I am now a 50% water cooled guy....

HardDrive · 03-31-2006, 09:14 PM

Came home with a 2002 Boxster tonight. I could hear the SC grumbling in garage, "Young whipper snappers. With your radiators and your Bi-xeon headlights....you think your so cool!! Bah!!"

I gotta say I love the car. Not so sure about the Boxster owners yet.......

84porsche · 84porsche's Garage

Congrats on the new ride. I am also a 50% water cooled guy except I have a VW. Now we have admitted it, we are on the road to recovery. Just get a license plate frame, that says "My other car is air-cooled and yes it's a Porsche."

tc-sacto · 03-31-2006, 09:35 PM

Nice car!!

Some of us Boxster owners aren't all bad. 50% water pumper her too.

Race Car under construction

djmcmath · 04-01-2006, 03:10 AM

I think as the Boxsters get a little older, Real Porsche Guys will start picking them up. You know, guys who also own VW Beetles, or are working on a race car in the second stall of their garage -- Real Porsche Guys. Thanks for leading the way, HardDrive -- I've been eyeing those Boxsters for a while now.

efhughes3 · efhughes3's Garage

I hear 'ya brother! Here's my 50%:

HardDrive · 04-01-2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by djmcmath
I think as the Boxsters get a little older, Real Porsche Guys will start picking them up. You know, guys who also own VW Beetles, or are working on a race car in the second stall of their garage -- Real Porsche Guys. Thanks for leading the way, HardDrive -- I've been eyeing those Boxsters for a while now.

Thats exactly it. Its easy to hate the car on paper. But when you go drive one......it will change your mind. Then you realize you can pick one up in pristine condition for less than 30k. Less than 20k if you want a 2.5 with some miles on her. I enjoy a car that handles well, and the Boxster handling is very solid and predicatable, even in WET. Thats a big deal here is Seattle

. Pushed it hard through some twistys this morning in the pouring rain. The tail lets go slowly and predicatably, and its not full oversteer. Its more of an all 4 wheel drift with the tail slowly edging out. You can certainly tell that the engine is in front of the rear wheels.

So what is the most striking difference between my 1982 SC and a 2002 Boxster? The gearbox. Christ, you don't appreciate just how bad a 915 is until you drive a modern car. My 915 is actually dialed in well right now, but its still like driving a truck compared to the modern trans.

djmcmath · 04-01-2006, 08:39 AM

Driving the 915 is so much like boiling a live frog. At what point does the frog realize that the pot next-door is 30 degrees cooler? We get so used to the balkiness of it that we don't realize how slotty a modern tranny is. I had the opportunity to drive a 996 not too long ago -- the transmission was the telling point (and the acceleration, and the handling, and the amazing responsiveness of the car, and the beauty, and ...). Short throw, very forgiving of timing, one finger shifting ... beautiful.

There's still some longer term questions in my mind -- how much of the maintenance will I be able to do myself? How much more expensive is it to track a Boxster as compared to an older 911? How steep is the slippery slope of upgrading?

Keep us posted, boxster guys. I'm looking forward to the road reports from guys who know what a car should be.

HardDrive · 04-01-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by djmcmath

There's still some longer term questions in my mind -- how much of the maintenance will I be able to do myself?

So by maintenance, you mean reseting the Check Engine Light using a computer right?

I asked the salesman if I could see the engine. "Ummmmm....no"

You can access it from the cockpit, but it requires carpet removal.....otherwise it has to go on a lift and get dropped out.

id10t · 04-01-2006, 04:57 PM

I'm only 33% aircooled, but at least the other 2 cars aren't Porsches

VaSteve · 04-01-2006, 06:48 PM

I'm 50% watercooled in the Porsche department as well. Unfortunately, that 50% looks like this far too often. (Taken 2 minutes ago).

kach22i · kach22i's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by HardDrive
I am now a 50% water cooled guy....

I want to be in that club someday.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by djmcmath
Driving the 915 is so much like boiling a live frog. At what point does the frog realize that the pot next-door is 30 degrees cooler? We get so used to the balkiness of it that we don't realize how slotty a modern tranny is. I had the opportunity to drive a 996 not too long ago -- the transmission was the telling point (and the acceleration, and the handling, and the amazing responsiveness of the car, and the beauty, and ...). Short throw, very forgiving of timing, one finger shifting ... beautiful.

There's still some longer term questions in my mind -- how much of the maintenance will I be able to do myself? How much more expensive is it to track a Boxster as compared to an older 911? How steep is the slippery slope of upgrading?

Keep us posted, boxster guys. I'm looking forward to the road reports from guys who know what a car should be.

You need to drive a 901 to appreciate the 915...

MysticLlama · 04-02-2006, 11:59 AM

I have an SC and a Boxster too. The Boxster is just so much less of a pain to drive.

But when taking the 911 out, my girlfriend grins almost the entire time, so I'm compelled to keep it around.

You can see the engine in the Boxster, it'll only take you about 5 minutes. Directions are in the book.

You just pop the top back a couple inches, unhook some stuff under the top cover, fold the top forward and take off the engine lid. Pretty slick.

efhughes3 · efhughes3's Garage

The water-cooled power plant should be in the front, you guys got it all screwed up. And it, should have an automatic

I'm really in a different world in the 928 compared to my 911. The 928 is the car to drive when you have to GO somewhere. If you just want to drive, the 911 is hard to beat. This thing is like a locomotive past 70mph,

I had a Cayman for a day, and I have to admit, the mid engine is fun. The only problem is having long legs, couldn't get enough seat travel.

I had to get used to the tight shift pattern on the 6 speed, as I'm pretty used to my 915 throw. I was laughing to myself about how tough it was to adjust to that. The shorter gears in the 6 speed are nice, you always have a powerband close by, so that makes the newer cars fun too.

djmcmath · 04-02-2006, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HardDrive
So by maintenance, you mean reseting the Check Engine Light using a computer right?

That's exactly what concerns me. I could drop out the 911 engine in an afternoon, and do anything I needed to it. Will the Boxster be the same way, or will I pay through the nose to have some overpaid schmuck tell me haughtily that I don't have the skillz to work on my own car?

HardDrive · 04-02-2006, 01:41 PM

I was only half kidding about the computer thing. Gear heads that have Boxsters use software to diagnose problems. Durametric makes a great software tool that let you read and reset a lot of code. You just install it on your laptop, and hook it up to the car using a serial cable. It actually makes troubleshooting easier.

Dropping the engine would require a lift, prolly around $1200-$1500.

djmcmath · 04-02-2006, 02:59 PM

The availability of aftermarket TS&R software is encouraging.

By "lift" do you mean the hydraulic monsters that I'm really _supposed_ to use to do all of my automotive maintenance, or the set of ratcheting truck-size jacks that I honestly use to get engines out from underneath rear-engine cars?

HardDrive · 04-02-2006, 05:34 PM

I'm sure how high the car has to be off the ground to get the engine out. An SC/Carrera is 34 inches, right? I was refering to a 4 corner type lift you would find in a shop. Those are really not as crazy as they sound, plus every guy on the block with know you as DA MAN for having one.