[DreamcarFerrari]

Congrats Naman_Ferrari and thank you for showing a path for Daydreamers like me. I always used to dream owning a Ferrari, but seeing your ownership thread made me realise that we can get the 90 percent of Ferrari experience at 10 percent of the price with an used Porsche. If everything goes as planned, I should have my 911 by this weekend.

[Naman_Ferrari]

Originally Posted by DreamcarFerrari

Congrats Naman_Ferrari and thank you for showing a path for Daydreamers like me. I always used to dream owning a Ferrari, but seeing your ownership thread made me realise that we can get the 90 percent of Ferrari experience at 10 percent of the price with an used Porsche. If everything goes as planned, I should have my 911 by this weekend.

We seem to have a lot in common (including our username haha). I've had the car for almost a year now. It's not easy to live with in India but it's well worth all the hassle. It's an occasion every time I get into it. I can't imagine it would be that much different if it was a Ferrari (except the emotional value of the prancing horse, but the Porsche crest is definitely 90% there). All the best for your 911. Waiting for an ownership report soon!

[Naman_Ferrari]

1 YEAR UPDATE

Wow, it's been a year already since I first drove the car home, intimidated by the low seating position and the overall demeanour of a Porsche. Of course, I was overjoyed but I would be lying if I told you I wasn't nervous. It's been a year already (2020 just flew past) and still, every time I sit in the car and turn the key, my heart beats faster (not just saying this, it genuinely does).

If you are expecting me to say that this is a good daily driver car in a city like Bangalore, I must disappoint. It's not. While it's comfortable and reliable and easy to drive, you're always conscious of what you're driving. You always need to be careful and treat the car with respect. It always gets your pulse racing. This is great for a fun weekend car but not for a daily car (at least for me). When I just want to relax or go out with friends, I would much rather take my EcoSport. It's just more comfortable. The Porsche is brilliant for what it is - a proper sports car that you're supposed to have fun with. After 1 year of ownership, listing some of my key observations below.

Driving Position & Ergonomics:
Once you get used to the driving position in this car, no other car feels right. When I first got it, I wasn't comfortable at all with the low seating. But now, I absolutely love it. It just feels so comfortable and so right. The overall ergonomics of the car are also spot on. The steering, gearbox, pedals - it's just perfect.

Steering Feedback:
You know it's hydraulic every time you drive it. Extremely accurate and I can feel exactly where I'm going with it. It's a bit heavy at low speeds, which I personally prefer for a weekend car. At high speeds, it's not heavy but you still get all the feedback you need from the road. It's hard to describe this, but I can actually feel every stone or imperfection on the road through the steering. Especially at low speeds, if I go over a bad road, the wheel vibrates and tells me what's happening underneath.

Ride, Suspension & GC:
The suspension is definitely stiff. It's made for performance over anything else. At low speeds, you feel everything. Every small pothole on the road. I try to avoid as much as I can but well, I live in Bangalore! At higher speeds, it's much more settled and feels planted, even over rough patches. In summary, it's stiff but not so much that it's uncomfortable. In fact, many passengers have been surprised by how comfortable it is (I guess they expect it to be unbearable, which it definitely isn't).
The ground clearance is really good for this kind of a car, especially because of the short wheelbase. That being said, it does scrape on the really badly designed speed breakers. But 9 times out of 10, if I take it slow and cross, it's fine. The front lip is super low though, so steep ramps can be challenging sometimes as the front lip is prone to touch.
But overall, it's much easier to live with than you might expect.

Handling:
This is supposed to be the best part about the car and it is (I personally enjoy the engine a little more, but more on that later). It's extremely extremely accurate and will go exactly where I want it to go. Taking a fast corner in this car is something else. Makes me feel like a race car driver. When you take a turn, you can feel so much feedback and balance through the steering and chassis. And then you see those front haunches as you turn in. Maybe I'm not explaining it well enough but it's a load of fun. One thing that you instantly notice is the lack of body roll. I had a passenger who didn't know or care about cars, but still appreciated how flat it went around corners. Overall, it's amazing!
However, there is a flip side. It's not as easy as a modern BMW sedan (or even my old Merc) to throw around a corner. It's quite clear that while it has a lot of grip, you can easily loose the backend if you're not careful. At least for me, I took almost a year to learn how to drive it and get used to it. I finally feel confident now and have started pushing a little more through the bends. But if you're comfortable with the tail stepping out a little, you'll love this.

The Engine:
My favourite part about the car. Yes, the latest 330i is almost as fast as this in a straight line but it feels so so different. Here, it's so linear and so satisfying that you feel like you're going faster than you are. More than speed, I love the engine for 2 reasons. Firstly, it revs so freely that 4000 rpm feels like 2000 when you're cruising. It's just so smooth. And secondly, it sounds beautiful. It's not as loud as I would have liked it to be, but the quality of the exhaust note is exactly how I've always wanted it. Newer cars with their fancy Akrapovic exhausts sound strong and powerful. This one sounds racey and mechanical. Again, I'm probably not explaining it well enough

Planned Mods:
This brings me to the only mod I have planned for this car - the exhaust. I know I just said how much I like the pure and mechanical sound of the stock car. I really do! But I would really like the same sound to be a little louder, so I can hear it more. I have found a company in Belgium that does an internal modification to the stock exhaust. Costs 1/3rd of a new valved system and it maintains the original Porsche flat 6 note. it just amplifies the sound, doesn't change it. Will get this fitted in the next couple of months.
I had planned to do a few exterior mods but have decided against it as I want to retain the stock and classic look of the car. So no other mods will be done for the foreseeable future.

Fuel Economy:
I always use 99 octane and always get around 6-6.2 kmpl, which is great. Have driven it just 1600 km in a year, so I don't even bother about fuel costs.

Only 1600 km in a year?!
It's my weekend toy. Never use it like a car. Only use it to go for drives when there is no traffic. But I make sure I drive it almost every week, so it's not sitting idle for long periods of time. I think I enjoy it better this way. Every time I sit in it, it's because I want to drive it and not because I want to go somewhere. I never not drive it because I'm worried about the odo. I just prefer driving my other cars to go places. Plus, as I plan to keep the car for a long time (hopefully forever), I'd rather not use it everyday and risk getting bored of it. It's like going to a fancy restaurant over the weekend. If you go everyday, it looses it's charm

Maintenance:
I'm happy to report that it's been more or less problem free. I say more or less, because there have been a couple of small things. Apart from regular service, I had to change the drive belt and a few other small things here and there. Nothing major or too costly. One issue that I have been having since I got the car is coolant. There were small holes in 2 of the coolant hoses because of which the coolant kept going down. So I got those replaced. But even after changing it, I have gotten the low coolant warning twice. So had to top up the coolant twice after fixing the issue. I'm told by multiple people that this is common in the 987 after a coolant flush due to air gaps in the system and that the issue will sort itself out, so fingers crossed.
Apart from this, the driver power window switch sometimes needs to be pressed a little harder to go up and the headlight takes a couple seconds to switch on (started happening recently but I'm hoping it's nothing major). For a 11 year old car, these minor things are to be expected. Overall, it's been very reliable (touch wood).

One year done, many decades to go:
It's been an amazing experience. I feel lucky and fortunate and grateful, every time I see her parked in my basement. It's all the sports car you will ever need. Even 1 year on, I don't believe I will want another sports car for a long long time. Still want to buy that Ferrari one day but I'm in no hurry because I already have a Porsche

[KaranP]

Congratulations man, looks like she isn't just a garage queen!
Btw you still haven't swapped the front and rear wheels!

[cpabhijit]

Originally Posted by mopy95

My only beef with you are those sandals you're wearing in the picture. Come on it's a Porsche, it deserves better

Couldn't agree more! Dude, come on...why are you driving her in those sandals!??!

You said 11 year old, problems expected? It's just a year old right?

[shoaib3030]

Awesome post! I remember reading your post the day it got delivered. Tough to imagine its already been a year! Reminds me - need to check on my sports-car savings account.

Also, let the guy wear his sandals!

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

...
You said 11 year old, problems expected? It's just a year old right?

I think he bought it when it was 10 years old, and now it has completed one year with him.

[Naman_Ferrari]

Originally Posted by KaranP

Congratulations man, looks like she isn't just a garage queen!
Btw you still haven't swapped the front and rear wheels!

Definitely not a garage queen but not a daily drive either. It's in between. The wheels were swapped as soon as it was pointed out when I first got the car. 100% sure it's the correct setup now

Originally Posted by mopy95

My only beef with you are those sandals you're wearing in the picture. Come on it's a Porsche, it deserves better

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

Couldn't agree more! Dude, come on...why are you driving her in those sandals!??!

You said 11 year old, problems expected? It's just a year old right?

Haha the Porsche does not care about my sandals. I literally take her out in my PJs. Besides, I'd rather people don't think I'm a rich spoilt brat wearing Gucci shoes on a night drive for no logical reason

Originally Posted by shoaib3030

Awesome post! I remember reading your post the day it got delivered. Tough to imagine its already been a year! Reminds me - need to check on my sports-car savings account.

Also, let the guy wear his sandals!

Looking forward to your ownership report one day and thanks for the support on the sandals lol!

Originally Posted by honeybee

I think he bought it when it was 10 years old, and now it has completed one year with him.

Yes exactly!

[SnS_12]

I have never driven or have been driven around in a Porsche till date but is one brand I would really love to get my hands on.

The way these things change directions take corners is a sight to watch, so effortless and super quick. A few years back I was riding to South Mumbai on my RX on a Sunday morning and there was a black 911 Carrera in front of me on Marine Drive and the way the guy driving it changed direction to overtake the slower traffic in front of him is something I will never forget

Also, reminds me of a review I had read in an international magazine where the journalist who drove a particular Porsche mentioned he took a particular corner at his max potential and after completing the corner its like the car told him next time you could go a little more faster

Wish you many happy more miles with yours..

[Aaroah]

Hey Naman,
Awesome thread , loved reading every bit of it.
BTW are you by any chance an ex-Christite

Cheers!

[Naman_Ferrari]

I've had the car for 1.5 years now and since I bought it, I've been itching to get just one modification - the exhaust.

Introducing The Carnewal GT Exhaust

I've been eyeing this exhaust for the past year or so. In my countless hours of research, looking at many options such as IPE, Armytrix, PSE etc. I kept coming back to this one. It is basically an internally modified stock exhaust that I imported from Belgium (big hassle and not importing any car parts myself again). The reason I wanted this one was that it doesn’t change the sound of the car at all (which most of the other exhausts do). The Porsche flat 6 has a very nice and distinctive sound that I did not want to change. The Carnewal exhaust just amplifies the factory sound a little better. It's nowhere as loud as the other options but it's slightly louder than stock, which is exactly what I wanted. There is also a nice growl at lower RPM's and absolutely no drone. Just got it a couple of days ago, so still getting to know it but initial impressions are really nice. Admittedly, maybe I would have liked it to be a tad bit louder but on the flip side, it is totally legal with zero risk of problems with the cops haha!

Here are some clips of the new exhaust (please excuse my poor videography skills)

Cold Start

https://youtu.be/uBqgmW5kgjk

Exterior Revs

https://youtu.be/77Zc5m9eocQ

Interior Revs

https://youtu.be/RP3k0hW94D0

Driving

https://youtu.be/j5l6vpJxh1E

Another Small Mod (if you can call it that):

It's a yellow car with yellow dials, but the interiors are all black. While it looks nice, the interiors always felt a bit plain when compared to the exterior colour. Always wanted to do something about this and the initial plan was to get yellow seat belts to add some colour to the interior. But then I realised that Porsche seat belts will cost me around 1L to change
Dropped that pretty quickly and then I had another idea - I saw that Porsche offers owners the option to get their interior trim in body colour from the factory. I checked if I could buy the trim and install but that again costs HUGE $$ to do. So, I got the trim wrapped. Looks amazing, cheap and reversible. Such a simple mod and it elevates the interior experience SO much. While wrapping the trim in yellow, I also went ahead and wrapped the door handles, steering wheel trim and dashboard handle in matte carbon fibre. I know all of you will not agree with the CF but I like it and I think it looks much better that the dull silver trim that it replaces. Here is a picture of the interior post the wrap job.



Other General Updates:

- Since the lockdown lifted, I have started using the car a lot more now. It's now my go-to car for airport runs where I need to pick/drop just 1 person. Luggage is never a problem as believe it or not, this can take 2 full medium sized suitcases - 1 each in the frunk and trunk.
- Got some nice yellow driving gloves. Super unnecessary but I couldn’t help myself
- Got the wiper blades replaced

And that's it. One and a half years in and still loving it

[androdev]

Great to see an update from the founder of "Porsche team-bhp" :-) Exhaust sound has to be heard in person, YouTube doesn't do justice.

The yellow interior bits is a great addition - looks very OEM without the cost! Given your car is a manual, you can safely invest in these mods - it will hold its value much better. Can't say the same for automatics I feel.

Looking forward to seeing regular updates from the "founder" - don't worry about how many people are reading it - those who are considering to purchase a Porsche will find it immensely helpful.

[amitverma]

@androdev I was about to say the same things you said in your last post. I have loved reading this particular thread, partly because I have been for some time thinking about getting a not so old, not so new porsche myself. and reading about this particular one, knowing everything has gone down well with the OP's car, gives me a little boost. So please please keep this thread updated with the latest nits about your car.

[Carmine_pepper]

[quote=Naman_Ferrari;5114215]I've had the car for 1.5 years now and since I bought it, I've been itching to get just one modification - the exhaust.

In
It's a yellow car with yellow dials, but the interiors are all black. While it looks nice, the interiors always felt a bit plain when compared to the exterior colour. Always wanted to do something about this and the initial plan was to get yellow seat belts to add some colour to the interior. But then I realised that Porsche seat belts will cost me around 1L to change


Thar interior upgrade itch is a money pit for sure. one thing i have in mind is upgrading the Steering wheel and the headunit . Mine is a 958.1 so iahve similar steering and head unit (PCM3.1).
let us know by sharing if you come across any good source of spares/accessory.

[Naman_Ferrari]

It's been almost 2 and a half years since I bought the car and it just got back from a regular service, so I thought I should give an update (sorry I know it's long overdue).

Let's start with the service!

- Took it back to RaceTech for a regular service. Since the car is 12 years old now, I was expecting some things to go wrong but I was pleasantly surprised. These old Porsche cars are rock solid. All that was needed to be done was regular oil change, brake fluid change & AC pollen filter change (the filter was OEM so pretty expensive). But overall, I paid as much as I would for any other luxury car. Also, got a new tow hook cover as the old one fell off somewhere.

- Although this time, there wasn't much needed to be done, the next service is expected to be a major one. Although the car has only 20k kms on it, since it will be 13 years old next year, I want to get the transmission oil changed. Also, the suspension will need an overhaul in the next 1-2 years (it's fine for now). When I change the suspension, will also upgrade the tyres to Michelin. Also want to refurbish the paint at some point. The paint on the newer 718's looks so much nicer in person. I might budget a couple of lakhs and get these things done together in 1-2 years. Still planning to keep her for a long time.

Now for some general updates on the car!

- Still an occasion to drive. Have driven my friends Macan S many times but the Boxster is so so different. Feels amazing
- The Carnewal GT exhaust coupled with the Porsche induction noise is sublime (I do wish it was a tiny bit louder though)
- The engine is still the highlight. So smooth and perfect amount of power for our roads. Can easily rev it out in second gear without doing stupid speeds

All in all, this is a very hard car to upgrade from. Guess, I'll have to just save up for the Ferrari in 10 years or so (I don't think anything else will do justice)