986 Non S owners - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

lbrown2009 · 08-03-2010, 02:04 PM

I have owned my 2.7 since Sept 09 I 've done a few things as far as mods go(see below), I was just curious to see how my car stacks up to 2004 3.2 S, took one out for test drive today. It happened to be the 04 anniversary edition, first turn out of the dealership is the highway so we got right to it. I have heard a few times as of late the S is a BEAST and some other weird over the top stuff, I don't see much difference at all in power... maybe the S has a little more room to run with the extra gear but I would not say I got out of the car and felt the need to trade mine in for a few extra ponies. Anyone else compare their 2.7 to the 3.2 recently?

LB

Boxtaboy · 08-03-2010, 05:23 PM

I've driven the 3.2 986 and 987, and to be honest, wasn't overwhelmed either, but the 3.4L Cayman S I drove did impress me with the power over my 2.7. After I got back into my car, it felt slow. Lol.

lbrown2009 · 08-03-2010, 05:33 PM

so many new porsches sitting on the Jack Daniels lot on Rt 17 in Saddle River, its huge..... full of caymans and 911's, they had the 2008 anniversary 987 in orange on the showroom floor. Someone just traded it in with 10k miles on it, looked sweet, asking 51k little high for me at this time

ekam · 08-04-2010, 05:56 AM

986 is like the old 911, 356 and 550 spyders... they're fun cars at all speeds.

lbrown2009 · 08-04-2010, 07:51 AM

you're not bursting my bubble....have you done a test drive to compare them? I can rattle off all my specs and I'm probably not far behind in HP and braking, like i stated in my first post, I have done a few mods to my 2.7 and it feels as though my car compares well with an S.

JTP · 08-04-2010, 08:01 AM

I haven't driven a 2.7 but my mother in law used to have a '99 2.5 and the difference between that and my '00 S is enormous.

JAAY · 08-04-2010, 12:49 PM

I'm a proud non - s owner.

SeanZ4 · 08-04-2010, 02:19 PM

When I bought my S a couple of years ago I did drive the base and the S back to back. The base was two years newer and I still went with the S. It was a no-brainer. I still wish I could get out of third gear without lugging around town!

sean

lbrown2009 · 08-04-2010, 06:44 PM

Me too jaay ! Nice choice in rims by the way.

lbrown2009 · 08-04-2010, 07:54 PM

i should have worded my question a little different, "modded non-s owners" should have been the title, I've got a little more HP with the FVD muffler, FVD ECU tune and underpulley when compared to the stock base.

grantsfo · 08-04-2010, 08:37 PM

I haven't found many Boxster S's or Caymans as fast as my 2.5

lbrown2009 · 08-04-2010, 08:45 PM

I like the tinted front lights lol

Lobo1186 · 08-04-2010, 09:42 PM

hes got a 2.5!

jacabean · 08-06-2010, 09:18 AM

i have owned a 2.7 3.6 and currently a 3.2 986 . You need to take more than a test drive to see the difference. the 2.7 loves to spin but the 3.2 makes much better torque. in real world driving i am confident to say the S will smoke the 2.7 . the 3.6 is on a different level all together and can not be compared to the 2.7 and 3.2

davemon · 08-06-2010, 10:02 AM

Looking at wiki the '02 base is 228 HP, '00 S puts out 249 HP, '02 S 255HP. My car had some tuning done by the previous owner, I would really like to cruise in an 00 S and then an 02 S and see how close my base comes to the S. Also I have heard sentiment that the 5sp is a better transmission, so it may be possible that a 2.7 base with some performance mods is more desirable or ate least more fun for my purposes than a 6sp S. But again, I'll have to see what my butt dyno tells me and how much my face hurts from grinning like a fat man at a hamburger buffet.

Regardless, I'm extremely happy with my 2.7L. Mulling over UDP and possibly upgrade the plenum.

Problem about HP is that you never want to go backwards. How ruined would I have been if I started out the sportscar endeavor by getting the 996 Turbo cab?

RandallNeighbour · 08-06-2010, 10:21 AM

I have a lowly 2.5 and it's a tad underpowered for city driving but more power than I know what to do with on a track or the Tail of the Dragon. In fact, if I lived near the TOD I'd never yearn for a larger motor in my car or a Cayman S or 911.

I must say though, when I get into the boxster after driving my BMW 550i with a beast of a V8 in it that goes like stink even though it's a heavy sedan (0-60 in 5.0 seconds flat) I am left feeling a little underwhelmed with the power of the 2.5.

What I try to do is remind myself of the TOD and track time when I cruise around town in the boxster. It's just not designed for city driving.

harryrcb · 08-06-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbrown2009

i should have worded my question a little different, "modded non-s owners" should have been the title, I've got a little more HP with the FVD muffler, FVD ECU tune and underpulley when compared to the stock base.

There is your answer, if you put the same mods on the S then you would notice a huge difference

you have to compare apples with apples

Boxtaboy · 08-06-2010, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davemon

Looking at wiki the '02 base is 228 HP, '00 S puts out 249 HP, '02 S 255HP. My car had some tuning done by the previous owner, I would really like to cruise in an 00 S and then an 02 S and see how close my base comes to the S. Also I have heard sentiment that the 5sp is a better transmission, so it may be possible that a 2.7 base with some performance mods is more desirable or ate least more fun for my purposes than a 6sp S. But again, I'll have to see what my butt dyno tells me and how much my face hurts from grinning like a fat man at a hamburger buffet.

Regardless, I'm extremely happy with my 2.7L. Mulling over UDP and possibly upgrade the plenum.

Problem about HP is that you never want to go backwards. How ruined would I have been if I started out the sportscar endeavor by getting the 996 Turbo cab?

An 02 base has 217hp.

davemon · 08-06-2010, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

An 02 base has 217hp.

I did get that number from wiki and a few other sites have posted that as well fwiw. Looks like some sites got it wrong.

Carspecs:
'04 228HP
'02 228HP
http://www.carspecsdirectory.com/Porsche.htm

CarGurus
'04 228 HP
'02 217 HP
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Specs-c3393-2002-Boxster.html
http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Specs-c3386-2004-Boxster.html

Wikipedia
'04 228 HP
'02 228 HP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_Boxster

Regardless, I'm with the OP, curious how much a difference there is in an '00 S, '04 S and a 2.7L with some quality performance tuning.

Ruby · 08-06-2010, 03:30 PM

I've tried the 987 S but not a 986 and while nice felt the biggest difference in first. I've had my '03 for almost two years and really haven't felt an overwhelming need for more hp.
The prior owner had chipped the engine and upgraded the exhaust. While I have not had it on a dyno, my mechanic said it felt more like an S than a base. Maybe way I didn't feel a big difference.
Recent article I read believe in Excellence compared the base to the S and had a hard time justifying an additional $10 for the S.
I love working the gears and feel I have to a bit more than I would in an S. My base is lowered with H&R springs, skirts, spoiler, seats from a 911. Also replaced radio with Nav unit., speakers and amplifier.
She is my queen and would have a hard time parting with her even for an S.
The spread in horsepower in nominal and my base has more than enough torque for driving.

BTW, I drop into Jack Daniels every now and again and your right they have a ton of cars most of which I believe are way over market. They continually call me to "upgrade" my base but other than a '06 S that was white with coca interior and top that I drooled over nothing has swayed me from my "base" baby.

Burt