Are Spyders Becoming Extinct At OPCs!

[Big E]

ORIGINAL: daro911 It is complete and utter madness and also shows a lack of faith perhaps in the appeal of a very powerful 981 model v a more expensive base Carrera Porsche must know by now that there are people who aspire to own a 911 base model over the "upstarts" in the range because in these people's eyes Porsche can only mean one thing i.e. 911 and nothing else on their CV will do[] Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for Porsche, they can still make the most expensive and least powerful 2 seater sports cars available today in their sector and get away with it over all the competitions far more powerful offerings for similar and often less money It will be interesting to see how the 981's compete with the very latest and greatest ever Corvettes http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette-stingray.html [/color]

I agree with this. The 911 and Cayman/Boxster are differently configured cars that appeal to different people. If you had a 400bhp Boxster/Cayman certain customers would buy that because they want the mid engine layout and others would buy a 380bhp 911 Carrera because they want a 911 or want an extra 2 seats. I can't see an overlap in models losing any customers for Porsche. That new C7 Corvette looks a great bit of kit. I've driven the C6 vettes a few times in the US and although they get maligned for being quite simplistic they are very good at being an everyday high performance car, I guess the US's equivalent of Europe's 911. One of my best trips was with PetrolHead Nirvana (www.petrolheadnirvana.com) which involved 2,000 miles of spirited driving including mountain passes, canyon roads and desert blasts and the Corvette was great fun. Actually, if anyone is interested in driving tours in the UK, Europe or US check out PetrolHead Nirvana. I've done a few tours with them and I can't fault them.

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock I have one if those hand held Dyson vacs and the attachment that comes with it does the stripe effect to a certain level. I think the upper end car showrooms may use a wet vac to achieve the result. You can also just vac normally and use a damp sponge which is the cheat's way!

Ah, might have to try this as I do actually enjoy detailing the cars, well when it's warm outside! I find it quite relaxing.

 

[MrDemon]

I wonder if the new Macan 400BHP turbo engine would work in the Cayman Cayman turbo any one ?

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: Big E That new C7 Corvette looks a great bit of kit. I've driven the C6 vettes a few times in the US and although they get maligned for being quite simplistic they are very good at being an everyday high performance car, I guess the US's equivalent of Europe's 911. One of my best trips was with PetrolHead Nirvana (www.petrolheadnirvana.com) which involved 2,000 miles of spirited driving including mountain passes, canyon roads and desert blasts and the Corvette was great fun.

New Page New Pic[] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI9GCq1T4Fw

 

[rob.kellock]

Those alloys could do with a refurb. The red stripe sucks.

 

[billy1]

ORIGINAL: jdpef356 Interesting colour combo - Black/Red - did we not have this car for sale privately last year?

If it's the same car, yes indeed - twice. The first owner had it advertised with terrible pictures and a poor advert at (then) retail money. The second owner then bought it privately and kept it for a very short while as it popped up for sale again. The third owner must have been the one selling it through Camerons' now. Not much change in milage and an increase in price both times.

 

[flat6]

ORIGINAL: Big E

ORIGINAL: daro911 It is complete and utter madness and also shows a lack of faith perhaps in the appeal of a very powerful 981 model v a more expensive base Carrera Porsche must know by now that there are people who aspire to own a 911 base model over the "upstarts" in the range because in these people's eyes Porsche can only mean one thing i.e. 911 and nothing else on their CV will do[] Unfortunately for us, but fortunately for Porsche, they can still make the most expensive and least powerful 2 seater sports cars available today in their sector and get away with it over all the competitions far more powerful offerings for similar and often less money It will be interesting to see how the 981's compete with the very latest and greatest ever Corvettes http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette-stingray.html [/color]

I agree with this. The 911 and Cayman/Boxster are differently configured cars that appeal to different people. If you had a 400bhp Boxster/Cayman certain customers would buy that because they want the mid engine layout and others would buy a 380bhp 911 Carrera because they want a 911 or want an extra 2 seats. I can't see an overlap in models losing any customers for Porsche. That new C7 Corvette looks a great bit of kit. I've driven the C6 vettes a few times in the US and although they get maligned for being quite simplistic they are very good at being an everyday high performance car, I guess the US's equivalent of Europe's 911. One of my best trips was with PetrolHead Nirvana (www.petrolheadnirvana.com) which involved 2,000 miles of spirited driving including mountain passes, canyon roads and desert blasts and the Corvette was great fun.

As you both rightly say, Porsche is getting very expensive for what you get in the Boxster/Cayman, compared to the competition. I could only buy a specially developed model like our Spyder if I was buying new. Buying a 981 Boxster S new just doesn't excite me after having the Spyder, especially given what it would cost once optioned up. The Porsche brand oozes engineering quality but the competition is offering competent performance that is making the Boxster/Cayman performance look to have stood pretty much still since 2010. As a sports car they seem to be selling it more on its quality and versatility rather than outright performance (there is a market for that and the MX-5 has been so successful that way). There are a lot of £40 to 60K cars that I would have to think twice about trying to overtake in a 981 S if on the motorway. As a used buy with a huge percentage knocked off they are a great buy but that's no good for Porsche as a business...

 

[Big E]

I'm looking for a bit of advice on tyres. When I bought the car the OPC had put two new front tyres on as one was punctured on a test drive (before I bought it), the rears were fine. Looking at the car yesterday the rears probably won't last out the summer so may have to replace. Currently the car is on Bridgestones which have felt OK to date but I have never been a fan of Bridgestones on previous cars, usually opting for an appropriate Pirelli or Michelin. I've found Bridgestones wear more slowly but don't have the levels of dry or wet grip. So questions are: What tyre do you like on your Spyder (for summer road use)? What are the OEM recommended tyre? With a Spyder/Mid engined car should you always change all four tyres? I'll always change both tyres on an axle but in front engined if fronts are rears are out of sync wear wise I have run one make front and one make rear until I can get them in sync without any obvious handling issues. Are there many tyre options with N rated tyres?

 

[Andy Fagan]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon I wonder if the new Macan 400BHP turbo engine would work in the Cayman Cayman turbo any one ?

Not sure a V6 would fit in the middle [][][]

 

[Andy Fagan]

ORIGINAL: rob.kellock Those alloys could do with a refurb. The red stripe sucks.

I'm guessing they are really red or silver and plan is to make them black so a bit of photoshopping??

 

[Andy Fagan]

ORIGINAL: Big E I'm looking for a bit of advice on tyres. When I bought the car the OPC had put two new front tyres on as one was punctured on a test drive (before I bought it), the rears were fine. Looking at the car yesterday the rears probably won't last out the summer so may have to replace. Currently the car is on Bridgestones which have felt OK to date but I have never been a fan of Bridgestones on previous cars, usually opting for an appropriate Pirelli or Michelin. I've found Bridgestones wear more slowly but don't have the levels of dry or wet grip. So questions are: What tyre do you like on your Spyder (for summer road use)? What are the OEM recommended tyre? With a Spyder/Mid engined car should you always change all four tyres? I'll always change both tyres on an axle but in front engined if fronts are rears are out of sync wear wise I have run one make front and one make rear until I can get them in sync without any obvious handling issues. Are there many tyre options with N rated tyres?

I had Bridgestone tyres on my old Boxster and tracked it a few times and they were fine. I'm not sure most people could actually tell the difference performance-wise between Pirelli, Michelin or Bridgestone unless they are used to taking their car to the absolute limit without PSM and on timed laps. Even experienced race drivers prefer the feel of one tyre but find another was actually faster on a timed lap. The answer I would say is they are all more than good enough for general use.

 

[MrDemon]

ORIGINAL: Big E I'm looking for a bit of advice on tyres. When I bought the car the OPC had put two new front tyres on as one was punctured on a test drive (before I bought it), the rears were fine. Looking at the car yesterday the rears probably won't last out the summer so may have to replace. Currently the car is on Bridgestones which have felt OK to date but I have never been a fan of Bridgestones on previous cars, usually opting for an appropriate Pirelli or Michelin. I've found Bridgestones wear more slowly but don't have the levels of dry or wet grip. So questions are: What tyre do you like on your Spyder (for summer road use)? What are the OEM recommended tyre? With a Spyder/Mid engined car should you always change all four tyres? I'll always change both tyres on an axle but in front engined if fronts are rears are out of sync wear wise I have run one make front and one make rear until I can get them in sync without any obvious handling issues. Are there many tyre options with N rated tyres?

PS2 is the best N spec tyre by miles. but Pilot Super sports are the best tyre full stop. I would NOT run and don't run N spec tyres, they are all dated and old tyres now. if you really really do only want to run N spec, PS2, still a great tyre and I have had 10 + sets of PS2 over the years.

 

[rob.kellock]

I have Bridgestones on mine. When I went round Island bend at Oulton Park at 95mph at the insistence of the instructor sat next to me who assured me that I didn't need to brake, I can say with some confidence that grip levels were quite acceptable! I think it is generally recognised that they are not as good (in the wet particularly) as Michelins or Pirellis but they last a whole lot longer. As I rarely drive mine in the wet, it doesn't really bother me and I enjoy not having to buy new tyres every few thousand miles.

 

[MrDemon]

I melt road tyres on track, so its pointless. I did 4 laps with my Pirellis on and they had already gone off even after a cool down lap they were still at 65oc sold them a day later for £300 to a road going owner. my bridgestones I kept new in the attic on my last car, bought new wheels with pilot SS on, it was night and day, so I only ever buy PSS now as road tyres. My Spyder has Race MAXX on, but they are a track tyre and need some heat to work. PS2 are a awesome summer tyre and no question the best dry N spec tyre available, + have been my tyre of choice for the last 10 years until PSS were launched.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon I would NOT run and don't run N spec tyres, they are all dated and old tyres now.

So is it fair to conclude Porsche engineering as far as tyre technology goes is about as good as British Leyland engineering was back in the glory days of the 70/80's[][] Porsche N rate all their tyres putting certain criteria and demands on the manufacturers so is this is just a marketing ploy as the end result is crap rubber being fitted to their otherwise highly engineered ranges[&o] When they do their 100,000's test miles in all weather before launching a new model why is it that they do not consider one of the key components like rubber![:-]

 

[Big E]

Thanks for the comments so far! I agree the Bridgestones feel fine but I've not experienced anything else on the Spyder so I don't know if I'm missing something! Bridgestones were the OEM tyre on the V8 M3's when they came out but they changed to Michelin then Pirelli later on, I found both the latter were a big leap forward in grip levels. I will probably track the car at some point but primarily it's a road car for me and I'm not a good enough driver to push really hard on track anyway.

 

[MrDemon]

ORIGINAL: daro911

ORIGINAL: MrDemon I would NOT run and don't run N spec tyres, they are all dated and old tyres now.

So is it fair to conclude Porsche engineering as far as tyre technology goes is about as good as British Leyland engineering was back in the glory days of the 70/80's[][] Porsche N rate all their tyres putting certain criteria and demands on the manufacturers so is this is just a marketing ploy as the end result is crap rubber being fitted to their otherwise highly engineered ranges[&o] When they do their 100,000's test miles in all weather before launching a new model why is it that they do not consider one of the key components like rubber![:-]

look at the Porsche GT the car was undrivable, even killing the fast and furious actor, what did Porsche do to make it usable ? stick a N rating on a Pilot Super sport and offer them as the tyre to have !!! the Pilot SS was tested with Porsche cars (gaining 5 seconds a lap over the PS2), all high end cars inc Ferrari and the konigseg have Pilot SS fitted. in fact the PSS has the road going tyre speed record ;-) it's a no brainer choice to me, why fit poor tyres to one of Porsche best cars when tyre tech has clearly moved on 10 fold. not only that, as I know you guys like your fat cars, and speed is not the issue, the PSS is a safer tyre stopping shorter than the PS2 in the wet by 3 meters, that could save your live !!!! I'll stick my neck out here as normal and say "you would have to be an idiot not to fit PSS" ;-) I binned my tyres on day one of my M3 V8 owner ship as the car would only ever drive sideways, the only way to tame that was to fit PSS, it was still a poor car though so still only lasted 2 months before I got my R

 

[rob.kellock]

Or... horses for courses. As a normal road tyre and for occasional track use, N rated tyres are fine and the Bridgestones last longest. For hardcore track use, use something else. After 26 years of driving and, I dunno, half a million miles, I have never rear ended anybody or contributed to any collision so an extra 3m stopping distance, whilst nice to have, has not proved problematic to date including when driving fully laden 80 seat double decker coaches with rather longer stopping distances than the Spyder. But what do I know, I am an idiot [][][]

 

[Big E]

ORIGINAL: MrDemon I binned my tyres on day one of my M3 V8 owner ship as the car would only ever drive sideways, the only way to tame that was to fit PSS, it was still a poor car though so still only lasted 2 months before I got my R

Yes, they did the sideways bit well. Nothing like overtaking a car in the wet and having to put opposite lock on as you're going past!!! Keeps you on your toes [] Weather looks dry on Saturday (in the SE at least) Spydermen, who's out for a drive?

 

[Andy Fagan]

Other considerations with regard to the tyres is the wear and tear they inflict on the rest of your car. If you drive round all day on track tyres then you are possibly putting extra strain on items such as Gearbox, diff, brakes, wheel bearings, ball joints, bushes etc etc..... This could be the reason Porsche recommend the N rated tyres above other stickier tyres []

 

[flat6]

I don't even know what the marketing angle is for Porsche as I have found the N rated version to be cheaper than the non-N rated version. What's the Michelin PS N rated tyre version at now in the 19"? Mine are N2. (I 'think' the 18" tyres on the Cayman were N4). How long did ago did the PS 19" N2 come out? Is there a later version? Looking at the tread on a PSS, would I be less safe on that when its wet? My Spyder isn't reserved from dry days. The following video is the Michelin PS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Sp4Em5nmU This video is Bridgestones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rHPPZNvvpg Only joking guys[], I have no idea what tyres are in these videos. The second video I haven't watched beyond a few seconds as the car looks all over the place. Why? Cold tyres or poor tyres? Or poor driver? The car looks more loose through the slalom than in the first video?