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Thomas the answer is USE BOTH. When I wear my 5.5 point harness, I connect the factory belt BEHIND the seat, which makes all the Factory electronics happy. As far As I iknow, to stay technically legal you may only use the factory seatbelts on the street, a harness is not a street legal restraint system. The harness belts should not plug into the factory buckle. This would look stupid, adjust badly, and probably be quite dangerous. Don't try to mix the systems, simply install both and use one or the other as the occasion demands. When the road is gnarly (say at at a race track, autocross or the Tail of the dragon in the Blue Ridge mountains,) it will be more comforting and less tiring to use a well installed harness. On the long road trip to get to the track or the Blue Ridge mountains, you will be more comfortable wearing the factory 3-point belts. Ad Sach PS. I think GT3 seats are an excellent choice for tall people and those of us with middle age spread. I haven't found the money for them yet, but imagine I would enjoy them. pss. What are you are planning for your car? I thought you were replacing/repainting trim pieces for cosmetic upgrades. Now it sounds like you are headed for the track.

It is a rare 17" street tire that would outhandle an 18". The standard profile of the 18s are lower and wider with stiffer sidewalls than 17s. HOWEVER, if you plan to run track tires, the 17" choices are greater (and less expensive).

Your summary is consistent with everything I have heard before. My guess is that Porsche is selling the roof making business because they feel there is more money to be Made in selling the business than selling roofs. Why? A softening in the market for convertibles and folding roofs? Too much competition in the years ahead? Lawsuits in the future? I don't think Porsche needs the money or diversification of a spinoff, so I am guessing they predict the techology of folding roofs is mature enough and comoditized enough that they don't want to have to compete with the far east.

There is a steel cable with a loop for a manual trunk release inside your front bumper cover. If you are lucky, you can find this cable by removing the cover for the tow hook (round circular plug in the bumper cover). If you find it, pull it. Skyler has a picture showing this loop (left of bumper - in front of radiator tubes with green sticker)

I'll tell you what I think!!! - If they really know what they are doing they should be able to give you the specs of the alignment. If they were proud of the work they did, they probably would have sent you home with specs on Camber toe, etc. Please post the specs so we can see how they did. - If they adjusted 'as much as they possibly could', then it is probably out of spec. If they couldn't bring it into spec, and they don't definitively know what is wrong, then they probably don't know enough about aligning a Boxster to have done a good job. - your car should not pull. - These jury is out as to whether these folks are incompetent at alignment, but there is reaonable grounds for suspicion. - It is common for a shop to do excellent work at jobs like clutch and spark plugs and be worthless for alignment. From what I hear, aligning a 986/996 is a bit like conducting an orchestra with a rubber mallet.

I don't think any of the 987 as made in Finland yet, but if demand increases Porsche probably will arrange to assemble some of them in Finland. About 1/2 the 986 Boxsters were from Uusikaupunki,Finland and there is no provable difference between the Finish and German cars. Some rumors that the Finish cars had better paint, but I even doubt that difference. I would recommend heated seats. I liked them living in Arizona and I really like them living in New York. If you ever plan to track the car you will probably want sport-chrono. You probably won't ever NEED sport-chrono, but if you don't get it you may regret not buying it and wonder about the difference. You can't really add it later. This advice applies to the track only. Self-dimming mirrors are very nice, so many cars in the US are SUVs and trucks with headlights pointing straight at the mirrors. Often this is bundled with the rain sensor. I don't like the rain sensor sensitivity(986), but I do like the way it varies the speed slightly so you don't get a hypnotic sound of wipers going clunk clunk. Bi-Xenons are very nice. Almost everyone prefers them to standard Halogen headlights. Unlike the other options, 19inch wheels are an expense that keeps on costing money. Every 10,000 miles when you replace tires 19inch tires cost more than 18inch tires. 19inch wheels are more sensitive to potholes than 18inch wheels, which collect more dents than 17inch wheels. If you have potholes, you might prefer smaller wheels. The decision about wheels is not as important as some others. If you are seriously interested in high performance tires, you will end up replacing your wheels someday anyway. And if you love the look of 19inch wheels you will buy them no matter the consequences. Wheels are one of the easiest options to upgrade later. - disclaimer - I drive a 986S, so my answers are not specific to the 987.

For max acceleration shift at max RPM. For max speed shift at max RPM. Do not be afreaid of RPMs when accelerating. The only way you will ever overrev the engine is by shifting into too low a gear at too high a speed. On my S 1st gear is for 0-42mph(indicated), second for 25-75mph, 3rd for 30-100mph, 4th for 45-125mph, 5th for 55-150mph, 6th for 65-90mph(cruising) and 150+ accelerating. The top end of the range is for UPSHIFT only. By that I mean I will accelerate to 70MPH in 2nd gear, but I won't downshift to second at speeds over about 40-50mph. Your 5 speed will have similar ranges, and I recommend you get to know them . For everyday acceleration, you should get up on the gas above 4500 at least twice a day. This is based on the theory that if you don't enjoy your Boxster you might as well trade it in for a Solara. Generally I cruise below 3500 on the street and below 3000 on high speed roads. I never accelerate or climb a steep hill below 3000 RPM Mileage will be better below 3000 RPM than above 4000 RPM, but you can cruise all day at 5000 RPM without causing damage or significant wear.

I spent about 20 minutes in the dealer looking at a launch car today. Loaded with options (NAV computer and sport-chrono.) Very nice looking in person. The front grill lights are sweet. The longer I looked the more I kept thinking it ought to come in a convertible.

I don't know about really cold weather either. My 02S has been starting and running in the 20s all last week - the only difference I detect compared to 50s is a lack of oil smell (too cold for the RMS to leak?). No hesitation or tendency to stall. I stay below 3500 RPM until the heater starts to blow hot. I also keep it under 35 MPH until the heater begins to blow hot, but that is for me - not the car. Freeway wind chill is something fierce with the top down on sub-freezing days. I usually stick to the back roads :D

Congratulations - half hour labor isn't too bad - sounds like you got your money's worth with that fast a diagnosis. I didn't know the linkage could rust that bad.

Many 986 Boxster drivers 6'2" and above seem to like the 'center console delete' option, which basically replaces the center console with a smaller console that extends from the rear forward to the shifter. This allows the knees and feet room to spread a little. If you wanted to take your 986 to the track, you would need to get the B-K "Tall Man" brackets and the GT3 seats. I hear this is better, maybe not neccesary for the 987. BTW- I am amazed you fit in the Miata - I wouldn't think you would have enough shoulder room.

Check the color of your oil. If there is water mixed in the oil, it will appear gray-brown and maybe frothy or sludgy. Water mixing up with engine oil is very bad. :cursing: Normally the synthetic oil in your car should look like it is perfectly fresh out of the bottle.

I go to the Boxster Racing Board for folks who have done upgrades and taken them to the DYNO. http://www.iq.dynip.com/~racing/index.cgi?index Headers: TTP.ag,S-Car-Go Intake: S-Car-Go, TTP, FVD-USA.com, EVO ECU remapper: TTP - ECU mapping is more art than science, from ALL reports Gunther is the man! Realizing that you have an S - maybe you will only get 25-30 dyno HP Beware swapping mufflers, most reportedly lose some HP(despite the website claims) This is all second hand info - my 02S is stock Ad Sach

The windshield FRAME is an integral part of the roll cage. It is exceptionally stiff and will help protect your brains if you expereince a rollover. The windshield is pretty much just a windshield. I am getting my second windshield replaced in a week or so. FYI - Be sure they order the correct windshield for dimming mirrors/rain sensor/regular mirrors. I believe there are 3 ALMOST identical versions for the 986. I don't believe anyone makes an aftermarket windshield so the genuine porsche part will be ordered (and expensive).

Daniel, Loren knows his stuff. If he say try to "back it off 1/4 to 1/2 turn", I personally would pull the center console and back off the nut.

A good aftermarket intake-headers-DME swap should yield 30-35HP for your 02S. This would probably be more cost effective than using genuine 987 parts. I think there was also an advancement in variable valve timing that went into the 987.

My 02S uses about 1 liter every 3000 miles. This has been true with the RMS leak (replaced at about 5 months) without the RMS leak and with a recent possible second RMS leak. (My mechanic says I have RMS leak, but since I see no oil on the floor and am 2,000 miles past warrantee, and didn't see massive oil when I replaced the cluitch this summer, it doesn't seem like a problem I will worry about right now. )

You have my sympathy. It's bloody 4 degrees below freezing here right now. Better than a couple hours ago - I had to put my top up when the weather went from snow in the Berkshires to freezing rain in the Hudson valley. You should be able to see the transmission cables by peeking between sheetmetal while lying under the car - you might even be able to poke the cables and make sure they are tight. Unfortunately, if the cables are loose at the transmission you will probably have to remove the big sheetmetal "belly pan" to reach in there and make things right - and as I said above, if they are popped off you probably should purchase new retaining clips from the dealer to avoid them popping off again in the future.

Default (current Blue) Tanned Hide (Beige) Ashes to Ashen (Black) The 'Bling' factor on the rest is over the top. If you are considering other options, I think something in grey or pastels. The current default blue is superb.

The Boxster has a PAIR of cables that run from the shifter to the transmission. The manufacturer of these cables is extremely proud of the fact that they never need lubricating. My guess is that is much more likely that A ) the fixed part of the cable has slipped off of it's bracket at the transmission end - or - B ) You have springs broken cables broken at the shifter end. Since the transmission end is easier to access, and IMHO more likely, I would first look under the car and verify the cables are firmly attached to the transmission and firmly attached to the bracket holding the cable shield in place. I don't have a picture or diagram. Your dealer has a diagram. If the cable has come loose you will want to buy new clips from the dealer. Examining the shifter end requires removing the center console. This job is less greasy than under the car and within the grasp of a non-techie if you allow 2 hours and take it slow. There are very good directions on the B&M short shifter site. http://bmracing.com/media/products/pdf/67.pdf obviously you don't have to do the full removal in the directions to take a good look at the springs, cables and fasteners at the base of the shifter column.

The only reason to go with anything else would be if you buy used tires. I purchased Dunlop WinterSport M2s on 17" Mille Miglia cups used for $600-$800 2 years ago. They still have lots of tread after 3 winters(2 mine). I usually see used sets advertised for between $700-$1000 this time of year.

I have one CD player (SONY) that can't read an MP3 disk if there are more than 99 MP3s in the root directory. For your first 'trial' disk, you might want to keep the number of tunes to a lower number like 20 or 30 songs.

hah, his and hers would be nice :) I did look for tire chunks in the wheel wells and saw none, checked the brakes to see how much of the pads were left, stuff like that and it didn't look to bad... having lost my gamble on a previous used car I get a little paranoid :) so no concerns with a little bit of snow? that's actually my biggest worry With PSM and winter tires , snow is no worry. Since PSM was a $1230 option on an 02S, not many 02's have PSM. Without PSM, I personally would be nervous about regular snow driving. You can tell if the car has PSM by code 476 on the label under the hood and PSM OFF switch to the left of the cupholders.

Interesting idea about adjusting the round thingies. They look just like motor mounts to me, I didn't look to see if they are adjustable. I would guess they are not. New Idea :lightbulb: It may be that what you want to do is adjust your bumper cover position rather than adjust your muffler position. I didn't find a link to instructions, but you basically take off the spoiler and loosen screws under the spoiler and underneath the wheel well liners to remove or shift the bumper cover around.

The attached picture shows a muffler with the 'S' aluminum spacer. 4 bolts attached to the transmission (not shown), 2 nuts to studs on the bar spanning the top of the muffler(1 nut removed in photo). As you can see, there is some side-to-side adjustment. Up and down adjustment is only a small amount possible by loosen-push up-tighten of the bolts.