HawkRL

I am in the market for one of these cars. 987.2 S in White with a Tan interior with a manual would be my dream configuration. That being said it seems incredibly rare? Is this something that can be found or am I going to be waiting years?

I am trying to learn all I can about these cars so I don’t get a lemon.

Is there a list of factory options on these somewhere? Also a list of factory colors? It seems Sport Chrono is a must. I see the LSD is an option? It seems most of them I have found don’t have it which blows my mind? Is it a nightmare to fit one later on?

I have read conflicting reports on if you can fully disable PSM? I have had several modern cars that intrusively intervene and drives me crazy.

Thanks for any help!

fatmike

I just bought one. I've already come to the conclusion that it's the best car I've ever owned. Do it.

Don't be picky on the colors. Track down a good car and buy it.

My car has PASM and factory LSD. Yes, you need an LSD. For me traction differences are noticeable. Aftermarket exists as an option.

I don't know about turning off PSM. It's not an issue on the street - zero noticeable intrusion even on the tail of the dragon on wet roads... Unless you plan to track the car this is not an issue (if you plan to track the car you can talk to the track guys about it).

In my opinion, extended/full leather is worth every penny.

I've been doing a lot of the deferred maintenance. So far: Brake fluid, oil/filter, gearbox fluid, steering fluid, air filter, clean MAF, cabin air filter, clean drains. More to come (belts, water pump, air/oil separator, shifter cables). Budget for it.

Good luck with your search.

/

scootr

Got my 987.2 Boxster S a few years ago. It by far the best car I have driven for mountain and canyon roads. PASM and LSD are a must in my opinion if you want the best handling.
I upgraded the PASM control module and augmented the throttle body response which gave me what I wanted from the car. These cars are hard to find. I paid a little extra for a well specd low mile car. It turned out to be a bargain well worth the year long search to find it.
Hang in there and keep looking nationwide.

The Duke

I don't think that I've seen any 987.2 CS owners express buyers remorse.

On colors - I don't have the data before me, but as the release of the .2 cars coincided with the 2008 global recession, in the US, dealers largely kept to conservative color pallets, black, white, and, like my car, meteor gray metallic.

Sport chrono is a must with MT - when enabled, it sharpens accelerator response and also recalibrates PSM and ABS.

Turning off PSM does not completely disable it. However, in true Porsche fashion, it only steps in at the outer limits.

Please keep us current on your search. The members of this forum have a wealth of knowledge on these cars and cars in general.

cgfen

I see others have answered most of your questions.
good luck with the search.
ps, some of us feel that no sport chrono is a plus. It's primarily a timer and marketing hype on a 3 pedal car IMO.

nesposito

I own a 2009 CS 6 speed and I can tell you for sure you can't be picky when searching. There are very few 2009-2012 Cayman S cars made and even fewer were 6 speed because of the introduction of the PDK transmission in 2009. I'm with cgfen on the fact that Sport chrono isn't something that should be a deal breaker on a manual transmission car. When you find the right one be ready to jump on it. Even searching nationwide there are usually only 2 or 3 for sale at any given time. Good luck with your search. They are great cars and I feel underappreciated but that is changing.

Zepper

Agreed with the previous two posters on Sport Chrono. From what i understand (and my own personal experience on my cars) an aftermarket Sprint Booster will essentially do the same thing for $300 or less.

To the LSD question. I did a forum deep dive b/c I really wanted a LSD. What I discovered is that the factory 987 LSD is really not that effective and can wear out fairly quickly. I discovered that a much more robust and tunable aftermarket LSD can be added for $3k or less. Its been awhile since i read up on the various reasons but basically, don't pass up a good car for no LSD and don't spend $2k+ more on a car just b/c it has a LSD.

Extended leather is great if its in good condition. I have seen some extended leather seats that look ratty and cracked.

I would add that Sport Seats (which have natural leather) are way better than the regular comfort seats. My 987.2 CS had basic comfort seats and ironically my base 987.2 has the sport seats and they are much nicer to the touch and supportive to sit in.

HawkRL

Thanks for all the kind reply’s!

I guess I will try to find an LSD car then. If it can be fitted later I guess I wouldn’t mind doing it then if I can get the config I want.

How can you tell a car has extended leather? Sometimes it’s very difficult in pics to see what material the dash is. Is there an easy give away to look for?

How much does the PSM intervene? I mean is it going to step in the second I spin the rear tires at all? If you have wet roads can you at least drift the car around a bit? Most these newer cars the second something slips or a tire spins cuts everything drives me nuts! Is PSM TC and ASM?

Zepper

Hi, a quick way to confirm extended leather in the pictures is if you see actual stitching around the radio console extending to the dash.

Also, you should be running every vin you find through https://vinanalytics.com/

They will give you a free 'build sheet' showing all selected options on the car. Pretty handy and still free. So you'll see LSD or extended leather, etc.

This is a great tool and allows you to see options on a car that maybe doesn't have great pix or a description or was a recent trade at the dealer. The car I ended up getting showed up on a dealers website with price/vin/year and not much else - b/c they had just taken it on a trade. I was able to see that the car had a lot of what I was looking for and so I was essentially first in line talking to someone before photos/description were posted.

XuTVJet

Yes, the 987.2 cars are rare, especially 6MTs. It took me about 5 months to find my white on black 2011 Cayman Base 6MT. I was open to either tranny but preferred the 6MT. Sport Chrono is fairly common on the S models and LSD is very rare on all 987 cars. Same goes for Sport seats which is unfortunate as they are miles better than the standard seats. My Cayman Base is a rare heavily optioned model with the following:

- Sport Chrono
- Sports seat
- LSD
- Bose/Nav
- HIDs
- Parking sensors
- 19" Carrara wheels

After owning the car for a year, driving it 9K miles, and learning more about 987 cars in general, I don't think the LSD is overly necessary. 55% of the weight is over the back axle and this isn't a tail happy car, again because of the weight and also linear power delivery. The sticks and honesty, I think the car would likely be a bit more fun on the street without the LSD which I find to be pretty aggressive.

I would have passed on the Bose/Nav if I had a choice.

Sport Chrono is largely a waste in a 6MT car. I run the car in Sport mode all the time and Sport mode livens up the throttle and allows for a bit more sliding before TC intervention, but even then, you have to be pretty hamfisted to get the TC to intervene. Also, the Sport mode throttle is still pretty muted and I bought a Sprint Booster to further improve throttle response. A Sprint Booster is a must with these cars as Porsche throttle tuning leaves a lot to be desired.

I would much prefer 18s over the 19 for ride quality, but the 19s really do look damn good, especially with 7mm-12mm spacers. Even better once I drop it.

HIDs are great and a huge step up over the standard halogens, but I'm in for a world of hurt if an HID fails as they are crazy expensive to replace.

Sport seats are freaking amazing. Period.

When it comes to getting one of these cars, you'd best be prepared to do a lot of maintenance and repairs when you get it. These cars are getting older and don't age well. My Cayman was CPO'd and it had all sorts of wear and tear issues that Porsche wouldn't address as part of CPO. I did get the dealer to pay for a new clutch and flywheel. I had to replace the shifter cables and bushings, leaking AOS vent line, leaking belt tensioner, a torn engine mount, two sagging tranny mounts, a leaking gas cap. I need to replace the degraded front bumpstops (will do it when I lower the car) and the head liner has started to sag (very common issue).

Lastly, a majority of 987s on the market have had paint work as the bumper cover and hood chip up easily (my Cayman's have been repainted and in certain lighting, the color is off by 1/2 shade). Also, MANY 987s have accident histories.

These are freaking amazing cars, but you'd best adjust expectations and understand that you're likely looking at $2-5K in work within the first year you have it. Also, the S models have the 3.4 direct injection motor which has some concern about bore scoring. It would be best to check the car on a cold start to see if smokes and to also have the bores scoped by a Porsche shop. Fixing a bore scored Porsche motor is a 5 figure repair.

Here's my ownership saga: https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...ong-story.html

jbx2

Be prepared to wait and then be ready at a moments notice to fly anywhere in the country. They are very rare and starting to accumulate miles. If you join PCA you can browse the classifieds. Unless you're going to track the car I don't understand why you would want to disable the PSM.

Racer Boy

I do track days and autocross my 2010 Cayman S and have never had wheelspin enough to wish I had an LSD. LSD in a front engine-RWD car may be really nice to have, but Caymans have a rear weight bias and just don't need it.

Unless you will be tracking your car, Sport Chrono really isn't necessary on the street.

I looked for my CS for many months, and finally found it on Bring a Trailer. Most of the cars that were for sale were black, which I didn't want. That made my search take a lot longer. Good luck with your search!

MattG911

I found my 6sp unicorn on Car Gurus. I was actually shopping 981's but then I saw this 2012 beauty with only 31k miles and I had to have her.

I will say, I greatly prefer sport chrono as it gives the car a dual personality and I like the look of the timer on the dash. I find the throttle nicely sensitive in sport mode. I also had sport chrono on my 997 S and enjoyed it there as well.

Finding a manual 987.2 S is no easy task but if you continue to search you will eventually find one that will meet your criteria or at least most of it. Best of luck, these are great cars! I've had a lot of cars over the years, Elise, Alfa 4C, two 911's, Z06, etc, and the 987.2 S is just sublime.

CrisTSC

I have a base 987.2 6MT and here are my opinions regarding some of the options:

PASM: nice to have, very noticeable between normal and sport (unlike many other cars), but consider the fact that most of the cars are 10-15 years old and the shocks don't have much life left in them and aftermarket options with PASM are few and not worth the cost

Sport Chrono: somewhat fun on the street, it makes the car seem more alive, but it is more or less a gimmick. On track it makes throttle modulation harder, but as a positive I have read that it also changes the ABS intervention (and to a lesser extent PSM), not that I have felt any difference as it is still very intrusive.

LSD: I know from experience that a good LSD will completely transform a car and the Cayman would definetly benefit from having one. That being said, yet again we are talking about a 10+ year old car and most likely the factory LSD isn't doing much nowadays. I would definetely NOT pay a premium just for this option, as anything aftermarket will wipe the floor with the old, factory LSD.

About PSM off (via the button), I have found it to be ok on the street, as it lets you have fun without being too intrusive. But on track, even if I have the base model with less power that the S and good tires, it was very frustrating as it was intervening in all the slow corners. I have also read about options on fully disabling it, but considering the number of track days that I do, it wasn't worth the hassle. Keep in mind that it most likely disable ABS too, which while I don't have any problem with that, most people wouldn't like that.