Breaking in the Boxster

 This past weekend, Enzo and I had a lovely 1,300 mile trip in the Boxster.  It was the first time I'd had the opportunity to use the car for a serious road trip.  I gave Enzo the option of taking the 911 or the Boxster for this trip, and he chose the Boxster.  Thanks to Allison for letting us take her car for the weekend!

On Friday, we went from South Bend to New Glarus, where we stopped at our favorite bakery.  As I've mentioned before, we try and swing into the New Glarus Bakery any time we're in the area.  We also enjoyed a tasty lunch, in which Enzo discovered some extra-long fries:

After New Glarus, we continued on to Eagan, Minnesota, for a cousin's high school graduation party.  The next day, we headed back to Chicago where we had dinner with Faris before sacking out.  We got up early the next day to attend a pretty awesome Cars and Coffee event at The Exchange, where one of the stars of the event was a Ferrari Daytona SP3:

Enzo?  Ferrari!

After a very cool event and a relaxing lunch, we headed for home, taking 294 around Chicago.

So, what was the trip like?  I'm quite simply amazed at how fundamentally good the Boxster is as an over-the-road car.  If you consider a two seat car to be practical, then the Boxster has to be the most practical two-seater on the planet.  The frunk is massive and the rear trunk easily swallows a duffel bag and a pair of back packs.  The interior is comfortable, and as modern as I need.  The air conditioning works quickly, the seat coolers and heaters work wonderfully, the car is comfortable, and with the top up, it's snug, weatherproof, and relatively quiet.

We drove through sunshine, terrible air quality on account of wildfires in Canada, and a bit of rain.  The rain-sensing wipers did their thing, the car kept us cozy and comfortable, and I never wished for a softer ride.  The suspension absorbed bumps and kept us comfy.

Speaking of the suspension, I have a "favorite bump" approaching the Dan Ryan from the Skyway.  The entry to the express lanes begins as a left-handed curve before entering the on-ramp that dives down and to the right.  There is a pronounced bump in the midst of the left-hand corner before the on-ramp that can upset cars.  I was thinking about that bump the entire time between South Bend and Chicago, looking forward to seeing how the Boxster would handle it.

How did it do?  Impressively well.  The car felt rock steady stable and the suspension ate the bump, which I heard more than felt.  I was super impressed by how easily the car handled it and how it didn't pogo on the suspension.  It just felt planted, stable, and inspired confidence.

The other thing I was super impressed with was the fuel economy.  Similar to the GLI and the 2019 Odyssey, I thought the tank was a bit on the small side.  Well, it's only small if you flog the car around town.  Loping along at interstate speeds, the car returns over 32 mpg:

The entire leg from South Bend to Eagan, which included some spirited manually-shifted back-road driving to New Glarus, netted 31.3 mpg with an average speed of 67 mph:

I was super impressed.  The overdrive 7th gear keeps the engine spinning around 2,200 rpm at highway speeds.  On the return leg, I put 448.5 miles on a single tank with an indicated 46 miles of range left when I stopped for gas.  I think if you were deliberate about it, you could put 500 miles on a single tank on an interstate run.

The PDK made dealing with Chicago traffic simple.  Instead of using the paddles, I just left it in drive and let the computer figure everything out.  I discovered that I prefer using the PDK's sport mode, particularly in traffic.  Sport mode holds gears a little longer, leaving a bit more torque available under foot without the need to downshift.  I definitely prefer the way that feels.

The Boxster was definitely a more comfortable, quieter, less-fatiguing choice for this type of journey.  While the 911 could do that trip with zero mechanical issues, it's spinning over 3,000 rpm at highway speeds, is louder, and the air conditioning isn't nearly as good.  It all stands to reason, as the 911 is fully 21 years older than the Boxster.

If you only could have one sports car, it's really hard to argue with the Boxster.  It's modern, comfortable, spacious, has plenty of storage, fast, makes that lovely flat-6 music, and has the added benefit of being able to operate the top in about 9 seconds as long as you're going under 30 mph.  It really is an outstanding car.

I'm very much looking forward to our trip to Cedar Falls in a couple of weeks.  It's about 400 miles each way, which should give plenty of time to compare the Boxster, 911, and Faris' RS.

36,000 miles

 In keeping with the spirit of keeping track of what was happening at the start of a new thousand, we rolled 36,000 miles in the Boxster this past weekend:

Enzo and I drove to Eagan, Minnesota for a cousin's high school graduation.  It was a lovely time, just so good to be together:

As we rolled out, we were 8 miles away from the 36,000 mile mark.  We hit the big number shortly after merging onto 494 for the journey home.  It was a warm, sunny day.  The top was up as we were preparing to "lope" across Wisconsin.

Dampers

 I have a favorite bumpy road that I enjoy "loping" over.  Due to it's gentle undulations and pretty uneven pavement, it's is a great place to evaluate a car's suspension.

A long time ago, I was obsessed with making the 911 more capable on the track.  I spent many a track day at Blackhawk Farms, particularly enjoying coming out of Turn 3, a third-gear "carousel corner" that leads into a hard braking zone and a quick second-gear right-left combination. Going into Turn 4, I got feedback from other track day participants that my inside front wheel was off the ground.  The stock suspension was surprisingly soft, and when compressed with the throttle on in second gear, the inside tire would float.

That didn't seem like a good idea to me, so I made a couple of modifications to the car in pursuit of more traction.  The stock 16" wheels were 6 inches wide at the front and 8 inches wide at the back, with 205 and 225 series tires, respectively.  I replaced them with 17" Fikse  FM5s, 8 inches wide in front and 9.5 inches wide at the back, wearing 225 and 255 series tires.  The increased contact patch definitely helped with turn in!

The other thing I did was replace the stock springs with sport springs from H&R.  These are the somewhat well-known "green springs," which you can see here:

The combination of the wider wheels, stiffer springs, and track tires solved the "cornering on three wheels" phenomenon.

Anyway, that's more words than necessary to say that the suspension on the 911 isn't stock.  It's certainly stiffer than stock, and the springs lowered the car and got rid of what I thought to be excessive wheel gap.  I don't find it punishing, but it is stiffer.

My "take the kids to school" route includes my favorite bumpy road section.  Moving briskly, the 911 moves about a bit on the bumps.  While it never feels dangerous, the car feels very lively beneath me.  In the spirit of evaluating suspension compliance, I decided to drive the Boxster over the same road.

The difference is immediately noticeable.  The Boxster feels planted and secure, despite riding on 19" wheels to the 911's 17" setup.  You hear the bumps, but the car doesn't move around in the same way the 911 does.  Beyond the stock suspension, perhaps the longer wheelbase helps?

I then took the GLI over the same stretch of road.  On its stock 18" wheels, the car just soaks up the bumps, similar to the Boxster.  

I'm looking forward to doing a couple of passes on that road in my brother's Spyder RS, first in normal, then in sport, to see how it deals with this stretch of road.

It kind of reminds me of when I first adjusted the suspension on the FJR.  Stock, it hammered me on rough roads.  Adjusting the suspension per the recommendations in Sport Rider magazine transformed the motorcycle, soaking up bumpy roads while remaining stable in corners.

I continue to be impressed by passive suspension systems that smooth out the bumps while providing good body control in the twisties.

141,000

 I've decided to start posting mileage milestones.  I've been tracking them since 2004, but I've never written about them.

This morning, I rolled 141,000 miles in the 911:

Usually, I pay close attention and love to watch the four barrels roll.  This morning, I almost missed it.  Solo parenting this week and also attending the Virtues & Vocations conference, I knew I was close.  I was taking Enzo to a friend's house who would graciously shuttle him to school.  By pure luck, I looked down and the barrels had already rolled!

Curses!  I wanted to point it out to Enzo so he could watch and mark the milestone.

While he didn't get to see 141,000, I'll try and make it a point that he's in the car for 142,000.

It was a grey, rainy morning, just the two of us in the car.  141,000 happened pretty close to home, just driving around, living life.

Fresh Meats!

 I love my GLI.  It's a phenomenal car.  It's quick, quiet, comfortable, and efficient.  I did a round trip from South Bend to Interlochen on a single tank of fuel.  The front differential is amazing, it handles great, it's a joy to shift, and makes me smile every time I get in.

In the power department, I'd say it's sufficient in stock form.  Not blazingly fast, but certainly enough power to keep me entertained, and as I've mentioned before, compares pretty favorably with the original M5.  A stock GLI is enough to keep anyone happy, but recall that I had a 1998 Passat with a 1.8-liter turbo 4.

Stock, the Passat made 150 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque.  It was fun, but we gave into the temptation to get the ECU flashed to let the turbo work a little harder.  The car was absolutely transformed.  Passing on a two-lane road in third gear was delightful, the car pulled so much harder.  With more than 120,000 reliable miles on the reprogrammed engine, it made me start thinking about what one could coax out of the EA888 2-liter 4 in the GLI.

After a bunch of research and reading, it came down to Cobb and APR.  Ultimately, I decided to go with the APR Plus offering, primarily because the warranty gave me some peace of mind.  The APR Plus adds 42 hp and 57 ft-lb of torque, bringing the total to roughly 270 hp and 315 ft-lb in a car weighing 3,178 pounds. 

For perspective, my 911 makes about 250 hp and 230 lb-ft of torque in a car weighing 3,031 pounds.  So, if you do the math, the APR Plus-equipped GLI has a power-to-weight ratio of 11.8 lb/hp versus 12.1 lb/hp in the 911.  Heh heh heh.  I love the idea of sleeper sedans in general, and the GLI with a better power-to-weight ratio than my 911 makes for wicked fun.

From the driver's seat, third gear with the APR tune feels about as strong as second gear in stock form.  The APR tune also got rid of the pesky top speed limiter, with the car still pulling hard through 140 mph in 4th gear on a race track.  The car feels quite stout.  While I haven't instrumented the car, those power gains should get the car to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds and through the quarter mile in ~13.2 seconds at 111 mph.  That's more than a second faster through the quarter mile, which I have no problem believing.

The downside to all of this additional power is that the original equipment Hankook Kinergy GT tires simply melted.  While they did a reasonable job of coping with the extra torque in the dry, they were useless in the wet, easily spinning up in first, second, third, and occasionally fourth.  After roughly 25,000 total miles, 10,000 of which were pre-tune, the tires were cooked.  

While the end of a set of tires typically bums people out, for me it's one of my favorite times because I get to go tire shopping!  For the new set, I was committed to getting tires that could cope with the extra power.  With six vehicles to manage, over time I've grown to love Michelin tires.  They're just great.  The Defender2s on the vans have an 80,000 mile warranty.  I have Pilot Sport All Season 4s on the 911 that have good grip and seem to be wearing well after more than 8,000 miles.

Since I have a set of Blizzaks for the winter, I thought about getting a set of Pilot Sport All Season 4s for the GLI since I'm having good luck with them on the 911.  Then I thought about it a bit more, talked with my brother, and rationalized a set of Pilot Sport 4Ss for the GLI.  The rationale went something like, "Well, how many sets of tires do you actually buy in your life, and is it worth compromising summer performance if you already have a dedicated set of winter wheels and tires?"

With thinking like that, the choice was clear:

I have to say, I really think Michelin has figured out the sidewall branding.  I love the Michelin stamp, how legible the tire model is, and the little checkered flag.  I do think there is a trickledown effect from Michelin's endurance racing experience to its street tires.  I have super fond memories of the 2018 "Pink Pig" class victory at Le Mans, a once-in-a-lifetime megatrip that I reveled in with my brother.  Guess what tires the class-winning car was wearing?

That's right - Michelins.

Anyway, this is what the GLI looks like with its fresh meats:

I only have about 70 miles on the new tires, but my initial impressions are that these are the tires the car deserves.  Full power in second gear doesn't phase the tires, and they seem like they grip well.  I can't wait until I get them scrubbed in a bit more so I can explore their capabilities a bit more fully.  I'm also looking forward to driving the car in the wet, just to see how these "max performance summer tires" cope with wet pavement.  While I'd imagine that full-throttle pulls on the wet would cause the traction control to flicker, I'm optimistic that they won't spin worthlessly like the overmatched Kinergy GTs.

More to come as I get some driving in.

Going to Wisconsin

 Since the 981S was in Wisconsin and it coincided with the kids' spring break week, we decided to make a bit of an adventure out of going to get it.  The 911 was due for its annual service, so I worked with my brother to schedule it for when we were going to Wisconsin.  One wonderful thing about working with The Exchange for service is their loaner fleet of Cayennes.  The Cayenne is an excellent SUV, and made for the the perfect accomplice on this mission.

To The Exchange!

Knowing we had no hope of fitting all of our luggage into the 911, my brother graciously agreed to take some bags to The Exchange with him when he was visiting for the weekend.  On departure morning, we stuffed the trunk full with our remaining luggage:

and prepared to fold our tall bodies into a pretty small space:

Once aboard, the drive to Chicago felt like a regular road trip...

...and before long, it looked like one, too!

Who says a 911 isn't a family car?  I think it's perfectly practical!  That said, it was nice to have a 2 hour hop instead of being in there for the 5 hours that we'd need to get to our final destination...

The Nuthorn Quest

Whenever we go to Wisconsin, we make a point of visiting the New Glarus Bakery, which is a little over 2 hours away from The Exchange.  As long-time patrons, we know that it's completely worth pre-ordering nuthorns because in addition to being amazingly delicious, the sell out quickly.  Since they're delicious, we ordered a dozen so we could enjoy some on the fly and save some to bring back to share with others.

After a delicious lunch, saddled up for the final ~2 hour ride to Appleton:

We got to the hotel in time for the kids to frolic in the pool, which they loved!  There was no hurry to get to bed early or get up early because we didn't plan on picking up the car until after 9 the following day.  Of course, I couldn't sleep.

Delivery Day

We got up leisurely in the morning and grabbed a family workout in the hotel gym before searching for a tasty coffee shop in Appleton.  Allison took the time to fulfill one of my fantasies by painting her nails to match the red belts in the car (remember, I am a strange man):

Fulfilling the "taking delivery of a Porsche at a dealership" fantasy, Allison also was cool with wearing the awesome Martini Racing sweatshirt she got me for Father's Day, and I chose the F.A.T. International hoodie I got while traveling with my brother in 2024 when we visited F.A.T. Mankei on the Grossglockner Pass.  

Decked out and ready, we found a coffee shop, headed in that direction, and enjoyed a good cup of coffee and some tasty breakfast:

After breakfast, it was time!!!  We piled into the Cayenne, drove to Porsche Fox Valley, and with wide smiles and a lot of excitement, got ready to fulfill the dream:

Part of the joy of the purchase experience was the actual purchase experience.  Nothing compares to taking delivery of a Porsche from a Porsche dealership.  I did it once before, at The Exchange, back in 1997.  I really wanted Allison to have that experience - of being shown the car, all the features, pairing her phone, really making it feel like it's her car.  Which it is!

The kids were immediately smitten.  Heck, who am I kidding, we all were.  It's a really pretty car.

James, our salesman, was fantastic.  He spent plenty of time with us, never making us feel rushed or like we were consuming too much of his time:

We all loved exploring the car, and I'll never forget how wide the smiles were!

I particularly love the red belts!

My brother, ridiculously generous person that he is, had Porsche winter floor mats waiting for us at The Exchange, so I took out the stock mats and snapped in the more durable, rubberized versions.  I mean, this car is going to get a fair bit of use, so it makes sense to protect from crumbs, potential spills, etc:

After chatting and exploring the car, it was time for the first drive.  I loved every second of it!  It was so cool to see Allison's level of nervous excitement:

I really love seeing her excited smile:

Of course, Allison insisted we trade places so I could sample the car:

For me, the greatest joy came from seeing the wonder and happiness on the faces of my family:

And from driving lazily south, close to Lake Michigan:

And seeing Madeline get ready for her first driving experience in this car:

We has deliciously beautiful weather for the pickup, sunny, cool, perfect top down/heated seats weather.  For whatever reason, the weather gods were smiling on us, and it made the trip that much more delightful.

Homeward Bound

After overnighting in Sheboygan where we enjoyed an unexpectedly delicious Italian meal at my brother's suggestion, we cruised into Milwaukee to visit Colectivo Coffee Lakefront.  I'm a massive fan of the Dark Sumatra.  The weather greatest hits album kept playing, and we were able to sit outside in the crisp sunshine.

After a leisurely breakfast, we made our way back to The Exchange where the 911 was waiting with fresh oil.  It was the first time that the siblings got to meet each other:

I like to observe how cars evolve over time.  I think this photo from the rear is particularly telling.  Look how high the bumper is on the Boxster, and how low the lights are in the 911.  Admittedly, the 911 has been lowered, but you can't get away from the fact that in the 1990s, legislation hadn't gotten to the point that higher bumpers were mandated.

Afterwards, we went to one of Faris' friends house for dinner.  We got to park next to each other, and I love the top view of the cars next to each other.  You can see that the Boxster is longer (172.2 inches vs 168.3 inches).  The difference in width is much more pronounced, with the Boxster coming in at 70.9 inches vs only 65 for the 911.

I've been reading Mom's book to Enzo as his bedtime story.  In the book, he was introduced to Cat's Cradle, and has gone down a YouTube rabbit hole learning a variety of different designs.  Steve, Faris' friend we had dinner with, is of a vintage that he remembers playing Cat's Cradle as a kid.  His muscle memory kicked in, and soon he and Enzo were swapping the string back and forth.  It was such a delight to see, such a high entertainment value from the simplest of things:

'After dinner we made the trek home to South Bend.  On the way, the 911 hit a significant milestone:

140,000 miles and still running strong.  Over 27 years later, the car still pushes all of my buttons.  The Boxster is 11 years younger, much more modern, and the car I'd choose if I had to be in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.  That said, I have super fond memories of a pre-GPS world when Faris and I took multiple days and blue line highways to get to the same destination.  I really like the 911 for just driving.  They're so different, these two cars.  That's probably a post for another time.

After a brisk drive through the night, we got all the cars safely tucked in for the night, where they could murmur to each other through the wall:

Since the winter mats will live in the Boxster, I brought the original floor mats into the house, where two very curious animals sniffed them and felt very safe "in the box."

All in all, I can't overemphasize how truly wonderful it was to have our kids part of a magical pickup process.  I love their open-mouthed wonder.  Allison's smiles and laughter are burned into my psyche.  And joy of joys, the Boxster is working its way into our daily life.  I had the pleasure of following Allison this morning as she took Enzo to school and I made my way to the gym.  I love how the Boxster is reflected in the hood of the 911:

I love plotting and planning, and top of the list is a raid to Cedar Falls to enjoy pizza at The Brown Bottle.  It was a childhood treat, and I really have a major hankering for their pizza, it's outstanding.  With a little creativity, we can fit the seven of us (my family and my brother) into the 911, the Boxster, and his Spyder RS!  It should be epic!!!!