2000 boxster 2.7 not much power
 

Hi all
I'm in Australia and have just joined the forum. A couple of days ago i bought a 2000 Porsche Boxter 2.7 manual with 72,000 klm on the clock. Prior to the purchase I had a bmw z3 2.8 manual.
The Boxster is a one elderly lady owner vehicle. From what I was told its furtherest trip in its life was a 150klm run north of the state. The majority of its life was puttering around the city suburbs.
It was rarely driven over 3000 revs and never flogged. Only once the owner saw the rear spoiler rise in that period of time.
Now to my problem - it doesn't have any get up and go. It idles nicely - no dead or flat spots - no warning lights for fault codes. On the road it will rev out smoothly to 5000 to 6000 with no miss or roughness.
If i plant my foot to the floor in either 3rd 4th or5th gear it just takes off like a small 2litre car. On hill that the z3 ran over easily I have to change back put my foot down - but nothing happens.
Its definately no-where near as powerful as the z3 2.8 and I was under the inpression this car was better and quicker.
At this stage the only thing I could think of is a sparkplug change. That i haven"t done yet. Any ideas on the correct plugs The ones in the car have had about 3 or 4 years of town running only. This Boxster has had regular services and very well cared for but I'm probably the first person in some time to try it out in the higher rev range.
As mentioned earlier both the elderly owner didnt exceed the 3000 to 3500 rpm range.
Any info would be greatly appreciated as is a great car to drive and well ahead of the z3
Regards Graham

Aren't you supposed to figure all this out before you buy the car?

wow... i use to have a z3 2.8 and that thing had less power than the 2.7... i believe 180ish hp... i also owned the 99 3.2 m z3 and that had beautiful power... the 2.7 runs about 220 hp and weights less than what the z3 did... i moved from the 3.2 z3m to the 2.7 boxster because i loved the boxster handling and who it drove and felt...

Here's what I would do:

Air Filter - if its clogged, it might be the cause
Fuel Filter - if its clogged, it might be the cause

If you have the radio code, just pull the battery from the car for about 30 minutes, which will clean out the ECU's short and long term fueling information.

Put the battery back in, and drive it around city driving so that it relearns everything to your typical driving style.

Then, after you have about 100 miles on it, and several shut down and restart periods, it should be better.

Then, you can go about checking the typical items that need to be changed after you buy a used car:

Spark Plugs
Oil and Oil Filter change
Transmission fluid change
Check the engine mount's condition by driving the car with the panel behind the seats off for a couple blocks.
Check the condition of the struts and other steering components.
Alignment.
Inspect the brake pads and rotors.

That's where I would start.

BC.

Blade nailed it.. and covered your ass (with the radio code reminder)

The car needs to re-learn. I'm betting it doesn't need any of the parts.

Also: Was the Z3 cable throttle or fly-by wire? This Boxster will be fly-by wire which can be a totally different feel for people. It takes a few blasts around town to get used to it :)



B

bladecutter
 

Hi
Thanks for all the great info. I was totally unaware of the cumputer and the previous persons driving style. I'll start with what you said - battery out etc for an hour then give it the 150 klm town run - as per instructions. I'll look into the other options later. I too had thought maybe a fuel filter.
i'd read reports that a boxster 2.7 motor under load or high revs roars through out the cabin - at this stage ive hardly heard a wimper.
Thanks again and all the best.

brad roberts
 

hi
Thanks for the info on the radio code. Z3 was by cable. Although the Z3 was not a bad car - the boxster tracks extremely well and far better