Chris_in_NH

see this thread with pics/diagram. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8912

there are PLENTY of high-mileage boxsters out there. i think 150K is the most i've heard so far. i am coming up on 100K on my '97. as far as how they hold up compared to older porsches, i don't know. but i do know that MY car has held up very well considering its age. people don't believe me when i tell them it's 10 years old! i haven't had any major issues with it, although the conv top cables did snap a few years back and i recently replaced the air/oil separator and a window regulator. plastic window just cracked too... i would say treat it well, except for the fact that many owners have treated their cars/engines well, only to experience engine failure. i don't know if there's any rhyme or reason to it, or if it just comes down to 'luck'. good 'luck'. :unsure:

hey AK, not sure why no-one's responded yet... but i would say that as long as you're not 'grinding the gears' then you're ok. i usually push the pedal all the way to the floor, but i'm 6'1" so it's not a problem or anything. but then again, you had your clutch replaced at 60K while i'm at 95K on my original (1997) clutch. also, some clutches engage higher or lower in the arc of motion of the pedal. i had a Honda that you only had to move the pedal about 2 inches. things to keep in mind when using the clutch are: -make a habit of keeping your foot off the pedal, except for when it needs to be there -clutches have a limited amount of shifts in them; downshifting thru all of the gears (5th to 4th to 3rd, etc.) to decelerate will cut your clutch life significantly (can be minimized via rev matching) -brakes are much cheaper and easier to replace than a clutch -rev matching (blipping the throttle) when downshifting will save clutch wear. once you get in the habit of doing this, it will be automatic. it sounds really cool too! ;)

jim, while some tires will grip 'better' in the wet, i think that you could spin this car even with the most expensive tires out there. :drive: i've had a number of different tires. Bridgestones, Falkens, Kumhos, so far. and i've spun out in the wet with all of them. a number of factors will cause the car to lose traction. braking in a turn will transfer weight to the front of the car, allowing the rear wheels to lose grip. shifting can have this effect as well. or perhaps you just took the corner too tight and/or too fast to begin with. i recently spun out in a wet turn. what i first thought was a 270-degree spin was actually a 630-degree spin. i was so disoriented that i couldn't remember how many times i spun. but after careful recollection i figured out that it was 1 and 3/4 spins. i wasn't even going *that* fast, but due to the physics of the boxster (and ok - user error) i ended up hitting the guard rail and scraping up the front bumper. (it was going to be replaced anyway, thank god.) but think of an ice skater when they are doing a spin. as they pull their arms in, they spin faster. the boxster has this same effect and will spin like a top once started. ...after that, i did the same as you - took corners at granny speeds for a while, much to the dismay of the drivers behind me. i was also a little anxious even when driving straight at speed (70-80mph) when wet. an episode like that really shakes you up. but on the subject of tire quality, i think Kumhos are good tires. sure they're cheap (ahem, less expensive), but i don't necessarily buy into the more expensive=better equation all the time. the question is 'how much better' are tires that are 2 or 3 times the price of Kumhos? but as others have said, make sure the tires you have are in good condition, have plenty of tread, are properly inflated, balanced and aligned. i've considered doing a local PCA DE (driver's education) just to learn to drive the car better. all the first-hand accounts from people that have done it say that it's the best thing you can do for yourself in terms of driving the car safely, knowing the limits, and reacting appropriately when you push those limits and end up in trouble. it will also help you to drive the car faster, launch better, shift better, etc. maybe you should think about it too. ;) be careful out there!

i just pulled the inside of my passenger door off. i was getting scratching noises when i cycled the window. eventually it got to the point where the window would not move anymore. i believe that the scratching is this frayed cable rubbing against the window and the rails that it runs on. if your window didn't have symptoms before, it could be the conv top microswitch or something else. but here are the pics i took. getting the window and the rails out are a real PITA!!! i'm assuming that your driver's side window works, so it's probably not the microswitch. i hope these pics help. in the pics, it looks like the cable has rusted and snapped. i imagine this is from water getting in the door and the subsequent evaporation process. also check out these threads... http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/window/ http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3719

has anyone replaced or repaired their door window guide(s)? this problem just popped up today, just as i am clear of my AOS debacle. when i lowered the passenger window today, the window made a noise like it was being scratched/rattling on the way down and back up. in an effort to better identify the source, i kept raising and lowering the window to the point that the window is now stuck 1/4 of the way up. i read some older posts about the window guide being faulty, but i did not see any posts regarding resolution. any info out there? i know how to get the door panel off, but i'm not exactly sure what i'm looking for. thanks!

i read a post here that said that disconnecting the battery would reset the ECU. it did. car works fine now. we'll see how long it lasts... after the repair yesterday, i drove it home with the MAF unplugged. then just to test the MAF i plugged it back in. that's when i started having problems. even though i disconnected the MAF again after the problems, the ECU must have had the 'crazy signals' still in memory or something. i just unhooked the neg terminal of the battery for 30 seconds or so, reconnected it and drove away! :D new MAF will be here before the weekend...

hi guys, i just replaced my AOS yesterday with the help of a friend. the install went well and relatively smoothly. i was experiencing some throttle hesitation for a while, i thought it might be the MAF. but it eventually got worse, and about a week ago i got huge clouds of smoke when starting the car. it got to the point over 2 or 3 days that the car would start and then stall, and finally would not start at all. i checked the throttle body and found a pretty good amount of oil in there, and decided the AOS was toast. so i had the car towed to my friend's house (he has a lift which made things MUCH easier) and we replaced the AOS and spark plugs, and sopped up as much oil from the throttle body and plenum as we could. i don't think the engine ate that much oil, as the oil level had not dropped significantly. we fired up the car after replacing everything and it ran like a champ. very smooth idle, engine sounded 'normal' and smooth. there was a ton of smoke as the remaining oil that made it to the engine burned off. i let it warm up for a few minutes and then drove 30 minutes home without incident. i went inside for a couple hours (had to watch Sopranos and Big Love!) and then went back out to the car with a PST2 to see if i was getting any new codes, and to erase the previous codes. started the car, it was running fine. but when i gave the order to reset the codes, suddenly the car started running badly and eventually stalled. I checked the codes again with the engine off. I got codes for the MAF (was still unplugged) and an air temp sensor. I figured they were both MAF-related. I plugged in the MAF and started the car. The car did not run well. It tried to stall a few times but I pressed the gas to keep it running. After a few minutes I decided to take it just around the block. I got about 500 feet away and the check engine light started flashing. I quickly pulled over and shut down the engine. I thought the MAF was probably sending crazy signals to the ECU, so I unplugged it again. Got back in the car, it would start but was very rough. I tried getting the revs up - I just wanted to get it back in the driveway. But it wouldn't go. I did hear a distinct 'pop' when I tried to start it the last time (misfires i'm guessing). At that point, I got out and walked home. the codes i pulled before walking home were: P0102 MAF unplugged P1313 Misfire, Cylinder 1, Emission Relevant P1314 Misfire, Cylinder 2, Emission Relevant P1315 Misfire, Cylinder 3, Emission Relevant P0306 cylinder 6 misfire P0305 cylinder 5 misfire P0304 cylinder 4 misfire P1319 Misfire, Emission Relevant P0112 Intake Air Temperature Sensor - Below Lower Limit P0300 random/multiple cylinder misfire detected i also noticed that the oil level had dropped considerably from the time i left my friend's house up to this point. when i left, the dash gauge indicated FULL, but after all of this happened, the gauge now read at the bottom level of the dash gauge. i looked underneath the car, and checked the new AOS and related connections and did not see any oil. so i started thinking that the only other place it could be going is back into the engine. i did notice when changing the spark plugs that a few of the coils are cracked. (car is a 97). but it seems very odd that the car would run SO well for over 30 minutes, but then suddenly act up a bit later (and upon clearing the codes - i don't know if this was the cause or if it's completely coincidental.) the plugs i used were Bosch Platinum 2 (4303's) which i had used previously with great success. i was planning on checking: -look at spark plugs for oil fouling -make sure spark plug tubes are securely connected and 'snapped' on to plugs. -check TB again for oil -check AOS hoses for leaks -check that TB and air tube are securely fastened -check for vacuum leaks (oil dipstick, oil and coolant caps seem air tight - maybe oil filler tube? we had to move it around quite a bit to get the AOS in - but again, the car ran fine right after the swap.) thanks in advance! i'm really hoping to get to the bottom of this.

go to the Renntech.org home page. on the left side where the Forums link is located, look down the list a little and you will see the link for OBDII codes. find your engine type and then find the codes you got.

i haven't done it myself, but i know of boxster owners who have replaced the stock dash speakers with Focal KP100's (2-way speakers, mid/tweeter). check them out! i think they go for about $450 per pair. i know there was a *little* modification needed, but they do fit. Dynaudio makes some pretty high end stuff too.

super easy! open your front trunk. remove both plastic pieces on each side of the battery compartment. you'll need a torx driver for this. once you have those two pieces off, look in the recess next to the battery (driver's side) for a rubber plug against the firewall. it's rather large and hard to miss. on the other side, the rubber plug is against the back of the trunk wall (not the firewall), to the left of the factory amp (assuming you are standing in front of the amp.) you want to cut an X in both of these plugs. (a small X just large enough to get your wires through. you don't want water getting thru there.) tie the wires together with an elastic or something, and feed them through the rubber plug on the driver's side next to the battery. feed 1-2 feet of wiring then go look in the driver's footwell for the end of the wires coming down from the firewall. they should just be hanging, but if not, you can just reach up and pull them down. attach these wherever you need to attach them. take the other end of the wires and route them around in front of the battery and over to the second rubber plug on the passenger's side trunk wall just past the factory amp location. you'll need to cut an X in the trunk carpet here too. pull the wires through, and connect to amp. ta-da! easy! it looks like this, rubber plug location marked with an x. -------------------x----- <--firewall .........battery........... ----x----------------- <--trunk wall --------amp......... and here's a better pic.

i'm going to do it myself with a friend's help. that's what you think it is, then? has this happened to you or someone you know? thanks.

i posted this over at PPBB, but i figured i should post it here too. i've been having some issues with my 97 lately (88K miles). -for the past few months, i've been getting dramatic hesitation upon acceleration when cold. never rev past 3500 rpms when cold. when car warms up, it's fine. -have had 1123/1125 and 1128/1130 codes in the past. -i've cleaned the MAF a few times which seemed to resolve the hesitation briefly, but it always returned. it is the original MAF. -symptoms worsened over the last 3 days. *first day, lots of white smoke upon startup. *second day, lots of white smoke at startup and idle all over the place. *third day (today), lots of white smoke at startup, idle all over the place, stalling, and upon moving the car, a muffled 'popping' noise similar to popcorn popped in a pan with the lid on, when driving the car up the driveway. (i pressed the gas, and it made a few pops, i pressed the gas harder and the engine revved OK with no popping noises, i let out the clutch, got to top of driveway and car stalled. have not started it since.) i am planning on replacing the Air Oil Separator on Sunday. i'm also ordering a new MAF, which will be installed Sunday. i am really afraid to start the car again, and want to know if anyone has an idea of what is going on. does this sound like a failed A/OS? failed MAF? anything else i should be looking at/considering? i read an archives post at PPBB that said the popping could be due to a dirty throttle body. i believe the heavy white smoke is most likely the A/OS, but i'm not sure at all and figured i would ask the experts! thanks!

which speakers did you put in the dash, how much $$$, and how difficult was the install? just curious...

sorry, i don't know anything about adding door speakers, but i do question why you would add them instead of an excellent quality subwoofer. i'm not sure which year your car is, etc. but i'm guessing that you do not have the M490 HiFi sound package which includes a 4x40 amp, and the door subs in addition to the dash speakers. so, in the M490 package the door speakers are only subwoofers. which brings me to my question again, why not just get a good sub and leave the doors alone? the sound quality would be much better and it would be much less of a hassle than tearing apart your doors, finding connectors, etc. please don't take this the wrong way. if you really want to put door speakers in, go for it. but i just wanted to point out an alternative that may make you just as happy, or even more. personally, i would get a good quality amp, dash speakers and a custom boxster sub. good luck in whatever you decide!

i think i got it over at mp3car.com. look in the MediaCar section, then look in skins. search for porsche. i can email them to you if you want. i haven't completed the color on all of the skins, but you can have what i have if you want. total for the whole carputer project? maybe $350, not including the laptop and countless hours of searching for info, parts, trial-and-error, troubleshooting, throwing things and cursing. :censored: i'm not sure, but i think you can get 6" in there. not sure if you know, but the door speakers are just subs. you don't get any mids or treble through them. you would be much better off adding an aftermarket subwoofer made specifically for boxsters, which will be much better quality than the stock subs. you might want to upgrade your stereo head unit as well. the Nakamichi CD-400 is a nice choice.

oh, like this? :) i'm actually running XP now, (and i removed the stick on aluminum trim.) here's a shot of the MediaCar front-end.

bump anyone? someone at least tell me to search the archives or something. :help:

the Nakamichi CD400 is a nice alternative.

what makes you think you need to replace the MAF? the CEL? that could be a thousand things (gas cap, oil cap, other minor things, etc.) have you had the codes read out? if not, go to an AutoZone and have them read the codes for free. the dealer will charge you $100+ for this. come back and post the codes here. as the saying goes, if it ain't broke... also, i believe the 'historical data' you're referring to will happen over a number of milliseconds, not days or weeks between events. i might be wrong, but i don't think so. however, even if you disconnect the battery, the codes will remain present in memory until they are deleted (by OBDII scanner, PST2, or whatever new system porsche uses now.) you can find MAFs all over the web. Sunset Imports (www.sunsetimports.com) is my favorite, Autohaus AZ (www.autohausaz.com), Suncoast Porsche in FL (sorry, don't know the URL) and you already know about Pelican Parts. i'm sure there are many other places. i've found that Sunset Imports (cost+15%) and Autohaus AZ generally have the best prices.

hi guys, i've been getting 1128/1130 codes for a while now. haven't done anything about it just yet, but i'm getting there! car is a MY97. i have a friend with a PST2 and i'd like to know how i can isolate the problems that i'm having and the codes that i'm getting. the main physical manifestations of the codes are pronounced throttle hesitation when cold (all gears) even to the point that the CEL started flashing when i pushed the gas pedal down more to make up for the hesitation. the flashing CEL lasted for about 5 seconds. (i pulled over and the CEL stopped flashing. i let the car warm up for a few minutes - very cold weather, maybe 10 degrees F - and then it was fine.) i also get an idle surge up to 2-3K RPMs when starting the car after it's been sitting for a few days. also have hesitation around the 5K RPM range. i know this is a symptom of a bad MAF, so i've cleaned it a couple of times which seems to work for a while, but then i get the symptoms again. what i'm wondering is what kind of numbers should i be looking for to diagnose either the MAF or O2 sensors being good and/or bad. i wouldn't want to replace the O2 sensors (or MAF) if they were in good shape. ($$$) my friend's car is a 2003 S, so i don't think i could just swap the MAF to see if that improves things. his is an e-gas, and mine is non-e-gas. my diagnosis leans heavily towards the MAF, but i'd like to be sure. any thoughts, advice? i'm also going to check the AOS to check for vacuum leaks/broken hose.

if you don't like the screws they sent you, take the screws to Home Depot, match up the size with screws you like and install them! ;) yes, you need to remove the rubber on the brake and clutch pedals. you can put the deadpedal/footrest right over the existing plastic pedal, same for gas pedal. in all honesty, you can use any installation method that works. some people have used epoxy to glue the deadpedal/gas pedal to the existing pedals, because the screws proved too difficult. one caveat on the brake and clutch pedals. the brake pedal is metal while the clutch pedal is plastic, so the brake pedal is a little harder to drill through. anyway, on the back of the brake/clutch pedals, note where the 'shaft' (the arm that the actual pedal rests on, goes up into the dash) - note where the arm begins to extend from the back of the pedal. if you drill too close to this area, you will not be able to get the nuts onto the bolts/screws that you're using. i speak from experience, so make sure you drill far enough to the side from that part of the pedal.

i have heard that anything larger than 17" wheels should not be used on a MY97 boxster. however, many people have installed 18" and even 19" with no problems. i think 18s would be fine for street. track is another story...

it can be done. the issue that you *may* run into is that the climate control unit wires may not be long enough to stretch from their previous position in the top slot to the lowest slot. mine did (MY97), but i have a friend with a 2003 that was unable to get them to reach down there. you'll also need a tapered bezel that surrounds that C/C unit for the bottom slot. you can order it from Sunset Imports www.sunsetimports.com for about $7. i'd get rid of that CD holder too. it's more trouble than it's worth... you can put your cubby in that slot.

take a look online for Novus 1-2-3. it is a 3-step plastic polishing system and each product (1, 2, or 3) has differing abrasive qualities. #3 is the most abrasive, #2 is less abrasive, and #1 is basically Plexus in a spray bottle. depending on the size of the bottles you order, you can pick up a 1-2-3 set for $10 or so.