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Advice please re Tip on 2.7 Boxster

leesweeney

leesweeney

New member
My BMW is finishing it's lease and the nice man at the dealer will come and collect it shortly. As the wife has a large family car now I have decided to get a 2 year old 987 2.7 Boxster for the daily commute and a bit of fun. The problem is that the wife only passed her test in an automatic so it has to be Tip as we will both use it.

Luckily I have the 993 S for high days and holidays and that's manual which keeps me happy and of course she can't drive it. It does mean though that she has a point on the Boxster - to get manual would be just plain selfish.

I don't want to stretch to the 3.2/3.4 for all sort of mainly cost reasons.

So, has anyone any experience of the 2.7 Tiptronic? The manuals performance looks pretty good but the tip looks remarkeably close to hot hatch territory. I can live with slower than the 993 but limp lettuce I can't. What's it like off the mark? In gear? Is the Tip a pain in the proverbial that kicks down even in manual mode? I just don't know so any help much apreciated.

Thanks
 
I have had a 986 2.7 Tip for over 65000 miles in the last 5 years. I mostly use it in full auto mode. Very easy to drive, but if driven gently can change up too early and bog down a bit, especially coming out of roundabouts. But if you understand how the Tip works (a better description in the brochure than in the manual) it is easy to get it to be much more spirited when you want, either by dabbing the accelerator, or by pressing a button, or by going to manual mode. If you want to step off the mark fast or overtake with max performance you just floor the right pedal and concentrate on steering. The Tip software is well linked to the engine and PSM so if you are looking for safe but performant driving under all conditions it is pretty well idiot-proof. For example it won't change gear in mid-corner if that would upset the car's stability, and won't change down if it would over-rev the engine. And you can't burn out clutches. I bought mine because at the time I did lots of M25 driving in stop/start crawls. Would I have another? - probably go for a manual because I now do less M25 but I wouldn't worry if I had to have one for the reasons you have given. A great car we are still enjoying a lot.
 
Thank you Richard and Brian. Both your comments were useful and informative although I am still unsure about how the performance compares to a manual. Buying a Porsche that felt 'slow' seems a contradiction and this is what I am trying to get to the bottom of.

The manual is quoted as something like 6.1 secs to 62mph whilst the Tip is 7secs. That's a whopping great 15% reduction in performance. If it was 15% down across the entire range then I would be worried! I have been told that the main detrimental effect with Tip is to lose 0-62 performance but once up and running in gear times are all fairly comparable. As I don't run the traffic light grand prix very often (at all) this seems acceptable, if true.

On another note, the drop in performance to 62 is huge. What have Porsche got wrong. Comparable BMW's don't suffer in quite the same way in the manual vs auto stakes and the wife's car until last week was was an Audi A3 with the DSG gearbox which was awesome with virtually no loss at all. Makes the Porsche gearbox on paper look very average.

 
Not sure it helps you an awful lot Lee, but when i changed from my 228bhp 2.7 986 series car to the 987S (280bhp) i borrowed a tip 987 S for a day. On paper the 987S Tip had similar performance to the manual 987 2.7 and it thought it was a waste of my time to be honest, but in reality the performance was way about what the paper figures suggested.

The Tip has many features - the steering wheel mounted buttons can be quite fun - you can pretend to be an F1 driver on the backroads if you wish, preselecting gears for the corner ahead and letting the computer decide when to downshift. You tend to find yourself so wrapped up in the buttons you start to forget how fast you are or aren't going.

Also don;t lose sight of the fact that a 2.7 in the 987 isn;t far off the power of the S in the 986 model before it so its not exactly slow. Also, with a Tip the gearbox will keep the engine in the sweet spot, saving you the trouble of finding yourself a little bogged down in a higher gear and then having to mess about with gearshifts and clutches.

And don;t lose sight of the fact that a manual car 0-60 time is based on total brutality of the clutch and drivetrain, side stepping the clutch at high revs to set off - in a tip, the figures will be a bit more representative of what the normal person would achieve when stepping on it [;)]

A test drive is really the only way you are going to satisfy yourself - it isn't wasted time in my opinion.
 
On my 2nd Boxster Tip I have at present the 987 2.7 tip and to be honest it is a dream of a car to drive , and so what if it is 2 seconds slower to 60 what the hell, just an all round nice car especialy in traffic,would buy another Tip
Brian
 
tested both cayman and s in man and tip and as others have pointed out the real world experience is really not very different(in my experience)-the man times are with walter rohl driving[:D]and most of us are not up to that!ther emay be .5 secs between man and tip and most of us cant notice that small difference
 
Thanks everyone - a little more reassuring.

Given I have little choice in having a Tip so the missus can drive and the fact I am going to use in everyday traffic commuting in to Leeds the Tip is probably the right choice.

Just got a little cold fee over the stats and I can't help but subscribe to the old addage "Too much power is never enough". The 993 S has had Wayne from Chip Wizards work his magic with a live re-map - huge torque now of 278lb ft with a very flat curve and 300bhp with a very linear curve but after 2 years it no longer feels quick - hence my nervousness.

I've got Strasse in Leeds looking for a Boxster for me now so when they find me one I'll post my thoughts shortly afterwards.

Thanks to everyone again.
 
There are hundreds in PH save yourself money and but privately and get a indy to check it out
I know of a nice speed yellow 987 Tip you could buy [:D][:D][:D][:D]
 
ORIGINAL: kitchens

There are hundreds in PH save yourself money and but privately and get a indy to check it out
I know of a nice speed yellow 987 Tip you could buy [:D][:D][:D][:D]
Click to expand...

I'm happier using Strasse to find me a car. They look after my 993 and the service and advice has always been tremendous - based very much around what's right rather than what makes them the most profit (which in most businesses ends up making you more profit in the long run anyway).

I may pay a bit more but the car will have been inspected and I'll get their warranty as the Porsche warranty (a very stingy 2 years) will have lapsed on any car I buy. It's worth it in my book for the peace of mind and the fact I won't have to drag myself half way around the UK to get a car (or worse to view a car I wont want). Life's too short!

PS Yellow is definitely my favourite colour. The 993 is a relatively rare pastel yellow and is just gorgeous. If the mileage is below 20,000 and the wheels are at least 18" let me know![:)]
 
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