bedrock

Hello everyone,

I will be ordering my first Porsche this week and hope the groups collective wisdom can help me finalize the options for my car. I included both Boxster and Cayman in my title because I struggled for a long time deciding between a Boxster S or a Cayman S and I virtually never see Boxsters with PASM, sports chrono, or locking differentials.

I've never really had a performance car before, although I love speed and could see myself do a few track days a year, (but I've never done that before). Just got a significant promotion which is making this jump possible to a Boxster S from the very old Acura I've been driving.

----My Questions-----

1- How much of a difference does PASM make on 18in tires when not on the track?, i.e. driving hard on back roads?
I've never been on a track, but would like to start doing so a few times a year, but I'm not sure how much I'll get into the racing side of things.
I'm definitely getting sports chrono + PDK, because I want the maximize the power of my Boxster S, but I'm not sure how much I would notice the PASM difference.

2-Same question regarding the option mechanical rear differential. How much would a enthusiast but non-professional driver notice a difference with this in a well-balanced mid engine car, when driving hard on the back roads, and infrequently on the track?

3-Have people thought that the sound package plus you get with the Boxster S to be a decent set of speakers? I'm not an audiophile, and don't turn the music extremely loud but I don't want to buy a Porsche and be annoyed by tinny sounding speakers.

4-Is it worth it for Boxster owners to get automatic climate control if you expect the top to be down 8 months out of the year? The automatic climate control doesn't really work with the top down, right?



Appreciate your thoughts

JSF101

first, congratulations on your Boxster S, the 986/987 series are great cars
second, you won't get much of a response on this forum as the majority of traffic for Boxsterrs and Caymans is on Planet 9
had a Boxster, have a Cayman S, ordered a '10 2.9 Cayman with PDK/LSD
1 and 2) haven't had PASM but based on your proposed usage, I'd get it: you'll have a killer package with PDK/PASM/Sport Chrono and also get LSD
if you read through threads here and elsewhere, the PASM offers all you'll need for majority of applications and you'll want to add the LSD as well
then, your car is ready to go right out of the box, no need to make mods
if you were going to do heavy duty track use, you might consider other options
3) I have the Bose but not being an audiophile, I don't think it really matters, had the sound plus on the Boxster and it was fun, these cars are more about driving than listening to a stereo for me
4) had the ACC on Boxster, don't have it on the Cayman. I prefer having the ACC and wish I had it on my Cayman, set it and forget it
hope this helps, most options choices boil down to personal preference

Bob Rouleau

PASM is a nice feature. It offers a more comfortable ride in normal mode and a stiff track-ready ride in sport mode. LSD is nice on track. For back roads in good weather I think it isn't needed and if yoou drive it hard enough to need it, you should be on the track and not on the road.

Sport Chrono Plus should be standard with PDK - get it.

Best,

bedrock

Thanks, I appreciate the thoughts.

I'm not going to worry about ACC or the Bose upgrade. The Boxster S comes with the upgraded sound package plus which should be plenty for my non audiophile ears.

I'm feeling more and more that PASM is a must have for the way I plan to use my car 80% basic daily driver and 20% hard backroad/track driving.
Still undecided on the LSD. I thought that was an interesting comment that if you're driving hard enough to need the LSD, you should be on a track. That's really my remaining performance question.

Does the mechanical LSD make a noticeable difference on hard backroad driving, including rain and snow?
I'm not going to be going to the track that often so that less of a motivator, but it might be nice to have.

FTS

In your situation, I would definetely get PASM, you will appreciate it a lot for a dual purpose car.

LSD is not just a track performance option, it is very useful during daily driving improving traction in slippery conditions, worth the money.

I don't much care for auto climate thing, how lazy can we get to adjust the heater/conditioner at half-arms length.

Tracking or DE'ing is not about racing, don't think of it as racing. Since you will be starting from ground zero, you have some time before you should seriously consider doing even club racing. DE is about learning how drive your car near its limits safely. It is tremendous fun and addictive.

Also, if you are going to do DEs, I would venture out to say that the Cayman is a better and safer platform.

j.davis

The Bose in my CS is less than impressive. Save your money here and let a qualified car audio store install something better (and cheaper).

jD

bedrock

Have you any of you heard about the Boxster/Cayman LSDs breaking down quickly compared to aftermarket LSDs?

FTS

I haven't hear that, but it is obviously a wear item, but 'breaking,' no I haven't heard that.

ChrisF

1. while I'm not a fan of PASM myself, it sounds like a good fit for you. I do a lot more DE and time trials so in my case, a good set of aftermarket coilovers is a much better option than PASM.

2. Get the LSD please! You will not regret it. As many have said "this is the way the car should have come from the factory".

3. Unless you're getting NAV/PCM, I'd say no on the Bose. I like the integration of all the items so I went that direction. If I didn't want Nav, I'd probably go aftermarket on sound.

4. To me, waste of money. I rarely use it in my other two cars so I couldn't see needing it in the CS.