Chase27 Posted April 17, 2020 Report Share Posted April 17, 2020 I've never owned a Porsche. I currently drive a Toyota MR2 (pre-facelift) which has many good things to be said for it. Power is its achilles heel, however, I reckon. I want to move up, therefore. The logical progression is to get a 986. Question is what would you recommend? A 2.7 or a 3.2? I'd be using the car as semi-daily drive. I want something appreciably faster than the MR2 but will I get that experience from a good 2.7...and without a heavy clutch pedal and everything else that comes with a higher performance car? Asssuming, for a moment, that this isn't about money, is the 3.2 a no-brainer or does the 2.7 merit consideration, also? All useful input gratefully received in these strange times. All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefocke Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 I owned a 2.5 and a 3.2. I had as much fun in the 2.5 as I could keep my foot down longer. It was about the driver, not the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Both are equal fun over 4000rpm. The main difference is daily torque, whether you mind changing down more often to accelerate when commuting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 The 3.2 with the 10% extra power and 6 closer gears means you don't have to stir the 'box so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V6reu Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Mine is a 2.7 and I love it , drove my mates 3.2 and can’t see much difference other than a bit more top end , but uses more fuel , if you want a 3.2 my mate will sell his at the right price 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo86 Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Hiya Chase, Not sure which MR2 you have. I wanted a power hike too after owning several Mx5s and always wanted to try a Porsche. Now driving a 2.7 (was searching either engine size), this has so much more flexible and power. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with either engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 9 hours ago, mikefocke said: I owned a 2.5 and a 3.2. I had as much fun in the 2.5 as I could keep my foot down longer. It was about the driver, not the car. He might as well keep the MR2 then because he could probably keep his foot down for longer still ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headless Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 I've had 2 MR2's a Mk1 and a Mk2, both great cars, but both lacking in said power and did'nt sound too great either, a Porsche is a great step up from them and both the 2.7 and the 3.2 have far more power than the MR2's, but I would suggest the 3.2S, cos why would you not, haha!!! I have the 987.1 2006 BoxsterS 3.2 and am hugely happy with it after driving both engines before deciding on the 3.2, but it's your choice and I'm sure you will be happy with either!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Those of us with 2.7s will advise you to google (or search on here) the terms 'bore score' and ' IMS bearing' before you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 3 minutes ago, JonSta said: Those of us with 2.7s will advise you to google (or search on here) the terms 'bore score' and ' IMS bearing' before you decide. On a 986 bore scoring is irrelevant and whilst they all have an IMS bearing only the early ones ie not a 2.7 had a dual row. Presented like that then you may as well not bother with the 2.7 ... 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Are you saying no 986 has ever had bore score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 I'm not and nobody could ever say that as nobody will have seen all 986s but it is not something you need to worry about at all unless you are buying 3.6 996, 3.4 987 and 997s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 46 minutes ago, edc said: On a 986 bore scoring is irrelevant and whilst they all have an IMS bearing only the early ones ie not a 2.7 had a dual row. Presented like that then you may as well not bother with the 2.7 ... 😁 All 2.5 and early 2.7 & 3.2 cars had the dual row ims bearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 1 hour ago, JonSta said: Those of us with 2.7s will advise you to google (or search on here) the terms 'bore score' and ' IMS bearing' before you decide. The 2.7 is no different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazbot Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 Some great examples of uninformed interweb bollerx demonstrated comprehensively. Can I suggest you do some research and be aware but not averse to M96 engines. The capacity difference on a day to day basis comes down to torque as outright performance is not likely to be apparent on the road. Plainly 3.2 is better than 2.7 because it's more.......😁 Whatever you do drive some and then you'll 'know' . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonttt Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 2 hours ago, edc said: On a 986 bore scoring is irrelevant and whilst they all have an IMS bearing only the early ones ie not a 2.7 had a dual row. Presented like that then you may as well not bother with the 2.7 ... 😁 “On a 986 bore scoring is irrelevant” wow thats quite a (incorrect) statement lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 19 minutes ago, Jonttt said: “On a 986 bore scoring is irrelevant” wow thats quite a (incorrect) statement lol Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 18, 2020 Report Share Posted April 18, 2020 The sad fact is it's the larger M96 and M97 engine that suffer with bore scoring. 986 Boxster engines aren't immune but the occurrence is so low it's not worth the worry. There are many other things that will stop you in your tracks before bore scoring. So prioritisng bore scoring and to ignore the other things that may break you would never end up buying a 986. http://flat6innovations.com/cylinder-bore-scoring/ https://www.hartech.org/engine-rebuilds https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.hartech.org/images/downloads/Hartech%20Engine%20Guide%20(interim).pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjswOLzu_LoAhWJfMAKHZoyBtUQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw3QRTBSM2vmFRYPi4HZW_le&cshid=1587229857468 https://www.porscheinspections.com/useful-info https://www.porscheinspections.com/downloads/M96_M97_GTPorsche.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 19 hours ago, edc said: The sad fact is it's the larger M96 and M97 engine that suffer with bore scoring. 986 Boxster engines aren't immune but the occurrence is so low it's not worth the worry. There are many other things that will stop you in your tracks before bore scoring. So prioritisng bore scoring and to ignore the other things that may break you would never end up buying a 986. I agree but those are the two things that will turn your prize purchase into an instant piece of lawn art. I tried an immaculate looking S before I bought mine. Wanted it bad until I heard an ominous tick coming from the driver's side of the engine. Two North London specialists I tried to send to inspect it couldn't be bothered. 'Probly bore score mate' they both said as though it was nothing remotely unusual. OK I guess that dealers/specialists see a lot of problem cars - that's why they're there. But someone bought that car. They're out there - ticking away. So long as the OP knows that he can make a valued decision. 19 hours ago, edc said: http://flat6innovations.com/cylinder-bore-scoring/ https://www.hartech.org/engine-rebuilds https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.hartech.org/images/downloads/Hartech%20Engine%20Guide%20(interim).pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjswOLzu_LoAhWJfMAKHZoyBtUQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw3QRTBSM2vmFRYPi4HZW_le&cshid=1587229857468 https://www.porscheinspections.com/useful-info https://www.porscheinspections.com/downloads/M96_M97_GTPorsche.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Whilst you unluckily came across a car with it it remains a very rare occurrence in a 986. So much so that in all those articles that the 986 doesn't even get a look in. Aside from your experience I can't recall across various forums a single instance of bore scoring on a 986. Similarly, if you research you will be put off a 2.5 despite the so called better dual row IMS bearing. They suffer from D chunk or the cylinder breaking. Again, there is plenty online to this effect but whilst I only became active looking at 986 in detail since 2012 I've never seen an example of it. You could infer it was an issue but it has blown over, after all by 2012 the 2.5 was already 15+ years old. This too destroys engines but everybody seems to conveniently forget about it. Like bore scoring the number of instances are so miniscule. When you stack up these supposed disasters the 2.5 looks to be the worst of the lot but common opinion is quite the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 5 hours ago, JonSta said: I agree but those are the two things that will turn your prize purchase into an instant piece of lawn art. I tried an immaculate looking S before I bought mine. Wanted it bad until I heard an ominous tick coming from the driver's side of the engine. Two North London specialists I tried to send to inspect it couldn't be bothered. 'Probly bore score mate' they both said as though it was nothing remotely unusual. OK I guess that dealers/specialists see a lot of problem cars - that's why they're there. But someone bought that car. They're out there - ticking away. So long as the OP knows that he can make a valued decision. So from this you conclude that the 2.7 is less likely to bore score then a 3.2.? I don't recall ever reading about any 986 engine scoring in the eight or so years I've been on various Porsche forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Probably of more relevance now than many of the other show stoppers as it anecdotally starts to show up at this older age is the chain guides breaking up. You can end up with stretched chains and can deviation going out of spec. Left unchecked that too will detonate the engine or knacker the IMS. Increasingly I'm of the view that a cam deviation check is a good thing to do from time to time alongside annual checking if the oil filter to check for any guide debris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 1 minute ago, edc said: I'm of the view that a cam deviation check is a good thing to do from time to time alongside annual checking if the oil filter to check for any guide debris. I've thought about getting this done in the past, but I'd rather not know tbh. Filter has been spotless so far for the last five years, which is good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanky Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 A cam deviation check should be part of the service if you ask me, so you can track the deviation and decide on what you do or not. Its just pity you can’t check It with those some off the off shelf scanning tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase27 Posted April 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Thanks to one and all for the useful input. I ran out of my ration of emoticons to give you each a thumbs up smiley. I shall let you know what I do and how it goes in due course. All the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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