MidEngineRules

Of all my 987s (RS60 Spyder, 2011 Spyder, Cayman R) the RS60 (even with PASM) tickled more senses. Brakes could have been a little stronger but the sound of the pre-DFI motor is intoxicating, the motor pulls quite hard and returns an incredible howl and has a very pleasing midrange punch. Plus the car is so elegant and so much fun to own and drive, and historic as the first Boxster with over 300 hp. Best Porsche for the money in 2019 for sure. All 987s benefit from surreal steering feel. While garfunkle makes a point about they're all great, I'd say yes but the 3.4 makes an appreciable difference and the Cayman R is definitely the weapon of the group just for the throttle response alone which was quickened over the S. The R is easily the best 987 and a pretty large leap from a base 987 of the same year.

hf1

Agree on the pre-DFI 987 howl. As for standard Boxster suspension being amazing, my first Porsche was a new 06 Box S with standard suspension that I kept bone stock. Not once in the 40k miles, 6 years, and 70+ track days did I find its standard suspension lacking or anything less than splendid on backroads, highways, or the track, including running together with GT3's in the fastest 1/3 of Black run group on Nitto NT01's then drive back home with the top down.

Auto_Werks 3.6

The 718S is one of the best cars I've test driven in the last couple years, maybe ever... I love the power delivery (NOT the sounds). I'm rooting for Porsche to go back to the 6 cylinder engine so I can pick up one of the 2.5 turbos for fifteen bucks on the used market. My only complaint about it was that I didn't think it was worth the $80k it was going to take to order a GTS the way I wanted it. I ended up spending just a few dollars more for a 997 GT3. I know those are cars with a slightly different mission, but I was not buying a daily driver.

Suicide Jockey

+1 Really true and easy to lose sight of with all the navel gazing and "how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a pin" type analysis we all sometimes engage in here. Good reminder.

Auto_Werks 3.6

This whole thread cracks me up, but this one item in particular was a bit of a head scratcher for me. I ended up doing some quick research, and it seems like the issue at hand was actually aerodynamics, rather than weight distribution. The Ford GT had been built and designed around its aero package, and they needed more vertical space under the rear bumper than they could get with engine / exhaust in that space to make a sufficient rear diffuser on the 911 platform. There were some comments about trading away some corner exit traction advantage for aero, and getting the side benefit of lower polar moment and better distribution. It's not like the difference in weight between hanging the gearbox off the back vs the engine is that great. I believe the published distribution for the GT4 is around 45/55 and the GT3 is 40/60 ... most average drivers are hardly sensitive enough to pick up on a 5% change in any single attribute on a car.

Taxdr1965

Ok so just put down a deposit on a 2017 718 Boxtster S Miami Blue Cpo 5k miles on it. Msrp $91k, paid $67k. Now hopefully I will like the color, little nervous about it. Could not find yellow

fast1

I've had PASM for over six years, and my experiences with it are similar to yours. In my case I'd estimate that my on and off split is closer to 60/40. My experience with X73 was a test drive with a 987 Spyder. I was initially impressed with the drive, until it occurred to me that I was driving on very smooth highways. So I decided to seek out a poorly paved back road, and I quickly determined that it was too stiff and my back told me so as I exited the car. Never had that experience in six yeas with PASM. OTOH if my car were going to get a lot of track time, there's no doubt that I would opt for the X73 suspension.

MidEngineRules

For 2 years my Cayman R and RS60 Spyder sat side by side in my garage. Drove them alternately daily and put roughly the same mileage on them. Texas roads are crap as they are patched for years (decades perhaps) before being repaved. I'm from North Carolina where most roads are billiard table smooth and where the aggregate grips like sandpaper. In just daily driving you're splitting hairs between PASM in normal mode and X73 in ride comfort. You can feel a little more tautness in the X73 but neither crash over any high frequency or low frequency bumps. In PASM sport mode, it crashes over everything, so much so, in the case of the RS60 you start the car, press the sport button first, and the PASM button second to return PASM to normal. That's every time you get in the car. The biggest difference in the two suspensions is cornering. With X73 the car is flat and you can feel how it contributes to steering accuracy and under power it's more in control (less squat, less moving around). Even though I'm in my mid 50s I don't have back issues. Perhaps if I did I wouldn't want a Porsche at all. But to assert X73 is harsh won't be taken as accurate to those with tens of thousands of miles in each, like me. Drive any modern BMW M car and you'll know what a poorly sorted suspension feels like when you hit the smallest of bumps. X73 is like walking on clouds comparatively. There's a reason Porsche charged more for X73 over PASM. It's a complete engineered package versus dampers only. And the best part is there's no button to push in the car (to turn PASM sport off). Just strap the car on and drive.

hf1

If I remember correctly, PASM costed more than x73 for the 981. x73 was not available as an option for a base/S 987 -- only PASM was.

jago

ok good luck i have seen a local 718 cayman in that color and it's sharp.
have you driven 718 vs 981 ?
as you can see there are strong feelings here on the differences.
you may also likely experience more depreciation with 718 in a few years if you flip.
keep us posted!

57staff

Has anyone else done the DSC Sport upgrade for their PASM? I've got one and for me it totally transforms PASM performance. I've got a 987.1 Boxster and the DSC module takes the Sport mode to a whole new level handling wise. The car is very flat through the corners, yet when doing normal street driving is very compliant and comfortable.

Taxdr1965

i only want a cab. I drove the cayman many years ago and thought it was awesome. I have a variety of sports cars and really not stuck to one brand.

Had an M3, then 2010 Boxster s, traded that for r8 v10 spyder, Traded that for a bmw i8, don’t know what possessed me to do that. Sole that and got 2017 Acura Nsx. Traded that in December for a 2018 Panny hybrid e.

Looked at 911, 981gts, and then decided to give the 718 a try as I only want a convertible. After all that coming back to the 718. The sound may not be the same as 981, which I am fine with, but to me the overall drive experience is better then all the others. New motor has all that low end torque which is useable right away. Overall 718 is an impressive car and better then the 981 sans engine note.