interior as I haven't taken one yet:


And this side view just 'cos I like it! I think it looks a bit R8 V10

Here you go:









I will probably keep the Pirrellis on until a change is needed, although from time to time Michelin are on offer when buying either 2 or 4. In fact, I just checked on Blackcircles and they are currently doing 15% off which would mean on my car (19-inch wheels) a whole new set of Pilot Sports would be £832. I've heard different views on the N rating. Perhaps someone can chime in who knows more than me.

Before my 981 I had a 987 2.7 which sounded lovely, I'd imagine yours would probably sound similar. The S is not quite as tuneful in my opinion.