First I've never had a porsche ... and this will be a cabriolet ... and I currently drive an M3 (e93) 'vert which has performance matching more the 3.4 I'm guessing.

I live in the SF bay area and have 5 goals:

(1.) Great coastal cruising - dropping the top fixes that

(2.) As few tickets as possible : ) Lower power helps me there and I've been looking at the boxster but I keep coming back to the 991 given the price my cofig comes in at

(3.) Keeping it relatively frugal - I know, sounds goofy, but I'm going to lease so I want my config to stay in the safe zone and get decent fuel economy given I can ... also I won't be going to the track

(4.) Keeping the ride as wife friendly as possible - she HATES the M3 ride

(5.) Great canyon driving ... from reading the boxster is probably the winner here but, like I said, I keep looking back at the carrera

This gets me to my question ... I like the idea of the PCCBs for weight loss; this would help with agility in the canyons, performance, help fuel economy maybe, and maybe make for a more comfy ride. Never had 'em before.

On the other hand I could get the S for a bit more if I dump the PCCBs ...

The boxster is less powerful, but that's not really a concern as I'm looking for canyon agility over acceleration ... and it would probably be the better canyon car ...

So given all of that, what do you think?

Boxster S or 3.4 + PCCBs or 3.8?

 

^^^ what a nice problem to have
Seems like 3.4+PCCB fit your needs well.
But if 'S' is what you really wanted and seems very logical (given the price different in the US is not much), down the road you can still lose unsprung weight significantly with this kind of wheels,

http://www.bbs-japan.co.jp/pro/pro_rid.html
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/akrapovic...icle?mid=14002

 

Sounds like the new Boxster S would be perfect for you.

The only way to know for sure is to drive all three - with your wife.

 

If you get the 3.4, or Boxter, I would get the PDK. Some people think you have to keep the RPMs up too much with the 3.4. I drove the 991S and bought the 3.4 and I don't personally recall much difference in feel. It's only a couple tenths difference to 60. I've gotten 35 on the road with the 3.4 at 60, but more like 30 at 75-80.

ChuckJ

 

i love my 3.4 991 with PDK and chose it over a boxster S, which i really did like. it was a tough choice, but at the end of the day there was just something special about owning a 911 for me. also, i drive 1,500 miles per month for work alone, so the bigger size of the new 991 was a good fit.

however, i'd probably buy the boxster S over the base 991 cab given how big the price difference is. i can understand a convertible being a requirement living in SF! that boxster would be a sweet little ride up and down canyon roads.

btw....my wife and i test drove multiple M3s, boxsters, and 911s during our search. my wife liked the boxster the most.

 

Do not get PCCB's for what you just described, the PCCB's are for brake fade with heavy track use.

 

Agreed. For what the op described that 8 grand or so can be put to way better use instead of "mere" canyon runs. The advantages of pccbs are only seen through moderate to heavy track use. He can also match the unsprung weight difference with lighter wheels. My vote is for the boxster s without pccb.

 

great feedback guys, thanks much!

I think it's either the 3.4 no PCCB or the boxster.

Not to be controversial to the boxster owners but I'm still not sure that I can be visually excited about it ... the drive experience will really have to wow me.

The M3 'vert w/ DCT I bought euro delivery never having driven one and only sat in one 3 days before I left for Germany. Previous to that I had a 2005 S4.

Buying sight-unseen (since I lease) was really part of the fun - and anybody that's done BMW euro delivery knows how great of show they put on for you for hours (my wife feel asleep in the back seat while I was talking with the delivery agent all while spinning on the turntable! too funny)

Anyway, I'm thinking about doing the sight-unseen thing again because it was so fun but ... the M3 turned out to be TOTALLY different than I thought.

Not sure I want to take that chance ... if I get the 911 it'll be a "dream car" scenario for me ... just not sure what the dream is!

thanks again for all the input!