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DANNOV, Feel free to question my skill (i'm not that good-yet!) .. and feel free to belabor the point. It is because heel-toe is so important to successful track driving that we both have the passion to discuss this. I don't disagree with what you are saying so much as I disagree with getting into bad habits. For me the leg shift between heel toe positioning and my 'standard' foot position is subtle so that steering column clearance, cocking leg, etc don't enter into my experience. I think you are correct in positioning your foot on the brake pedal for heel toe shifting, every time, every day. I'm going to work on doing that. I won't commit to doing all my downshifts heel-toe, but at least I'll get my leg to memorize the correct position and my foot to learn the correct pedal feel. As for your proposed driving situation: "Suddenly, there is a slow car in front of you. It is not an emergency situation but you want to position yourself for a clean pass. You are lightly on the brakes but it is not a threshold braking situation. You are merely trying to keep a safe distance but you are closing fast and you are trying to read the mind of the driver in front of you. As you brake your revs drop to below peak torque. You are in the wrong gear for a clean pass. What do you do? " This is actually the only time I heel toed on my last DE day. I was in a very similar situation where the car approaching the turn ahead of me was braking too early, too lightly and to a much slower speed than my tastes. Anticipating that I would be able to covertake the car at track out. I put on the brakes early and hard, heel-toe shifted to the "too low" gear, feathered the brake so as not to collide while going past my usual turn-in point. I then did a very late Apex with a track out point beside/and behind the exitting car. (essentially I chose a line that made the track one car length narrower at the corner exit.) I was then very well positioned to pass, shift into the correct gear, and do a 'late braking style' inside pass on the next turn (as it was also a right-hander.) This totally would not work with a fast car - but this wasn't a fast car (with this driver on this lap in this corner). As it was, it didn't work anyway since the driver ahead didn't give me a passing signal, so I had to back way off and sniff his exhaust pipe through the next 3 turns until the back straight. I'm not saying this is the right way to have responded. It seemed to have worked well. My solution allowed me to do near threshold braking heel-toe, settle the car(too early) before turn-in and have a good 'safety-zone' for an unexpected move by the lead car. In a race situation, it would seem to make more sense to 'late brake' and take an inside line to avoid a following car outbraking both of us.

DANNOV: It isn't about agreeing with me - it's about agreeing with the Skip Barber school. In the Skip Barber book "Going Faster" chapter6, figure 6.6 caption reads: A proper brake/throttle relationship locates the throttle close by and just slightly below the brake pedals WHEN THE BRAKES ARE ON HARD (emphasis added by me). in chapter 8, 'Where the time goes', the author discusses common mistakes and things to do to improve lap time. In figure 8-7, the caption reads: .... also brake pressure is drastically reduced from threshold when the driver blips the throttle for the downshift. (this is pointed out as bad) - - - The way I understand it, you want to train yourself to blip the throttle at threshold braking without disrupting your brake modulating pressure. To get the foot sensitivity right, you need to be at threshold braking pressure. Once you are at threshold braking pressure, the geometry must be right. Because of the large difference in pedal height between moderate braking and threshold braking, the boxster pedal geometry is not very good at moderate pressure. The pervading opinion on the Boxster racing board is that it is pretty good at full brake pressure and that is also my experience with my 02 S. IF there were no difference in pedal height - I would agree with you to practise heel-toe all the time. This would be sort of the Tai Chi approach to heel-toe braking. Tai Chi trains body motions at less than full speed so that precision can be learned. This precision is then 'body learned' and available at full speed and force. Since there is a difference in foot geometry at varying brake pressure, 'body learning' cannot really occur for the foot. For a beginner at heel-toe, it makes sense to practise at lower brake pressures to learn the brain-brake-foot roll-hand coordination. Since you already have a proficiency here, I suggest you are ready to put aside the Tai Chi approach and practise the Pole Vault approach - as far as I know, there is no such thing as a half speed Pole Vault. IMO after a certain level, there should be no such thing as a half-pressure heel-toe.

to recap: The dealer 'fixed' your loose top on a new vehicle and it is now broken again. I would ask the service manager to order up replacement parts and fix it while you wait (or realistically within the 6 hour work day you arrange.) If this is a problem for the dealer, I would ask for the number of the PCA rep. Basically-I would give the dealer a second chance to fix it right - but I wouldn't leave the car overnight and if they blow it, I would choose another dealer for all future service. In So Cal you have choices. On the other hand, you could leave the car at the dealer and let them take a week - depending on how many days it take to get another new car under the California lemon laws.

re:>>I must not be doing this right. For the life of me, I can't blip enough rpm to perform downshift. The gas pedal seems too low compared to brake pedal unless I brake really hard (then I am slow down enough to shift without blipping anyway). << Sounds like you are doing it right - you're just driving too slow. The gas pedal IS to low UNLESS you are braking really hard, but that is pretty much the point. When you are fully accelerating, cramming on the brakes at 100% (a little early for safety's sake), heel-toe downshifting and heading for the apex the brake pedal gets low enough for a good heel-toe. If you are pulling up to a stoplight (medium-hard braking) and heel-toe downshifting to sit in front of a red light with your foot on the clutch the gas pedal seems too far away. I've never measured but it feels like an ABS pulsing braking moment puts the pedal about 3/4 of an inch closer to the floor than good, solid brakeforce. You could add a fat/wide pedal cover to your gas pedal and improve the geometry for the stoplight vanity shift, but I suspect it would mess up the geometry of a full blown racing downshift. IMO unless you practise heel-toe in the way you want to use it, you are pretty much miseducating your muscles. Training your foot to mainatain xxx lbs of brake pressure while throttle blipping may be one of those skills you can't learn at half-pressure. I'm still in the lower run groups at DE, so I claim no proficiency, but I find myself not bothering with heel-toe on the street and only once or twice a lap at Watkins Glen-mostly without planning. Lime Rock only has one corner worth a heel-toe and it is usually too crowded to bother on a DE day.

Does anyone put an all-season tire on a Boxster? People buy cars for different reasons and drive them different ways. For me, all-season tires sound like they would defeat the purpose. More than snow, the question is how many days a year below 40 degrees? If it is only a few, I'd say park it and find another way to get to work on cold days. In Albany, where winter cold lasts 4-5 months I think of winter tires as a cost saving measure as well as a safety measure, because it costs a lot less to put miles on the winter tires than to wear out my premium summer tires. I hesitated to answer this post because everyone is entitled to thier own choices. I love a warm sunny day, top down, carving up a mountain rd - yes! Even better, carving up Watkins Glen. Putting all season tires on her feet - that's just something I wouldn't want to do.

Boxster technique: Brake with big toe pad of foot in normal orientation. Blip with right side of foot while trying to keep the brake pressure steady. This DOES NOT WORK with light braking! Cram on the brakes hard and it comes together just right.

The first time I changed the front brake pads I armed myself with tools and directions. When I changed the rear pads several months later, I pretty much dove right in without referencing directions. I ordered the speed bleeders and am very happy with them.

I find that the black mesh screens that fit within the roll hoops do more to eliminate those nagging little crosswinds on the neck than the clear plastic center section. Rather than the cardboard test(blocking your view), you might just stretch some nylon hose over the roll hoops and see how you like that. With the windscreens installed, top down wind fury only increases slightly as speed increases past 100kph. The difference between 100kph and 200kph is small enough not to be a concern. Driving without the windscreens, or rolling windows down at 200kph leads to major wind buffeting and reduced speed.

Sounds like the 'whistling ventilation valve' post about 8 posts down. I'm waiting for someone to explain that one. Since it only happens warm, you might pressure test your (water) radiator cap. It is a long shot, but it should be a free replacement under recall if found to be defective.

re:>>I have repaired the front end about 2 months ago because i bought it damaged but this sound has only just started and wasn't there before??<< I'd guess you pinched a horn wire or front boot sensor wire during the front end repair. I'm thinking of a mild short on worn through insulation. In your position, I would probably repeat the repair disassembly process and look for pinched and worn wires.

re: >> You should always get out of the car, make certain there is a smooth fold in the window << Since I received the car new, Feb 2002, I have never done this. I do not have a permanent crease. Sometimes, say at 100 degrees, it folds in a nice smooth arc. Sometimes it wrinkles and bunches a little as it goes down. To me this is operating as designed. If I were putting on the hardtop for the winter, I would do 'the chop' and put in some padding. For everyday use, IMO, this is not required. Rather than hardtop during the winter, last winter I continued to drive her as a convertible. Under 45 degrees, when driving top down, I fold an electric blanket around the plastic window (inside the car) and keep the window warmed to operating temperatures. As far as I know, plastic window creases and cracks are related to low temperature rather than 'the chop.'

Thanks. The Service Advisor was having problems with the bushing # - fixed under warranty.

How aboput white with two fat red racing stripes (think Porsche Cobra)? Dupont Chromaluision in jade/red?

Don't fall of the learning curve - take a late Apex instead :rolleyes:

How about a Motorcycle tire? The stock spare is a 105/95-17 which is pretty close to 110/90-17 in a motorcycle size. The contact patch on modern motorcycle tires is less than it used to be, but some of the weight ratungs go to 992lbs. I wouldn't want to go aggressively cornering. The ability of a motorcycle to disappate heat under such a heavy load might be an issue. A high speed tire might be able to handle the heat. I don't know how motorcycle beads compare to the spare tire wheel, but at $40 for a motorcycle tire, it might be worth the experiment. Ad Sach PS> Legal disclaimer;) I NEVER recommended it, only suggested it as 'an idea' ;) ;)

The dealer can sell you a new owner's manual for about $35

Orient - GREAT Monterey weekend thread

The turbo accomplishes a similar goal with a gap at the front of the hood. Very subtle - which might not be the point :D

OK Tom, Please take a picture while you are in there - as I can't picture what you are talking about, and would like to learn.

Travel for days? I wouldn't travel for days on a spare tire - that means you are travelling for days without a spare tire available if you need one. That doesn't fit into my view of wise travelling. For freeway cruising at legal speed, the limited speed tire does fine. It is a limited speed tire, not a limited distance tire, so until the tread gets low you can keep driving on it. Overload PSM? IMHO no. PSM combines Yaw sensor, wheel speed sensor, and steering input to make a decision. Spinning wheels that are within a few MPH of each other are not a problem requiring PSM intervention. I have had the limited tire on for 30-40 miles of backroads without PSM complaining. Of course I was driving like I had a rear tire 3.5 inches wide on one side and 10.5 inches wide on the other. Fit in the front trunk? Yes. Fit in the spare tire position? not likely. The smallest I have tried is 225x17 and it fits at an angle, basically using up the front trunk. A rear tire won't even fit in the trunk, unless you have only strips of rubber left on the wheel. One other thought: I have heard that Porsche calculates the spare tire into the crumple zone calculations in case of a major collision. If I were you, I'd accept the spare tire as it is and be happy I got a car with a spare tire rather than a tube of sealant and an air pump. Ad Sach

Have you used tape to be sure it is the fuel filler door? My whistle was from a fender to side-view mirror gap - the dealer stuffed in more foam.

I drive a Boxster :unsure: so it may not be relevant, but I had a similar noise when my serpentine belt tensioner loosened shortly after my 30,000 mile service. About 8 miles after the noise became prominent, as was I still deciding what to do, the serpentine belt exploded. Fortunately it didn't smash anything major. What could be wrong with your dealer that he can't make an appointment? An appointment can be made for the future even if they have no time right away. I wouldn't say it was fearful not to want to drive a misadjusted/breaking car - I'd say it was reasonable caution. Your instincts are telling you this dealer might not be the best. Their inability to make an appointment sounds like a hint they don't feel comfortable servicing this car. Do you have any other dealer choices?

The halfmoon shaped bracket on the passenger rear rollbar has departed my 02 Boxster S w/M030. This is the inboard rollbar attachment point that looks like the bottom part of a connecting rod. The bolts and bracket are gone. The split rubber bushing is still floating around the bar. In case my dealer can't get this quickly, I'd like to know the part number for the bracket, bolts and torque spec. As the 030 has a 19MM instead of 18.5mm rear bar, I am guessing it has the same bracket with a different bushing. Also this is a 28 month old car with 35,000 miles. I plan for 3-7 track days a year. S. Should I use this opportunity to think of new (firmer) bushings?

re: >>The way suggested by the factory is simple enough but I am apprehensive about unhooking anything related to the convertible top, it seems we get a fair number of posts about problems raising and lowering the top, and I don't need those problems. << DANNOV, Be not afraid. When you pop off the little black cables and clips per the manual, you are only loosening the 'skirt' around the bottom of the convertible top. Those posts about red plastic end, black plastic end and transmission cables are mechanically unrelated to the little cables you pop off for accessing the rear storage box and engine compartment. When I had owned my Boxster 3 days there happened to be a Porsche Club 'park& admire' meeting in a parking lot. I took my Boxster there and loosened my top to expose my engine in about 7 minutes(It takes me about 1 minute now). I figured if anything went wrong there were Porsche drivers around to help me put it back together. This procedure is easier and safer than changing the bulbs in the headlights - I encourage you to go for it! P.S. My Boxster got extra attention that night because a) it was brand new and B) it was the only Boxster with the engine exposed.

I had a skateboarder hit my car in a driveway once and the mirror galss popped out. I popped it back in and there has been no trouble for over a year. So the guy in the car behind yelled at me for hitting a skateboarder. The skateboarder also yelled at me. If it had been a bicycle or a motorcycle #1) it would have been obvious to everyone that crossing a mall driveway diagonally across traffic and hitting a car is bad. #2) with brakes they wouldn't have hit me. #3) They hit me, not vice versa. This is now in the past and is not a painful experience. My wife's car had her BMW valve caps stolen recently. (nice, deep-thread metal caps with rubber gaskets and the BMW roundel) I seem to replace valve caps every year. I've given up on being angry about it. Once the situation is over, it is in the past, anger is a waste- the irritation of anger hurts mostly you . But if the hurt is ongoing, (imagine you are among the majority of americans hurt by George W Bush), then anger is useful and can be channelled for good. Sorry you got vandalized. The Aspheric mirrors sell at Suncoast for $140 - So I image the regular mirrors are a little less.