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I just purchased the new one.. I only have 200 miles in it. If the old one was better than this one, I can scarcely believe how amazing it must have been. This machine is a dream come true.
I know we are still on the honey moon stage with our cars, but I never had a car that is satisfying to drive as this. Maybe I been doing it wrong lmao, or maybe I just need to buy a 987 spyder too , wouldn't that be nice..
From my own point of view, I can say without hesitation that of all the wonderful cars I have owned or driven (and having owned 911s for around twenty years), the one singular example which I look back on and think "Damn, I wish I still owned that!" is my 987 Spyder.
That car broke the mould. It was a daring - almost reckless - pioneer. It was inconvenient and free-spirited in a world of convenience and conformity. It was running naked into the surf on a balmy morning on a tropical island. It was two-fingers up to the rule book. It was laughing at the prospect of getting wet. It was just stupidly wonderful.
................
The new Spyder is, I would say, better in every measurable way than the previous one. Which is great, but how many of life's most wonderful things are measurable? ;-)
Great story John; and, excellent portrayal of your experience. I am a huge Spyder fan as well. Could you care to explain why you let the 987 go?
GT Porsche magazine compared both; just finished reading that article. They prefer 981. Here is a line that sticks out, on 987, verbatim: "Is it as rewarding to drive as the new car? No. But it certainly has its own charms." There are other references that favor 981 as well. Haven't yet read the Panorama's comparison.
I am all about intangibles. One of them, I think, would be the steering feel. 987 Spyder and 997.2 GT3 could be the pinnacle of Porsche's tireless tuning over the years. So far, newer generations never been able to come anywhere near that black art of steering feel. Not sure if the electro-mechanical setup will ever be able to match or surpass the hydraulic one.
I just purchased the new one.. I only have 200 miles in it. If the old one was better than this one, I can scarcely believe how amazing it must have been. This machine is a dream come true.
I have driven both, and I can give you 3.8 reasons why the new one is better.
I have driven both, and I can give you 3.8 reasons why the new one is better.
Right on! I totally hear you. The one thing that I really like about the gen-1 engine is that you have to drive it hard to make the 3.4 reasons to work. There is no way it has the power of the 3.8 so there is more shifting going on. I have a times considered dropping in a 3.8 or strapping on a turbo kit but I always go back to the purity of the car's concept - a pure and simple sports car.
So the one thing I must do now is go and drive the gen-2. The rest of you guys have me really curious.
Great story John; and, excellent portrayal of your experience. I am a huge Spyder fan as well. Could you care to explain why you let the 987 go?
I think it was really that it was just so difficult getting Paula (my wife - Primary Progressive MS sufferer) in and out of it, especially with the bucket seats.
We have now solved that problem (I say 'solved' but nothing really gets solved in this game, just worked around) with an Autochair hoist called a Milford Person Lift. Once ensconced, the seats are great for Paula, ironically, because of the level of support they provide.
I have a times considered dropping in a 3.8 or strapping on a turbo kit but I always go back to the purity of the car's concept - a pure and simple sports car.
A 3.8L in your car would be pretty incredible (and wouldn't lack for purity at all, just originality). The lighter weight, lower gearing, and hydraulic steering with the 3.8 grunt would be fantastic, imo.
I think it was really that it was just so difficult getting Paula (my wife - Primary Progressive MS sufferer) in and out of it, especially with the bucket seats.
We have now solved that problem (I say 'solved' but nothing really gets solved in this game, just worked around) with an Autochair hoist called a Milford Person Lift. Once ensconced, the seats are great for Paula, ironically, because of the level of support they provide.
Sorry to hear about your wife's illness. I have a friend with MS; have a faint idea of the associated challenges.
It is impressive that you found a way to mitigate the constraints; and, in the process allow your wife to continue to enjoy the fine art of open-air motoring. That's another reason I chose not to get bucket seats; I want to be able to drive this car till I drop dead. Bucket seats may prove to be physically challenging after a point in time, though I am healthy and fit now.
Grant mentioned above that 987 Spyder has shorter gearing. My understanding was that 987's gearing wasn't that much different from 981. Could you (or, other Spyder owners) share from your recollection, the speed of first 3 gears at red line?
I've driven the gen 1 spyder and agree, it's a marvelous car. It embodies everything that was great about the 987 series including the incredibly transparent steering feel and then surpasses it. It is more nimble, more raw more immediate. I didn't end up buying one because I needed a car with a reasonably useful roof.
I don't mind an iconoclastic car that thumbs its nose at convenience but there is no excuse for such an inelegant, cumbersome roof design. This is something that might have been tolerable in the 70s from an Italian or English automaker but certainly not from Porsche and certainly not in 2011.
I enjoyed my 987S Boxster but I did from time to time think about the 987 Spyder considering possibly buying one as a weekend car.
However when I got my 981S I felt any hankering I might've had for the 987 Spyder went right out the window. The new car was substantially better than my 987S in every measurable way except perhaps for steering feel. All the fun was still there except the car was a more capable and got me closer to one of my favorite cars of all time the Ferrari F430.
I have a 981 Spyder on order so hopefully it will bring me a little closer still. If it does for the 981 series what the 987 Spyder did for the 987 series then I am confident it will.
I own both 987 & 981 Spyder. Both are manuals with the lightweight seats. The 987 has updated GT3 control arms, sway bar links, bushings etc, and runs on Michelin Pilot Cup 2s. Even in the company of my 997.2RS & CarreraGT, the 987 in the current set up has to be one of the best Porsches ever made.
That said, I only have 500 street miles on the 981 and most of those are breaking-in short shifting sort of miles. I notice a significant power dip between 4000-4800rpm which is really annoying and probably exaggerated by the long gearing. I am surprised no one else has noticed that yet or I must have missed it (or my engine sucks). Even though I am skilled in heal & toeing, the auto blip is & sounds fantastic. The exhaust note is off the hook good. There is lots of understeer with the factory alignment. Significantly less steering feel than the old car. Best shifting feel of any car I tried. It looks like a million dollars, at least in GT silver. I am looking forward to putting more miles on it, comparing it to my friends GT4, and add some proper suspension mods so I can align it to my liking.
I think the 981 has the potential to be a fantastic car but I am not sure it can invoke the same magic feeling as the old car does. The modified 987s overall feel, handling, and driver involvement, so far, is with no doubt better than the stock 981.
Last edited by JEI-Porsche; 02-04-2016 at 01:03 AM.
Reason: add pics
The power dip you refer to, at least on the Dyno, seems to come at 3600 rpm actually. The graph shows that headers, and even more so an exhaust will fix that.
I am surprised by the lack of torque in my car, and the gears are intergalactic. A true Pity, but there are fixes. My headers go on tomorrow, I'll let you know if I feel the difference, but others with gt4 have reported a significant improvement
I own both 987 & 981 Spyder. Both are manuals with the lightweight seats. The 987 has updated GT3 control arms, sway bar links, bushings etc, and runs on Michelin Pilot Cup 2s. Even in the company of my 997.2RS & CarreraGT, the 987 in the current set up has to be one of the best Porsches ever made.
...... Significantly less steering feel than the old car. Best shifting feel of any car I tried. It looks like a million dollars, at least in GT silver........The modified 987s overall feel, handling, and driver involvement, so far, is with no doubt better than the stock 981.
Thanks for the comparative review, JEI-Porsche. Since your comparisons are based on modded 987, how would you rate stock-to-stock? Or, is it hard to recall from the memory lane? As your 981 isn't broken-in yet, you might need more time to extract the full potential. Your observation on steering feel, lack there of, is I would latch on and feel bad about.
Could you also comment on the gearing of 987? More interested in the speed of first 3 gears at red line. Thanks.
The power dip you refer to, at least on the Dyno, seems to come at 3600 rpm actually. The graph shows that headers, and even more so an exhaust will fix that.
I am surprised by the lack of torque in my car, and the gears are intergalactic. A true Pity, but there are fixes. My headers go on tomorrow, I'll let you know if I feel the difference, but others with gt4 have reported a significant improvement
Hi CAlexio. I am interested in your projects. Do you have the availability of a Dyno for testing your Spyder while stock and after the header installation and again later when you change out the exhausts? You may have stated this in an earlier post and, if so, I apologize for asking again. I know you are interested in Dyno results. Thanks!
CAlexio, thanks for the reply. Very possible & likely that the dip actually happens earlier in the rev range - my eyes likely register it after my butt. Do GT4 owners have the same experience or is it more pronounced in the Spyder due to the slightly lower HP?
the_rider: I just added the suspension parts & tires a month ago & have 12k miles on the stock set up so I think I should be able to compare them somewhat. Even without the mods, the 987 right out of the box (mine has the PSE too) seemed like the more passion invoking car. The 981 so far seems much more refined in almost every way which I think comes at a cost. The gearing is long but hasn’t bothered me so far; it’s fun to shift in 1st in very tight hair pins and slide out. The extra torque also helps.
Originally Posted by CAlexio
The power dip you refer to, at least on the Dyno, seems to come at 3600 rpm actually. The graph shows that headers, and even more so an exhaust will fix that.
I am surprised by the lack of torque in my car, and the gears are intergalactic. A true Pity, but there are fixes. My headers go on tomorrow, I'll let you know if I feel the difference, but others with gt4 have reported a significant improvement
Last edited by JEI-Porsche; 02-04-2016 at 02:12 PM.
Reason: typo
I realize that the sane thing to do would've been to break in the car, and then install modifications. I must not be very sane because the car has 300 miles on it and the headers are going on. Unfortunately I can't be very helpful to you guys because I don't have access to a Dyno at the shop where are the installation is happening… These guys are trusted Porsche mechanic I've been going to for a long time, but no Dyno.
I think the 10 hp missing in the Spyder comes out the top end compared to the GT4 if I'm not mistaken… Who knows if those missing side scoops on the Spyder are the reason why those 10 little horsey's are hiding… I'm taking no chances, leaving no stone unturned if you will…and installing the side scoops as well. :-)
........... The gearing is long but hasn’t bothered me so far; it’s fun to shift in 1st in very tight hair pins and slide out. The extra torque also helps.
Thanks. But, I was actually asking about 987 Spyder. Do you remember the speed of first 3 gears at red line? If not, may be it's time to find out, conditions permitting!! :-)
02-03-2016, 10:27 AM
, wouldn't that be nice..
