stephen wilson

What size wheels do you have? My '06 with 18" wheels does tend to "tram-line" , or pull/follow the grooves on well-worn roadways. They also transmit bumps and ride a bit rough on poor surfaces. What wheel balancer did he use? I've heard it can matter, and they should be "road-force" balanced.

Steve

I've never raced a production-based car, so I don't have any first hand experience. It may be the combination of heating from the caliper/pads, and the more rapid cooling of the rest of the rotor that is exposed to the air. My Formula Ford has never had any brake-related problems, being so light and low horsepower, but the pad will leave a "imprint" mark on the rotor if left sitting while very hot. How worn are the rotors? If they are getting thin they will warp easier.

Just a quick thought, do you roll the car a bit in the paddock while the brakes cool down? I've heard that the pads sitting in one spot, even after a cool-down lap, can cause warping.

M8 referrs to the diameter of the bolt shank & threads, not the bolt head, so M8= 8mm ( close to 5/16") , M8= 10mm ( between 3/8" and 7/16") . The thread pitch would be designated after that, such as M8-1.25 . an M8x50mm would be 50mm long from the threaded tip, to where the shank ends and meets the hex portion. ( or head, in the case of a socket head cap screw )

As for the motorcycle, don't go too crazy trying for cornering speed, motorcycles are much less forgiving than cars! Be especially carefull in intersections, or at stop streets, they tend to collect sand/oil. It's easy to take a quick trip to the pavement, ask me how I know! I no longer "push it" thru these types of corners, ramps and twisty roads tend to me much cleaner.

Oh yeah, assuming they are blind bolted (without nuts) , you could go crazy and safety-wire them. With nut/bolt assemblies you can use a drilled bolt with castle nuts. I expect the Blue will be fine, as mentioned.

Yes, those are the ones, thanks. Not bad. I was only considering it if I decide to buy a set of winter wheels/tires.

I have the same wheels on my 06, and have been wondering how the 18" 986 5-spoke Carrerra Lights would look. They'd be easier to clean! Do you think you could Photo-shop them for me? Though I'm not sure if the fronts come in the proper width.

As far as factory 19's, I like the Turbo, Carrerra Classic & sport wheels, FWIW.

Steve

I don't believe the 987 has that sticker under the hood like the 986 did. My 06 doesn't, and there's nothing in the Maint. manual either.

Steve

How's the fit with the spacers? I'm considering ~14mm spacers for the rear of my 06 with 18" S-type wheels to fill out the wheel-wells a bit.

Steve

Here's my 2 cents. I drove my 06 on PS2's this winter when it was in the 20's, and didn't find it unsafe at all. Yes, below 40 they have much decreased traction, but still more than a Toyota Camry, you just have to corner a bit slower. Though I do make sure the roads are dry, and not damp or "frosty", at lower temperatures.

Having said that, I plan on buying a spare set of wheels for snow tires at some point, to extend the usable driving season.

Steve

Thanks for the pictures. Where can you buy the trunk mat & bungie set-up? I guess you have to be carefull not to dent the trunk lid.

That's an interesting option. You don't happen to have a picture of it sitting in you trunk do you? It seems that it would take up 40-50% of the trunk space?

Thanks for the reply, that's the same conclusion I came to. I'll just install an aftermarket TPMS when I need new tires. With no spare tire, I want to catch any problems ASAP!

Steve

My '06 just had the plastic coolant cap replaced under warranty, the dealer said it was cracked. It appeared to be leaking out the overflow at the Right rear tire.

Steve

I would definately let your wife drive the car ( If she knows how to drive a manual transmission! ) . My wife didn't really "get it" either, until she drove the car, then her comment was, " it is sweet! "

Of course, there are limits, I didn't let here take her mom to breakfast with it. I couldn't bear the thought of her parking it at a Bob Evans!

I just bought an MY06 CPO Boxster, and agree with most of the previous advice. Only you can decide how much you can afford a month. I had $10K to put down, and a max. of $425 montly payments. I used an on-line payment calculator (cars.com or other) to determine what total price , with tax & tags, would end up at my $425/month. That was my deal-breaker price point. I have no other debts , other than a mortgage, so I didn't feel I needed to wait 4 more years to pay cash.

BTW, the 2.9% Porsche financing offered on CPO cars was better than I could find anywhere, but I'm not sure how long it will continue to be offered. I made the sale contingant upon loan approval at 2.9%.

Options I would have liked: Bose stereo with controls on the steering wheel, (Though the sound package+ is pretty good), Tire pressure monitor, possibly automatic temperature control, sport exhaust, S model.

Favorite options I did get: Power seats with memory, Heated seats, auto wipers/auto dimming mirrors, 18" wheels, Xenon.

A PPI would still be a good idea, even on a CPO car, dealers seem to do as little as possible to get it out the door.

Good luck, It truly is a fun car!

Steve

I agree with RFM, my 987 has been doing this more with the colder weather. It's Ackerman combined with the camber gain effect of Caster/SAI. The tires ride more on one edge, and the radius of the inside vs. outside tire paths don't quite match, so the tire with the least grip has to "scrub" across the pavement to match the path of vehicle travel.

Steve

Yes, your problem does seem odd. I don't recall ever seeing posts about problems with these tires. You could try a general Google search for Pirelli P-zero tire problems.

Good luck

Steve

I'd say "free" tires are worth exactly what you paid for them if their performance unsatisfactory, buy another brand.

Just my 2 cents,

Steve

I have a related question. Can the factory TPMS be retrofitted to a car that didn't come with that option (MY06) ?

Steve

Thanks, I have been to the LN site, they seem to focus more on the eariler engines. From my reading there seems to be a definate cut-over date in late '05, but no one seems to know exactly when that is, which I find puzzling! Though it does seem that any '06 should be "safe", relatively speaking! (or at least updated)

Last question, I promise! Does anyone know with what engine # the "latest" larger IMS bearing started being installed?

Thanks.

Not to be annoying, but the M97 started in '07 correct? The '05-06 still had the 3.2L S engine, so are they still the M96.23/24 ?

Ok, Thanks. What's the code for 2005-08? I've been very curious to know what engine code/# the larger IMS bearings started with.

What do the engine designations M96.21 and M96.22 mean? I know the M96 part, but is the .21/.22 the 2.7 and 3.2?

Thanks,

Steve

Not to be contrary, but the leak would have to be fairly bad to actually wet the clutch lining. The oil runs down the block and back-side of the flywheel, then out the bottom "drain". I just replaced a badly leaking RMS on my Formula Ford, and the clutch was still dry. Besides, unless the clutch is very new, I'd replace it while things are apart anyway. I agree though, it should be fixed if it's more than a few drips.