Base vs S
 

I'm looking at the 204 Boxsters and would like to hear what you have to say:

I would likely be putting more miles than average on this car. I.E. 15-20k per year. Comfort is a key issue. I will likely not track it but use it for long trips and as a daily driver. I am concerned that, at my age (60) the S will not be comfortable enough for longer trips, say, 600-800 Km in a day if I want to go to Vegas as an example.

I like the extra powers and features of the S but don't want to have an aching back and butt from hard ride and hard seats that the S might come with.

I currently have a 2010 G-37 S X which, I find, is torturous after a few hours of driving.

I didn't realize my S was not comfortable for trips. Dang- now my trips will be less than perfect...:D

I think the condition and features of the car you find is more important than whether or not is an 'S'. I however, choose the S.

Unless you get one of the sport suspensions or some racing seats, I think the ride should be very similar between the base and the S (and those options are available on both models as well). I have taken several 900 mile round trips split over a couple of days in my 2000 S (450 miles a day) and the only time it gets uncomfortable is when I forget to take my wallet out of my back pocket first. And I happen to have the M030 sport suspension.

I have an 04 S and I am 57. Did San Diego to Phoenix 355 miles (570km) little while back and it was very comfortable. Mine is stock, no suspension mods.

I don't think there is much difference in ride on the highway between the base and S

Thanks all. The base has the higher sidewall tires while the S usually seems to have a much lower profile tire with 19s (maybe this is the way the dealers kit them out?) which I reckoned would stiffen up the ride quite a bit compared to the 18s and higher sidewall on the base.

I see Perelli P zero on a lot of Boxsters. Is this the go to tire for all round use?

For 04, you could have 17's or 18 on either Base or S (maybe even 16's on base)
19's would be aftermarket and might not fit

Lots of people make changes to the wheel/tire size, so YMMV

what tires to use is like asking "How long is a piece of string?"

I have potenza S-O2 and they perform great. Treadlife sucks at least on the rear.

A lot of people like Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Im looking at Hankook V12 or maybe Continental ExtremeContact DW as replacements

Owned both ('99 base 2.5, '01S 3.2), never detected a difference in comfort. Both had 17" tires, both Michelin. No suspension tricks or special seats in either.

I found 250 miles to be a breeze, never went further. Probably did that 6 times. I was 68 the last time I did it.

But it depends on your height, torso length, leg length, weight, etc. My 6'6" long legged son could barely get into the passenger seat with his legs folded up to his chest.

Can't tell if you are after an '04 or '14.

Sorry to hear you are uncomfortable in your G. We're on our fourth Infiniti, 04 35 x, 09 G35 X S, 2011 G 37 X and just got a 14 Q50 X S. I have to say my wife and I both love the sport seats in the S models. Have driven all of them on long trips and thought they were fine travel cars. Anywhoo.... We took our 2002 Base from Indy to Charleston last year, had a blast. Driving a P car on the interstate can be too much fun if you know what I mean, they're nimble, quick, and obviously like to go FAST! We're both 48, 5'10 175 and 5'6 120 so we fit in the P car very well. I dont think you're going to find a comfort difference between an S and Base. Saying that... 18" wheels will have lower profile tires, which are less forgiving than 17's. Since our trip I have installed the M030 suspension on my 02 base, which is considerably stiffer than sock when we took the trip. Its a daily driver for me, short stint to work, I do about 7-8k a year. It will be 5 years in August I've had this 02, and I'm still so excited to drive it EVERY time I get in it!!! If we lived close I'd let you drive mine for and hour so you would know, not sure what to tell you, to each his own...

I strongly recommend the Continental DW. They are a summer performance tire, but much more forgiving than some others. They are a great choice for a Boxster daily driver (I know).

By the way, the DWS is a snow/winter tire. You don't want that.

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Thanks for the info. Since I live in San Diego, don't have a need for snow tires
I want good performance, but also don't want to have to buy new rear tires every 6-10k miles. I love the Potenza s-02's, but they wear fast

I have an o4 boxster S Limited edition, an 08 Boxster S and a Carrera 4. I am 70 yoa with a bit of back problems and routinely do long trips (300 plus miles) with no big problem in either. We are getting ready to do a cross country rally and expect to do around 5K miles in less than 3 weeks. We will be using the 04 Boxster S because it has the sport seats which are much more comfortable than the standard seats in the other 2. At 5 ft 9 inches and 170 pounds, they fit me perfectly. I think probably they would be less comfortable if you are much larger.

I have an 03 S. No suspension mods. I am 6'2" and weigh about 230 and 46 years old. (wht does this feel like a dating site all of the sudden?) I use the car as a daily driver and commute about 45 miles each way. I got the car in Texas and made the drive to Middle Florida over the course of two days. I have never been uncomfortable.

Tire selection will make a huge difference in your ride comfort. Tires are the cushion between the road & your car. 17" wheels & tires selected for comfort will transform a Boxster. I would not consider Pirelli's, usually overpriced for what you get. Go to tirerack.com & read ratings for ride comfort.

+1 on what BYprodriver said above. I have a 97 boxster with a full race suspension and I run 17's at the track and 18's on the street... both sets of rims have the exact same brand of tire, btw... and I can tell a world of difference in ride comfort with the 17's on the car vs. the better looking 18's.

OP, it would be far better to buy an S to get that HP you'll wish you had when you want or need it, then buy some nice 17 inch rims and tires for the car if it comes with 18's or even 19's. Chances are, you can sell the larger rims for more than you'll pay for the used set of Porsche 17's.

I had the car for 84,000 miles never did I feel uncomfortable in the car. I drove in plenty of stop and go driving in the Long Island Distress-way in where a short distance would take over an hour of driving at 15 miles an hour. I have the sport buckets and drive on Michelin's Pilot 2 but most of all I drive with the top down most of the time with the a/c on. The car eats the curves like chocolate pudin and you can drive as fast as you dare.

'04 Boxster S - a great ride and fun to drive
 

I bought my Boxster S Memorial Day weekend in Houston and drive it home to Cincinnati, 1100 miles. It was a pleasure to drive, responsive, great acceleration at highway speeds. Despite the sometimes boring interstate I enjoyed the whole trip.
I would recommend the S for its responsiveness and did not find the ride to be at all uncomfortable. I even added a scenic detour in Arkansas in order to test the car on some twisty roads and break up the highway monotony.

As mentioned already, there is no noticeable comfort difference between the two. I would get the S if possible but buy the best condition car you can find. I looked at several S's and all were tired and abused. I saw my current car and was amazed how good it was compared to the others so had to have it.

Had it almost 4 years and never had a problem, there is hardly any difference in handling, braking and performance so don't discount the 2.7 if you see a great one.

P.S. get 17" wheels, the ride is so much better than on 18" for every day use.

Depends on the roads you drive. And the weight of your wheels. I would keep the wheels small and light. But you can actually have an 18" wheel that rides smoother than 10# heavier 17" wheel. Try to stay under 18-20 pounds either way. OZ have some good options as far as weight/durability for a not obscene price, not sure about size though even 18" aftermarket wheels are tough to find. And replace the shocks, with your mileage you'll burn up whatever is left on a used Porsche of moderately mileage quickly. A new set of shocks will make the car feel factory fresh. It's probably the one thing 986/996 owners put off longer than they should. Probably because once you get in there it can get very expensive if more things need replacing.

p.s.
replace the IMS and water pump if you plan a lot mileage with that 2004.