What an awesome car! Whether you like Porsche or not, the mid-engined handling characteristics of this car are to die for!

I bought a 2.7 recently. Lockdown means I've only put a couple hundred miles on it but it's clear it's a brilliant car. Regarding being 'slow' obviously it's not as quick as the S, but as Ben notes all the fun is up the top end of the rev range, and even the 2.7 is good for around 100mph in 3rd so I'd argue that if you want to enjoy ragging it you'll not be quite as illegal in the 2.7 as in the S :) These are all about carrying speed through corners, not so much winning drag races. For hopping in for a country road blast on a weekend it's absolutely fine. Nice spec on mine - 18" lobster claws (like Ben's) extended leather, xenons, heated seats, cruise, the upgraded but non-Bose stereo which is kinda ok sports steering wheel. Looks cool in Seal Grey.

The 987 came out in late 2004 which was a complete redesign (not just a facelift of the previous 986) with the S having a 3.2. In 2006 they enlarged the S engine to 3.4 producing 295bhp no other changes. The facelift model was in fact the 987 Gen2 which came out in 2009 featuring a new type of 3.4 DFI engine producing 310bhp. Also the Gen2 had a newer & better auto-gearbox which was the PDK! 3.2S 0-60mph was 5.2secs; 0-62mph (100kph) was 5.5secs with a top speed of 167mph 3.4S 0-60mph was 5.1secs; 0-62mph (100kph) was 5.4secs with a top speed of 168mph 3.4S Gen2 0-60 was 5.0secs; 0-62mph (100kph) was 5.3secs with a top speed of 170mph All figures quoted above are for the manual gearbox. As I mentioned previously on Ben's channel, the Milltek Sport exhaust (rear cat delete), not only makes a great sound (deeper & meatier) & introduces some pops & crackles too (not that loud) but it does bring a sense of occasion on deceleration but the torque curve is spread across a wider range & you get some more power. It really transforms the car & the tail pipes look great too! Incidentally, those exhaust tips are not standard as those are oval in shape. Regarding the "gundo hack", I don't believe it can be done (or is the same) on a mid-engine exhaust system. The routing of the exhaust pipes in & out of the mufflers is completely different to the routing for rear-engine cars such as the 911 where the Gundo bypass originated. From what I understand, they just bypass the secondary Cats, in which case you might as well get a decent exhaust like the Milltek which completely does away with those Cats & you get measurable power & torque gains with a great new sound. I bought a 2006 987S as a sort of project car so I can tell you that the Milltek transforms the drivability & makes gear changes far less frequent when crusing around. I found it also opens up the performance in that the car feels more responsive across the rev range & more exciting to drive; a worthwhile investment.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing all of this!

@BleiteTV

3 жыл бұрын

Wow thanks for the info

@clu4u

2 жыл бұрын

I got the Milltek too, for my 05 BoxsterS. Lightweight flywheel, short shifter, tune, under drive pulley, Bilsteins, Porsche carbon steering wheel. Made my own Spyder until I got a 981 Spyder!

I got one of these in March 2019 for only £10,000 -55k miles. My forth Porsche -use a Macan S 2017 as a daily driver. The Boxster is a great summer weekend ocassion fun car.

Very enjoyable video. I’ve owned my 2005 987S for 5 years and still love it! 👍

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome, glad to hear it!

987 Boxster S look awesome. Like a 911 from the front and cool at the back too. Nice auto spoiler. Luv and Peace.

Great video Joel, loved the banter between you both 👍🏼

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks dude - always a laugh filming with Ben!

Wow huge congrats to Ben nicely specced Boxster S my uncle recently got the 986 Boxster S and the noise is just sublime and I'm concidering a Boxster myself

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, they’re really cool cars

I'm in the USA and first time seeing the Black wheels. I am use to seeing the aluminum ones. Quite frankly, I am liking the ones you have a bit more. Black on Black seems to work well and I also like the calipers in either red or yellow as well. I have to say a little afraid to own one due to unable to make most repairs myself to save $$$. Maybe an oil change etc, but that's it. Enjoy your ride mate!

987 Boxsters are brilliant little cars, I have had a 2006 987 Boxster S 3.2 for 5 years and also have a 1998 996 911 Carrera 2 3.4 with Aerokit for about 4 years, the Boxster is so much fun on trackdays :-) Poor mans 911, NO WAY, people who say that need to drive one !

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Totally agree!

Excellent vid lad! Honestly these have grown on me endlessly over the years. Wasn't a fan originally but now for the money they're a steal!

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

They really are amazing value, think they’ve aged well too!

For the money...the Boxster is the best buy.

Yes you get the engine ‘up on cam’ at around 4000 rpm they seem to have a second life! Great fun and a great driving car. I have been lucky enough to own several Ferrari’s, Lambos and the very rare Detomaso GT5 Pantera so I don’t impress very easily .

Really nice video with head and tail. You two are dynamic duo. Beautiful car.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it

Excellent video! I bought the 3.4 also in black. It's definitely a great, quick machine!

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic, thank you for watching Nick!

These cars are fun at the top end because that's where they make the big power. The fact that you have to rev them out is what makes them exciting sports cars. See Sw20 MR2. 174bhp from 2.0 in 1994. Revs to 7250 and makes power all up into the redline. I thrashed that car for years an years and after 150,000 miles that 3s-ge was still tip top. The sills rusted on my mr2. The rest of it was perfect. Best car I ever owned. Luv and Peace.

Having been lucky enough to own a 2008 Z4 3.0si with M sport suspension, then a 2009 Boxster S 987.2, I know they are both great cars. I'm now in a 2007 Z4 with the same specs as before, as I feel it is more fun most of the time. Boxster was better at 9/10th and above, but unless driving near the limits I found it too easy to drive and less engaging than the Z4. Keep the great vids coming.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your insights! You’re definitely right about the Porsche coming alive and being fantastic at 9/10th

Great video guys 👍👍👍👍👍 the 987 are an awesome car 😀

Sounds great standard.

That's what made you buy a boxter, a lovely looking car great video.

Yes I'd love to up grade It looks nice. But my tt is very versatile for carrying stuff with the seats down . I might miss that

Another great in-depth video yet again! Love the black on black combo! Would you ever consider a Boxster over your z4? If not, how come?

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I’d definitely consider a boxster, think it would be a good upgrade to the Z4

@ianedmonds9191

3 жыл бұрын

@@itsjoel Agreed.

Great video thanks guys

I drive a 2004 Z4 with the 2.2 engine and while the engine is gorgeous sounding, a real character, it doesn't really have enough grunt (torque) meaning you have to thrash it to get the Vanos to help things. All this leads me to keep looking over my shoulder at either a 987 or push the boat out for the 987s. The trouble is the Z4 I so much prettier. The view over the front bonnet on the Boxster with is bulging wheel arches might just compensate. I think the Z4 feels like a GT and the Boxster seems just more edgy. Steering on the Z4 is less direct too.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

I think you should go for a 3.0 Z4 - perhaps a facelift si version. That’ll give you the power fix that you desire

2 years ago I was thinking about buying a 987.2 S or a Z4M. Drove both, handling and agility of the Porsche was just perfect but to me the engine of the Z4M was way more special and powerful, the whole car appeared more engaging to me so I went with the Z4M and bought it, very happy with it. Still love Porsche and thinking of buying one but would probably need a 981 Spyder / GT4 to have a real improvement compared to the Z4M.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! Z4M is a beast.

@clu4u

2 жыл бұрын

I chose a 987 S, put 140,000 miles on, but traded it in for a 981 Spyder last year!

@Dathumm

2 жыл бұрын

@@clu4u So did I in the meantime! I sold my Z4M and got a 981 Spyder in Guards Red, love it.

Even the birds hate ben... Joking, that car is sweet.

ben's car is lovely!

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

I definitely agree!

How does the 987 compare to the 986? Worth the extra money?

I like it. It's pretty sweet!!!

Love the car. Tempted to get one myself but still hankering after an e30 325i m tech of old. Bollocks to those who say poor man's Porsche, they're jealous!

The "nervousness" is from the way the dampers are PURPOSEFULLY crippled from the factory. There are some videos from FatCat Motorsports that show what I mean. A set of Ohlins or FatCat suspension would sort the chassis really well.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

Definitely gonna give those grills a good tug 😏

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Haha brilliant 😂

Good move they’re fab..

Can I make a suggestion to improve your production? With the camera position on the dashboard / windscreen, the mic picks up a lot of low end rumble which drowns out your conversation a bit. Should be able to eq this out in your editing software. Otherwise great video, enjoyed watching it!

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Oli! GoPro sound isn’t the best. Had tried improving with some high pass/noise reduction.. will probably soon invest in a couple of lavalier mics!

Toyota MR2 turbo job done :)

Great video...the facelift is way better then the first version. If you have me the option to choose I would still go for Z4

get your back plates on MR

Newbury to Wantage road is the best driving road near me, made me want a Porsche nowC, thanks

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

It’s such an awesome road, one that we found by accident a couple of years ago when filming a different video

@alexbasnett275

4 жыл бұрын

It's Joel I believe EVO magazine has used it a few times too, you can do a loop if you go from Newbury to wantage, then wantage to Hungerford is quite good too, then take the a4 back to Newbury which is a fast road

No mention of potential IMS problem? Nice car but I'm still sold on Z4's' particularly now the run flats are gone!

@be1441

4 жыл бұрын

The ims issue only affected 8% of boxsters. Another "issue" dramatised by the internet

@Riot.g

4 жыл бұрын

Plus 987.2 don't have ims

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

I’ve found that the IMS issue is largely dramatised by the internet to be honest. People like to shout when things go wrong! Think the DISA valve issue actually affects more Z4s! But you’re right we could have talked about that - perhaps in a future video!!

@ferryporsha7401

4 жыл бұрын

In a simple nutshell, IMS issues affected only 8-10% max of 986s & 911s between 2001-2005 Model Years. From about Mid-2005, all 987s & 911s had a revised much larger IMS Bearing fitted, which have been found to have had a significantly less than 1% failure rate. As the 987 came out in late 2004, very few were made with the previous IMS bearing design. Since the revised bearing was introduced during 2005, I'm only aware of 3 engine failures as of today!

@nickmitchell5075

4 жыл бұрын

What Ferry said!

Boxster sounds really quiet compared to Joel's Z ..re: the poor man 911 , I've heard enough real drivers, tiff needell, brundle, Plato , on car shows all made a point of saying its definitely NOT a poor man's 911 , the boxster is apparently a better drivers car Betted handling & wont kill you like the air cooled 911s will & did (many a yuppie died bc of the 'pendulum effect ' back in the 80s /90s the engine right in the back is a crash waiting to happen, its only bc of all the driver aids that more 911 drivers havnt been killed. I've never liked 911 , or the 944 ,, imo boxster is nicest of the porches.

Did not think you could gundo hack on a boxster

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

You might be right!

All these cars need is a short shifter, there is nothing else needed

I prefer the 986 Boxster, it shares more body panels and switchgear with the 996 generation 911 and I actually like the fried egg headlights.... But then, I'm an old fart. Nevertheless, as much as I love the 3.0 Z4, it doesn't have the same prestige and image of a Boxster. Although when it comes to ownership, a Z4 gives me less cold sweats and nightmares.... With the IMS worries and mid engine layout, the porsche will require deeper pockets to run and maintain and the Z4 arguably looks better. Ahh... It's a quandary as to which car makes more sense to buy.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

They’re both fantastic cars :)

@ferryporsha7401

4 жыл бұрын

In a simple nutshell, IMS issues affected only 8-10% max of 986s & 911s between 2001-2005 Model Years. From about Mid-2005, all 987s & 911s had a revised much larger IMS Bearing fitted, which have been found to have had a significantly less than 1% failure rate. As the 987 came out in late 2004, very few were made with the previous IMS bearing design. Since the revised bearing was introduced during 2005, I'm only aware of 3 engine failures as of today!

@Metro6am

4 жыл бұрын

@@ferryporsha7401 Bore scoring is a risk though

@ferryporsha7401

4 жыл бұрын

@@Metro6am It's a risk on 3.4 engines not 3.2. The 3.4 had thinner cylinder liners which caused the problem. Circa 2009 onwards, Porsche introduced new engines which did away with possible IMS, RMS & Bore Score issues.

And I lost my Z4 in a car crash! 😂😂😔😔. Great vid though 😊😊😊

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear that!

@RichMMedia

4 жыл бұрын

@@itsjoel It's fine m8 getting a 350z soon you should do a compare review with that and the Z4! 😊

U got for less than 13K USD good sir?

987s/981s…they are the ones ..

Nice channel reviewing the older classics. New cars are kind of boring as everyone is reviewing them already.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. Yes I like to review cars that others don’t! I don’t get the same numbers as others, but I enjoy it and glad to hear that you do too!

Instagram Squad 🙌🏻

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Good man

This is the guy who sold his Z4 35iS to help fund a house purchase. What happened? lol

and Ben's channel is...?

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

...in the description :)

I have driven the Cayman gen2 2.9 and my e86 Z4 3.0 Si coupe felt noticeably faster and more powerful with better fun factor than the Porsche. I have been looking at the Cayman S 3.4 as a replacement to my e86 but the design of the e86 Z4 is ageless, sexy and cool for a mass produced brand like BMW. The e86 is ageing better than the 987 Cayman as a future classic, the same goes to the boxster and e85 Z4, the latter is ageing better. The running cost of the Porsche is considerably higher as per brand prestige but which one will make a better classic is subject to opinion and preference. Joel, this is a good content and very relevant for Z4 owners as both car are different interpretation of a sport car during the same era. Chris Bangles era of BMW is hard to beat when it comes to his influence on the e85/86 BMW.

Those aren’t 911 rims.

Interesting review. Wish you keep it shorter.

@itsjoel

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching

Another excellent video. Imo, the Boxster will never be as special as the E85 Z4. It's just another Porsche in the Stuttgart stable. But the E85 Z4 is the special one. It is the stepchild in the BMW family. An outcast. Still looks mad beautiful, modern, rebellious, sexy and stunning after more than a decade. Keep your boxsters and and the overhyped S2000s. I will roll with the E85 all day anyday.

@ferryporsha7401

4 жыл бұрын

Dear Sir, while I respect that everyone is entitled to an opinion, I have to challenge your comment of "it's just another Porsche in the Stuttgart stable", really? The Boxster was also originally an outcast because apart from the fact it saved Porsche, it was mid-engined, something they hadn't produced in years & went against the grain of the 911. Porsche, while they no longer hand-build cars, they're not massed produced like BMW thus I could say that the Z4 is just another mass-produced ubiquitous BMW in the Munich stable which are a common sight in European roads today, nothing special at all, while even a Boxster is a far rarer sight in the roads. I agree in that the original Z4 & successive models are fantastic cars, probably the best cars BMW have ever made in that it's a proper sports car & not a compromised saloon modified to try & behave like a sports car, the original E85 isn't really a comparison to a 987 because this generation of Boxster is more modern in everyway & superior to the E85 which now has such a dated & dull looking interior. It's also far slower being much less powerful & less composed in terms of handling when comparing a Boxster. While I admire the Z4, it's just another BMW which will never really turn heads in the same way that a Porsche does because these are cars which are designed with passion, heritage & prestige resulting in a car which to look at is a work of art & a timeless design, standing out from the rest & as a result, age far better than most other cars including BMWs, which actually age quite quickly. And lets not even start on the shocking depreciation BMW cars have compared to Porsche because they've become so commonplace due to mass production.

@be1441

4 жыл бұрын

@@ferryporsha7401 well said 🙌👌

@rumporridge1

4 жыл бұрын

Ferry Porsha don’t know where you are in the world but Porsche Boxster’s are on every corner in NYC. Zed4 are definitely less commonplace. As far as aging I disagree. Have seen many examples of the Z3 and Z4 in pristine condition. Aging depends on the owner and how it’s been taken care of. Also the N52B30 engine was one of the best NA engines BMW ever made. Zed4 definitely will and has become a classic already.

Z4 is still the prettiest 😳

e89 is better looking than 987. 987's rear is fugly