Gas, and few Questions

[rick3000]

Hi,

Okay I finally have gotten to enjoying my Boxster. :drive:

I have a few questions, I have had it for two weeks and have filled it up once. My question is what do you guys use premium or regular? The owners manual says to use premium but with gas prices the way they are is regular okay? My friend had a porsche 944 for 16 years without any problems and he only filled it with regular even though the manual said to use premium.

Second, are $25 Xenon headlights to good be true, in comparison to $2000 ones that replace the entire headlight?

Third, were do you put the windstop when the top is down? I have the shelf under the role bar but it barely fits in there.

Fourth, can you put a ski rack on the hard top, or is not strong enough?

Thanks! :)

I appreciate all answers!

[John V]

Hi,

Okay I finally have gotten to enjoying my Boxster. :drive:

I have a few questions, I have had it for two weeks and have filled it up once. My question is what do you guys use premium or regular? The owners manual says to use premium but with gas prices the way they are is regular okay? My friend had a porsche 944 for 16 years without any problems and he only filled it with regular even though the manual said to use premium.

Second, are $25 Xenon headlights to good be true, in comparison to $2000 ones that replace the entire headlight?

Third, were do you put the windstop when the top is down? I have the shelf under the role bar but it barely fits in there.

Fourth, can you put a ski rack on the hard top, or is not strong enough?

Thanks! :)

I appreciate all answers!

Not sure what you mean regarding the wind stop - I leave it in place with the top down. Otherwise, what good does it do you?

You really should continue to use premium fuel. The engine was designed for it, and while the knock sensors will retard timing (and hurt performance!) to save the motor, but it's still not ideal. If the cost premium of .. uh .. premium fuel is an issue, I think maybe you bought the wrong car. These are not cheap cars to keep on the road, regardless of your choice in petrol.

[Chris_in_NH]

if you think about it, filling up with premium over regular is only going to cost you a few extra dollars per tank. figure an extra $.20 per gallon x 15 gallons is only $3. you can get away with regular, but then you will lose out on miles per gallon and will have to use more gas, so it's a wash. i would just use premium. if you've only needed to fill it once in two weeks, you're talking about a tiny amount of money.

yes, $25 Xenons are too good to be true. if the wattage is too high (55w is the max you should use), the bulbs will discolor (burn) the headlight lenses to the tune of about $1K. real Xenons can be found (new) for around $1200-1300. used ones are even less. keep an eye out on eBay. people sell them all the time.

you can also 'retrofit' Xenons into your car for around $200. see this link. they will not have the same 'self-leveling' capabilities as authentic Porsche Xenons, but for owners that have done this conversion, it doesn't really seem to matter. they still get the Xenon 'look' and brightness at a fraction of the cost.

http://www.cqlight.ca/index.php?cPath=32_45

for the windstop, i think you meant to ask where to put it when the top is 'up'. you can leave it in place, or remove it and put it in either of the trunks, behind one of the seats, etc. - wherever it will fit. my car came with a little canvas bag that holds the windstop when not in use. if you don't have one, just put it in something that will prevent it from getting scratched.

you can put a ski-rack on the hardtop or the soft top.

hope that helps. ;)

[rick3000]

To clarify what I meant was where do you put the windstop when the top is up, because it barely fits into the shelf under the role bar.

Also, I was just wondering about the premium vs. regular gas. I know you should use premium but $3 every fill adds up, and I know Porsches are a bit pricey to maintain but it doesn't hurt to try and pinch pennies if I doesn't really affect performance, but it sounds like it does.

Also, can you mount a ski rack directly to the hard top?

Thanks :)

[911-996]

$3 a gallon is expensive?

In aus its around $1.50~ a ltr for premium on a bad day

1 gallon = aprox 3.7ltrs

Were paying $5.50 a gallon over here :)

Pay the extra few dollars, a new engine will cost you more :)

[John V]

To clarify what I meant was where do you put the windstop when the top is up, because it barely fits into the shelf under the role bar.

Also, I was just wondering about the premium vs. regular gas. I know you should use premium but $3 every fill adds up, and I know Porsches are a bit pricey to maintain but it doesn't hurt to try and pinch pennies if I doesn't really affect performance, but it sounds like it does.

I still don't understand. You don't have to do anything with the wind stop when the top is up. Just leave it in place.

[986Jim]

I never take my windscreen out. I just leave it there all the time even when the top is down and sitting in parking lots. I have heard that people steal them but after two years and lots of leaving the top down everywhere I go nobody has ever touched my car. People stop to admire it but never bother with it. I have removed it once just to see how it comes out, other then that it just stays there up or down.

[fasterjames]

I leave my windstop up all the time except when cleaning my rear window. I have never had it stolen either but I did lose one of the mesh rollbar vents after my seatback knocked it loose and I took off from a stoplight. (Didn't realize it until I got home.)

Now I have them tie-wrapped. For the center I 'carefully' drilled a small hole in the corner so if someone does want to take it they have to work for it.

Don't have a hard top but I think I remember a picture of one with a ski rack from a Porsche promo. Check Porsche's Techquipment. Enjoy your Boxster!

[FrayAdjacent986]

I echo the comments here: Use premium fuel. When I drove my Boxster home from the small dealer I bought it from, they had their monkey boy put $20 of midgrade in it. It ran, and got me home, but when I burned it off and filled up with premium, I could tell the engine ran smoother.

Second, there was a thread here about which a gentleman did install a Xenon kit in the standard headlights, and the projection was pretty good. It might not be a terribly bad idea, but the Litronics are pretty nice. They can sometimes be found for as little as $1100 (I think that was a group buy, tho), but places like Suncoast sometimes have them for around $1300-1400, IIRC.

The windstop usually comes with a small cotton cloth bag. I have mine tucked in the bag, hanging out behind my driver's seat. Be careful with the windstop, though, it's expensive to replace.

Fourth, Porsche does have a roof rack for the Boxster. Look up the Tequipment catalog. It's not cheap, and if you put it on with the top up, the top stays up until you take off the rack, vice versa with the top down.

[rick3000]

Thanks, I will definately use premium. The windstop, I made a case for because it didn't have one, and I have decided to just leave it in the trunk when the top is up so I can use the space over the engine. Drilling a hole in it and hooking to the car is a great idea, thanks fasterjames. I am actually thinking of using a deck rack and modifing it to fit a ski rack that goes over the top. I have not heard great things about the techquiment rook rack. I am curently in the market for a hard top, I need to find one before next winter, if anyone has an Ocean Blue one let me know. (It's worth asking)

Thanks! :)