mee

Boxster S's almost always have red brake calipers, but some people paint them, too. They also have cross-drilled rotors stock, and they're larger. Boxster S's always have a 3rd radiator in the front. Those are the main exterior clues. Those wheels look like aftermarket, possibly Champion Motorsports RG5s.

Funny you mention the ContiSportContacts. They are easily one of the worst tires I've ever had on any car. Although my OE Contis were N-rated, they had practically zero traction, terrible tread life, noisy, and rode stiff. There's a reason they got some of the worst tire ratings of any tire on TireRack. Which leads me to my other set of OE N-rated PZero Asimms. They had good traction, but poor tread life, and a stiff ride for what you got back in terms of handling. Since these tires, I've put on Bridgestone S-03s, RE750s, and Dunlops SSRs (R-compound). The Bridgestones outperform the N-rated tires in every category. I would even say that my RE750s were comparable in traction to my PZeros and they ride much better, last longer, and are much cheaper. There is no contest between the S-03s and my N-rated tires. Similarly, there is no contest between my R-compounds and any of my other tires -- as long as you only consider performance ;) I've got a whole file on tires, and based on my and others' opinions that I've collected, I would venture to guess that the PS2s are the best all around street performance tire followed by the S-03s followed by the PS1s. If wet weather is a high criteria, then the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 (dumb name) gets good marks as long as you don't track it. For cars that put on a lot of miles, for a slight reduction in performance, I would say that RE750s or AVS ES-100s are the top choices. There are also a few newer tires such as the Fuzion (?) which I believe are Bridgestone "private label" RE750s and would fit in the same grouping.

Way cool! Keep an eye out for any comments on rearward visibility or glass dimensions. Thanks for the posts...

If you could for all of us, measure the pipe sizes when you get your car out of "cold storage"? Also, have you dyno'ed your car before? Maybe those interested in a Remus muffler could start a dyno pool for you!

sinbad, Do you have the Remus exhaust at your disposal to measure the inlet pipe sizes (OD/ID)? I've read somewhere that some pipes fit inside or outside the existing exhaust. Since all Boxster exhausts are basically sized to the original 200HP engines, it makes sense that you would need to make the whole system larger to breathe more freely. At the same time, I'm guessing that most aftermarket manufacturers are going to make their parts "compatible" with the (smaller) existing exhaust components. If various components fit "outside" the existing connectors, then there is hope that the exhaust can breathe better. My basis for my 200HP comment is that the Boxster is sized area-wise to about 200HP relative to the 911's 3.4L exhaust pipe sizes. Thanks if you can provide any measurements!

This is from memory, so use with a grain of salt, but I've done it a few times: Jack up the front of the car (both sides). Remove wheels. Undo the nuts of the endlinks to the bar. Remove 6 clips and 4 nuts for the plastic underbody tray. There is a boomerang shaped metal plate connecting the lower control arm ball joints. I believe you can remove the other 2 bolts and just loosen the middle one and pivot the boomerang so that the bar will drop down and clear it. There are 2 bolts for each swaybar mounting bushing. Remove, reassemble. Pretty straightforward--to me anyway.

I believe one or both sets of OEM wheels on my Boxster said made in Italy. One of which were the real OEM Turbo Look 18" wheels. The real test is a Porsche part number. Also, since Porsche didn't make Turbo Look wheels in 17", those are aftermarket, but there are numerous licensees of that design. I will agree you got ripped off. One of my (many) sets of wheels were Mille Miglia Cup 3 (17" Turbo Look licensees) were less than $1200 new--and they fit better than either the OEM Turbo Looks or the 17" Boxster wheels. You got a raw deal. Best of luck!

RayGT3, I have an '00 986S with the silver "millineum" crest air bag (black). As Tool Pants indicates, I wish you were local (San Jose). Logistically, I think it will be difficult to swap. Mine is Arena Red which IMHO is one of the few colors that look good with amber lenses and gold...

Hmmm... very interesting! Thanks for the information. A few questions, though. What is your location? My '00 S has header pre-cats (USA). Also, did you happen to measure any pipe diameters so I can get an idea of the increase? Thanks, again!

Is it only the wheel carriers (in addition to the obvious calipers and rotors) or are the wheel hubs, bearings, ABS wheels/parts (everything else that goes in it) different as well? If only the wheel carriers, do you have a P/N? Thanks!!!

Does anyone know if it's possible to put the larger brakes typically 6-piston 350mm brakes from a widebody 996 on a narrowbody 996 C2 or Boxster? From what I can find, all (at least the earlier GT3 and TTs) share the same subframe and control arms, but the widebodies have different wheel carriers/bearings/hubs. My info is too old to cover the newer MKII GT3 and 996s that are capable of using the 6 piston calipers (350mm steel or PCCB). I know the new GT3s will take shims for camber adjustment, so the control arms are different, but are the wheel carriers/etc/ the same as the older 996s and would they fit a C2/Boxster? Anyone heard of this swap?

Get the Litronics. The HID bulb replacements are not even legal. Since they're using non-HID lenses, the beam pattern will suffer compared to Litronics. Also, you'll have to check the non-OE wiring harnesses/ballasts/etc. very carefully. Mounting in the Porsche headlamp "module" is not like mounting in a standard engine compartment where you can pretty much mount things anywhere and find good power.

Not having traction control, I cannot comment on how much it interferes with fun, but I have heard that Porsche's traction control/PSM are less invasive than others. I have an S and often drive it hard in the corners. If I'm not careful, I can blow away the rear end especially if there is a slight dip or bump. That's not fun and doesn't get you around a corner better or faster... At times, I've wondered if traction control would have kept the rear in-line. I'm considering maybe putting in a limited slip when I get around to changing the clutch, but since I'm blowing away the rear-end, I'm inclined to think that the limited slip would have little effect. I'm not talking about throttle steering here, but rather putting power down in quick transitions or when the road is less than perfect (which is most roads). A computer is much faster than I am...

Thanks, Frenchy! I guess I was thinking that it might also work by reducing throttle. Because mine is also a 2K (S), I'll probably have the same brake limitations. It looks like a limited slip of some kind is the only practical improvement route.

My guess is that PSM or yaw control probably requires significant extra electronics. It seems that, at first thought, traction control might not be impossible if it utilizes ABS-type wheel speed sensing, etc. Mine is eGas.

I have not used either of these products. To me, they don't seem that accurate/useful. I don't know if the GT3 is adjustable for caster. The 996/986 are not. You can measure camber with any cheap level. We're talking 1/2" typically here. That's easy enough to measure by hand. It's just math anyway. Toe is much more tricky. You're talking a few hundredths of an inch. That's too difficult to measure accurately by hand (ie using some strings), so I use a laser level. The front is pretty simple/easy to adjust via the strut hats and tie rods. The rear (at least on my Boxster) is really half-assed (uses eccentrics like most cars). I like to run the car around the block a few times and over a few speed bumps to settle the adjustments and remeasure. There is enough play in the adjustments to make a big difference so I wouldn't trust any alignment that had not been "driven on" first. That's my 2 cents...

Well, I'm trying to find out if Porsche makes a front strut brace that would be a beneficial upgrade. The aftermarket ones look like they are for show for the most part. These things typically mount to the front strut tower housings (domes I believe you called them) or to the top of the struts by the strut mounting hat bolts (2 or 3 bolts). Are there two different types? My factory one in a Boxster S looks like: ____________==_____________ / +---------+ \ |/ | battery | \| | +---------+ | It mounts to the strut "domes" on the side, angles up behind the battery and bolts to the firewall. Nothing bolts to the strut hats.

Here is a whole bunch of information on switches/pictures/part numbers gloss/flat and some internal wiring diagrams (necessary if you want to use factory backlighting): Yoseif's Porsche Switches Wiring Diagram Most Wiring Diagram TT Spoiler Somewhere, I have the P/N for the factory (Porsche/Audi/VW) sockets that the switches plug into if you want to make your own fancy wiring harness, but you can just use standard female tab connectors. P.S. The switches are all momentary and will physically fit/interchange althought the internal wiring differs (see links above).

I am trying to compare the various Porsche front strut brace/bars. The one for the GT3 is 996.343.042.00, but I am looking for specs or a picture of how it mounts. Anyone with a picture with the covers off when doing any suspension work? Thanks!

I have the following number for a 996 GT3 front sway bar: 996.343.701.90. The bushings are 996.343.792.16. I've seen this spec'ed at 26.8mm diameter, but a Porsche dealer told me this is wrong. Anyone know what the real outer/inner diameters are? If not and someone has their GT3 up in the air, could they measure? The important measurements I'm looking for are outside diameter (I can estimate for paint thickness), the thickness of the crimped end where endlinks bolt (to estimate bar wall thickness), and length between the bar ends (crimp-to-crimp). The diameter measurements are critical since the stiffness is proportional to the ^4 power. There are a lot of bars out there, and this would help in an apples-to-apples comparison. Thanks!

I read that P/N 996.343.042.00 is for the GT3 and will fit regular 996/Boxsters. Question, though: is this the same as the regular 996 front strut brace? My assumption is that the regular 996 and Boxsters would be the same/similar, so I'm trying to figure out if this part number is truly significantly different/beefier and beneficial. Thanks!

I ran across this number 996.343.701.90 for the front and 996.343.792.16 for the front bushings. I am trying to find out the specs for this bar (i.e. outer/inner diameters and possibly length between the bar ends. I could come up with a reasonable estimate if someone could measure the bar diameter (with paint) and the crimped end. I have seen this bar spec'ed at 26.8mm, but I had someone tell me that this is wrong (a Porsche dealer).

See my reply back on the PPBB. I see yours is an S, so IMHO, it would make a big difference.

I did exactly what tool pants did. The pumps won't fit into the bottle, so I poured about 1/3 of a bottle at a time into another jar. It's not pretty, but it was not as messy as I thought it would be. Just take your time to avoid getting oil all over yourself ;)

There has been a lot of discussion on the various boards about the Boxster '03/'04 sport exhaust. Any definitive list of part numbers for the exhaust, various tips, and various switches and/or what comes with what? Also, does anyone know if it can be fitted to an earlier Boxster--maybe even with the earlier PSE switch (gloss black and angled) or are there ECU dependencies, etc.? Thanks!