Topless

I agree. Once you have made it to 50k the motor has proven itself and mfg defects are unlikely. Now the issue becomes heat and wear. Give her regular service and watch your temp gauge.

CJ,

Looks great. Nicely done!

Check out this bird strike:

http://www.ehowa.com/features/porschevsbird.shtml

Ouch

Pheasant under glass anyone??

Sorry but thats is just awesome ahhahah. You bullseyed a turkey with your car, thats like shootin a fly with a bazooka. Somebody give this man a trophy or something.

Yes. Nice center mass bird strike! Your hunting skills are keen indeed. :notworthy:

Last Oct. I was doing a little top down, evening canyon carving and nearly bagged a deer! Can you imagine that mess! Thank you Porsche brakes.

I'm interested in why these things fail. Back in the day the Conventional Porsche Wisdom (CPW) was not to carry other keys or a heavy key chain with your ignition key. Thought was that it stressed the mechanical part of the switch leading to failure.

I have not seen this surface as a possible cause, but cannot help but wonder....

It's just a cheesy, junky, lame, unreliable, $10 Audi switch that simply doesn't belong on a $40K+Porsche. Honda or Toyota would never allow such a poor design for such a vital part to be installed in any of their cars.

Hello. Is anyone in Stuttgart listening??

Ok. You don't need to spray enzyme cleaner everywhere but you do need to find "the spot" and soak "the spot" thoroughly. It takes several days to work completely. There is life after cat pee. They used to hit my wheels all the time. Now I have a big black dog. She loves cats... they taste like chicken.

If you want to outrun your brother all you need is a Boxter S, really good tires, a little driving skill, and meet him at a nice tight Auto-X course. If you want to outrun him in a drag race you will need a GT3, 911TT, or a Dodge Viper. Most Porsches were never designed to go fast in a straight line drag race. The Boxter is a champion at cornering.

The enzyme cleaner will work but it takes time. It goes after the "Organic" material and breaks it down without damaging carpet/vinyl material. It works on wheels/tires too. Bio-clean is one brand but there are many others. Use it liberally and in a week or so you will be April fresh once again.

You must be an awfully experienced racer for wheel weight to matter.

I guess what I'm implying is that so many people focus on the equipment when it is the driving skill they should be focused on. Once you have gotten everything there is out of the equipment you have, then you change equipment to create a new challenge. If a given turn can be driven at 45 and you are driving it at 38, the fix is to learn the corner, not try to throw equipment at it. Because if you improved your speed by improving your equipment, you'd still have improvement the driver needed.

Good luck, have fun.

Mike,

While I am totally in agreement with what you say...." fix the nut behind the steering wheel first" ... and yes people spend way too much dough fiddling with their cars before learning how to really drive them the way Ferry intended. You do need a good set of tires for AutoX/track days. The stock 16" Porsche wheels are too narrow (6/7") with too few choices of good tires to really even get in the game. So if you want good tires you need 17 or 18 inch wheels. Someone could do what I did and find average wt. wheels with a lightly used set of good tires on the cheap ($400) knowing that a wheel upgrade may still be in your future, or hold out for a nicer lightweight set for more $$ and never have to upgrade.

Simply upgrading my tires shaved about 8sec. off my runtime from one weekend to the next. I'd like to claim it was all talent... it wasn't. It was tires. How much horsepower would I need to add to get the same improvement in performance?? About 200hp I figure. Good tires are still the best bang for the buck by a longshot.

Tecumseh sport exhaust. I did not think about that. Another lost business oportunity.

In order to remove the carb I had to take all the stuff off the top of the engine, and then had to remove the muffler in order to get my ratchet wrench socket on the carb bolts.

The muffler has 11 holes. I think I might drill a few more holes in the muffler for a free flowing sport exhaust. Make more noise, like Porsche did with the 993 motor sound option by drilling holes in the air box.

Then hide from my neighbors when I start the mower up....

Maybe I'll de-snorkel it instead. :o

Hmmmmm... still needs somethin'. How about 19" rims, front spoiler, and adjustable rear wing for better mower/grass contact. :thumbup:

Unplug the MAF and run it in default mode for about 50mi. If the codes don't reappear clean/replace the MAF.

My contact cleaner has a fine brush tip on it. After the spray/air dry my MAF was still visibly dirty under strong sunlight. I figured "what the heck" and brush cleaned it. Now visibly much cleaner. I went about 8 months running great and no CEL. About 3wks ago my little friend CEL came on again 1123, 1125 codes. I cleaned it again and the CEL came back after 50 miles. I figure now at 68,000 mi it's time for a new one... ordered yesterday along with a fresh air filter.

OK, I would like to clean the MAF since I think it needs it. Can anyone direct me to detailed instructions on how to take the top apart to get to the MAF?

Check this out. http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/checkeng...ssairflowsensor

A 987 is already a lot of car. The factory did high performance tuning for you when they built it. Relax, enjoy your new most excellent ride and save your money for tires and track days.

As I understand it your warranty is based time and on mileage. Once you have exceeded your warranty period or mileage the party is over. It doesn't matter if the motor was replaced during the warranty period. If you are within the warranty period you are covered.

Sometimes you just get a lemon. Something just doesn't mate up right, something out of balance, something off center. If this is you, just get rid of it. No one will ever get it right. I have owned over 80 cars in my lifetime and a few have been lemons (1 Ford, 1 Chevy, 1 Volkswagen). Life is too short and a quality Porsche experience is too grand to be missed while your car is languishing in the service bay. If I were in your shoes I would insist on another car or $$ refund. Be fair and reasonable but get out of that one.

"One ping only during shifting" sounds more like gearbox issues than detonation. Does it ever ping while not shifting??

This one is about 98% accurate for our cars. It should answer most of your questions.

MY00 Boxster (986) Owners Manual

I'm a sucker for good intake noises and higher rev limits. Any known issues with the 7500 limit?

My car has the 18" turbo look wheels and I actually find them to be on the brittle side for general use.

It's this silly preference for big wheels and thin tires that usually is usually the cause of that scenario.

To me the spring rates/ shock valving seems fine.

Would picking up a set of the 17" wheels with the slightly taller tires that accompany it make for a better around town ride?

jh

Thoroughly enjoy your new ride. There is nothing quite like it.

7500 rev limit? Just brings your motor that much closer to... Ka-Boom. Porsche motors are expensive.

Here in LA LA land of potholes I think 17" wheels are the ticket.

Just a note to say thank you for this website. I have learned a great deal about these cars over the past year. I can now easily out diagnose my mechanic and choose whether to fix/maintain it myself or gladly pay someone else to do the work by knowing exactly what is involved. If left to the mercy of dealer service I probably would have sold my car.

Thank you to Loren, for your careful patient analysis of problems.

Thank you to Toolpants, your pictures say a thousand words.

Thank you to Mikefocke, for your very thorough and balanced Boxter website.

Thank you to all of you who have shared your experiences and observations over the years and helped create this excellent body of knowledge known as Renntech.org.

Happy Holidays to all!

:cheers:

Can it be done?? Sure. Is it going to open a big ol' can o' worms? Yes it is. Will it ever come out right?? Maybe. I admire your confidence and determination.

If I were in your shoes I'd fix the clutch, resell the Tip components for 5-10 times what I paid, consider that a good investment towards my 03 Box tip, leather int, heated seats, PSM, glass rear window, Bose, etc. etc. You get the Idea. If you are patient, the right car will become available. Just one man's thoughts. My joy comes from turning the steering wheel, not turning wrenches.

Check this out. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?s...c=10254&hl=

Any cheap car cover that fits will keep the dust off. I use a Pep Boys cover... about $50 I think. It fits most roadsters.

Obviously these are both pretty new cars and new designs so any cost of ownership could only be a guess based on brand/type history. Porsche and BMW roadsters tend to be pretty close in terms of maintenance, repair, depreciation and insurance costs. This is my observation not long term personal experience.

All of us on this site have probably considered owning these three cars at some point. My two cents:

The Vette has really come a long way. Monster hp and torque, excellent track performance and good looks. On the downside it still has vague steering, stupid skip shifting manual trans., and it's still a chevy.

The Z4M is really a very nice car all around...looks great, handles great, goes like stink, but it's still no Porsche. No trunk space either. (I drove the Z4 a lot before buying a Porsche)

Both the Boxter and Cayman are really pretty amazing cars. Whether you choose the base or S model you'll get a driving experience that is second to none. Other cars are better drag racers, other cars go faster... nothing feels like a Porsche. Someone said while reviewing this car that "It feels like it was built by people who really knew what they were doing." I cannot describe it any better than that.

Check out this recent Road & Track comparison. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?se...article_id=3823

Good luck with your decision.

Todd,

You change motors like I change shoes... must be a handy guy to have around. In retrospect what did you like/dislike about the 3.4.