Gdaybruce

Off topic I fear but if we're discussing Spridgets, I rallied mine:

The black and white image was taken on an event when it had rained all day and then froze hard at night and survival became the overriding priority. The Escort had overshot a junction and I managed to turn inside. What the photo doesn't show is that my beautifully controlled oversteer carried on into a less than controlled spin!

My car has been doing nothing for a few weeks so I thought I'd better connect the Optimate battery conditioner, something I must have done dozens of times over the years. I lifted the car cover and used the key to unlock the front boot and ..... nothing happened. It took me only a couple of seconds to remember that I needed to lift the door handle before the key fob would work but in those two seconds my mind ran through the whole gamut of sorting out jump leads or having to find the emergency release cable. It came as quite a relief when I remembered the door handle thing!

I never really thought about owning a Porsche, despite owning a range of more or less sporty cars over the years. Indeed, the Boxster's styling left me cold.

After being given a company diesel Vauxhall I decided I had to find something for weekend fun so I went through a couple of cheap MX5s which I also used for occasional track days. From the MX5s I made the logical jump to a Honda S2000 and eventually found myself wondering what should come next. At that point a friend told me about someone he knew who was selling his 987 3.2S so I went to see it and after a test drive I was smitten - all previous indifference to Boxsters went out the window!

That was in May 2017 and I'm still running the same car with no intention of selling any time soon. The mix of performance, chassis balance, practicality and (so far) low maintenance costs tick every box for me. Long may it continue!

I have a similar (although second hand) story dating from the 60s when a friend of my brother fancied his talents as a biker and entered an event at Cadwell. During practice he was going around Park with his bike canted over and feeling that no one could possibly be travelling any quicker. There was then a blast of noise and wind as Mike Hailwood came past him on the outside, fighting to keep his back wheel under him, and disappeared up the straight. My brother's friend came straight back to the pits and retired from racing on the spot!

The last time I was at Cadwell I was admiring this tribute in the scrutineering bay to a chap I've never heard of but who obviously made racing leathers:

Very impressive! I did a TVR day at Cadwell a few years ago but I certainly wasn’t going as quick as you 👏👏

4 hours ago, Dan888 said:

Are the standard sump plugs magnetic?
If not is there a recommended magnetic one to fit?

The plug I mangled was a magnetic one I bought two or three years ago. I replaced it with the original non-magnetic version. 

I committed a schoolboy error the other day when changing the oil and filter. It's a job I've done many times before but for some reason and without thinking about it (and therein lies the problem!) I used a torx bit to undo the sump drain plug, rather than an allen key. It came undone fine but of course when I came to refit the plug and tighten it, it slipped, wrecking the plug.

Fortunately I was able to tap in an appropriate allen key which had enough bite to get it loose again and I had a spare sump plug so it wasn't a major disaster. I just had to carefully clean the drain pan, empty out the fresh oil and then refill it again with the new plug fitted. Doh!!

I called in at the Porsche Classic stand at the Goodwood Revival on Friday and asked when my 987 would qualify for registration as a classic. The answer was next year, probably, when the model has been discontinued for 10 years.

To be honest I'm not sure what the benefits are but I was interested to find out that I might qualify so soon!

Yes but on the way there we stuck to back roads for half the journey and there was no traffic on those either. 

Set a personal best yesterday. After 20 miles at a steady 50 on the M4 into London (average speed cameras), roof and windows down, I hit 42.2mpg on the computer. That compares to 31mpg at a steady 130kph last Monday on the way back from Le Mans. Mile after mile of traffic free, smooth autoroutes - what a contrast to UK roads!

17 minutes ago, BrianJ said:

Just googled "classic car european breakdown cover". Lots come up including https://www.gocompare.com/breakdown-cover/classic-car/. Not tried any but might give some options. Good luck.

Just tried this for my 2005 Boxster and it declined to provide any quotes.  Not old enough be a classic? Too old?

The RAC has quoted £107 for my 5 day trip to Le Mans which seems expensive but so far I have no other option.

I've never bothered with a GB sticker for my last few trips to Le Mans but this year I'm thinking I probably do need to have a UK one. I'd go for the magnetic variety except that there is absolutely nowhere it will stick to around the rear end of a Boxster! The standard size UK plates l think look awful so I'll probably compromise with a smaller, more discrete version.

Having fitted cruise to my 987.1 in the Summer I can confirm that the second screw is not required. The stalk is completely solid with just the one screw and works fine. 
I agree with you about the harness tie - a complete pain to access and release!

Fitted a cruise control stalk recently and fellow Maidenhead resident Richard kindly programmed it for me.

Removing the steering column cowl was not quite as straightforward as you might hope. One of those cable ties with a prong pushed through the cowl to secure it proved particularly inaccessible and tricky to deal with. I also had to go out to purchase some smaller torx drives as I didn't have a No 8 in the box. Have you noticed how every time you tackle a new job, you seem to need a tool you don't have? It also proved fiddly to reassemble the two halves of the cowl so that they aligned properly.

Anyway, job done and it's working well. Funny how a little indicator on the dash that has been there all the time but never seen, suddenly lights up to tell me the cruise is ready for action! Next week I'm driving 1000 miles to Scotland and back and am really looking forward to having the cruise available. When in average speed sections especially, it's so much more relaxing to be able to set the speed and then focus on the road, not the speedo.

Given the margin of error built into car speedometers, I hope the system will operate to enforce true speed, not the speed indicated on the speedo. In my Honda an indicated 75pmh correlates to 70 on the satnav and the margin increases the faster you go.

Thanks everyone. It seems I have a Sports wheel, which is nice!

I'm aware that the 987 comes with an option for a 'sports' steering wheel but how does one tell which is which. Mine has a circular boss while some have a more trapezoidal / triangular kind of shape. I'm not fussed either way but just curious as to which I have and what the differences are between the two.

On my 05 car I swapped the dipped beams to Phillips Ultinon LEDs. They're not the cheapest but they were very simple to fit and I've had no issues with fault codes. And they're a big improvement on the originals with no complaints from oncoming cars.

In theory LED bulbs are not road legal unless you have self levelling and headlight washers. However, mine went through its last MOT with no issues at all. After all, with projector lenses you can't see by looking what bulbs are fitted.

I can't speak for changing all the other lights over so I'll leave that to others.

Had my 2005 S just over 4 years now and can't think of a better car to replace it. Its combination of speed, practicality, build quality and sheer sense of fun are unbeatable at the price. When I bought it I was looking at Lotus Elises but have no regrets at buying the Boxster instead, much as I like Lotuses. There's no doubt that some people have a negative image of Porsche but I remember the first time I was driving the Box on the M25 an Audi that had been forcing his way into the outside lane just pulled over the moment he saw me coming up behind. Clearly, he had an acute sense of the motoring pecking order and in his book a Porsche outranked his Audi for fast lane right of way (and I was only doing 70)! I never got that reaction in my MX5!

18 hours ago, Patrick1964 said:

Another winning tip ! 😁

Took me a while to work that one out!

Yesterday drove 350 miles to the Scottish Borders, roof down all the way. I now have some interesting sun tan lines!  The M6 was tedious with roadworks and traffic but north of Kendal and on the A7 towards Jedburgh the scenery is spectacular. Averaged 31 mpg which is the best I’ve seen for a while. 

Removed all the plastic trim pieces that cover the drainage channels around the edges of the front boot and cleaned out the accumulation of leaf mould, small twigs, etc. A simple but satisfying exercise!

Swapping wheels is the totally logical way to narrow down the cause. By trial and error you might be able to pin it down to one specific wheel. 
My guess is that the cause is likely to be a very slightly bent wheel, even though you can’t see it on the balancing machine. 

I wasn't really looking for a Boxster but I'd decided it was time to move on from my S2000 and I was beginning to look at Elises when a friend told me about a 2005 Boxster S which belonged to someone he knew and which was in very good condition with low miles. The seller had bought a 911 and had decided he couldn't keep both cars but had not yet advertised the Boxster. So I went for a look and a drive and it was like viewing a new car fresh from the showroom.

A full service history and an owner who clearly cared for his car made it the simplest car buying decision I've taken and no regrets at all over the four years since.

I can relate to that! If Porsche is generous enough to through in a pen holder then it has to be used.

Mind, it took several weeks of ownership of my 987 before I realised that if you release the cup holders you can then lock them in place by pressing back the tab that releases them from storage. I thought that watching them swing from side to side when cornering was just part of the Porsche experience!

Curious. I just followed the link to the website and put in my vehicle details (2005 987 3.2S) and it tells me the bulbs are unsuitable for my car. I'm on the standard halogen bulbs. Should I believe them?