My 2014 981 Boxster GTS

The sun was out for a few hours yesturday and so the boxster was out with the roof down and no requirement for a wooly hat this time 8)

We had arranged to meet some friends for a late lunch so I took the opportunity to set off early in the boxster and for SWMBO and little SWMBO to follow in the family pram.

It turned Sport Plus on

OMG, how can you possibly buy a PDK and NOT have Sports Chrono :nooo:

It totally transforms the character of the car from a "fast car" to a full on road going sports car. What an adventure I had on familiar back roads that where dry. The brutal yet composed manner of the power delivery, the weighting of the steering (yes its electronic without the direct feel of the wheels through the rack but in this package that just makes the car feel more assured not less), I had the back end dancing to my tune in no time, much quicker than it would normally take me to get the feel of a car. I found myself breaker later with confidence on familiar roads with an alarming degree of certainty within 30 minutes of pushing the car to find its limits.

PASM is just sublime, the balance of comfort and composure when called on its just astonishing. I would love to try one with the sports suspension and it really leaves me wondering what PTV would bring to the party, if it can add to the driving experience then :worship:

Did I mention the noise :hand:

No you can't really drive in Sport Plus in traffic, the car just holds onto the gears for too long, the noise is too much with every slight lift of the throttle resulting in a crescendo of overrun that is just absurd ........ its so much fun but ultimately results in it being switched to "just" sport mode when the car settles markedly, the noise becomes just an addictive rumble.

The icing on the cake was after lunch, my friend happens to be a petrol head of the old school, he was into cars long before he could afford to pay for his dreams but has now is a well establish Ferrari fan. His current toy is a gorgeous 488 scuderia. He has never done "porsche" but he could not believe how gorgeous look of the GTS. His first words in the car park where "it looks like a little ferrari". Now that may not be a compliment to Porsche die hards but the fact was it sparked his interest. We where going back to theirs for coffee and asked if he could sit in, I threw him the keys and said you may as well drive. There was no messing around, he started it up and I put it in Sports Plus, he just looked at me and said "wow". We both laughed.

It had started raining by this point so no roof down but he knows his way around a track and is no miss daisy on the road, the couple of miles back to his house where enough for him to turn the car off and just sit there looking over the interior, "very very nice" was enough for me to hear.

Yesturday just confirmed that the car is everything I want it to be.

I had arranged to leave the boxster with Chester OPC for a couple of days so they could hard reset the Tracker system (under warranty) as Vodaphone could not "see" it.

I got the "dreaded" phone call after a couple of hours ....... during the health check......... they found that one of the front rad fans was not working. "Probably" stones that need removing and they wanted c£75 to "fix" it. My first reaction was to tell them to sod off but then I thought sod it, I'll get them to sort it. Will incentivise me to get the Zunsport grills fitted this weekend.

How big a job would this have been on the GTS ? Ramp make it easier or just fishing around by hand ?

Of course whilst I was there I had a good mooch around. The had a high spec (£20k of options) new 2.0 718 in the showroom so had a sit in to remind myself now I am more familiar with the 981........ it is a very familiar place to sit now. But what's with the new placement of the sport plus buttons on the steering wheel ? First it just seems wrong to have the blank buttons on the central dash and then when pressing it so cheap and flimsy. It felt like a fisher price part stuck on. I guess its trying to emulate the system on the Ferrari's but they are solid and very precise, a real feel of quality, the complete opposite. The whole "pod" flexes as you press the buttons and not in a good way.

On a better note I got a brand new (<100 miles on the clock) KN Diesel S with a good spec to play with for a couple of days. The design is showing its age, especially inside, the interior felt not as refined compared to even the boxster and definitely compared to the Macan. I guess my benchmark is my FFRR but they are aimed at a different market so I don't expect it to be as refined, obviously a lot sportier. The diesel lag caught me out a couple of time on tight bends (well I had to give it a blast) with a shocking delay off boost and I just can't get to grip with a 5K red line on a "sports" car lol Hopefully the new model due out will up its game ;-)

Always a pleasure to catch up on this thread. Boxster season in earnest seems not too far off now!

I have now driven through the Mersey tunnel with the roof down in sport plus mode, now renamed Krackan mode....... it spits fire :grin:

17 degrees, I spent the day thrashing a brand new KN, over to Range Rover Chester to check SWMBO new car to be collected on Sunday and over to Porsche to get my boxster back. The turbo lag on the KN was doing my head in :nooo: I simply could never spec a diesel. I bet the petrol is fun though. A few of the guys at RR came out to have a look at it and one thing that shocked us all was how small it seemed compared to the FFRR. I just remember the KN being "bigger" than it is. But soooo glad to get back in the boxster, roof down before I even got in it and even the porsche wash bay guys said "nice car" which given the metal they clean is always pleasing, of course I set off in Sport plus to make the departure and event :grin:

I'm planning a run out tonight roof down just for the hell of it. Its been a while since I've done that in a car :bandit:

Haha, pictures and videos of any jaunts always welcomed!

jonttt said:

No the 993 is not on the ropes, I just need to decide will I actually drive it or do I move it to my underground storage :?:

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I've got an avocado green onyx plinth left over from a 70s house make-over if you want to mount it on that for the front room :thumb:

I had already purchased Zunsport grills for the front bumper and the requirement to have to pay the OPC c£70 for the pleasure of removing stones from the offside radiator fan spurred me on to get them fitted.

They are a fiddle to get on but thats only because they are such a good tight fit. I'm really pleased with them and think they match the Gloss Black GTS trim very nicely....






Whilst I had some spare time I treated all rubber seals to some Gummi Pflege......

and some gratuitous Porsche porn I forgot to post up .......

Just catching up with this thread!..The Boxster looks epic. 8) :thumbs:

Got to say, I'm digging those grills! On the 987.1 they came as flat items, I had to carefully manipulate them into a shape that fitted the intake. These look a lot better fit!

What's the deal with that product then?! You literally apply it to all external runners?!

Yep, just run it over all rubber, brings them up like new, helps them seal better, keeps them supple and prolongs life. Its a marvel on older rubber but no harm in using it on the boxster, made a difference straight away to the look.

I'll get me some of that then, do you need to minimise its contact with other materials?

jonttt said:

and some gratuitous Porsche porn I forgot to post up .......

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I know this isn't going to look good on the page but that is some pair of rear ends right there.......

This thread is in danger of me using some man maths to get a 981 GTS on my drive ....
T

The return of Marty Wild said:

I'll get me some of that then, do you need to minimise its contact with other materials?

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Not really, I just have a damp cloth ready to wipe off any other trim.

Cheers Bud, I will get involved.

Must say, your duo looks immense.