Boxster noob questions

[Adam]

Originally Posted by sasha055

Since we are on noob questions... can you guys give me a few driving tips?

I usually let go of clutch slowly (suck if you want to make traffic light race )
If let go of clutch faster car struggles a bit and dies..

I try to keep it at 2500-4500 RPM (I slide closer to 2k in 2nd gear in stop and go traffic). There are times when I keep it at 4000RPM for 10-15 min.. is it ok? or should I upshift?

Any other good tips?


Also.. I noticed that today my car heated more then usually while staying in traffic.
How do I check if cooling fans are running or not? I read it might be a cause for that.

Thanks
Sasha

There's nothing wrong with sustained high rpms but your gas mileage will suck. Make sure engine is warm first too. Why are you driving at 4,000 rpm for 10-15 minutes....are you cruising at 100 mph? Back to the clutch thing, I would try another Boxster and compare it to yours. I don't know your previous experience with cars so I'm just going to throw this out there. The clutch is supposed to be stiffer than say the clutch in your typical 4 cylinder econo car so it's hard to say if it's just you or if the clutch is overly stiff. Have you driven many other performance sports cars with sticks? They don't have soft clutch pedals typically. On the temp and fans, if the temp isn't getting hotter than say 200 degrees then they are working. You should be able to hear the aux fan kick on in traffic on a hot day. Oh and welcome to the board.

[sasha055]

Thanks for the tips,

4kRPM is in 3rd gear at 50-55mph..
Car is usually at 190 degrees.. and in traffic it heats up to 200-210...

I tried my firends 2009 solstice, his clutch is much softer and smoother (he told me something about hidraulic clutch?)...
btw 10 year old base boxster feels soooooo much better on the road that a brand new Solstice his clutch and shifting though is much nicer and more responsive

Thanks again for tips!

Sasha

PS: I'm getting around 18mpg (but previous owner changed stock 16 wheels to 18's and I'm not sure he updated speedometer)

[eightsandaces]

Sitting at lights with the clutch depressed in any manual transmission is going to add unnecessary wear on the throw out bearing. You could try bleeding the clutch, my Boxster grabs high and so did my 944 even after a brand new clutch pack, exceptional feel comes with a cabled clutch, hydraulic, not so much....

[Perfectlap]

some experts on here have indicated that keeping the RMPs below 3K while cruising may not be so good for the car. Higher pressures allow the oil to do a better job. I used to keep it at 2K to save gas on the highway but no more.

I've put 65K miles on my clutch and its toast. I'm waiting for my indy Porsche mechanic to get find time for the job as well as getting the updated RMS seal and IMS upgrade from LN Engineering. I'm also considering replacing the axle boots.
This is not going to be a cheap job...
I would strongly encourage you to put a away some money each month in an interest bearing account rather than paying for an aftermarket warrantly. Major maintenance and some unexpected but routine repairs on this car can easily cost you the price of the car due to the cost of parts and specialized labor. Also, try to replace something big each year once the mileage starts getting up there (over 70K). Waiting for parts to die can backfire if they all start to go at once.

[RandallNeighbour]

Perfectlap makes excellent points and his advice is spot-on.

Save back $1500 one year for doing your wheel bearings. They usually go out somewhere in the 75k range.

Save back $1200 for a clutch sooner than later.

Save some money and buy a set of metric tools to start doing work on your car yourself. You'd be surprised just how easy doing a brake job is on our cars, even if you have to change out the rotors (which only last through 2 sets of pads and should not be turned, by the way).

I don't drive my car every day and it costs me about $1500 a year to maintain. My door lock assembly on the passenger side just crapped out on me and there's no way to lock the car now manually so I had no choice but to replace it.

[sasha055]

It's getting a bit overwhelming...

What are the wheel bearings? What are the symptoms? Can it be done DIY?
By DIY I mean car raised on jacks in my garage and I'm the only guy around

I'm a car noob and boxster will be my training car.
I'm planning on changing engine mount, fuel filter and spark plugs (doesn't look very hard from predro's instructions) as well as brakes and rotors when the time comes.

I also wanted to do clutch DIY.. but there are no guides (and I need my laptop with step by step pictures when doing something) and it seems that it's almost impossible without a lift.

Thanks
Sasha

[Samson]

I've had my '01 for two years/8k miles, and maintenance over that period of time has been around $600 (oil changes, cooling system flush, plugs, belt, fuel filter, brake/clutch flushes). I also purchased new tires and had it aligned for $850. That's it.

My point here is that these aren't guaranteed to be expensive, or that you need to spend a grand or two a year to keep it on the road. Sure, mine has lower mileage than most, but for now, it's a really cheap car to own.

I do agree that putting a few grand or whatever aside for a bad day is a good idea.

A good investment is a Bentley manual.