Why do I need an S and what year

[BerneseMtnDog]

For some people the extra HP with the "S" is important (although mostly psychological). I've driven both and for normal daily driving either would be fine. It's just not that big of a difference in most driving cases. IMO the biggie is to find a car with a good service history and about 50k to 60k miles or so. Whether "S" or base I wouldn't care but it needs to have a history of responsible ownership. At my age collecting horsepower isn't as much a priority as it had been 20 years ago.

As for years to look at, I personally like the looks of the 986 better than 987 but that's me. I would stay away from the 99's and older. They seem to have more problems.

Steve

[sasha055]

I did a car swap with one of my friends and here what I felt:
Cars: Mine is 2000 Base, 70K, has 18" wheels and 997 shifter
Friends car: 2001 S 55K, has a factory package with PSE (not sure what it includes) 18" wheels

We swapped cars for 2 days, both cars are daily drivers, no performance upgrades.
My impressions:
First day I was impressed! S has more low end torque (under 3k rpm) and is getting speed faster, It's noticeable stiffer which was really nice on Highway ramps, 1st gear is shorter so I didn't have to downshift to 1st when traffic was slowing down to 10mph. (with 5 speed 10mph is about 1.2Krpm which is bad for IMS)

The not so good:
- S is stiffer and it get's annoying after 1st day especially with "smooth" seattle roads.
- Maybe I'm used to 5 speed but it seems that I had to shift a lot between 2-3-4th gears it's easier with 5 speed
- S still "feels like a porsche" only after 3.5-4K RPMs, and after 4K RPMs base feels just the same (I didn't feel any difference)
- S is speeding faster and I missed that "I'm accelerating" feeling
- PSE is LOUD, and S in general is feeling louder (even tire noise)
- 997 shifter is a MUST!
- starting from a green light is kinda the same unless you rev the engine, which is fun but you cann't do it every time, clutch costs a lot.
- White gauges are very distracting

Again it's my daily driver, I don't track it so after driving S for 2 days I'm over "should've bought ans S" feeling.
My friend paid almost twice the price for his car (mine was 9k, his 17k)
Would I buy an "S" if I had the chance? YES because I'm still young and I want anything faster bigger better... would I pay more then a couple of grands for it.. definetely NO

Funny thing: my friend told me that he hates how stiff his car is after driving my base

Thanks
Sasha

[yelojkt]

Thanks sasha very well stated. You have now solidified that I will get an S. I will live with days on end of getting bounced around on city streets to enjoy the performance of the stiffer suspension on the open road, on-ramps and the track.

[ekam]

According to Mikefocke's website...

Under 2003 changes:
Base model gets same suspension as 2002 S model.

[Steve Tinker]

Regarding suspension "harshness", I found that tyre type and pressure are critical to comfort & roadholding - more so than the technical differences between base & S suspension.
Top quality tyres like Michelin Pilot PP2's with relatively soft sidewalls ride far superior on a Boxster compared to cheaper stiffer walled tyres like Khumo or Goodyear.
On the technical side of the S equation, don't rule out the value of the bigger brakes (Brembo monoblocks) and cross drilled rotors, coupled with an extra coolant radiator in the nose plus a bigger water/oil heat exchanger.
These mods alone are worth a lot of kudus & smack of upgraded "sports car" type performance above the base model......

[mikefocke]

I'm surprised someone hasn't mentioned some:

cost of tires on larger diameter wheels

frequency of CV joint boot failures on 6 speed cars (versus 5-speed or TIP)

[JTP]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

I'm surprised someone hasn't mentioned some:

cost of tires on larger diameter wheels

frequency of CV joint boot failures on 6 speed cars (versus 5-speed or TIP)

Why do 6 speeds have a higher CVJ boot failure?