Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!

[daro911]

[link=http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/showProfile.asp?memid=25637]Tracy Wilkins[/link] Hi All Ok after two months ownership and 1000 miles this is what I think about my 981 and also what Cliff thinks about it (when i let him drive it) STEERING I find the steering great and when i have pushed it i have had no problems. However Cliff says that he finds the steering a little weird with less feed back, and his Cayman Sport was much sharper on turning.I suppose it depends on how hard you are pushing it.[] GEARBOX Before buying i drove the PDK and the 6 speed manual back to back and chose the manual. As i have said before although the PDK is great (especially in town) now that i have had the car a while i know that i would have missed the manual had i bought the PDK as it is a very smooth slick gearbox and more involving. The 6th gear is very welcome in my 2.7 . At the end of the day i still think it is a personal choice. ELECTRIC HANDBRAKE Has taken a while to get used to but can honestly say i use it without any problem now and don't have to think about it. Together with the hold function for hill starts it is weird at first but definitely a bonus. Where Cliff has only driven it a handful of times he still is getting to grips with it so it is obviously something that you get used to with use. ENGINE The fuel economy is superb compared to my previous models and on an economy run at a constant 70mph i got 40mpg. around town i am getting approx 32mpg. The torque is far superior and will pull up hills in 6th gear without the heed to change down. Something i really noticed on my daily commute. The car is plenty fast enough for road use with the award winning 2.7 being faster than the original 3.2. EXHAUST I am still amazed with the roar from my standard exhaust when i start the car up. it gives Cliff's GT3 a run for it's money sound wise and other Porsche model owners have commented on how great it sounds. RIDE Even on 20" wheels the ride is far superior to my other models on smaller wheels. It handles our rough roads extremely well and still has a fabulous grip. SIZE Yes the car is bigger and the cabin size is certainly different. The very first time i sat in a 981 i felt completely swamped as i am only 5 feet tall and said the car wasn't for me but after spending a few moments adjusting and raising the seat height i felt very comfortable. The seat needs to be raised to compensate the shoulder height in my case. The strange thing is that now that i have the adjustment right i have much better vision around the car than on my previous models . It is a known fact that Porsche made the cabin bigger after customer complaints from taller customers. It is even possible for me to have the seat too close to the pedals on occasion. At the end of the day times move on and we have to embrace change. This car is a different beast from my previous models but it is certainly progress and the styling is to die for. Yes there are a couple of petty niggles but the pros far outweigh cons. If you need any more info please ask. Happy to reply Cheers Tracy Great summary Tracy and perhaps you should put in for editing the Post[] After running Porsches for 35 years OMG [] where did my life fly by to I cant recall ever buying a newer model that disappointed and didn't move the game on in the right direction Even owning a head turning Spyder I still am excited every time I encounter a 981 and just wish Porsche had the small round things (wheels) []to make another Spyder [8D]

 

[kitchens]

Excellent..... overview in the short time you have had the car.You would struggle if you where in the Spyder with bucket non adjustable height seats .I have short legs and have to sit fairly close to reach the pedals whereas in the PDK i can move the seat back quite a bit ,but like any car you soon adapt ,I think the gear change is very slick compared to the Spyders short shift ,drove one for a few hours and that was the first thing i noticed . The stop start felt strange as well as the hand brake in the short time i had the car . Enjoy your drive . Brian

 

[Andy Fagan]

ORIGINAL: Andy Fagan

ORIGINAL: Fire_2 TrackDay wheels, Been offered some Team Dynamics Pro-Race 1.3 18x8.5 5x130 ET52 (Front) 19x10 5x130 ET65 (Rear) I suspect the front will be ok offset wise, but the rear looks very wide? would have to balance it out via bigger front wheel spacers or look for a different wheel with standard offsets?

coming in around 11kg front and 11.7kg rear.

Went to Demon Tweeks today and saw some OZ Ultraleggera 19" wheels which I'm going to order. I was also tempted by the new Yokohama A08R tyres which are supposed to be an improved compound above the A08

Fire_2 I can't PM you as the PM's aren't working. Went to Tweeks today and they will only offer further discounts for 6+ sets so the price is set. On a second note; the new Yokohama A08R's have now been put into section 1B in the MSA year book so will not be eligible for the Speed championship in production class so I have gone for the Toyo R888's. The old Yoko A08 are being discontinued.

 

[Tracy_Wilkins]

Thanks Brian & Rob I think i have only touched the surface. After posting i realised that i had forgotton to mention how easy it is now to open and close the roof with it having no fastening latch and more importantly how quiet it is now in the cabin with the roof up. You forget that you are in a convertable. I know what you mean regarding bucket seats Brian. I sat in a Cayman R with buckets and couldn't see over the dash [] Cliff suggested a cushion[] I must admit that i turn the stop/ start off Tracy

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: Tracy Wilkins Thanks Brian & Rob I think i have only touched the surface. After posting i realised that i had forgotton to mention how easy it is now to open and close the roof with it having no fastening latch and more importantly how quiet it is now in the cabin with the roof up. You forget that you are in a convertable. I must admit that i turn the stop/ start off Tracy

Yes the new catch less roof fitted to nearly every single low or high priced convertible since circa 2005[] was so long overdue and probably makes another Spyder even less likely [][][] I have had stop start on my Mini's since 2007 and it is one feature I really miss on my Porsche. It literally took a few hours driving to become use to the effect that now I notice when my engine is running after stopping rather than the other way around. You should try and adapt it doesn't take long and then you can smile when you have become a tree hugging planet saver too not to mention 5% more mpg Stop-start sys­tems are becom­ing stan­dard on cars made for the Euro­pean mar­ket and they’re grad­u­ally becom­ing more com­mon in the US. For those con­cerned about the affect stop start will have on the dura­bil­ity of the car going through too many igni­tion star­tups to be reli­able long-term, there’s some good news. UK-based Con­trolled Power Tech­nolo­gies (CPT) is guar­an­tee­ing its Speed­Start belt–inte­grated starter-generator sys­tem for 1.2 mil­lion restarts – high­est so far in auto industry. Dur­ing a one-year long test, it could han­dle as many as 7,200 restarts every day with engine cool-off peri­ods going between five and 25 seconds. SIGNIFICANCE: While automak­ers pro­mote stop-start sys­tem in their vehi­cles as a smart way to increase fuel econ­omy, the US Envi­ron­ment Pro­tec­tion Agency con­tin­ues to be ret­i­cent about it, and is yet to be favor­able to it for mileage ratings. Most of the cur­rent stop-start sys­tems built into cars on roads can typ­i­cally han­dle between 150,000 to 300,000 stop-starts, as man­dated by OEMs. Most of the starter motors on cars are good for about 30,000 cycles. Stop-starts extra longevity is due to heavier-duty com­po­nents. They’re designed to hand a stop and restart process dozens of times dur­ing a typ­i­cal dri­ving trip. Vehi­cles are get­ting more miles dur­ing their life­cy­cles as the aver­age age keeps increas­ing. CPT says mod­ern cars can eas­ily see 250,000 miles in 15 years nowa­days, and future tech­nolo­gies may see them worked even harder.

 

[MrDemon]

Depends what you want from a car, Some buy the 996Gt3 and think that's the last of the drivers cars over the new ones. I wanted a drivers car and bought a 996gt3 but it was not that nice a car for road use around me. So for me no new Porsche can offer that thrill of man and machine, the Spyder comes mighty close to being a great driver car. Now if you come from a Audi and choose a Audi over a 987.2 then I can see why, my TTRS was far better inside than a 987.2 but was not a drivers car, all be it was a amazing engine that 5 pot turbo. And I did love it and ran it 2 years. So now the new 981 cars have lifted the inside and sales no doubt will be more, day to day it's nice and no catch on the roof is great. But you can see what type of people are buying Spyders, ex caterham and Lotus owners. Not really ex Audi drivers. So yes the new car can be better or can be worse depending on what you want from it. At the last track day 5 Cayman R turned up, more R than GT3's at a track day If I sold the Spyder I would not be buying a 981 I would be buying a Elise S sports racer . For my daily car that's a tough choice the new cars fit the bill much better. For a 1 car for all, nothing can touch a Cayman R on the market as a usable sports car which does a track day with ease.

 

[daro911]

For you racing fans spent half a day at Williams today where they keep Sir Frank's privately owned all working F1 Collection .... 40+ cars to date ...enjoy

 

[kitchens]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2855/10493827564_a9ec51b0f0_b.jpg Are they real Smarties or M&M's [][]

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: Tracy Wilkins Hi All Ok after two months ownership and 1000 miles this is what I think about my 981 and also what Cliff thinks about it (when i let him drive it) STEERING I find the steering great and when i have pushed it i have had no problems. However Cliff says that he finds the steering a little weird with less feed back, and his Cayman Sport was much sharper on turning.I suppose it depends on how hard you are pushing it.[] GEARBOX Before buying i drove the PDK and the 6 speed manual back to back and chose the manual. As i have said before although the PDK is great (especially in town) now that i have had the car a while i know that i would have missed the manual had i bought the PDK as it is a very smooth slick gearbox and more involving. The 6th gear is very welcome in my 2.7 . At the end of the day i still think it is a personal choice. ELECTRIC HANDBRAKE Has taken a while to get used to but can honestly say i use it without any problem now and don't have to think about it. Together with the hold function for hill starts it is weird at first but definitely a bonus. Where Cliff has only driven it a handful of times he still is getting to grips with it so it is obviously something that you get used to with use. ENGINE The fuel economy is superb compared to my previous models and on an economy run at a constant 70mph i got 40mpg. around town i am getting approx 32mpg. The torque is far superior and will pull up hills in 6th gear without the heed to change down. Something i really noticed on my daily commute. The car is plenty fast enough for road use with the award winning 2.7 being faster than the original 3.2. EXHAUST I am still amazed with the roar from my standard exhaust when i start the car up. it gives Cliff's GT3 a run for it's money sound wise and other Porsche model owners have commented on how great it sounds. RIDE Even on 20" wheels the ride is far superior to my other models on smaller wheels. It handles our rough roads extremely well and still has a fabulous grip. SIZE Yes the car is bigger and the cabin size is certainly different. The very first time i sat in a 981 i felt completely swamped as i am only 5 feet tall and said the car wasn't for me but after spending a few moments adjusting and raising the seat height i felt very comfortable. The seat needs to be raised to compensate the shoulder height in my case. The strange thing is that now that i have the adjustment right i have much better vision around the car than on my previous models . It is a known fact that Porsche made the cabin bigger after customer complaints from taller customers. It is even possible for me to have the seat too close to the pedals on occasion. At the end of the day times move on and we have to embrace change. This car is a different beast from my previous models but it is certainly progress and the styling is to die for. Yes there are a couple of petty niggles but the pros far outweigh cons. If you need any more info please ask. Happy to reply Cheers Tracy

Thanks for the great insight into living with 981 Tracy[]. I'm sure the guys who are hoping Porsche makes a 981 Spyder are hoping even more now[] As you and our senior Spyderman have shown, it can take a fair amount of driving time to adapt, and the changes will feel less controversial over time. If I wanted a 981 I could pretty much make the decision on paper based on things like price, performance, looks, spec options, quality, mechanical layout etc. That'd pretty much rule every alternative car out even before the test drive. Electric steering and parking brake isn't going to make me look elsewhere even if the steering felt unexpected. I'd buy the car and trust I'd get familiar with it. I notice you've also written in the November Porsche Post. I look forward to reading that when I get a spare 10 mins[] Is there anything you prefer about the 987?

 

[Dylan1]

just to rub in the fact that I missed out on a nice black spyder over a year ago,coming back through harpenden today after ENT clinic at hospital , coming the other way was a black spyder [] curses etc any of you guys on the forum LL61 *** i think

 

[gouldian]

Flat 6 and Graham - Coming up to 7,000mls. in my 981 "S" and after 12 great years with my 986 "S" the difference in performance, handling and cabin comfort/ambience is considerable. Personally I find the new steering brilliant in all respects and within a short time got used to the electric parking brake as well. The sports exhaust particularly when combined with the Sport button is seriously awesome and I have to say any sound system in the car is a waste of money unless it's your daily driver and used mostly in urban areas. Equally, although mine is manual and the best gearbox I've ever experienced, if it's your daily driver and mainly used in urban traffic then I think Tracy is right to go for PDK. The only gripe I have is the windshield that pixilates the rear view and would have been better clear. 2300mls on summer run to the Italian Lakes including much second gear on mountain passes and tunnels!! returned 31mpg which given higher speeds and low gears for much of the journey was I thought pretty good. I was looking to buy a black Spyder originally and took a couple out for long test runs. I was absolutely taken with the looks, performance and handling. they are quite unique. I did find the roof noisey on motorways, although its fitting was not a problem. However, it coincided with the release of the 981, about which I had read many glowing reports. Having had one out for the afternoon I was sold, but it was a close run thing and that is why I keep tabs on the exploits of the Spydermen on here! Re grills, I picked many stones out of my radiator that fortunately had not punctured it, together with much debris in front tray upon returning from Italy and as I had the grills on my 986 that worked perfectly for many years I fitted new ones on the new car, (you don't need to buy the centre one as it is blocked in) and as it's Basalt Black the black grills finish the front off really well.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: gouldian Flat 6 and Graham - Coming up to 7,000mls. in my 981 "S" and after 12 great years with my 986 "S" the difference in performance, handling and cabin comfort/ambience is considerable. Personally I find the new steering brilliant in all respects and within a short time got used to the electric parking brake as well. The sports exhaust particularly when combined with the Sport button is seriously awesome and I have to say any sound system in the car is a waste of money unless it's your daily driver and used mostly in urban areas. Equally, although mine is manual and the best gearbox I've ever experienced, if it's your daily driver and mainly used in urban traffic then I think Tracy is right to go for PDK. The only gripe I have is the windshield that pixilates the rear view and would have been better clear. 2300mls on summer run to the Italian Lakes including much second gear on mountain passes and tunnels!! returned 31mpg which given higher speeds and low gears for much of the journey was I thought pretty good. I was looking to buy a black Spyder originally and took a couple out for long test runs. I was absolutely taken with the looks, performance and handling. they are quite unique. I did find the roof noisey on motorways, although its fitting was not a problem. However, it coincided with the release of the 981, about which I had read many glowing reports. Having had one out for the afternoon I was sold, but it was a close run thing and that is why I keep tabs on the exploits of the Spydermen on here! Re grills, I picked many stones out of my radiator that fortunately had not punctured it, together with much debris in front tray upon returning from Italy and as I had the grills on my 986 that worked perfectly for many years I fitted new ones on the new car, (you don't need to buy the centre one as it is blocked in) and as it's Basalt Black the black grills finish the front off really well.

Hi David and thanks for a very glowing report on your 981 and our Spyders too. Do you know why the sports button on a 981 changes the PSE as that isn't a feature on a 987 with PSE When you say Sport Button am I correct that you are referring to the actual "Sport" button that was never on the 987's but is standard kit on 981's again a feature that has been common place on most cars for the past 10 years[&o] Glad to hear you went for the old manual tranny and not be pushed into the PDK [] and having had 986 2.5 986 3.2 987 3.2 there was a big step forward when I went to a Spyder with its Gen 2 running gear so your jump from 986 back to 981 was certainly as big as it could get in one switch even by Porsche evolutionary standards

 

[Tracy_Wilkins]

Sport button is standard on the 981 sharpens throttle response. Mines a man gearbox also.

 

[MrDemon]

Cannot put a Spyder vs a 981 imo it's like saying what a GT3 is like over a C2S. We all know about the roof, it a open concept car, It still the only weekend car I would own over a Lotus. People get used to the steering, we get on with any thing we own and love it, I did not have a issue with my TTRS steering while I owned it. It's only when you switch back to a car with real steering you realise what you are missing. Very few people run a Spyder as a daily car, but the 981 is most people's only daily car. It still seems a lot of people still don't get the Spyder concept even on here.

 

[rob.kellock]

As you say - horses for courses. I personally wouldn't have a Spyder as my daily driver for all sorts of reasons. That said I have done 800 miles in it since Wednesday morning and it's 300 back home irrespective of what I do today. Off to climb a big hill now, enjoy the rest of your weekends Spyderfolk. Hope the storms aren't too bad down South - here in the Highlands it is beautiful, calm and sunny!

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock As you say - horses for courses. I personally wouldn't have a Spyder as my daily driver for all sorts of reasons. That said I have done 800 miles in it since Wednesday morning and it's 300 back home irrespective of what I do today. Off to climb a big hill now, enjoy the rest of your weekends Spyderfolk. Hope the storms aren't too bad down South - here in the Highlands it is beautiful, calm and sunny!

Rob dont forget some pictures of beautiful calm and sunny as we get battered down South I have said it before "Suncaps off to Cecil and any other daily driver Spyders out there" for me it is the perfect dry weekend car for pure topless fun. If there is some sun that's just another bonus[8D]

 

[kitchens]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock As you say - horses for courses. I personally wouldn't have a Spyder as my daily driver for all sorts of reasons. That said I have done 800 miles in it since Wednesday morning and it's 300 back home irrespective of what I do today. Off to climb a big hill now, enjoy the rest of your weekends Spyderfolk. Hope the storms aren't too bad down South - here in the Highlands it is beautiful, calm and sunny!

Where are you in the highlands ? i was at the east end off Loch Lomond at Rowardennan for lunch I poured the whole day not nice.... sunny and wet on the way back

 

[rob.kellock]

I'm at Kinloch Rannoch. Ended going up for a walk from Blair Castle - started raining heavily from, say, 3pm there and it's not been brilliant since! View from bedroom window this morning.

 

[kitchens]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock I'm at Kinloch Rannoch. Ended going up for a walk from Blair Castle - started raining heavily from, say, 3pm there and it's not been brilliant since! View from bedroom window this morning.

We have stayed at the Dunalistair Hotel a few times and near Shehalion It is beautiful, visit the Victorian railway station on the moor also stayed at McDonalds Hotel in Kinloch rannoch same group that own the one in East _Kilbride you stayed at . If you plan on a stop on your way back south and want to meet up just give me a call 01355 233482

 

[Mike_Pollock]

I was in Scrabster last week and the colours of the landscape on the way up were truly stunning! Envy you this week! Heres a pic of some of the miles Rob has put in this week -