Part Two - 30 Hacks, Hints and Tips for your Porsche Boxster, Cayman and 911

[@christianpratt]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the really positive reaction to Part One - and I hope you enjoy discovering some more Hacks, Hints and TIps in Part Two. Please continue to share your own Hacks, Hints and Tips in the comments: I plan to make a third video to share these (as best I can!). If you're enjoying these videos, do please SUBSCRIBE to the channel so you're always up to date with Project 981. 🙏

[@andreygoncharov5759]

Saying hi from Moscow! I've got my 0km Cayman S last year and enjoying it!

[@christianpratt]

@@andreygoncharov5759 Hey Andrey - welcome! 👍

[@andreygoncharov5759]

Sir, I'm enjoying watching your video and listening to you! It's a pleasure to see how you love and take care of your car! Thank you for your tips!

[@christianpratt]

@ My pleasure - I appreciate the positive feedback. Hope you find it useful!

[@andreygoncharov5759]

The biggest thing is to find a proper place to test the power of this car. Here in my place the top speed I reached was 245km/h on a motorway. But what is more substantial is steering. And the only proper place to test it is a race track, gonna go there in the summer time.

[@christianpratt]

@ Ideal - a great way to really get a feel for the whole-of-car performance.

[@D992]

Invest in some grilles to protect the air con condensers ;-). Zunsport do a good set - I have them on mine 🙂. Superb video! Keep up the good work.

[@christianpratt]

Thank you! Yes, I think the Zunsport grills are the way to go. They’re on the list!

[@stephenfoster6940]

Interestingly, fitting of protective grilles will void your extended warranty according to my official Porsche dealer as they are a non-standard, non-Porsche part. Why? Because they reduce airflow by approximately 40% apparently. However, the 2.7 6MT has plastic protectors fitted as standard, but all PDK models and the S model with 6MT do not have them.

[@D992]

@@stephenfoster6940 I wonder why they fit them to the GT3 then 🤔 Lots say it’s just another way for Porsche make money when our condensers see stone hits 🤦🏻‍♂️ 💰.

[@christianpratt]

@@stephenfoster6940 Thanks Stephen - that’s useful to be aware of.👍

[@jakerade1]

umm best part of £300 just for the front v a £15 roll of mesh from amazon and a few tie wraps. If you take the bumper off the gts grills are really easy to do. Interestingly, some one was selling the Manthley Racing ones of fb the other day and i swear the pattern material was the amazon stuff (Ragyzity Car Grille 40x13inch Car Grill Mesh Sheet Aluminum Black Bumper Accessories Exterior Parts, Grid Body Bumper Rhombic Grill Car Grill Mesh for Bumper, Body Kit, Hood Vent, Vehicle Opening)

[@johnpaull135]

Thanks for these tips I am a new 911 owner so good for me Also you keep you car in immaculate condition so well done 👍

[@christianpratt]

My pleasure John - and welcome to 911 ownership! I like to make my videos with a clean car - though I also like to keep my car clean!

[@IrishManJT]

Fantastic. Thanks a million from a 981 Cayman S owner. 😎

[@christianpratt]

@@IrishManJT My pleasure! Glad to have helped. 👍

[@SinaCupcake]

amazing video, ive got my first porsche boxster recently and this really helped to figure out the little details

[@christianpratt]

Welcome to Boxster ownership! Glad I've been able to help get you started. If you haven't already watched it, take a look at Part One as well... (Thanks for commenting.)

[@gkrieger6824]

More great tips. Didn’t know about the 1 touch top operation, going to have to try that!

[@christianpratt]

In fairness, I only found out about it earlier this year. I’d been gainly hanging onto the switch up until then!

[@gkrieger6824]

@@christianpratt ahaha…same!

[@christianpratt]

@@gkrieger6824 😀

[@garyboag8681]

Great video 👍 more please 😂 still haven’t got my 981 yet. Still looking for the right spec.

[@christianpratt]

Thanks Gary - glad you enjoyed it. Keep looking! There's normally a few more coming onto the market as the summer draws to a close...

[@peterfritzphoto]

Great tips, Christian. 👍

[@christianpratt]

Thank you Peter. Sharing the 981 love! 😀

[@knollyDT]

Some useful things learnt that I was completely unaware of, I guess that’s what happens when you don’t RTFM 🤦🏼‍♂️🤣 I have sport plus and being able to switch off rev matching blew my mind 🤯😆Cheers for the vids ✌🏻😎

[@christianpratt]

@@knollyDT Glad you’ve found them useful. 👍 Rev match is amazingly good - but a bit of manual throttle work is fun too. 😀

[@gbarton800]

I have a 2014 981B, is auto-blip/rev-match a possibility to add? (at the dealership or other way) Thanks! Good video, OP.

[@christianpratt]

Hey. Thanks for the comments. So far as I know there's no easy way to add back the rev match function. In earlier models (987) it was possible to have the dealer retro-fit Sport mode - but the earlier models didn't have rev match. I can't see that the 981 can be retro-fitted by the dealership, unfortunately. (There a few threads on the forums which suggest you can code-enable Sport and Sport Plus mode in the 981, but that's quite a complicated solution - requiring access to a PIWIS unit, an extra button or two in the console, and possibly a separate validation code from Porsche. It's not a plug-and-play outcome.)

[@cranklesnacks]

don’t own one…. YET 😎 but appreciate these videos!

[@christianpratt]

Get stuck in I say Johnny... Glad you're finding the videos useful; thanks for the comment.

[@cranklesnacks]

@@christianpratt best advice right there 🤝

[@FA-fq6co]

Great videos thank you! I'll try the one touch roof operation on our 718!

[@christianpratt]

Appreciate the comment - thank you. Happy Boxstering!

[@prashanthp5448]

Loving the clarity of your explanations! On the PCM front, while I’m very happy with playing music through my iPhone via Bluetooth, I’m exploring options on integrating CarPlay. I don’t know if there are any neat solutions that don’t compromise other functions such as the reverse camera - have you touched on that in any previous videos?

[@christianpratt]

@@prashanthp5448 Thank you Prashanth! I’ve done a video on swapping out the PCM hard drive for an SSD replacement - but nothing on CarPlay. That said, there are several good videos about doing it on other channels as well as plenty of advice and guidance in the forums. I gather that it’s perfectly possible to do and doesn’t interfere with other functions. I’m happy enough with 3.1 for now though.

[@prashanthp5448]

@@christianpratt cheers Christian good to know. I’ll have a search for your PCM hard drive video! 👌

[@johnbris5]

Many thanks

[@christianpratt]

Thank you John. 👍

[@andrewbaird28]

Hi Christian, another well put together and informative video, re the manual, I have downloaded the PDF on my iPad which I find very useful and convenient, I look forward to a video on best practice for cleaning the radiators and just out of interest have you ever considered using a product like Glaco for your windscreen ? Kind regards Andrew

[@christianpratt]

@@andrewbaird28 Many thanks Andrew - always useful to hear feedback. I shall now go hunting for the PDF myself… Glaco - that’s new to me! I’ve generally relied on Autoglym’s glass polish by way of preparation and then GTechniq’s G1 treatment (or similar) to help with beading. Have you had success with Glaco?

[@andrewbaird6797]

Good to hear from you Christian, I think if you haven’t used the PDF on an iPad you’ll have a nice surprise, it’s a great way to digest what is quite a lot of information, as for the Glaco, I’ve purchased a set now just waiting for the right time and conditions to give it a go, but the reviews are very positive. I’ll let you know.

[@christianpratt]

@@andrewbaird6797 Excellent - thank you on both counts Andrew. 👍

[@alfonsitohouse]

Where to download the manual? Any chance of sharing it by email? Thanks in advance and happy drivings.

[@christianpratt]

@@alfonsitohouse I haven't managed to find a suitable copy for iPad - albeit I haven't looked too hard. Instead, I downloaded the 'My Porsche' app for my phone, which includes the complete Manual for the GTS, together with a decent search function and chapters. That's certainly good enough for me, and has the bonus of meaning I always have the full manual to hand...

[@alanbullock4153]

Unless I missed it, what was not mentioned is the auto-hold feature on the brakes. Perhaps it was omitted because it’s more of a general Porsche thing. I didn’t know about that for a while and use it all the time now.

[@christianpratt]

It’s a great feature isn’t it? No, you didn’t miss it. There’s little more to say about auto-hold since it works as advertised, I’d say. Still worth knowing about though! Thanks for commenting. 👍

[@alanbullock4153]

@@christianpratt You’re welcome. I really enjoyed the video. I think I only found out about the auto hold feature on the brakes from an online forum somewhere. It’s just not obvious on a Porsche like it is on say a BMW that has the option in a button.

[@christianpratt]

@@alanbullock4153 Porsche are very good at including great features that aren't obvious! 🤪

[@stephenmcnamara4393]

Another great video with some excellent tips perhaps you should mention those exhaust bolts on your next one keeping them lubricated to stop them disintegrating I have the standard CD-R 31 in my 981 just ordered the Erisin unit that everyone seems to be fitting, not sure if has Waze Nav installed if anyone knows how to install it on the Erisin head set could you please let me know how to do it, we have done 5 road trips France Italy Northern Spain so don’t want to run Nav through my phone using my Data if anyone has any tips

[@christianpratt]

@@stephenmcnamara4393 Many thanks Stephen. I filmed parts one and two on the same day (😉) which is why I haven’t yet included the extra suggestions. But I have your very point noted from the first video and will mention it in part three. 😀👍

[@christianpratt]

@@stephenmcnamara4393 Good luck with the Erisin head unit install, by the way. I’m not familiar with it so can’t really help unfortunately.

[@Dave-un7fh]

Hi. Have you thought about changing the side and front indicators to LED?

[@christianpratt]

Thanks for the reminder Dave - it’s on the list. 👍

[@Dave-un7fh]

​@@christianprattThanks. If it goes well, I'll do mine.

[@jimbrakeman3993]

Any suggestions for replacing the head unit on an ‘07 911?

[@christianpratt]

@@jimbrakeman3993 Hi Jim. Thanks for the comment. An 07 911 would likely be a gen 1 997 I think? The most elegant option would therefore be the Porsche Classic updated PCM unit - specifically designed for your car, with the same appearance but all the contemporary connectivity that you'd hope for. www.porsche.com/international/accessoriesandservice/classic/producthighlights/pccm/ The alternatives would be aftermarket head units, typically with improved screens and functionality, if you're less concerned with keeping the OEM look. They're likely cheaper too. I don't know of any specific suggestions, but I know it's an oft-done mod, and worthwhile.

[@venner82]

With the ipod I unplug it each time I stop using the car will it turn off automatically if I left it plugged in?

[@christianpratt]

@@venner82 Hi Chris. I’ve always assumed it’s powered down when the car is locked. I guess we could test this theory by leaving the glovebox open and the iPod visible and then seeing what happens when you lock the car… (I might try this later!)

[@christianpratt]

@chrisvenn Chris - I've just checked the car - watched the behaviour of the iPod when I lock the car and then unlock it - and it does indeed appear to be powered down when you lock the car. On which basis I'd suggest there is no practial need to unplug it each time. See how you get on...

[@venner82]

@christianpratt thanks for checking this, I could have done the same but it was tucked away in the garage. Have subbed to the channel enjoyed the 2 tips vids

[@christianpratt]

@@venner82 Thank you Chris - appreciated.

[@PaulMitchell-hn3tu]

How do you look after the hood

[@christianpratt]

@@PaulMitchell-hn3tu A good question Paul. Regular brushing and vacuuming, and having a garage is the short answer. The longer answer is to point you in the direction of my hood-cleaning video, which will give you a better idea of what’s worth doing. Generally, an infrequent thorough clean then regular light maintenance is best, I’ve found.

[@PaulMitchell-hn3tu]

If only I had a garage 🤷‍♂️ thanks for the advice

[@christianpratt]

@@PaulMitchell-hn3tu Hope it's been useful Paul - appreciate the comment. Not having a garage isn't the end of the world; it just means keeping on top of your hood and paintwork maintenance. And checking those drain plugs! (See my video on this, if that's not something you're already familiar with.)

[@TheFlyingPlectrum]

Freddie Mercury was never Frederic !!!!!! Freddie was his anglicised nickname for Farrokh. Oh, and all your tips are in the user manual.

[@christianpratt]

You'd be surprised how many people don't read the manual... 😀