Jonttt

The boxster is c9 years old and 65k miles on the clock .......the headlights needed a refurb......

from this....

to this.....

......polished up fine using 500 and 800 grit and a couple of different polishing compound.......

This type of aggressive refurbishment does remove the UV protection of the plastic so they will fade / discolour pretty quickly if not protected.....I have some clear film UV protection for headlights but it always takes something away from the final finish so decided to try some silicon liquid sealent which is supposed to last up to 1 year ie it puts a thin silicon layer which you can't see over the plastic ....

will be interesting to see how these hold up over the next 12 months....hopefully this these will now just be part of the normal annual detail and reapply the ceramic coating.....there are enough seperate sachets in the box for 5 years of annual applications  :bandit:

I always keep original parts to stay with the car, I already have a big box for the 987 lol

Well I finally managed to get a run out in the car today, feels like the first one of the year I’ve driven it so little.....met up with a 991 GT3 Touring and 718 Spyder amongst other Porsches (and a performante interloper) .........couldn’t stop smiling......the biggest thing that hit me about my car though was the steering......you really do get divorced from it in more modern cars......the constant feedback through the steering wheel was startling and really brought home to me what has been lost in most sports cars

I managed to pick up some rare genuine carbon interior door handles for a 9x7 from German Ebay (aftermarket ones are available but they are very expensive).......they where advertised with the whole mechanism (which is not required as they are a simple undo a screw to fit the actual handle without any need to remove the door card)....

so 2 min job to fit from this....

to this....

in keeping with the "Black Edition" theme...

Another has hit the market this week.....x3 in one week after none for a while......this one also at a recognised Indy Portacraft.....404....already on the register...manual / basic spec / 47k miles £22k........decent price so I don’t think it will sit around for long.........the recognised indys really are turning over some stock this year...sourcing good stock and pricing fairly and they sell quick 😉

ps.........pics make you realise how high the none PASM cars sit on standard suspension......really needs to be lowered 😉

https://www.portiacraft.com/car-detail.php?id=2962

Yep, mileage definately factored into the price of the ashgood car......they have been selling a lot of stock this year based on decent pricing and their rep for only handling good cars......sold in a day says it all..

like buses lol with the contrasting low mileage low spec car @GT motors....some spec details so I can update the table when I get chance

no 176 is already on the table but was queried for sports seats which advert confirms it does not have......it is base spec  for a black edition

The ashgood car still has no pics or narrative confirming the number ......reserved so not sure if they will put anything up

Ashgoods have advertised a Black Edition today........one of the best Porsche indy's and they only sell the best stock......it looks a good spec but higher mileage than most....no pics yet so I don't know the number....

https://www.ashgood.co.uk/vehicle-details/Used-Porsche-Boxster-987-S-For-Sale-U1966

I love the statement "We tend to think of these cars as Boxster Spyders with a proper roof."

4 hours ago, Camels said:

Car went in to indy this morning to sort out intermittent "window drop when opening" fault - looks like a mechanical failure on the door latch/lock mechanism sadly... still should be sorted by tomorrow 🤞 

Basically although the windows worked fine on switches and when dropping the hood the driver's side would not drop to open the door, either from inside or outside, so looking forward to having everything back to full order soon.

Be interesting to see what they quote as the Porsche “part” is >£200 BUT I recently did this with a £15 VW part which is exactly the same ;-).......it is a DIY but fiddly and you have to be comfortable removing the door cards etc....I did a full write up with pics on my journal and I think I extracted it to the DIY thread (or whatever its called).....labour you will probably get charged 1.5 to 2 hours plus £200+ for the part so anything under £400 is about right depending on the labour rate v £15 DIY

Edit ....here is the link to the DIY guide...

2 hours ago, iborguk said:

I think by default it's cars with Sports which have this alive but there are other ways of getting it. Detail starts at page 95 of the PCM manual.

Yep cars with Sports chrono get this.....another Porsche none sensickle option ie why this is linked to a sport chrono option I have never understood and they do not really advertise it so people who specced sport chrono did not realise these menu options where actually an option lol.......its worth noting that if you replace the PCM with an aftermarket unit you lose the ability to change these settings so you have to ensure you get them how you want them before removing the PCM....for each key !

Thats cool.......just found the advert.......https://www.motorhousecars.com/detail/680634/used-porsche-boxster-3-4-s-black-edition-2dr-shipley......looks lovely....no idea how I missed the sport chrono from those pics lol........

....my car had actually sold (I found out when enquiring why it had had the MOT done the week before) but the buyer pulled out as he wanted them to change the rusty discs (which passed the MOT fine but cosmetically let the car down)......I’m a great believer in there is a car for everyone and looks like we both got what we wanted ie I had come from a low mileage 981GTS and wanted something with higher mileage I did not need to be so precious about knocks or putting on mileage but I wanted all of the toys........just wish I could drive it a bit more at the moment, nothing is quite lining up every time I want to drive it lol.........hopefully first Porsche meet since Covid (well maybe the odd lambo) this weekend will give it a good run out 😉

3 hours ago, Boxster Peter said:

Hi All,

 

I'm the proud owner of #414 since May 2019. I see that 414 has made your list and I'd like to amend two of the details based on the option codes - 025, 342, 567, 635 (Park Assist) , 640 (sports Chrono), 666 and 767. 

 

Thanks,

 

Peter 

Thanks Peter, congrats on the purchase and thanks for providing the options codes.......I’ll update the table as soon as I can 😉

I am reliant on looking at pics to “spot” the options and parking sensors are easy to miss if pictures are not great.....not sure how I missed sports chrono though lol

Yes the DSC replaces the PASM controller unit but you need the PASM shocks

I accept that the lights will be marmite to people as they are radically different to the originals.......;-)

Yep, two where up for sale recently but seem to have sold now.......I have a Black Edition thread going which lists them by number with spec as they come up for sale in the UK.

987 was the worldwide number made, not sure how many RHD in the UK but given there where relatively few 987-2 S the Black Editions are pretty rare 😉

13 minutes ago, wolverinemac said:

That’s a great looking motor 

Thank you....to be fair any Porsche Boxster is a great starting point 😉

IMHO the Spyder wheels will always make a black edition look special.....they are simply one of the best wheels Porsche has ever made.......and given how often I have been taking them on and off recently you appreciate how relatively lightweight they actually are for their size ie the weight is mainly in the tyre and not the wheel !

On 7/21/2019 at 12:32 PM, Jonttt said:

Next comes one of the .........

- easiest

- most noticeable

- not cheap

Mods you can do to any Porsche with factory OEM PASM fitted........ the DSC PASM replacement controller.....

This is a very well known mod which just makes the PASM (variable dampers) much more useable. The 987.2 uses the same module as the 997.2 and does not require the additional accelerometer required for the earlier 987.1 and 997.1 (none turbo) ie .2 cars have these fitted as standard).

https://www.dscsport.com/product/dsc-vplug-n-play/

"The DSC Sport Controller expands the dynamic range and rate of response of your factory damper controller, providing both improved track performance and a more comfortable ride on the street. It simply replaces the factory PASM controller with the DSC Sport Plug N Play controller. Like all DSC Sport controllers, the DSC Sport V1 Plug N Play Controller allows users to tune by g-force, brake pressure, acceleration, speed, steering, and control the effective damping range via shock calibration.

DSC features 2 modes, “Normal” and “Sport” which will display on the dash during mode selection. Mode display on the dash in the same way that the factory controller does."

These cost c£1,050 from the UK approved suppliers but do come up occassionally second hand. As there are no moving parts they is no "wear" element of the module, they therefore command strong money but I managed to get one for £700 delivered from a 997.2

 

Fitting really is a doddle, you just put your hand up to side of the passenger footwell and feel for the OEM unit. At the bottom there is a retaining tab which you just ease and the unit pulls down and out easily...

 

you then just push in the lugs holding the wiring connector and pull free...

Side by side...

 

Fitting is simply the reversal although it is a little more fiddly to slide the unit back into the top retaining bracket and push back in place the lower tab......

So thats it job done........ the first thing you notice is that the DSC unit is more flexible in its settings ie the OEM unit switches on both PASM and Sport together, you can then switch off PASM if you just want sport engine mapping. As OEM Sport PASM is not driveable on english roads this was always a pain as you had to switch on Sport then swithc off PASM. Also when you turn off the ignitition all revert to OFF. With the DSC controller Sport and PASM are completely seperate settings, so you can just turn on Sport without PASM if you like. The unit also remembers the last PASM setting when ignition is turned off.

The central dial notificaiton is fully supported as per the OEM unit..

 

Other than test for errors I've not had chance to try this mod out yet but will report back when I've had some experience of it in real world driving......

Following some discussions on another thread re Porsche Options and what PASM actually is and how it can be improved even further making it a must have option for any road going porsche IMHO....there is an excellent summary posted on Facebook from a real world user which I could not word any better.....

Install and test complete of the DSC controller for the 997. First some tech info as I believe this will help in understanding how PASM works and why the DSC is superior. All 997s that use PASM communicate on one channel between the controller and the dampers. The controller takes the information from various sensors, processes it and adjust the signal to the dampers. Unfortunately this is the downside for the OEM controller. The single channel controller sends one signal to all the dampers. In other words, all four shocks are changed in the same way at the same time. Additionally, the OEM controller does not use 100% of the dampers range. The DCS controller is a 4 channel control, uses the full range of the dampers and sends individual commands to each corner. What does that mean? Overall better dynamic control of the car responding to road conditions. 997.1 non turbos only have a 2 axis accelerometer, All other 997s use a 3 axis. The additional axis provides gravity force data to the controller which provides more data for better control albeit still limited by the single channel oem Damptronic controller. When ordering a DSC controller for a 997.1 PASM non-turbo a 3 axis accelerometer is required.
Now as for my set up. My car has almost 90k miles, all original suspension components, bushings in really good shape. MPS4s tires (305 rears) tire pressure F31/R38, alignment is set to the Porsche Performance spec which is almost identical the DSC recommended specs (see image in comments).
My road conditions are pretty good here so I mostly drive in sport because I really disliked the wallowing feeling in normal. Another complaint I have of PASM is sometimes in normal mode over rough surface it felt as if it was too hard. To sum up, the suspension felt either to soft or hard but at the wrong time.
DSC in normal mode is much softer ride BUT! With some serious body control. The wallowing feeling is gone and the ride is incredibly compliant. Turn in is improved. It feels completely different vs PASM, it’s rather mind boggling. I would venture to say this is due to the 4 channel communication to the dampers and each one dynamically adjusting independently of one another. Also the car firms up really fast and much harder than it did before. This, I believe, is attributed to the 3 axis(processing G-force) accelerometer and the full use of the entire damping range of the struts/shocks.
DSC in sport mode is firmer than normal but not PASM sport. Turn in is incredible and quick. The ride is more compliant. When entering a hard turn, oh my is it impressive. The car loads up better and is much more planted. So as to where PASM sport was way too hard all the time DSC PASM is not. It is firm and when it needs to be it is 100% STIFF.
Braking in both modes is really where I giggled out loud. The car nose dive is almost unperceivable and therefore the stopping force is light years better than with PASM. I am now using less force to full stop the car.
The best part of the DSC controller? You can customize the programming via software or email with DSC. So you can tweak galore if that’s your thing. Adjusting parameters to your liking. I can go on and on but there is a lot of info already out there (see link in comments). Final thoughts? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Bring you Porsche PASM to the present and really the way it should have come from the factory.

So my view is that if you can source a Porsche with PASM why wouldn't you......with a DSC it is one of the best dynamic road suspensions on any sports car.......it is simply an option that is a must have to me 😉

So I managed to get some pics of the car today with the Spacers on....

From this shoddy appearance...

to this....

and from around the car....

and some pics just for the fun of it...

1 hour ago, chanlon1 said:

@Jonttt I just got delivery of the battery Bluetooth gadget you reviewed. Have yet to set it up though. 
Have you noticed any battery drain due to it being attached?

Not at all....in fact on another forum someone who is much better at electrics than me (and who has bought x5 of them for his cars) has commented that the drain is negligible and not worth owrrying about.......in practice I've been really impressed with how long the 987 is going without use or a charge.....it very comforting though to be just sat in my lounge and thing "I wonder what the batter is like", grab my phone, run the app, let it connect automatically via bluetooth (th car is parked outside one of our lounges but still about 20ft away), it downloads all activity since last connection or 30 days, see the current state of the battery and then see a graph of the charge over days/weeks......from it I could check each trip duration and confirm when I had not driven the car for 15 days........you can see after a decent run the alternator really charging up the battery etc.....and then the very slow decline over a couple of weeks......for the money it is just an awesome tool to have when its not a main car / daily.

Chris.......those lights look great on a lighter car as well .......the "tint" for mine has just arrived from the USA......not sure I'll get chance to try them though.......the none tinted are gorwing on me in any case so not sure whether to bother or not....probably will as I can always just remove it.....but not on my urgent list as they look so good as is 😉

So....disappoitingly after fitting the Brembo disks........the design of the Spyder Alloys allows part of the hub face to be seen.....this is not painted and so rusts ....

...obviously unacceptable 😁 ........now I could just paint the hub face but thought I would take the opportunity to pull the wheels out to the arch by fitting wheel spacers.......

....the Spyder wheels sit pretty well in the arch and so do not need too much extra "poke" ie I don't want them level with the arch so I decided that 5mm all around would be enough for me .....as this is really a cosmetic mod to make the hub look better 😁 ......

5mm is borderline new bolts or not.......

So the search was on for some black wheel spacers, again hib centric is borderline with 5mm as to whether thats required or not........plenty of aftermarket options but......a set of genuine used OEM 5mm hub spacer kit including OEM longer bolts, locking nuts and even longer hub screws came up on eBay literally as I was looking.....in Silver but given even black would need a refurb that was no problem.......the price ....about 25% of OEM cost and cheaper than I could get aftermarket factoring in longer bolts......so I snapped them up....

They arrived quickly and where in good used condition, only requiring a light rub down with wire wool....

Before....

After....

and ready for spraying with the 5mm longer nuts....

you will note that the 5mm longer OEM nuts have a red collar to identify them (including the longer locking nuts).....

.....the spacers are also shaped to "lock" into the hub in effect making them better than Hub centric as it also lines the bolt and screw holes up......

...and fitted prior to fitting the x2 hub screws into the recessed holes

nb the car has not been driven for over 2 weeks  :nooo: so the disc faces are a little rusty ....but that was rectified by a blast today  :thumb: 

I've not taken any pictures of the changed stance .....partly as the car is not clean and its 5mm = not a lot of difference 😁 ....I'll get some pics when the car is clean at the weekend

16 minutes ago, Patt said:

Stick your in the oven, split them and paint over the chrome-look paint = simples

Ah, yes the old bake it in the oven "trick"......the problem with that is it does not facilitate "man logic" to spend money 😉

31 minutes ago, CliveH said:

The Spyder headlights look great on a white, grey, or silver car but would they really make a noticeable difference on a black car?

Not to 99% of people ........... but its the small details lol

30 minutes ago, CliveH said:

Would the smoked version not achieve the same result?

Potentially yes.......but then you can only make them Darker with film......if you start with a clear lens you have more flexibility.......I would also look to fit film on a none OEM light (even if clear film) as they a) don't have the same length of guarantee and b) are usually more prone to UV damage than OEM quality....so my logic was clear lens I can play around with tint to suit me / my car 😉

The beauty is.....as they are mail order only (and you presumably paid on credit card for extra security) you are covered by distance sells rights ie if you don't like them ....just arrange to send them back......the only thing you would be liable for are potentially return costs 😉

Fortunately I like the headlights of the 987.2 (the black editions have bixenon PDSL as standard) but I find myself wanting the spyder version with black outline.......now those would be an expensive swap my man maths is struggling with !