Premature Engine Failure - Boxster

yer nice looking car... my friend who owns a garage has one in getting a new spoiler on and yer its a great looking machine but the cost of repairs is scary... when something goes wrong with a lotus its normally a big thing.. but its still a great looking car dude, thats the esprint NOT the elise...

but yer an esprint looks nice..

anyone seen that usa tv show PIMP YOUR RIDE..???

They had a old shape esprint in and wow they turned it into something i would kill for lol it looked amazing..
amagine what they could do to a boxster ...

[Richard Truss]

yes i think the esprit is in a different class than a boxster (well, the V8 twin turbo anyway). Im not a huge fan of the huggy-bear-diamond-pattern-seats, but overall a VERY nice car. i think we all thought you were talking about the elise -- which is not in the same class as the esprit (or boxster for that matter)

[Lux]

Originally posted by Automon
I am not looking at the Elise I am looking at the Esprit I have always loved this car and i want one period. Tell me that this car is not beautiful.
Thanks for the feedback
Automon

Automon, with all due respect, the Esprit was badass in the '80s and early '90s but are somewhat "disco" now. Their chassis dates back to, what, the '70s? Reliablility is horrible. And remember how they were in bed with Isuzu? Look at the steering wheel in that Esprit...it's an Isuzu steering wheel! Uggh. Well, I guess Porsche does have VW parts...but let's not go there.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you buy but keep in mind that you will most likely be trading a worry for a lot bigger worry.

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Lux

Automon, with all due respect, the Esprit was badass in the '80s and early '90s but are somewhat "disco" now.

Couldn't agree more.

[RandallNeighbour]

talk about resurrecting an old thread! Geez, this one is over four years old!

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Lux

Automon, with all due respect, the Esprit was badass in the '80s and early '90s but are somewhat "disco" now. Their chassis dates back to, what, the '70s? Reliablility is horrible. And remember how they were in bed with Isuzu? Look at the steering wheel in that Esprit...it's an Isuzu steering wheel! Uggh. Well, I guess Porsche does have VW parts...but let's not go there.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you buy but keep in mind that you will most likely be trading a worry for a lot bigger worry.

Hi,

No disrespect, but you haven't a clue what you're talking about. My 22 year old Turbo Esprit will run circles and blow the doors off 99% of all current models out there. The dated chassis you refer to will go 1.12G on a skidpad, something no stock Porsche will do.

In bed with Isuzu? Clearly you don't understand Lotus. Lotus is essentially two halves forming one company, the limited production manufacturing side and Lotus Engineering.

Lotus Engineering provides more than 50% of all revenues to the company by doing engineering work for many other car manufacturers. The Delorean, Toyota MR2, Vauxhall VX220, even the Aston Martin DB9 all had chassis work done by Lotus, so what if Isuzu also contracted with them? Lotus also developed the LT1 Engine for Chevy when GM owned Lotus ('86-'89) (though they don't brag about it - little wonder). And, let's not forget that the Lotus 910 engine (which powered the 1st 5 generations of the Esprit) also powered the Jensen-Healey before the Esprit was even released with little reliability issues. An Esprit is as reliable as you want to make it. It requires more frequent maintenance, but that's engineering, not reliability.

And, FYI, the stock Esprit Steering Wheel is a MOMO Wheel (and much nicer than any Porsche Wheel) with a proprietary Horn Button, not from some Isuzu parts bin! No Isuzu parts have ever been used in an Esprit or any other Lotus Car...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

Jim.

I think Lotus engineered the ZR-1 (LT-5) motor for Corvette, not the LT-1. That was the engine that was produced for GM by Mercury Marine and had 32 valves etc.

If this is correct, then Lotus SHOULD brag about that engine, as it was a terror. I had a red 1990 zr-1 and it was freaky fast for its day.

See below.

During 1986, General Motors acquired Group Lotus, the UK based engineering consulting and performance car manufacturing firm. The Corvette division approached Lotus with the idea of developing the world's fastest production car, to be based on the C4 generation Corvette. With input from GM, Lotus designed a new engine to fit in place of the L98 V8 that was powering the standard C4. The result was what GM dubbed the LT5, an aluminum-block V-8 with the same bore centers as the L98, but with four overhead camshafts, 32 valves. Lotus also designed a unique air management system for the engine to provide a wider power band by shutting off 8 of the 16 intake runners and fuel injectors when the engine was at part-throttle, while still giving the ZR-1 a stellar 375 hp when at wide open throttle.

In addition to the engine, Lotus helped GM design the ZR-1's upgraded braking and steering systems, and helped them pick the settings for the standard "ZX3" active suspension system that Chevrolet was fitting to the car, helping to ensure that the vehicle was more than just a modern-day muscle car with a big engine and no real capability on the track.

GM found that the engine required special assembly, and that neither the Corvette plant in Bowling Green Kentucky nor any of their normal production facilities could handle the workload, so Mercury Marine corporation of Oklahoma was contracted to assemble the engines and ship them to the Corvette factory in Bowling Green where the ZR-1s were being assembled.

The vehicle went on sale in 1990 and was available only as a coupe. It was distinguishable from other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11" wide rear wheels and its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped taillights and a CHMSL (center high mounted stop lamp) attached to the top of the hatch glass instead of between the taillights.

The ZR-1 displayed stunning ability both in terms of acceleration and handling capabilities, but carried with it an astonishingly high price. MSRP for the ZR-1 in 1990 was $58,995, almost twice the cost of a non-ZR-1, and had ballooned to $66,278 by 1995; it has been rumored that some dealers successfully marked units as high as $100,000. Even at base MSRP, this meant that the ZR-1 was competing in the same price bracket as cars like Porsche's 964, making it a hard sell for GM dealers.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Jim.

I think Lotus engineered the ZR-1 (LT-5) motor for Corvette, not the LT-1...

Hi,

You're right! It was the ZR-1 Engine. What I meant about bragging was that Chevy, and the General, didn't go out of the way to tell the World that another Car Co. designed their best engine. Unlike Isuzu, Chevy didn't add any Lotus Badges to the car...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

You're right! It was the ZR-1 Engine. What I meant about bragging was that Chevy, and the General, didn't go out of the way to tell the World that another Car Co. designed their best engine. Unlike Isuzu, Chevy didn't add any Lotus Badges to the car...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

That was just a great engine. The one I had was modded a bit and man, the acceleration was brutal.

These cars are now future collector cars IMHO and if I had the room and dough, I would start collecting while the prices are reasonable.

[Automon]

I just love the look of the car disco or not but my wife agrees with the rest of you she does not like it much at all. She keeps asking me what you guys think about the Lotus and it is funny because I tell her that all of you are on board with my decision.
Thanks again
Automon

[jtimmons]

I just received the dreaded call that my 2006 Boxster S has a catastrophic engine failure and will need to be replaced at a nominal fee of $15,000. We never missed a scheduled service and always took the car to the Porshe dealer for service. The car has 56,000 miles on it and is just out of warranty the service manager smugly told me. He said Porsche might help with the bill but after reading these posts I know that's not going to happen. The lesson I learned here is that although Porsche has a good brand name and you don't expect trouble get an extended warranty because these cars aren't all that. I was going to trade up next year but this has changed my mind and I no longer see Porsche the same way. There is something inherently wrong with this car engine and I am hopeful they figure out what it is. I expect to one day see a recall for this engine.

[Lobo1186]

holy thread ressurection batman!


really sucks man sorry to hear... so what failed

[tnoice]

Have you had the Boxster since new? If you have, you might have a better chance of Porsche covering your new engine. I would also find a new dealership, because it sounds like they have a bad attitude already. Sorry to hear about your loss.

[Jake Raby]

Interesting that the '06 engine has failed.. We are just starting to see the "new" IMS bearings beginning to fail and it would be interesting to know if thats what your failure is.

BUT get a second opinion by someone that believes in repairing these engines. Lots of things that "down" an engine at the dealership are actually repairable with a little bit of innovation and elbow grease.. Problem is most dealershios just want to do oil changes and engine swaps.

BTW- With certain failures the frequency of service and how well an engine is cared for simply do not matter... Changing the oil in the engine doesn't ever impact the lubrication of the IMS bearing..

[Dragonwind]

That sucks man. Look at some other posts. People have been successful with getting Porsche to cover the engine costs.

Jake: I was wondering when you might start seeing 987 engines with failed IMS bearings. If I understand correctly, that one cannot be changed without a full teardown as the opening in the block is actually smaller than the bearing itself.

Chris