Do you heed the weight limit of your car? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

CaptainObvious · 02-19-2009, 09:06 PM

I was surprised to see that the maximum combined weight of passengers and cargo is 418lbs on my 05 S. Since I'm about 250lbs, that pretty much limits my potential passengers to petite females... thanks Porsche!

Is this most likely a suspension travel issue? High speed stability issue?

Does anyone really pay attention to the max weight in their cars?

I did cart a heavier friend to lunch and the front end scraped on a curb, so maybe I'm thinking they weren't joking about the 418lbs.

Adam_w · 02-20-2009, 12:54 AM

thats interesting i wasn't aware of any weight limit, I should be ok at 125lbs tho

husker boxster · 02-20-2009, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

I did cart a heavier friend to lunch and the front end scraped on a curb, so maybe I'm thinking they weren't joking about the 418lbs.

Boxsters are vertically challeneged when it come to parking curbs, regardless of the weight of occupants. So I wouldn't get freaked out about making sure you're under the weight limit. But you'll need to learn the fine art of parking short.

Can't help with the original question as I'm either flying solo or have my golf clubs with me. Wasn't aware of a weight limit.

kabel · 02-20-2009, 05:23 AM

Hmm. I never bothered to investigate the weight limit either, but like Adam, me at 125 soaking wet no much of an issue. I will say the car is very sensitive to weight. I can certainly feel a front end push after visiting costco and filling up the frunk.

jmatta · 02-20-2009, 08:07 AM

"125 lbs soaking wet"

What, are you guys jockeys? The car is partial to understeer with the stock alignment, already. You must be pushing pretty hard on the street to be feeling it with groceries!

kabel · 02-20-2009, 09:42 AM

Haha, Not a jockey, just a skinny guy. :dance:
Running a 225/45ZR17 on the front actually helps cure that little bit of factory under-steer.

And only when I load up the frunk with say a case of water, a case of gatoraid and a few other misc items do I feel the difference (guess it also depends on how much gas in the tank too) because that is a measurable amount a weight in front of the wheels.

ekam · 02-20-2009, 10:02 AM

You guys weight 125lbs? Which part of America are you guys from???

kabel · 02-20-2009, 11:02 AM

^ oh so many sarcastic answers, so little time...

Photo from last year of Ben Devlin, me and Gerardo Bonilla:

Adam_w · 02-20-2009, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekam

You guys weight 125lbs? Which part of America are you guys from???

lol the original part.. england

lol

LoveBunny · 02-21-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekam

You guys weight 125lbs? Which part of America are you guys from???

Not New Orleans!

I never knew there was a weight limit and I guess I'd have trouble going over it since I'm 105 pounds, but I do have a friend who is probably over 300, though he's never ridden in my car. I find that hardly anyone even wants to ride in my car since it's so small. My brother rode in it once and he didn't like it. I don't know his weight but he's about 6' and likes to eat.

Jaxonalden · 02-21-2009, 06:38 PM

105 lbs, mmmm perfect! I thank God everyday for the creation of the female.

LoveBunny · 02-21-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

105 lbs, mmmm perfect! I thank God everyday for the creation of the female.

A guy who is 200 lbs or less could conceivably cram two females into a Boxster with him.

And I don't know how good of a comparison this is, but I used to have a Miata, which was not nearly as well made as a Boxster, and I used to regularly go out with two guy friends in my Miata, all three of us. The biggest guy would drive, and he was pretty tall, not scrawny, at least 200 lbs (don't ask me to guess beyond that though) and the other guy and I would sqeeze in as passengers, and he was probably at least 175. So we probably had close to 500 lbs in a Miata and it was fine.

944boy · 02-21-2009, 09:54 PM

I had 60lbs of rock in my trunk today and a female! (female not in the trunk, but in the passenger seat looking good) :-p

In my 944 I had the back stuffed including most of a cage. That added up to 600 or so lbs, maybe more... The suspension (modified, much stiffer, but lower) was so drooped that you couldn't put the narrow side of a credit card under the rocker. And that was for a 2700 mile x-country trip. I probably shortened the life of my shocks by a lot of miles, but never had a problem.

Those weight limits are a large margin of safety for tires, weight balance and to make the lawyers happy.

Paul · 02-22-2009, 10:56 AM

Our cars go more and more negative in camber as weight is added. Being severely over weight will eat away the inside of the tires quickly especially on hot roads.

ISUnorth · 03-01-2009, 09:39 AM

I am a lean 150 pounds (ex-10k runner, not a jockey) and am used to driving alone most of the time. Had to take my A4 to a work meeting because all the government-mobiles were out. I am guessing the other three guys riding with me added around 750 pounds. Ye ole 1.8 turbo didn’t have as much pep as normal with all of that extra weight. When I think I am overloading the trunk carting around rock or lumber I just remind myself that it’s probably still less weight than two geotechnical engineers!

BTW, LoveBunny is right about New Orleans. I believe all of our guys detailed there comeback heavier and most weren’t lean to start with!

RandallNeighbour · 03-01-2009, 10:19 AM

So Porsche is recommending that only pretty people drive and ride in Porsches.

I had better sell mine immediately. :ah:

ekam · 03-01-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

So Porsche is recommending that only pretty people drive and ride in Porsches.

Not exactly.

LoveBunny · 03-01-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISUnorth

I am a lean 150 pounds (ex-10k runner, not a jockey) and am used to driving alone most of the time. Had to take my A4 to a work meeting because all the government-mobiles were out. I am guessing the other three guys riding with me added around 750 pounds. Ye ole 1.8 turbo didn’t have as much pep as normal with all of that extra weight. When I think I am overloading the trunk carting around rock or lumber I just remind myself that it’s probably still less weight than two geotechnical engineers!

BTW, LoveBunny is right about New Orleans. I believe all of our guys detailed there comeback heavier and most weren’t lean to start with!

I think we've probably got about the highest obesity rate in the country. I've even heard people who went to Weight Watchers meetings here say they attended meetings in other states and were like, "Where are all the fat people?"

Jaxonalden · 03-01-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoveBunny

I think we've probably got about the highest obesity rate in the country. I've even heard people who went to Weight Watchers meetings here say they attended meetings in other states and were like, "Where are all the fat people?"

LoveBunny,

With the pictures you posted of yourself I think you throw that obesity rate off a little bit.