Popular Post Meteor_CR Posted March 8, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2021 I thought it was time to join in and share my car having enjoyed reading through a lot of the information, stories and fanatical members cars section over the past months before and after finally finding the right car and taking the plunge! Although this is the first Porsche I have actually owned, it all came about from having enjoyed driving an ex-girlfriend's 987.1 2.7 for a few years. I remember how engaging that car was having always been used to mostly VAG products, being either front or 4WD and I fell in love with the agility and how the car seemed to pivot around the driver. I part exchanged my Mk7 Golf R DSG which I had enjoyed for 3 years or so, and did many fun road trips including multiple jaunts around N Wales, but the best of all being the NC500 back in 2018. It was the 2nd time doing it, the first having been a day with six of us sharing 3 different Caterhams which was another unforgettable experience. In the Golf we took 5 days and did it anto-clockwise, including taking in Skye and Rassay and it was honestly one of the best trips of my life. 7 of us in 4 hot-hatches, among roads, great weather and lots of banter!! As much as the Golf was perfect for the trip, I came away wishing for a bit more engagement in terms of a naturally aspirated engine, manual gearbox and rear driven. The search for a Cayman started there. Then came saving for a house purchase, and finally a couple of years later and bit more saving I was looking in anger at Gen 2 S' and the odd R, until I finally spotted this Meteor Grey Cayman R on Autotrader and became fixated on it. I had originally planned to keep the Golf and add the Cayman as a second car, but having become smitten with the R and figuring out the cost to add a the R parts to an S was prohibitive I decided to part-ex the Golf! Sad to see it go, but the R is quite the replacement!! I've had her around 3 months now, and despite despite cold weather and lockdown I am looking for any excuse to take her out. She's is not quite the perfect spec, in not having PSE or Chrono, but I will look to go for a Carnewal and retrofit at some point to make up for those areas. Needless to say I am totally smitten and can't wait to get to Wales or Scotland again to properly experience the brilliance of the chassis! Look forward to meeting some of you in the near future, and hope the the R Anniversary meet is still going ahead! Cheers Ian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blissya Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Gorgeous car! Liking the pics over on Instagram too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windymiller Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Welcome! 👍🏻 She’s a looka for sure, great pick of car and lovely story to read - it’s funny how many of us have a ‘seed sown’ about porker ownership that may take some / many years to germinate, but where there’s a will (or an unbridled passion 😉), theres often a way in the end... Enjoy the miles and smiles ahead 🏎😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 Thanks gents! As @Blissyanoticed, I like to take the odd pic so if anyone is interested then my Insta is Meteor_CR Here are a few of my favourites... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 For me the 987 has aged really well, and I actually think it is my favourite shape of all the Boxster/Cayman generations and the detail changes on R just add up to something quite special. In terms of the drive, I have only had a few journeys where I have been able to push on a bit, which generally involves getting up at the crack of dawn. I love the low centre of gravity and the way the car goes through a corner. The suspension is definitely on the firm side, and can be a bit tiring at slower speeds or around town. Once going a bit quicker it improves, although can still be quite a ride on a poorly surfaced B-road. I am tempted to look at getting an alignment at some point in the future. Also I'm not sure how old the tyres are but may well change from Pilot Supersports to 4Ss which I have had on my Golf R and they were superb. The steering is superb and a mile away from the epas system in the Golf. Nearly as good as a 600LT! Throttle response can be a bit frustrating at lower speeds, and may be something that a Sprint Booster could sort out, or so I have read. Also the addition of a transmission insert may take some of the engine movement out when you come on and off throttle. My car doesn't have Chrono or PSE, so adding the former and possibly going the Carnewal route could add heighten the driving experience even further. Overall I love the rawness of the powertrain and how she loves to rev. I'd just like a bit more noise. I am also going to add the factory SSK eventually. Lastly the main annoying points, which are around squeaks and rattles! I have had half the rear trim out on one side trying to find a very annoying squeak/rattle issue and low and behold it was still there when I put it back together. I now think the source my be relating to the boot trim surround or maybe the famous mass-damper. There are also some rattles that sound like cables in the driver's door that I see if I can fix. Any hot tips then please chip in! Overall I love the car, love the colour combo and can't wait to get her out onto some proper road trips and meets. Just a few tweaks to do over the next year or so and she will be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windymiller Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 (edited) Re SSK - I fitted the OE Porsche one last year and love it. Re trunk mass damper (if that is the culprit in your annoying rattle) - I posted a ‘how to’ guide on fixing that in the general maintenance area I think. Re tyre age, on the outer face of your tyres should be an oval about 2” Lon with four numbers in it - this is the week and year of the tyres manufacture. Eg, ‘1819’ would be week 18 of year 2019. a door rattle might be a broken / missing door trim clip (if the door card has ever been removed to fettle with the window regulator / speaker etc). These are fab cars for those early morning ‘dawn raids’ for sure 🤪😉 Edited March 9, 2021 by Windymiller Linky added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 Thanks for the tips @Windymiller👍 I have read several reviews of the SSK along with the how to, so it's definitely on the list. For the trunk thunk I've already bookmarked the how to, so will get on to that one weekend soon, along with the door rattle. I think it may also be the trim pieces on the trunk surround as they seem to rattle when you tap them. I have plenty of anti-squeak tape to go crazy with! Just sorting those few things will only add to the enjoyment. Either that or I just need to drive everywhere in a lower gear and drown out the rattles with flat six music! 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenfourate Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Fab looking Meteor (I might be very slightly bias). Some nice individual touches on it already - and i look forward to seeing it progress........... ****Some nice photo's in there too 👌 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff R Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Nice pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarlechS Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 loving this spec, always been a sucker for grey and silver on these cars. i find these two colours compliments the undulations and curves of the car, the shadows always show really well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 Thanks gents! In my search I was ideally trying to find a GT Silver or Platinum Silver spec, having seen pics of a few online including @swanny71's lovely example. When the Meteor Grey one came up I couldn't stop looking at the ad, and was the next best thing to Silver. Next job was to start looking down the back of the sofa to find the extra cash over an S! 😂 Now that I have taken the plunge, I really love the depth of the Meteor Grey paint and the transformation of the colour in different lights. I have been dreaming up other colour combos, and if money was no option I'd love to do a real project with pealable paint colour change, different wheel / brake caliper colours, interior retrim. Maybe on day! In the meantime, I am out to find good roads whenever I get the opportunity! I just wish Surrey wasn't so congested!🙃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanny71 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Lovely example and a warm welcome to R ownership. Meteor is the stand out colour for me and I’m pretty sure I enquired about but missed out on this car last year. Happy to have found a silver one as 2nd choice though. Great pics 👍🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Meteor_CR Posted May 16, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 16, 2021 I've been putting plenty of miles on my R recently. Picked it up at the end of November last year with 39700 miles on her, and just ticked over 40k this week. Had a great time attending the 10yr Anniversary meet last weekend. Great to see so many lovely Cayman R's together and meet a lot of friendly owners. Thursday I took her on her first proper road trip, doing a lap of Wales in a day! Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite what I had hoped for, being very Welsh the whole day which meant we didn't get to try out my friend's new FPV drone. Despite the rain though, the car was absolutely superb and took the weather and twisty roads in its stride. We set off at 5am from Addlestone a and headed for the Elan Valley dams, which were absolutely stunning. From there we headed over to the North West coast to Barmouth for a bite to eat before heading into Snowdonia to find the B4391. The section from the A4212 that runs around the reservoirs is in my opinion the first bit of road in N Wales! From there we headed to Bala for quick stop before heading home via Caffeine & Machine for a burger and a pit stop. All in, 12hrs 25mins driving time and 567 miles! Can't wait to the next one! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteor_CR Posted May 16, 2021 Author Share Posted May 16, 2021 (edited) I've now got the car booked in for a 40k mile major service, which conveniently coincides with various other things that need changing, so she's having new plugs, drive belt, brake fluid change and airbag check at the same time. Also needs an aircon re-gas (if it doesn't leak!)... booked into GT-One in Chertsey who quoted just under £1k all-in which I thought was quite dear. I also asked then to quote for an exhaust swap as I am considering doing the Carnewal R GT on mine seeing as it doesn't have PSE, and they estimated 5 hrs work which I thought was excessive. Has anyone looked at Hayward and Scott muffler bypass and do you know if it is the same mod as Carnewal do? Cheers, Ian Edited May 16, 2021 by Meteor_CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Beanoir™ Posted May 16, 2021 Founder Share Posted May 16, 2021 9 minutes ago, Meteor_CR said: I've now got the car booked in for a 40k mile major service, which conveniently coincides with various other things that need changing, so she's having new plugs, drive belt, brake fluid change and airbag check at the same time. Also needs an aircon re-gas (if it doesn't leak!)... booked into GT-One in Chertsey who quoted just under £1k all-in which I thought was quite dear. I also asked then to quote for an exhaust swap as I am considering doing the Carnewal R GT on mine seeing as it doesn't have PSE, and they estimated 5 hrs work which I thought was excessive. Has anyone looked at Hayward and Scott muffler bypass and do you know if it is the same mod as Carnewal do? Cheer, Ian H&S add an extra external pipe to the exhaust, so it’s a visible mod. I went the Carnewal route for my R and I was really pleased with it, not only does it keep it looking stock, but it sounds as close to proper Porsche sound as any of the other options. The Carnewal mod is completely internal and you won’t know it’s been touched by looking at it. I had Paragon do the swap, cost me about £400 in labour. The best way to do it, is drive over to Gert at Carnewal and get him to do the whole thing while you wait, and enjoy the trip at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenfourate Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Car looks awesome ! Great pics… Some love being lavished on it right there. Good luck with all that…. I went for an after-market stainless system. As fantastic as the Carnewal sounds. I couldn’t get my head around modifying an exhaust that’s already quite a few years old. The stock system is supposed to be stainless. But I believe it’s a poor quality stainless used - and these do suffer with corrosion…. Either way - it’s guaranteed to sound a little more Porsche like with some added ‘breathing’ via a non stock system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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