Peer

I wonder if someone can recommend a sway-bar upgrade for my '98 Boxster. The sway-bar upgrade that I did on my old car was the one I was most happy with:

http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/roadster-swaybars.html

I don't care much for comfort, but rather how fast & well the car handles through the twisties. Any help/suggestions appreciated.

-- peer

A while back my brake-light indicator came on. I checked the pads, and the rear ones are a bit thin, but not too bad. However, since the rear disks need to be replaced, I was thinking to do the entire disk & pads later on. But last night, the light is suddenly no longer on. So I wonder why the light would come on and then later go off again?

-- peer

Just to let you all know that yesterday I successfully disconnected my seat-belt chime following Richard Hamilton's instructions.

It sure worked perfectly, just the way I wanted.

-- peer

Richard Hamilton wrote:

> you could try disconnecting this wire from the instrument

> cluster plug. Plug 2, Pin 24 - Brown & Red wire.

Thanks Richard -- that's very helpful. But I wonder if that "Seat Belt Warning" wire is just for the warning light, and not for the bell chime..?

-- peer

Tool Pants wrote:

> If you are really going to do this then I will take the

> time to look at the wiring diagram and see if I can

> figure out which wire it is.

Are you suggesting that you will look into this... or did you mean that I should do it myself? If it's the latter, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trust myself enough to find the correct wire to cut (or yank) -- unless I could afford a try & error approach ;^)

Hence, any help appreciated.

-- peer

Richard Hamilton wrote:

> I think you'll find that he is saying that other

> Porsche models have similar wiring to his 996 TT.

Well, he said that he "believed" the TT had the same wiring.

If I'm gonna perform this "brain surgery for a simple headache", I think I need something more than someone who "believes" it's the same wiring.

In any case, I must say it baffles me that there's apparently no easy fix for this.

-- peer

Chris in NH wrote:

> hey, that looks pretty cool!! is shifting more difficult now

> as you need more leverage to shift? do you like it better?

Actually, it's easer to shift since my arm & hand now rest on the console -- hence, I like it much better than the stock.

> which Dremel attachment did you use (a cutting wheel, etc?)

> how many did you burn through before you were able to cut

> all the way through the shaft?

I used the small diameter cutting wheel, and yes, I went through a few of them ;^)

> which knob is that? looks very cool!

It's a MOMO knock-off. This is actually the only thing I regret -- although it's made of real leather and has some very nice stitching, the attachment-ring isn't metal but some hardened plastic, while the real MOMO is aluminum.

-- peer

Here's a picture of my homemade short-shifter. It's amazing what a dremel-tool can do along with a leather shift-knob off eBay. My shifter is now slightly shorter than the palm of my hand -- just the way I want it.

-- peer

Richard Hamilton wrote:

> Loren referred you to a 996 Twin Turbo - not an Audi TT!

No, the guy "believed" his 2003 TT was similar to a 996.

Or the exact quote:

"Here's how to remove the seat belt chime on your 996 car. I

have a 2003 TT, but I believe that the other cars are similar."

> Why not simply get used to buckling up before turning the key?

Well, there's a lot of stuff one can get used to. But there's also often things that could easily be fixed the way we want them. I was just hoping this was one of them. Evidentially not.

-- peer

Loren wrote:

> Did you try doing a search?

Yes, I did. I was hoping there would be an easier fix than soldering resistors etc -- wanted something simple like cutting a wire... or something like that. Besides, I have a '98 Boxster, not a 2003 Audi TT (as in the article you referred me to).

In any case -- the reason why I wanna do this is so I don't have to hear that annoying sound in the short interim of the ignition key being inserted and before managing to buckle up. Hence, I just want peace & quiet.

Any help appreciated.

-- peer

I wonder if there's an easy way to disconnect the seat-belt reminder-chime, while still have the key & lights reminder intact..?

-- peer

Well...

..last Sunday morning, my friend Jack and I were at it again -- doing yet another silly photo-shoot. This time with me and my Boxster... and some milk:

http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/porsche.html

-- peer

Whenever I start the engine cold, my muffler rattles. I wonder if this is a common problem, and if so, is there an easy fix? And yes, after a few seconds, it goes away, hence, it's no a big deal -- but sometimes it's kind of embarrassing to start it up (cold) when people are around.

-- peer

JFP in PA wrote:

> Why?

So I don't need to turn on & off the light switch, and more importantly; so I won't drain the battery whenever I forget to turn off the lights.

-- peer

Okay, so I'll try this again -- I wonder if anyone has attempted a DIY hack that makes the lights to go off when you turn off the engine and pull out the key?

-- peer

bcc wrote:

> A good way to know your mileage is the following:

> 1) fill your tank

> 2) reset your trip odometer (or note your mileage)

> 3) drive

> 4) when it is time to refill, fill your tank completely and note the number of gallons

> 5) divides how much you drove in 3) by how much you filled in 4)

A good way..? I didn't think there was any other way...

-- peer

Faster James wrote:

> In addition, when your battery is just about dead and

> you are in the middle of nowhere with one last crank left,

> your lights will keep it from starting. No doubt it will

> happen at the worst time.

No, you misunderstood. I still want the light-switch to work as before -- i.e., when the switch is turned to the on-position the lights are on, and in its off-position the lights are off. The only thing I want in addition is that the lights will go off when the key is out.

-- peer

Chris wrote:

> i am also glad to hear that these 'diffusers' are NOT JUST

> FOR LOOKS and actually have a purpose other than styling!!

I concur -- it's always nice to see that some snazzy lookin' add-ons actually have a practical purpose, (although my wallet will suffer).

-- peer

Perhaps I didn't explain correctly what I'm looking for -- I would like to leave the light-switch in its on position (turned all the way to the right) where the parking lights and the headlights are on, and then when I'm turing off the engine and pull out the key, ALL the lights go off -- including the parking lights.

Since both my MX-5 and SAAB worked this way, I've now burned myself too many times draining the Boxster's battery.

Any help appreciated,

-- peer

Usually I drive with the top down, even when it's cold, but for the heck of it I decided to check my gas-milage with the top up. (Well, this was actually the first time I checked the gas-milage) And yes, mine is a none-opt model.

After depleting one tank of gas on 70% freeway, 20% city, and 10% high-rev canyon roads, I ended up with 23.4 MPG.

Is this about average for a '98 Box with its top up?

-- peer

Chris wrote:

> i think Peer's question was sincere, not a dig on anyone,

You are correct.

-- peer

The Rascal Russ wrote:

> The diffuser work by using a phenomena called the Bernoulli effect [...]

Sorry, but is this a joke..?

(remember I'm a foreigner, so I wouldn't know if someone's pulling my leg)

If it's not in jest -- can you, or someone, please explain how diffusers like those would do anything besides their looks?

-- peer

Is there an easy way to connect the headlight switch to the ignition switch -- so that the lights get turned on/off with the ignition, i.e., making it possible to just leave the headlights on all the time without worrying about a drained battery.

-- peer

Besides the looks, what's the purpose of rear bumper diffusers?

-- peer

Since I don't wanna get pulled over for some stupid "fix-it" ticket, yesterday I decided to to mount my front license plate... but to no prevail. There are two square holes which not only don't line up with my license plate holes, but there's no way to get a nut or anything behind the bumper... at least as far as I can see. Hence, any help or suggestion appreciated.

-- peer