Hey guys! It's been two years since I last posted, and I still don't own a 986, but I did just go on a test drive with my partner and it seems like a 986 could be a car in my future, yay!
On Saturday we test drove a 1999 Boxster and both my partner and I really enjoyed the car. However, there are a few concerns I need to address before I get the green light to go ahead and pull the trigger.
The first issue was noise. On the first half of the test drive we got started on the highway with the top down and it was, obviously, a very loud experience. This was to be expected, but on the second half of the drive we put the top up and unfortunately it did not muffle the noise quite as much as we would have liked. However, I believe that the car we tested was equipped with an aftermarket exhaust because the exhaust tip was something I had not seen in my hours of 986 research. You can find the listing for the car I drove
HERE and see if you agree that the exhaust tips are aftermarket.
Anyway, we used a decibel measurer app on our phone while the top was up and got a reading of about 60ish DBs. I'm curious if that is normal/typical or if the car we drove did in fact have a louder exhaust and we should go try another vehicle. I am also curious if 986.2 is quieter, as well as how the hard top effects the noise levels.
The reason why noise is an issue is the idea of a convertible seems to have resonated with my partner and she likes the idea in theory as a fun, special occasion car, but she is a far more practical person than I am and needs the sports car to have at least some utility behind it.
Here are the "needs" she laid out for me that any "fun" car must fulfill.
1) The car must be a convertible. I'm still going to have her try out some hard top sports cars but I think we both like the idea of a fun, summer roadster more than a hardtop sports car.
2) The car must be able to carry two, full size backpacking bags. The 986 frunk seems like more than enough space for two backpacks so this issue can be crossed off the list.
3) The car must be able to carry two mountain bikes. I've found a guy who sells a trailer hitch adapter for the Boxster so I am confident that this is also not an issue at this time.
4) The car must be enjoyable to be in for longer trips. This is where the noise issue comes in. If we are going to go on a multi-hundred mile road trip in the boxster it needs to be a quiet enough ride on the highway to make that travel time enjoyable. If I can find a way to solve this issue, and ideally while preserving the convertible nature of the car, then all I need to do at that point is prove the issue can be resolved and find the right car.
So, ultimately the question is this: what, if anything, can I do to reduce the cabin noise while the top is up in a 986 boxster? If I can get highway, top up, cabin noise down to 50-55DB I think I will finally be able to join the boxster brotherhood!
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