What have YOU done to your 986 today ?

[milner]

Someone had a rather interesting ride home (Its not me). So own up who is it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-59803301

[RalphyBMW]

Exciting week for the 986;

New wheels with sticky rubber - ready for summer

Hard top fitting kit, bought new from OPC (£90).

Fitting kit took more effort than expected, but got there in the end, after several roof up/ roof down actions.

Fitting kit then prompted the purchase of a used hard top, regrettably black not lapis blue, but looks ok. Didn’t notice initially but the hard top was missing the rubber covers over the two flat prongs that slot into the header rail, leading it to rattle quite badly. Fortunately very cheap from OPC, and resolved in the meantime by some anti rattle felt.

Pleasantly surprised by how much quieter the car is, have had to add more felt tape to stop the sun visors rattling though.

[ATM]

13 hours ago, RalphyBMW said:

Exciting week for the 986;

New wheels with sticky rubber - ready for summer

Hard top fitting kit, bought new from OPC (£90).

Fitting kit took more effort than expected, but got there in the end, after several roof up/ roof down actions.

Fitting kit then prompted the purchase of a used hard top, regrettably black not lapis blue, but looks ok. Didn’t notice initially but the hard top was missing the rubber covers over the two flat prongs that slot into the header rail, leading it to rattle quite badly. Fortunately very cheap from OPC, and resolved in the meantime by some anti rattle felt.

Pleasantly surprised by how much quieter the car is, have had to add more felt tape to stop the sun visors rattling though.

Rubber covers?

[RalphyBMW]

1 minute ago, ATM said:

Rubber covers?

Like these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-Boxster-Boxter-Hard-Top-Hardtop-Lug-Covers-NEW-/193191966238?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

[Pordave]

Check the size of your slot and hardtop tang before ordering. I got those for my hard top while I had it and they were too small. Best get from OPC

[RalphyBMW]

31 minutes ago, Pordave said:

Check the size of your slot and hardtop tang before ordering. I got those for my hard top while I had it and they were too small. Best get from OPC

100%
£2+VAT from OPC so cheaper too.

To be fair, the anti rattle felt is working at the min.

[pacificjuha]

Next is the turn for the seat covers. Plan is to have the center parts upholstered in alcantara. Maybe it is time to learn how to use the sewing machine and the needle with thread...😅

[the baron]

11 hours ago, pacificjuha said:

Next is the turn for the seat covers. Plan is to have the center parts upholstered in alcantara. Maybe it is time to learn how to use the sewing machine and the needle with thread...😅

Did you unstitch these or is that how they when you take off the seat?

[ATM]

12 hours ago, pacificjuha said:

Next is the turn for the seat covers. Plan is to have the center parts upholstered in alcantara. Maybe it is time to learn how to use the sewing machine and the needle with thread...😅

Not sure how tall you are or how you fit in the 986 but I recently changed my seats to some from a 987 and they feel much much better.  The pair I bought even come with alcantara centres.  I'd recommend you try having a sit in some before you invest too much time and energy into the 986 seats because I think - repeating myself - they're much much better.  

 

[pacificjuha]

On 12/31/2021 at 10:21 AM, the baron said:

Did you unstitch these or is that how they when you take off the seat?

I did unstich those. Will also unstich the parts where the hogring connecting rods are as I get the alcantara.

[pacificjuha]

On 12/31/2021 at 11:25 AM, ATM said:

Not sure how tall you are or how you fit in the 986 but I recently changed my seats to some from a 987 and they feel much much better.  The pair I bought even come with alcantara centres.  I'd recommend you try having a sit in some before you invest too much time and energy into the 986 seats because I think - repeating myself - they're much much better.  

 

Thanks for advice. My plan is to have these done and to have another set of seats for racetrack use for a few races a year. These original seats are spot on right size for me, so no need for additional space any direction.

[Photogirl]

Before thinking about changing any seats I'd advise sitting for a while in the seats you're considering first, or get out for a drive if you know somebody with a 987.

I find 987 seats unbearable - I get severe shoulder and neck ache and I avoid driving the car because of it. I didn't notice it on the test drive because I was preoccupied with other things. Often seats can feel nice to begin with, then part way into your drive you start to realise they're killing you. 

[ATM]

12 hours ago, Photogirl said:

Before thinking about changing any seats I'd advise sitting for a while in the seats you're considering first, or get out for a drive if you know somebody with a 987.

I find 987 seats unbearable - I get severe shoulder and neck ache and I avoid driving the car because of it. I didn't notice it on the test drive because I was preoccupied with other things. Often seats can feel nice to begin with, then part way into your drive you start to realise they're killing you. 

Which seats do you have - lets have a pic - come on girl.

[McDonald]

13 hours ago, Photogirl said:

Before thinking about changing any seats I'd advise sitting for a while in the seats you're considering first, or get out for a drive if you know somebody with a 987.

I find 987 seats unbearable - I get severe shoulder and neck ache and I avoid driving the car because of it. I didn't notice it on the test drive because I was preoccupied with other things. Often seats can feel nice to begin with, then part way into your drive you start to realise they're killing you. 

This sounds like you haven't found the right seat adjustment settings. It might be worth getting someone to look at your set up. I found that by moving the base forward a little I could get the right rake on the back of the seat. I know that's elementary stuff but small things make a big difference sometimes.

[Photogirl]

I've fiddled endlessly with the seats and the problem appears to be the shape of the upper section and the way the upper sides curve forward. I get quite bad neck and shoulder pain from it - I'm the same with seats on planes. There may be things I can buy to velcro on parts of a car seat to provide contouring and support so maybe that's something I'll look into, to make some kind of custom fit. 

I'm not sure why I'm suffering as I'm fairly small (5'6" and 8.5 stone). I've also tried various cushions to see if sitting higher helps. 

I'm fine with the seats in my 986, I find them very comfortable and I feel less 'scrunched'. 

[Photogirl]

43 minutes ago, ATM said:

Which seats do you have - lets have a pic - come on girl.

I'll take some pictures later. 

[ATM]

12 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

I'll take some pictures later. 

Ok

 

So do they have the wings or are they standard tombstones?

[½cwt]

6 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

I've fiddled endlessly with the seats and the problem appears to be the shape of the upper section and the way the upper sides curve forward. I get quite bad neck and shoulder pain from it - I'm the same with seats on planes. There may be things I can buy to velcro on parts of a car seat to provide contouring and support so maybe that's something I'll look into, to make some kind of custom fit. 

I'm not sure why I'm suffering as I'm fairly small (5'6" and 8.5 stone). I've also tried various cushions to see if sitting higher helps. 

I'm fine with the seats in my 986, I find them very comfortable and I feel less 'scrunched'. 

Have you ever had a neck/back injury?  I have found over the years that certain seats or chairs aggravate a lot of pain in my neck up into the base on my skull i.e. C1, to C4 and out into my right shoulder to the point of it being debilitating.  It is suspected that I suffered an undiagnosed vertebra fracture in one of these vertebra in a big road crash back in 1987 when I suffered various other injuries and fractures to my left arm, or in one of a couple of fairly major rally crashes I have had over the years.  I find getting the right adjustment is critical you may find you need to be more upright than you think.  I believe the 987 seat is wider than the 986 in the back so it could be you are not getting enough support, maybe you could look at the opposite that many do and swap 987 for 986 seats if the pads you suggest work out.

[ATM]

15 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

I'm fine with the seats in my 986, I find them very comfortable and I feel less 'scrunched'. 

You could try switching the seats in the 987 to 986 type if they really do work for you.

[Photogirl]

6 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Have you ever had a neck/back injury?  I have found over the years that certain seats or chairs aggravate a lot of pain in my neck up into the base on my skull i.e. C1, to C4 and out into my right shoulder to the point of it being debilitating.  It is suspected that I suffered an undiagnosed vertebra fracture in one of these vertebra in a big road crash back in 1987 when I suffered various other injuries and fractures to my left arm, or in one of a couple of fairly major rally crashes I have had over the years.  I find getting the right adjustment is critical you may find you need to be more upright than you think.  I believe the 987 seat is wider than the 986 in the back so it could be you are not getting enough support, maybe you could look at the opposite that many do and swap 987 for 986 seats if the pads you suggest work out.

Yep - a number of old injuries and bad arthritis in my neck and spine (and everywhere else). Like you I'm hugely sensitive to seats, but usually it's my lower back they aggravate. Normal car seats are fine, but sports seats of any kind can set me off. The issue with me is if my neck isn't perfectly straight - the head section of the 987 seats force my chin slightly downward which is very painful. The side bolsters force my shoulders forwards which hurts - a male/wider shouldered person probably wouldn't experience that. 

Part of the problem might be that I suffer from hypermobility syndrome. If some of my joints are in the wrong position they can't support themselves and I can literally feel like they're going to dislocate (shoulder and right hip in particular). Degrees of this aren't uncommon and supposedly it gets better with age, though not in my case. You can diagnose it by touching your toes with your finger tips then seeing if you can progress to getting your wrists on the floor (which I can do).

In my 986 my spine stays well aligned so no problem there, but I do find that my knee pain kicks in much quicker in Bambi than any other car.

[edc]

14 hours ago, Photogirl said:

Before thinking about changing any seats I'd advise sitting for a while in the seats you're considering first, or get out for a drive if you know somebody with a 987.

I find 987 seats unbearable - I get severe shoulder and neck ache and I avoid driving the car because of it. I didn't notice it on the test drive because I was preoccupied with other things. Often seats can feel nice to begin with, then part way into your drive you start to realise they're killing you. 

Same here. I find the 987.2 seats too slippy and wide. The 986 seats hold you better. 

[Little Silver]

12 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

 

You can diagnose it by touching your toes with your finger tips then seeing if you can progress to getting your wrists on the floor (which I can do).

 

Good grief I can only dream of touching my toes, I can barely touch my knees

The seats in my 986 are very comfortable though

[Photogirl]

40 minutes ago, ATM said:

You could try switching the seats in the 987 to 986 type if they really do work for you.

I wish. The 987.2 (Cayman) is owned by a collector and I'm it's foster parent because he rarely drives, I have permanent use of it. The owner is 6'3" and 12.5 stones in weight - he loves the seats and says they're the most comfortable things ever.

He's of the view that I'm one of an increasing breed of snotty 986 purists who love to look down on other mid-engine Porsches. Must say I've never looked at it quite like that, but with the new respect 986s are getting he may have a point. To be clear, I do love the 987 - just not the seats.

[ATM]

5 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

I wish. The 987.2 (Cayman) is owned by a collector and I'm it's foster parent because he rarely drives, I have permanent use of it. The owner is 6'3" and 12.5 stones in weight - he loves the seats and says they're the most comfortable things ever.

He's of the view that I'm one of an increasing breed of snotty 986 purists who love to look down on other mid-engine Porsches. Must say I've never looked at it quite like that, but with the new respect 986s are getting he may have a point. To be clear, I do love the 987 - just not the seats.

Well I have 2 x 996 and 1 x 986 and none of these cars have their original seats.  So clearly I dont get on with the original seats but with your size and shape clearly you do.

Adjustment tweaks may help a little but I'm sure you've tried different angles.

Adjustment for me wasn't really an option because once you get over 6 foot you dont really have enough room in a 986 or a 987 and so you need the seat as far back as it will go.

It sounds to me like you feel too pushed forward in the shoulders and therefore some form of narrow cushion against the back rest could help.  Or sitting on a cushion may raise you up a couple of inches and get your shoulders into an area of the seat with less of a recess.

[Photogirl]

1 minute ago, ATM said:

It sounds to me like you feel too pushed forward in the shoulders and therefore some form of narrow cushion against the back rest could help.  Or sitting on a cushion may raise you up a couple of inches and get your shoulders into an area of the seat with less of a recess.

Yes, I positioned a cushion behind my upper back which did help the shoulder pain a little, but brought on lumbar pain. So I need a full length back support of some kind to push me slightly away from the back rest - they must exist somewhere. Unfortunately sitting on a cushion didn't help.

My VW has fully adjustable seats, I can manipulate every part of the seat sections into a fully customized configuration for as much lumbar or upper body support as I want. I'm guessing newer Porsches will have that.