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987 Spyder - a new owner’s perspective.

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Old 09-02-2019, 08:30 PM
  #121  
John McM
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Originally Posted by Marine Blue
Ouch, let us know how it turns out.

I’m curious, did you feel this shimmy on our drive or did the shop balance it out?
I was told that the wheel was slightly out of true and I might feel a shimmy. However most of the roads I drove on were coarse chip so it wasn't obvious with so much going on. When I came back on to smooth freeway I could feel the shimmy. Part of the joy of taking over a car. At least the wheels show no other damage or prior repair so I'm hopeful it's an easy repair and won't need repainting.
Old 09-06-2019, 01:52 PM
  #122  
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Originally Posted by John McM
Back home from 1,700km of fast back road driving. The Spyder was fantastic.
Thanks for the great pics and videos. What am amazing trip!

The X73 suspension is better than I remember in the R. It was compliant yet controlled. Never once did the road conditions defeat it.
Good to know. Though the roads I saw on your videos would count as "pretty smooth" in my neck of the woods (North-east USA). They'd all fit comfortably in the "PASM on" group for my 987 S.

Originally Posted by John McM
The top is not difficult to remove and refit but I'm leery of doing it too often as it could wear out an expensive assembly. and the weather has to be predictable as it's not a 30 second effort to refit. It's even worse if the wind is up as you need to point the car into the wind to avoid the rear deck catching the wind. I used the temp cover when parked at cafes but it was still a nervous time as it's not secure. I think I'll leave the top up if I expect I'd have to refit it during the day.
This would be a hassle/problem for me. I use the auto-top on my Boxster all the time, at least 2x per ride even if the weather cooperates. I keep thinking about Spyders but my Boxster is just too much fun, too beautiful (unique color combo gt silver / full nat brown leather) and too convenient to give up. And two Boxsters would be just too much, if only due to lack of space.
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Old 09-06-2019, 04:02 PM
  #123  
John McM
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Sometimes it’s the quirks that make a car special. The RS60 Spyder driver filming me here is having as much fun but it’s not quite the same, at least to me

BTW Note the number of times I have my brakes on. The 964s in front have a different cornering speed so I had to touch the brakes to make sure we didn’t end up too close.
Old 09-06-2019, 10:18 PM
  #124  
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Two wheels off to be returned-to-round so I decided to clean all four of them. Went a bit overboard with the two good ones and removed the tar on the hoop inners. I'll do the other two when they come back from being fixed.
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Old 09-07-2019, 07:48 AM
  #125  
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Wheels look great! Which cleaning product(s) did you use?
Old 09-07-2019, 11:09 AM
  #126  
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Wow .. they look amazing. This is easily one of the best 987 Spyder threads that exist on Rennlist.
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Old 09-07-2019, 05:11 PM
  #127  
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Originally Posted by hf1
Wheels look great! Which cleaning product(s) did you use?
I use Dragons Breath as the wash liquid. Spray it on, use brushes to spread it around, wait a few minutes then wash off. It has two properties. It cleans up the metal from the pads and washes the surface. Looking on the pack this came from the UK but I'm sure it has a US equivalent. It turns purple when it reacts with iron.
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Old 09-07-2019, 05:25 PM
  #128  
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For the hoop inners it's just an effective tar remover. This product is Korean. It seems to have a solvent that easily dissolves the tar. The image is the type of tar I had to shift. I will follow up with some kind of wax to stop the new tar adhering.
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Old 09-08-2019, 04:05 AM
  #129  
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Received my coating gauge so took some readings on the Spyder.

Pretty consistent readings except for the Hood/Bonnet which was close to double. My first thought is that it's had a respray so I checked my repsrayed 964 and found the same thing.
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Old 09-09-2019, 09:46 PM
  #130  
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The specialist wheel repairer has sent me videos of the two wheels. They are significantly out of true with the front the worst. It's wait and see to see where they end up after their best efforts. I may well be hunting for new wheels.


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Old 09-10-2019, 02:07 AM
  #131  
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Wow that doesn’t look good at all. Even if the can repair that is there any risk of weakening the alloy to a point that it will easily lose shape again?

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Old 09-10-2019, 02:24 AM
  #132  
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Originally Posted by Marine Blue
Wow that doesn’t look good at all. Even if the can repair that is there any risk of weekending the alloy to a point that it will easily lose shape again?
Same question I asked. The major concern would be any cracks. I may have to get them tested. All will be revealed as they have yet to actually try to straighten them. That comes tomorrow. I'm not happy about effectively buying someone else's incident but no amount of harping on about it will change the outcome. I share these types of things so others can be aware. There is no way cosmetically you would know this. Taking a car to a tire shop and asking them to spin all four wheels on a machine will save you.
Old 09-11-2019, 10:48 PM
  #133  
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Wheels straightened. Next up is paint.


Old 09-12-2019, 06:14 PM
  #134  
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Wow, how exactly does this wheel straightening work? I thought a wheel, once bent, is basically junk/gone.
Old 09-12-2019, 07:23 PM
  #135  
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Glad they could be straightened and you don't have to invest in new wheels (assuming cracks aren't subsequently detected).

We know the 987 Spyder was fitted with the lightest weight wheel in Porsche's arsenal at the time. Now wondering if that lightness doesn't make them more "delicate" and/or prone to coming out of true. I don't think that's the case though as this is the only time I can recall anyone reporting their Spyder wheels being out of whack. More likely the prior owner(s) hit some things (curbs, potholes, etc.) that resulted in this.

Also now wondering if, in the course of conducting a PPI whenever considering the purchase of a used car, it would be advisable to have all four wheels pulled and checked (where possible). Wheel condition could be a good barometer (or at least another meaningful indicator) of how the car was driven and/or what road conditions it was routinely subjected to (although I know there's a limit to how much due diligence one can do when used car shopping, particularly when buying a distant car sight-unseen). Not sure if dealerships or most independents where PPI's are usually conducted have the equipment necessary to check wheels, or if this equipment is usually only found at specialized wheel repair shops (I suspect the later).


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