What new options MUST I have on a 2007?

[longislander1]

Good recommendations on here. Definitely get the sport wheel. It's one of the best value options. The regular wheel is thin and feels like cheap plastic.

Skip the $115 factory mats and get the Lloyds. At autoanything.com and a few other sites, you can get custom colors for script, carpet and piping. The quality is much better than the factory option.

Try the sport seats first. I found them uncomfortable with my broad shoulders (although they are a good value).

If you really have to squeeze the bucks, skip the colored wheel crests. There are a bazillion aftermarket sources for those at the same or lower price. It's a good birthday present from your wife.

I set a limit for myself of about $6.5K in options (with $3K of that for the nav alone) and now I'm sorry I didn't get just a few more (like the sport wheel). Think about some of the extras you'd really like to have and see if you'll really miss the money in a year or so.

Lots of good advice here.

I say get the heated seats and windstop.

Get what you want now, because aftermarket (Tequipment) costs a lot more after-the-fact. A $250 option when ordering quickly becomes $750 when dealing with Tequipment and a Dealership.

[1JB]

Get an S with no options. It comes with the 18" wheels standard, the six speed and superior performance. IMO and it's only my opinion I do not intend to offend anyone SC is a waste of money as is PSM unless you're going to the track. Note that Porshce does not claim an faster 0-60 times with SC. It's a gimmick with a wart to boot. The chrono has got to have Porsche laughing in its sleep. You can't use the silly thing effectively with the stalk let alone read it while driving. The stock seats are perfect as well, forget the sport steering wheel, there's no way the standard wheel feels like cheap plastic and you do not need the sport shifter. The Boxster S has the smoothest shifting stick I've ever driven. If you can't drive this stick you can't drive a stick. forget 19" wheels, lower side walls, stiffer ride and they do not improve handling unless you go to the track. Do get tire and rim insurance. For around 600 bucks US you can insure all four wheels -tires and reims - for 5 years and they are very expensive to replace. The Bose is nice but frankly with the top down I don't need it. I don't drive it in winter so don't need heated seats but they were on the car. You don't need auto wipers. About the only thing that is worth it are the bi xenons. They are fabulous at night. Don't get caught up in all the options. The base car is a pure bred, perfectly balanced sports car. Remember, all of those options are going to break and it is an arm and a leg to fix any of them. Porshce is renowned for design, engine performance and handling. All the options are outsourced and will be a cost drain down the road. When you get the car you'll want to make it unique so if you order get crests in the head rests, painted side vents, clear side markers and things like that if you want. If you can get the 6 disk cd changer installed from the factory. It's a lot of money to have installed by the dealer. You said you're interested in performance, then the S is the way to go.

[eslai]

Sport Steering wheel is cheap, get it! As for sport shifter, I'm going to disagree with others and say get that too--sure it's pricey but I find the standard shifter to have far too much throw. I'm constantly hitting passengers' knees when I shift into fifth.

One thing I would also consider were I to do it again would be the electric seats. The only reason i say that is because you don't get lumbar support with the standard seats...

Originally Posted by 1JB

IMO and it's only my opinion I do not intend to offend anyone SC is a waste of money as is PSM unless you're going to the track. Note that Porshce does not claim an faster 0-60 times with SC. It's a gimmick with a wart to boot. The chrono has got to have Porsche laughing in its sleep. You can't use the silly thing effectively with the stalk let alone read it while driving.

Hi 1JB, I have just a few comments for you.

I have the Sport Chrono and like it! This was one of those options that I just did not know if I really wanted to include in my custom build & factory order. Many people said it was a "must have" while others said it was "as waste". Just about everyone said the "wart" on the dash looks awful and to some extent I agree with the wart comment . Ultimately I decided to get it, because I did not want to have the "buyer’s remorse" thing and in principle the SC makes sense on paper from a technical perspective. And for the $920 I was willing to roll-the-dice!

I drove several demos, with and without, but I could not really tell the difference. I think this is because I am not really familiar with the car and not really getting into it from a performance standpoint.

In your post I think you are confusing PSM with PASM (or it was just a typo! ).

PSM- is Porsche Stability Management (standard on the 987)
PASM- is Porsche Active Suspension Management (option code #475 for $1,990)

Sport Chrono interacts with both. AND THIS WAS THE MAIN SELLING POINT TO ME. While I do not have the PASM option I can definitely see the added advantage of SC with the standard PSM. With SC engaged, you can give more driver input to the car, especially in aggressive cornering, before the PSM kicks-in to make adjustments for under steer & over steer and power to the rear-end. As I see it, this is the major benefit of SC and makes it more worthwhile vs. worthless.

As for making the car have more throttle response...it does...but this effect is less noticeable than the interaction with PSM, for me at least. The car has great throttle response on its own!

SC does interact with PASM (if you have this option) by putting the car in sport mode for the suspension.

SC also interacts with the cars "rev-limiter" but I have not experienced this, since I don't get that high in the rev range.

[1JB]

bmussatti - Thanks for the insights. You're right I did mean PASM. I even thought about before I typed and still mixed it up. I do it all the time. I was really trying to get to whether the prospective buyer should by a base Boxster with those options or an S without. I'd go for the S without. I got into the build on line syndrome and kept adding options because I didn't want buyer's remorse either. In the end it turned out the dealer had a car coming in with the minimum options I wanted and PASM and SC weren't among them along with self dimming lights and auto sensor rain wipers. I bought the car and think it's absolutely perfect but I don't drive aggressively just spiritedly.

Did you get your painted side vents from Bumperplugs? I"ve had a set on order for 6 weeks from them and they're scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks hopefully. Did you install them yourself? I've done all the searches and think I know how to take the old ones out. If you did it yourself did you just basically pull the old ones out with some down force while you pulled on each vent slat that has a clip? tyi.

Originally Posted by 1JB

Did you get your painted side vents from Bumperplugs? I"ve had a set on order for 6 weeks from them and they're scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks hopefully. Did you install them yourself? I've done all the searches and think I know how to take the old ones out. If you did it yourself did you just basically pull the old ones out with some down force while you pulled on each vent slat that has a clip? tyi.

Hey 1JB, I think the whole Sport Chrono thing is one of the harder options to understand. Many of the dealerships got it screwed-up too in their explanations when I was shopping for the car and options, last year.

Yes, www.bumperplugs.com did my painted side vents. Eric Sklut's work is excellent and his personal attention to detail and customer service are even better. I wish he were a sponsor here and an active member like he is on the RennTech site. Maybe Brucelee is working on this.

I have pictures posted with my painted side vents. Do a search and you should find them. Another forum member, with a Guards Red Boxster, had it done, and his car looks great. Eric is also doing a painted Cayman vent swap for the Boxster.

The dealership that I purchased my car from did the install for me prior to final delivery. They charged me $20! This was very worthwhile because I have heard that the process requires a lot of pushing & pulling to get them out, and I feared that I may do it wrong.

You know, I almost bought a Midnight Blue Metallic Boxster! What a great color! I decided on the white because I knew it would be easier to keep clean!

[z12358]

Maxhouse97, John Y --

Good luck with your searches and keep us posted on the final outcomes.

[Maxhouse97]

Denverpete you have some good points - I will take all of that into consideration. I am trying to keep a hard line on how much money I am going to spend though. But thanks for the comments.

Does anyone out there have any experience w/ a 6 speed base (2.7). Some input there will help my decision.

Thanks,

Tony