Would you buy a 987 that was tracked 4x? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

SeaNile31 · 01-02-2011, 02:46 PM

I know nothing about tracking a car but is the car pushed to it's extreme the entire time? Is it something that in 4x would amount to 3000 miles or more like a few hundred miles? Would a PPI be able to tell if there were any tracking issues?

06 S, 10K miles, tracked 4x asking $34900. What to offer?

The 05 S at Subaru dealer has 20K miles and price of $26900.

mikefocke · 01-02-2011, 03:18 PM

1. The 2006 has the IMS that can't be easily/cheaply upgraded. Drop the engine, split the case, ship the entire IMS, etc.
2. There is tracking and there is tracking. A DE under some controls on speed is one thing. A real competitive race is quite another. Was the proper service done before each event? After?
3. A PPI that looks at over-revs could tell you something about how the car was treated.

I'd rather have a driven hard, fanatically maintained car than one babied and where the service was ignored. And 4 track days may be trivial.

ekam · 01-02-2011, 03:24 PM

Cars that've been to the track are usually better maintained than cars that sat.

Steve Tinker · 01-02-2011, 04:42 PM

Mike's item #3 would be the killer for me - the 987's can be scanned for 5 levels of overrev (ignitions), while the 986 can only be scanned for 2 levels.
Any indi who does the PPI can print off the overrev picture - if the car's DME has registered level 2 and above, I think Porsche will invalidate any warranty anyway.....

MikenOH · 01-02-2011, 05:14 PM

To answer your question directly, if the car has been driven at 4 DE's in a couple of years and had the proper maintenance during that period, I would not be put off from buying the car.

We've done roughly 8 track days a year in our 06 since new. Probably 1/4 of the 30K miles on the car are at the track; I did a oil analysis last fall on the car which showed contaminants and metals way below the average for a 2.7L motor. I change the oil at 5K intervals and brake fluid at least once a year.

SeaNile31 · 01-02-2011, 06:34 PM

I think the 05 S 20K mile car can be had for at least $3000 less than the 06 S 10K mile tracked car. Should know for sure tomorrow.

eightsandaces · 01-02-2011, 11:53 PM

Someone with lousy clutching skills can ruin a car leaving their subdivision.

Flavor 987S · 01-03-2011, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Tinker

Mike's item #3 would be the killer for me - the 987's can be scanned for 5 levels of overrev (ignitions), while the 986 can only be scanned for 2 levels.
Any indi who does the PPI can print off the overrev picture - if the car's DME has registered level 2 and above, I think Porsche will invalidate any warranty anyway.....

This is all incorrect information stated in Steve's response. The 987 has 6 ranges of over-revs, not 5. And any ignitions in over-rev range #1 and #2 are fine. Rage #3 is not good, and #4-6 can void warranty.

Four track days is no biggie. For example, PCA runs excellent events. Sounds like an honest seller to disclose the track days, that's good news. Do a PPI, to include a DME readout and an oil filter dissection.

SeaNile31 · 01-03-2011, 06:18 AM

Ok, so I know not to be scared of the lightly tracked car if the PPI is fine.

Any thoughts on 05 vs 06? I am not sure of the build date of the 05 to see if it has the upgraded IMS.

05 has 20K miles, 06 has 10K miles.

Perfectlap · 01-03-2011, 06:51 AM

well he disclosed the track usage but what about the autocross usage? Someone who has ventured onto the track at least once has probably made at least one appearance to a local autocross club. Four track events more so.
Track usage isn't too bad since you're generally trying to drive smoothly with minimal abuse on the car. Autocrossing is completely different, the car is jerked around severely, more wear on the brakes, tires, suspension, etc. The engine isn't really affected since its designed to work best in these conditions but I wonder how the gear box/trans migh be affected sometimes since all of the work is done in second gear or speeds up to 80mph. If the lot is crappy and full of debris and that micro gravel there could be some cosmetic issues like chipping near the wheel wells, front and rear bumpers and hood. Many people tape up their cars because of this particularly when using r compound tires that suck up everything on the black top and kick it back onto the paint. One autocross here and there is probably no biggie but someone who has done a whole season's worth of autocross races, year after year might cause me to check out his maintenance habits...all mileage is not created equal.

SeaNile31 · 01-02-2011, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikefocke

1. The 2006 has the IMS that can't be easily/cheaply upgraded. Drop the engine, split the case, ship the entire IMS, etc.
2. There is tracking and there is tracking. A DE under some controls on speed is one thing. A real competitive race is quite another. Was the proper service done before each event? After?
3. A PPI that looks at over-revs could tell you something about how the car was treated.

I'd rather have a driven hard, fanatically maintained car than one babied and where the service was ignored. And 4 track days may be trivial.

And based on these comments I don't see much of a reason to pay a premium for an 06 S with 10K miles and an aftermarket exhaust over an 05 S with 20K miles and stock exhaust (and more dealer service because of the miles).

When I compare the two cars I am interested in they have the same options (Bose, xenon lights, pcm w/o pasm, sport chrono package, heated seats, etc,. Looks like the 05 S wins out....