Low power from 2.7 2001
 

Hi new to Boxster ownership. I have a base 2001 2.7 car with 105500 miles.
It’s a pretty good car other than a couple little issues like convertible and brake switches. Runs good.
However the power delivery seems low and also while shifting and coming back into throttle it seems to fall on its face momentarily before once again accelerating. Feels like maybe a cat issue maybe. Anyone else felt this? I’m sure it’s not normal. Car also feels slower than a 6.0sec to 60 car.
Thanks.

Torque and acceleration come from displacement. It is only a 2.7L engine. And not known for power.
What are you comparing it to? The '77?

Having said that have you used the OBD2 port looking for any codes?
Did it ever have it's 90k major service?
Looked at simple things like the air filter?

I know it's a slower car than my other cars but it feels like it's down. Has no codes. I did do the o2 sensor test of the cats and it looks ok but something is off. I'm going to change the filters this week waiting for parts from pelican. I doubt it's an air filter issue but we'll see.
If I were to compare to my 77' this is way more fun to toss! The 77' is a monster and it'll kill you, this one wants to play. The 77' is not a joke. And this is easier to live with.
This boxster is fun.

I'm going thru the same thing.. Really good on power, then the other day it seemed really "laggy". Cleaned MAF sensor.. Seems to be back to normal for now... Also swapping out my engine mount (will post separately on this!@)

I'll do that thanks

Mine was a bit of a dog after it came out of winter hibernation a couple of years back.
For laughs, I unplugged the MAF and got all the oomph back. Cleaning it didn’t help, so I had to replace it.
No CEL except for when the MAF was unplugged.

Here's what I'd do: a major tune up. Put in a new MAF sensor, new air filter, new plugs and coils, and clean the throttle body.

May not just be an air filter problem, but a combination of stuff that needs refreshing.

I did all that stuff on my 02 Prius, now it gets 120 mpg and is faster than an 68 Corvette!:D

Brian that all sounded good till the last part. Now I don’t know if I can believe you. ;)

these cars do go through mafs quite fast..
sometimes AOS issues accelerate that

PSA: If you own a Boxster & it doesn't run as good as it used to, buy a new Bosch Maf sensor. Install it. If the engine runs better stop, you're done. If it runs the same reinstall old sensor & save new sensor for the day it does improve performance, it's coming, especially if you have a oiled air filter.

Obviously this is an issue with these cars, I’ll grab one. I see three prices, is the less expensive one a bad one? Any input there?

Bosch or Porsche only.;)

Ok.

Air mass sensor and maf are the same part I assume? Most the maf parts include the housing and don't fit the boxster...
Lets call it air mass? In the past I've always called it maf sensor as well is this just an old habit or are these parts different?

Gotta get our cheep Prius cut in, eh? I know another Prius owner in this forum (heck in this thread.) My old Prius has 206k on it, runs and looks like new, and is the best car for traveling I've ever seen. Prius's are slow because that's the way their owners choose to drive them. They really are faster than most small cars on the road. You should test drive one sometime.SmileWavy

My 78yo mom and dad have one. They love it and I hate it to death.

Another happy Prius owner. 3 in the family. One at about 180k and still running strong (well, strong for a Prius). Mine at 37k, other about 80k.

Info on the 986's MAFs including equivalent Bosch part numbers here.

Thank you. That mentioned the check engine light which is not on in my car.....

Using a sophisticated Porsche specific diagnostic tool (Durametric, PIWIS, PST2) to look at fuel trims may help you. With someone who knows the norms and what the various readouts really mean. Seeing what the MAF is sending the ECU, the O2 sensors are reading all in real time gives you something to compare to the norms baseline.

Or just comparing yours to some other Boxster of similar sized engine. Which might be a lot cheaper approach.

I was able to use a scan tool to determine that it wasn’t the cats. I’m not familiar enough with the parameters to know how to determine the condition of anything else. I’m going to unplug the maf and see what that does.