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I'm not a huge fan of the interior door handles on this car. Seem more suited to a track car that is trying to shed weight everywhere it can.
Can my current straps be replaced with an OEM alternative that is a traditional, old-style handle/lever? Is there a 981 that doesn't use the straps that I can use to convert my car?
a track car that is trying to shed weight everywhere it can. Yeah that was the spirit of the car you purchased, if you had no weight concerns you could have bought the S and saved a lot of coin.
a track car that is trying to shed weight everywhere it can. Yeah that was the spirit of the car you purchased, if you wanted the ladies electric top and proper handles and had no weight concerns you could have bought the S and saved a lot of coin.
****. And lost the Batmobile rear deck? Hell no. That's what sold me. I have a radio, 18 way heated seats, a/c, and a bunch of other comforts that do not comport with saving .5lbs on silly pull straps!
I read something a Porsche design engineer wrote when questioned about those very straps. According to him they save weight in what he called a critical spot. I tend to agree with you and I don't have a link for you but that's what the man said.
I read something a Porsche design engineer wrote when questioned about those very straps. According to him they save weight in what he called a critical spot. I tend to agree with you and I don't have a link for you but that's what the man said.
I just looked at the parts diagram for a 2016 Boxster GTS and it shows door handles at $171 each side as opposed to the $220 handles from the Spyder. I'm tempted. My kids and wife both commented how they disliked the straps (both functionally and visually) the moment they sat in the car and it only reinforced what I thought as well. Mine are black. Anyone with a 981 non-Spyder want to trade? Your car will be faster if you do.
I have a radio, 18 way heated seats, a/c, and a bunch of other comforts that do not comport with saving .5lbs on silly pull straps!
I read in an article I've long since forgotten that the cloth door straps actually save 2 lbs., which brings to mind the November issue of F1 Racing (No. 261), where there is a long interview with Nico Rosberg, the 2016 F1 World Champion, where the importance of weight is really driven (excuse the pun) home. He basically attributes his F1 crown to a 1 kg (2.2 lb.) weight savings achieved by cutting back on his leg exercises to reduce the size of his quads:
Q: Is F1 such a marginal-gains sport now that you have to pay attention to small details like that?
A: Every single detail counts. Look, in the summer break last year I decided to stop cycling because the leg muscles are among the heaviest things on your body. I lost 1kg as a result that August. We came back, and three races later it was the Japanese Grand Prix. One kilo of body weight is 0.04 of a second per lap when the car is at the weight limit. I was on pole at Suzuka by 0.03 seconds.
My smaller leg muscles got me on pole, and that messed with Lewis's head, so he messed up the start. I finished first, he finished third, and I had the points lead that I needed to be able to cruise home with second places.
Look, I get it -- this is an extreme (laughable?) example involving the very pinnacle of motor racing where victory, sponsorship dollars, and careers hinge on mere grams, and I bring this up primarily in jest as I certainly know a 2 lb. weight savings won't be noticed when you're cruising down PCH. Still, for those that are inclined to dismiss weight -- even in very small amounts -- remember this little story about Nico's quads!
Some here look at the weight savings for one particular feature of the car and say, "So what, it's only 2 lbs." It's when you take the pound saved here and the pound saved there and the three pounds saved somewhere else that it all starts to add up. Porsche engineers scrape and claw to shave pounds. It's not easy. Every 2 lbs. help!
Originally Posted by SpyderSenseOC
My kids and wife both commented how they disliked the straps (both functionally and visually) the moment they sat in the car and it only reinforced what I thought as well.
The straps are an acquired taste and many passengers don't take to them well initially. There's a learning curve to using them for the uninitiated. My daughter hated them at first, but after I explained the reasons and she understood how unique they were, she came around and now totally digs them. Granted, YMMV.
if you go and have a look behind the doorpanel you'll see there is a complicated mechanism to transfer the movement of the strap to unlock the door mechanism. From the outside it looks so simple and effective yet it is very complicated inside.
I don't have any info on the regular mechanism inside the door, probably similar i gues.
if you go and have a look behind the doorpanel you'll see there is a complicated mechanism to transfer the movement of the strap to unlock the door mechanism. From the outside it looks so simple and effective yet it is very complicated inside.
Could very well be as I've admittedly never disassembled a door panel to see what's behind it, and let's assume for the sake of argument that it is purely a marketing exercise with absolutely no weight savings whatsoever (even though Porsche and the automotive press report otherwise), would you still consider swapping them out for the ordinary door openers?
It's a feature that typically only appears on GT cars from what I understand. For it to appear on a non-GT car is rare. There may be other examples I'm not aware of, but I think the only other non-GT car that came with straps was the original 987 Spyder and I believe the new 911 T comes with straps (maybe there have been others, but I bet not many). Thus, they are a fairly rare feature normally reserved for Porsche's cream-of-the-crop GT offerings and they are also a uniquely Spyder feature appearing on both Spyders to date (and I'm betting the new 982 Spyder will come so equipped).
Given all this, not to mention what is at the core of the issue concerning the very essence of the Spyder's ethos (i.e., weight savings), do you really want to ditch the cloth pulls because the wife and kids dislike them, probably because they just aren't accustomed to them yet? Are they really that oppressively burdensome in their use and operation to warrant moving to the plain-Jane openers? There are approx. 2,400 981 Spyders worldwide and I can't recall how many 987 Spyders and God-knows how many GT cars and somehow all of the owners of these cars have somehow managed to open and close their doors with the cloth pulls. The OP can obviously do what he wants to his car. Vive la différence and all that, but if the OP is new to Porsche or to Spyders in particular, as I seem to recall reading he might be, he should be aware that when he starts messing around with the pull straps, he is truly going against the grain of this particular car and a feature, though minor, which is beloved by all, irrespective of whether it is purely symbolic or does achieve some weight savings. It's a feature you use constantly getting out of the car. There is tons of owner interaction with this "minor" feature and every time I tug on that strap I am reminded that this is no ordinary car. The doors don't even open up like most cars! And that's a difference I think should be celebrated, not discarded.
Could very well be as I've admittedly never disassembled a door panel to see what's behind it, and let's assume for the sake of argument that it is purely a marketing exercise with absolutely no weight savings whatsoever (even though Porsche and the automotive press report otherwise), would you still consider swapping them out for the ordinary door openers?
It's a feature that typically only appears on GT cars from what I understand. For it to appear on a non-GT car is rare. There may be other examples I'm not aware of, but I think the only other non-GT car that came with straps was the original 987 Spyder and I believe the new 911 T comes with straps (maybe there have been others, but I bet not many). Thus, they are a fairly rare feature normally reserved for Porsche's cream-of-the-crop GT offerings and they are also a uniquely Spyder feature appearing on both Spyders to date (and I'm betting the new 982 Spyder will come so equipped).
Given all this, not to mention what is at the core of the issue concerning the very essence of the Spyder's ethos (i.e., weight savings), do you really want to ditch the cloth pulls because the wife and kids dislike them, probably because they just aren't accustomed to them yet? Are they really that oppressively burdensome in their use and operation to warrant moving to the plain-Jane openers? There are approx. 2,400 981 Spyders worldwide and I can't recall how many 987 Spyders and God-knows how many GT cars and somehow all of the owners of these cars have somehow managed to open and close their doors with the cloth pulls. The OP can obviously do what he wants to his car. Vive la différence and all that, but if the OP is new to Porsche or to Spyders in particular, as I seem to recall reading he might be, he should be aware that when he starts messing around with the pull straps, he is truly going against the grain of this particular car and a feature, though minor, which is beloved by all, irrespective of whether it is purely symbolic or does achieve some weight savings. It's a feature you use constantly getting out of the car. There is tons of owner interaction with this "minor" feature and every time I tug on that strap I am reminded that this is no ordinary car. The doors don't even open up like most cars! And that's a difference I think should be celebrated, not discarded.
Rant out.
Yeah, I think I still want to ditch the cloth straps. They just seem out of place in such a nice interior. Cheap, if you will. I'll probably just save them for the next owner. That way he can return the car to its former glory after I'm done enjoying my brushed aluminum ones. lol
Anyone with a 981 non-Spyder want to trade? Your car will be faster if you do.
This made me laugh.
Since the replacement does not seem to be over expensive, keep the originals and mount them back when you decide to sell the car.
The traditional door handles could make more than one potential buyer to look for other cars.
I have a new door handle for a 2016 Boxster S in my hand and I'm about to embark on determining whether it's a direct replacement or not. Wish me luck.
I already signed up at the gym in order to lose some weight from my calves so as to not slow the car down with the new door handles.
Last edited by SpyderSenseOC; 12-19-2017 at 09:40 PM.
The Porsche gods were not with me on this. The piece of the door panel that the strap runs through (which is unique to the pull strap option) is plasti-welded to the door panel itself and cannot be removed. It should be removable but it's not. That piece prevents the standard Boxster brushed aluminum assembly from sliding into place. Crazy thing is that the part number for the Spyder door panel ($2500) is the exact same as the Boxster S door panel. Without the escutcheon(s) being separately available (which every vendor site I went to says it is not) I don't know how you would ever replace a door panel on ONE of these 2 versions of Boxster. Either the panel comes with the plastic piece that will accommodate the Spyder pull or it does not.
The piece shown below is what is plasti-welded to the door panel. Notice the slots where the strap goes through.
The pic below is the back side of the door panel with the strap assembly still in place.
This is an up close of the plasti-welded post.
This is how the strap is retained behind the door panel.
In the pic below, notice the trim piece behind the strap and how far forward the strap extends forward on that trim piece. The holes the strap feeds through on the left would be visible if I simply removed the piece that is plasti-welded on the back of the door panel. This piece also has a round plug to cover the bolt holding the door panel onto the door.
Notice in the pic below just how much of the trim piece behind the Boxster S handle is visible. If I could buy this trim piece separately, I could complete the revision (I would call it an upgrade but some of you guys would scold me for it!) by simply cutting off the welds.
There is a part number on the piece I need to remove. Does anyone know of a Porsche parts problem solver that I might call to figure out this problem? I mean, if a dealer needed to replace a door panel it would need to deal with this issue somehow. I can't understand how the Spyder and S door panel part numbers could be the same despite this glaring difference.
Dammit. I was almost there. By the way, the door panels are easy to remove. 4 trim covers and 4 bolts and she slides right up and off.
12-18-2017, 03:17 PM
'16 981 Spyder - Interior door handle options...
