white rock

I just bough a base 981 on Friday. Added a fabspeed supercup exhaust and a tune. Feels phenomenal now and is my new daily driver. I think the power band is fun and unique. But I do have a 997.2 turbo as well, so the hp wasn't all that necessary.

Zeus993

Congrats on a fantastic ride! It will be very interesting to see which becomes your go to car. Post some pics!

briansilvestro

I've had two base 981s—a PDK Boxster and currently a 6MT Cayman—and can safely say they're fantastic cars. The sound and feeling you get from the 2.7 is just as good as any other engine choice, but revving it out doesn't put you into a jail cell immediately. It's a good car to grow into, especially on the track. The base car lets you focus on driving without overwhelming you with power.

That being said, if you're a seasoned veteran, you might eventually want for more power. It's certainly a case-by-case basis depending on what makes you smile most.

John@Fabspeed

Thanks for the kind words! Glad we could help spice things up a bit for you, these cars have quite the driving experience and i'm confident you'll enjoy it very much. I know that Turbo of yours is pretty killer, but dropping the top on a Boxster and revving it out on some twisties will get your blood pumping haha.

MiamiPorscheMan

Base 981 Boxster owner in PDK Rhodium Silver, Black interior, and black top. 19 in boxster s wheels. My first Porsche and I couldn't be happier. I have driven a 981 S and there is a noticeable power bump to be sure. I have less than a year left on the lease for the current car though and I will probably look at a 718 base. I am thinking that the combo of the increase in hp and, most importantly, significant increase in torque, will satisfy my craving for more power the next go around.

Phil G.

Exactly why I went with the S.

Dave in Chicago

Can't speak for base 981 vs S... but I previously owned an '88 944 @ 158 hp and still own a '92 968 @ 236 hp. The 944 was, at least in my fondest of memories, just more plain fun to drive all the time. Go figure.

Dave in Chicago
'05 987S
'92 968 SP3

Zeus993

I think it'll be interesting to add to the thread in a few month when our driving season has opened up and I can really put the base through it's paces. If I find I am having trouble keeping up with the pack then maybe I'll wish for an S. So far, in the city, I am loving the base. 20 inch wheels? I could have gone that route but I found them too harsh and grabby on grappy city roads and I liked the look of the 19" better. 275 hp? There's still a TON of giddy-up there without going WAY TOO FAST in a short period of time. I did lots of that in my 08 TT (480 hp) and found increasingly that I'd boot it and be WAY ahead of the pack and then to look in my rear view mirror and see flashing blue and red lights. Yeesh. Maybe y'all need to experience that rush of power and go "ok, been there, done that" to appreciate the snotty little 2.7 in the base Cayman. So far, next to the Spyder, it's been one of the most fun cars I've owned and super practical for the day to day office runs.

I think it's interesting that the initial question has been answered in that no - very few base owners have regrets.

Where's our OP? What's the verdict? Did he test some cars?

Fun that this thread keeps going...

sugarwood

Well, how did the test drives go ??

Yabo

I test drove the base 981, and coming from my 944 Turbo with 275-300HP after upgrades, it just felt too underwhelming. It may have not even been slower but without the turbo powerband, I couldn't see spending 5x the price on something that felt slower. So, I went with the S. I'll also be tracking it, so that factors in, too. I think it very much comes from what you are used to driving.

John@Fabspeed

Yabo,

How much will you be tracking the car? You'll be pleasantly surprised how much power and overall more responsive powercurve you will get by ditching those factory headers and tuning it. I picked up over 25whp, pulls like freight train from 2500 instead of being a relative slug until 4500.

Yabo

Hopefully several events a year after this year - though I'm probably mostly talking about DE. The car will be a daily driver, too.

Probably this first year I'm just going to autocross (been autox'ing 944/951s for ~10 years), to learn the car and lower the risk of smashing it up the first year.

Interested in non-drastic upgrades like you speak of, however I have a CPO car and am concerned about impacts to that. I've seen a number of threads on tunes and even headers and there seems to be some mixed experiences in terms of warranties.

niche

I just bought my base 981, today. I find it is plenty of power on the street. My other car is a 993 RUF BTR.

Zeus993

Congratulations! Pretty fun car, right? Post some pics?

roll_the_dice

Congratulations! Didn't happen without pics. What year...mileage...etc?