356C

6 minutes ago, M12MTR said:

I had a base 987.2.

It was nippy but want S or GTS now.

Go and try a 2L 718 because you’ll be astonished at how fast it is after a 987, which I had. 
 

it was a lovely smooth easy to drive car, but it really needed screaming to get any power out of it. 
 

the 718 has power everywhere 

Daz will confirm but I believe the corrosion prone crossover pipes on the 987 are redesigned or better protected on the 981. 
 

Also be aware that the early 718s are rather noisier than the 981. I think they were quietened after 2019. Mine was a 2018 and noisy, but early models were louder still. 
 

I think there were two noise reductions. 
 

I’ve had my 981S with most options and 15k miles for two years. All Porsche history etc, but I still had engine mounts fail at £2,500. One went a second time too, but no charge. 

Worth checking with Porsche dealer  

I paid £42,500 for my 981S

4 hours ago, ATM said:

I think the 981 in front is turning in later and getting a better exit speed from the corners.  So maybe that is why the 718 cant quite catch him.

Yes most likely the tyre’s because the 718’s rear end is more planted and it’s a bit faster cornering otherwise . 

28 minutes ago, daz05 said:

I've driven several, the figures are not real life, the only time it's quicker is a quick jab of the throttle in a high gear.

We all have pdk boxes that can have us exactly where we need to be in the rev range, a nice high revving 3.4 keeps on going while the little 4 pot is all out of ideas.

You need a 2.5 to be any quicker than the 3.4 S and that's a fact.

Daz

i kept my 2L 718 for 12,500 miles driving across Spain and much more. It was extremely fast and the 981 felt underpowered when I got it.
 

The 718 revved just as high as the 981, but the power curve is flat rather than rising with revs. 
 

I noticed when overtaking a few cars at a time when kick down wasn’t enough. I had to manually shift and absolutely scream the engine and it still felt slow. 
 

However I have the variable suspension on the 981S, which I run on soft, I have the multi adjustable seats, the zoned climate control, so the car is exceptionally comfortable and I tend to drive it more slowly, which is wiser and I prefer it. 
 

Truth is I’ve ridden bikes all my life and right across this country France and Spain. They’re far faster than cars and I’m lucky that I could do it when there wasn’t as much traffic and there was less chance of getting caught. 
 

I’ve had to force myself to slow down and the 981S is perfect for that. 
 

I still fancy a fully specc’d 2.5L 718S though. 

36 minutes ago, daz05 said:

The 2l 718 isn't very fast, I think you are trolling again 🤣

Look at the figures Daz. 
 

The 2L has nearly 300 lbs/ft of torque at 1950rpm, while my 3.4L 981S has to be doing 4,500rpm to achieve the same figure 

I think the Porsche figures show the 2L 718 as faster accelerating than the 981S as well, but it’s normal driving where the 718 is much faster because the extra torque from much lower revs. 
 

Torque is power and it’s important to quote it and the revs from at which it’s produced. It means the 718 2L has a power band from 1950-7,500 and my 3.4 from 4,500-7,500. 
 

This explains why the 2 L is faster especially for overtaking etc c
 

I think 2.5 is faster accelerating than the 4 litre 718 too. 
 

I'm really not trolling, just pointing out the facts. 

On the road the turbo cars are appreciably faster because they have power everywhere, rather than high up the rev range. 
 

More power is readily available with re-mapping too. 
 

I went back from a 718 2L to a 981S and had to adapt to lack of power. 
 

Otherwise I prefer the six because it is quieter. 
 

Playing devil’s advocate here. 😉

A friend had a GT4 a few years ago and thought it the best Porsche you could buy at the time. He’s had a string of 911s always new and has one now. He’s a successful vintage hill climber with a Fraser Nash Supersports and Pic Pic with a 9 litre WW1 aero engine.

I believe the GT4 has the same set up as the 718, so probably is as good as it gets and slightly better than mine. I don’t think my opinion is different from yours, but maybe I’ve made it sound that way.

if you’re in the Cotswolds do give me a call and stop by for a coffee and a chat, though I’m not sure I’d risk driving your car leave alone drive it on the limit. I might put it through a hedge. 😉😂 it’s a very kind offer though. 

I have over fifty years experience, I was even a tyre tester in the seventies for a time. 
 

I had Michelins on my 987 and I said they have more grip than Pirellis and don’t last as long. I felt the Pirellis handled the same as the Michelins, which seems reasonable because the Michelins and the Pirellis that the Porsche dealerships fit are designed for the cars. 

Come on chaps, we can disagree without falling out. 
 

It really doesn’t matter what I think. 

My Pirellis were fitted by Porsche just over a year ago and have 5mm left on them. 
 

They feel exactly as they did on my previous 718 when I fitted a new set. 
 

I’ve used Pirelli’s since the mid sixties and on a variety of cars and motorcycles along with other makes including Michelins. 
 

IMO they’ve always been amongst the best and historically have gripped as well as Michelin. This is on MGBs and Cs, Austin Healey 3000s, Aston Martin DB4 and 5, E Type and many more I can’t remember. 
 

Porsche was the first time they obviously had less grip and lasted longer and as I said I think that’s deliberate given that the tyres are designed for my car specifically. 
 

I’m not about to blow £1000/1200 on new tyres till I have to. 
 

Here’s me in the seventies. I used the Rolls for busy roads. 

Pirelli’s are always excellent on any car and they’re specified by Porsche, which means test drivers will have okayed them. 
 

it seems to me the faster models get Michelins for better lap times. 
 

There’s a chap with a 718 chasing a GT4 round the Nurburgring on YouTube, the 2L 718 is obviously as fast but slithering about on the corners. There’s a similar comparison made by an American mag on a US track with the same observation. 
 

I agree on alignment, but I had the 987 done twice by Porsche and even replaced all the rear suspension and shocks with no improvement. 
 

I asked one of the managers at Porsche Swindon and he agreed that is how they handle. 
 

I still love my 981S and I pray it’ll be okay now. 
 

I love my 356C too. 

13 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

@the baron a colleague of yours!

I don’t know him. I don’t know many other Porsche owners other than receiving help from Daz to fit a Joyaudio Apple Car Play adapter, which is brilliant. 
 

He’s a lovely bloke. 

😂😂😂

8 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

no no, we would lose our licence. For you, the cop would be sent for an eye test.

It’s on Continentals. 

In my experience Michelins last 8000 and Pirelli’s 12,500.  The Michelins grip better but don’t handle differently. Pirelli’s are good tyres imo. 
 

Trouble is that when you replace worn out tyres, the handling improves and the grip decreases, so it’s not the same as replacing new with new 

The handling issue I described only when the car is breaking loose at very high speeds, so doesn’t affect me most of the time. 
 

I’m 77 years old so would almost certainly lose my license if I’m seen sideways on a bumpy country road at crazy speeds. 

I got home without breaking down and it was a lovely drive. 
 

I pray it’ll be reliable now. 

1 hour ago, daz05 said:

The 718 chassis and 981 are very similar, they added a cross brace onto the ARB, in my video I added this and another from gt4 that isn't fitted on the 718.

The dampers are marginally thicker but that's about it. I found the 718 had less traction at the rear at times particularly in the wet because of the power delivery, it's less smooth and sometimes laggy.

As you've found low mileage, low use cars come with different problems. The worse kind being the ones that are washed and put away wet.

You’re right about wet weather and the 718, mine would spin the wheels at 70 or mph. 

the only Turbo issue I had was wanting to slot into traffic from a standstill. I’d boot it, it coughed and spluttered and kicked in too late. 
 

Sounds like you’ve fixed the problem that I don’t like. 
 

Overall, I love my 981, which looks as new. I’ll pray it calms down now. 

The 718 I had was well balanced and handled beautifully, the tyres were the limitation. More grip would have been good. 
 

My 987 didn’t actually corner as fast as the C Class AMG Coupe I had at the time and the steering was less precise. I spent a fortune having the suspension replaced as well as the shocks, but no difference. Porsche confirmed the problem. 
 

hard to explain but the rear end lost grip and slid as though one tyre was gripping then the other. 
 

My 981S has the same issue but not as badly as the 987. 
 

The 718 wasn’t phased if i cornered at breakaway on bumpy corners at quite high speeds. 
 

if you Daz have fitted 718 bits to your car, I may fit them to mine and report back. 
 

it’s a pity you’re so far away or we could demonstrate all this. 

It’s true Pirelli’s don’t have as much grip even in the dry as Michelins, but Michelins lasted 8,000 for a set on my 987 and Pirelli’s 12,500 on my much faster 718s. 
 

Tyres don’t cause the handling issues though in this instance 

Test Drive Scotland addresses the problem here. 

Any failures at 17,200 miles are a disgrace in my book. My Mercs are trouble free and the current one is quite quick. 
 

A heater motor is £699 (£69 from China), the brake pedal switch is £184 and the alarm £304. Parts prices are very high. 

It’s not the tyres, which are OE Pirelli’s. It’s how they are. Someone mentioned Test Drive Scotland who’s done a video on fitting bits from a 718 to fix it. 
 

I never had a 986, but I’m told they were worse, the 987 was an improvement, the 981 better again and the 718 fixed. They really handle, but the engine is a bit noisy. 
 

it’s on the limit on bumpy corners that’s it’s disconcerting, so not problem most of the time. 
 

I’d like to try, even buy a 718s. I prefer the power of the four because it’s everywhere whereas you have to scream the six to get it to go. In the USA they’re remapping them to get over 400bhp. 

No car is perfect, I really love my Boxster, it’s beautiful to look at, drives and ride beautifully. 
 

What does worry me is the seemingly endless unreliability. 
 

I’ve had three Boxsters, a 987 2.7 bought with 53,000 miles and all Porsche history. It cost an absolute fortune over the three years I had it. All new suspension, crossover pipes, air con pipes, condenser and more. 
 

so I bought an ex dem 2L 718, very much faster and with better handling and steering. It would have been excellent but it wasn’t reliable, all replaced under guarantee, but infuriating to have to keep returning to dealer. Failures included Turbo, heater fan, indicator switch, battery, failing to demist driver’s window and all the paint chipped off the sills. I swapped for Merc because they’re bulletproof. 
 

I missed the Boxster so decided to keep the Merc and buy another, this time a low mileage 981S with virtually everything on on it. 
 

I love it, as others have said the steering is vague after a Merc and it has the slightly unstable rear end of the 987, if not as badly. 
 

it’s quieter and ride better than the 718 because it has adaptive suspension and the six is quieter than a 987 or 718. 
 

like the 987 it feels a bit gutless, especially compared to the 718, which is a flyer, but it’s a superb car and I love it. 
 

however it’s bloody unreliable. I had two active engine mounts fail at 16,000 miles £2,500, then the battery and the heater fan packed up.
 

A year later another dynamic engine mount failed and on the way home from Porsche Swindon warning lights came on because a switch on the brake pedal failed. 
 

While Porsche were waiting for the parts, the battery went flat and the alarm has failed. This and the switch are £500
 

this is a virtually one owner car with all Porsche service history in as new condition. It cost a great deal. 

Over the same period I’ve run three C Class Mercs, all bought at about 18 month old and one had a window opener chip fail and the current cabriolet had a bit of string replaced in the hood mech. 
 

It’s well known VW have troubles and I presume what I’ve suffered is why. 
 

I don’t much want to sell the car and if I do I’ll lose lots. 

I love the sound of my 100bhp 356C

On 3/6/2023 at 5:08 PM, moospeed said:

I've got those same buttons, also wondered what other options fill in the blanks.

I have to admit, even though I've had my car for a few years now I still don't know what a PCM is.  Is it just the screen, or everything behind what the screen does?  Because it says Communication on my options list I assumed it was to do with the bluetooth phone, or maybe that little slot in the dash (wondered if it was for a SIM card).

Clueless, on the test drive the guy mentioned PCM and I said "what, the radio?" 🤣

 

The 981 has the PCM3.01, which is a beautifully made radio, satnav etc. It’s quite a good thing to have and a lot better with the Joyaaudio Apple Car play module fitted. Then you can have forward and reverse cameras, Apple/Google car play by wireless and if you plug it in you can watch YouTube and Netflix as you drive. 😂😂👎