Aerokit for Boxster S - worth it? - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

nah, looks good on a 911 but naff on a boxter IMHO Bennno

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU WANT TO SPEND AS THATS WHAT IT IS KIT MAKES IT DIFFERANT. PSM I WOULD SAY YES. THE LIST GOES ON CHECK THE OPTIONS LIST THEN DECIDE >> Edited by mightydquinn on Tuesday 11th March 22:46

eloquently put Bennno

PSM is a no brainer. Everything else is personal taste. DAZ

The new Campbell, perhaps?

is this a compliment

I'd definitely recommend PSM. Could save your life one day, but you can deactivate it whenever you feel the need. I'm also looking forward to playing with it on and off at the Castle Coombe track day!

The back spoiler of the aerokit looks quite nice, but the front looks awful. Not sure if it's been changed with the facelift though, or indeed if you can get just the back spoiler.

To be honest I wouldn't disturb the....erm......'lines' of the boxster with the aerokit, IMO it looks better as is than with the kit on. And PSM Already been said - you can turn it off when you want but handy if you do get out of shape for some reason when you really don't want to be out of shape.

Which Combe day, John? I'm going to the one on the 19th...see you there?

IMO: Options worth the bother on an S: PSM - no brainer Full leather - resale value...and interior ambiance Heated seats - godsend for winter roof down motoring Gearstick and Handbrake in Leather/Aluminium - nice Worth Considering: 18" wheels (do not combine with Sport Suspension) Sports Suspension - (do not combine with 18" wheels) Litronic Headlights If you must have it for work: PCM (Satnav and Phone) Why would anyone? Aerokit. Speedster rear All IMHO and beauty in the eye of the beholder etc etc

Well, I'll dare to be different (no change there then) In the 13 months that Emmas had her Boxster (sans PSM), not once has she got it out of shape. And she does drive it rather, er, enthusiastically! When we were looking, the good Mr Hughes recommended PSM, but an ex work colleague who also has an S said it wasn't worth it. Now I don't drive ours everyday but: - with the plethora of safety devices already fitted as standard; - the fact you can drive the car on the throttle - respect is due in the rain anyway given the power going through the rear wheels; is it *really* so necessary? Discuss! Greg

PSM for what it costs is definitely worth it...Every thing I have read on the subject of PSM. Those who don't have it say it is not worth it,but they have no experience of it in practice. Those who have it think it is fantastic. I specified it on my car as I thought it would help re-sale..After previous more raw Porsche I assumed I would turn it off every time I got in the car. It has helped....note helped rather than saved me on a couple of occasions.It is a very good addition,you can learn the limits of the car & when you are close it gives you a nudge rather than totally shutting down the fun..If you want to explore beyond these limits then you can switch it off & play. You will get the big talkers telling you about the purity of 911 lift off oversteer & what it is like to drive a Porsche other than a Cayenne offroad,but it is a genuine Performance aid which has more than exceeded my expectations.

i agree with e240, its bad practice to depend on PSM as a safety net, its better to drive within your capabilities and the very high limits of the car. besides with only 240bhp in a car weighing 1 3/4 tons, especially one with wide rear tyres and the engine on top of them it takes some doing to get it out of shape. advice a porsche dealer buyer gave me was, avoid light grey or savanna interior, add a windbreak, metallic paint and a CD. As it already has air con and leather he said any more just means a bigger loss at resale time. Bennno >> Edited by bennno on Thursday 13th March 16:02

Benno mate....I agree it is not good practice to depend on PSM...but what I was trying to say in my post is that it can help you drive the car better... No dis respect meant,,but it really is difficult to have an opinion on the system until you have done a fair few miles with it... With the relatively huge tyres fitted to modern cars,it is very difficult to actually work out where the limits are....they grip & hold until they don't,...then you learn the limits & this may be an expensive lesson to learn.. Having said that and not wishing to get totally flamed,there are quite a few Boxsters driven which will never even attempt to find any limits,,,clearly not somebody enthusiastic enough to be on this forum. >> Edited by clubsport on Thursday 13th March 16:15

Don, yep it's on the 19th. I'll look out for you. John

Cheers for your views so far. I think most of you are right when you say the aerokit does spoil the lines of the Boxster, so having second thoughts about it. My original reason for rhis option was just to make my Boxster look that more exclusive, as there are quite a few of them about in Frankfurt (where I work). Currently my preferred German options (some of these might be standard on the UK spec): Lapis Blue Metallic, PSM (as I hired a Boxster S in England last year and managed to spin it 180 degrees after hitting some 'water' on the way back to the airport), Climate control, Heated seats (nice in my current SLK), Sports suspension, 17" sport classic wheels - read somewhere the handling is not so good with 18", Wind deflector, Porsche sound package and CD autochanger, Gearstick and Handbrake in Leather/Aluminium. Considering (depending on budget): Full Leather, Sports seats (depending on comfort), Litronic, BOSE sound system (probably would prefer to listen to the engine), On-board computer, Cruise control. I was considering ParkAssist but read it does not work so well and spoils the rear.

Lovely colour. My last one was Lapis...before I got all traditional and needed a red one. Ouch! But a good choice IMO. Standard on UK 'S' cars. Why anyone would have Air and not Climate I have no idea.... Wonderful for roof down winter motoring. I have never bothered with this personally but since in Germany your roads are so much better this may be a good option. Here I prefer the extra compliance in the ride. I also have 18" wheels. I do not believe this to be true. And I have test driven both 17" and 18" rims. Apocryphally the 18" rims provide additional grip but coupled with a less progressive breakaway at the limit. Yep. I cannot believe this isn't standard as I have seen only one car without it. You simply MUST have this for resale...and it does help too... Its very good. I have this. Don't bother with the uprated stereo though. The sound quality is no better and its too complicated to use. I had it on my last one but opted for the simpler system coupled with the better speakers and amplifier of the Porsche sound pack. Good man..."lifts" the interior nicely I think. Again - I did not have this on my last one and opted for it on my newer car. If you can afford it. Get it. Helps resale and really is very nice indeed. Makes the car smell lovely too. If you go for a black interior the black full leather blends in beautifully (the ally gearstick looks great with it too.). If you go for a lighter leather you may want consider other options like the "Large Leather Pack" - which is blisteringly expensive - to get it all to match nicely... I have these and they are BETTER than the standard seats for comfort. My wife, who has a bad back, prefers them. The sports seats are NOT the bucket seats with harness, mind. Personally I would not get bucket seats for road use as its hard to lean forward for a better view around a corner. The sports seats are a nice compromise with added lateral support for harder cornering on track - whilst still being a good "road" seat. The buckets, of course, are great on track... I have this. They're nice. Are they essential....? Err...no. If you are a stereo buff get the full system upgrade to the "DSP" system - don't just settle for BOSE. Personally I just got the Porsche pack and left it at that. I have this. Its fun. I recommend it for resale value. I didn't get this as I could not conceive of an occasion when I would be able to use it in the UK's busy roads. However - I can see how it could be handy in the right environment. Will you really do long, long journeys in it though? Funny. I've heard it does work well. I have also heard that the sensors are butt-ugly. I haven't seen it on any cars myself... Hope the above comments are useful....

I wouldn't bother with the CD changer to be honest, just get a single slot jobby and buy a caselogic doodah which straps to your sun visor or something, keep your CD's in there. Changers are too much hassle IMO.

"PSM (as I hired a Boxster S in England last year and managed to spin it 180 degrees after hitting some 'water' on the way back to the airport)" Suggest that you cancel all Options and invest the money saved in some driver training On a more serious note, I've got 18" wheels and the handling is excellent. Looks much better IMHO. I've also got BOSE, but it hasn't impressed me for the money. Onboard computer is essential for me as I like to know at the beginning of my journey whether I have sufficient fuel to get to my destination (I prefer to fill up where I know I can get Optimax). Leather was essential for me as it makes the interior feel a bit more special than the standard.

My excuse is that it was tiptronic and the car decided to change gear at that point. Probably did not help having the pedal to the floor. Ok. There seems to be so many different leather option its hard to choose, but will speak to the sales guy about it. Thanks for the insight.

Yes my current SLK is metallic blue, black leather seats with 'wooden' interior. Was considering something similar with the Boxster but think the wooden interior would go much better with a green boxster. And the colour green belongs to Jaguar IMHO. The roads are not as good as you might think, what with all the tram lines in Frankfurt. Will see if I can test drive a Boxster with the different setups and see if I can tell the difference. Leather: Yes I would choose the black leather. Sports seats: Yes did wonder if these were bucket seats at first, which are more for the racetrack. Cheers for all your info, Don. >> Edited by sahota on Monday 17th March 20:21

I had the original Tequipment Aerokit and it was an absolute nightmare as the front valance is incredibly low. I lost track of the number of times I had to get it re-painted after scraping it on speed bumps, ramps etc. As for sports suspension, I'd avoid it unless you only drive on very smooth roads all the time. Otherwise its a real bone-shaker on bumps and pot-holes, more so than any other sports car I've driven. As for PSM, its an expensive option on a car which you have to be pushing really hard to get it out of shape. I'd spend the money on driver training instead. -Mike.

Blimey! Someone who agress with me!! So, as the man says GET SOME TRAINING, YOU FAIRIES!

I have a Boxster 'S' and had it built to my spec last year, I personally think the aerokit spoils the looks of the car. The P.S.M. INHO is invaluable especially in the wet and especially as my wife drives it sometimes....????? I love the Bose system, as its crystal clear especially when the roof is down. On the wheels I think the 18" wheels look better but the car does handle better with 17" wheels (As told to me by the staff at AFN and the Porsche driving instructor) Good choice of colour with lapis blue mine has the contrasting savanah leather. I would definitely go for the full leather as the doors when clad in plastic look terrible after some wear and tear!!! Happy motoring.

Hi All, Looking to buy a Boxster S soon and was wondering what people think about the Aerokit option. Does anyone have it and are they happy with it? Is there much difference in handling or is it more cosmetic? Was also thinking of getting PSM and the lowered sports suspension. But read in another forum that you have to be very careful of speed bumps if aerokit and sports suspension are added to a 911.