DANNOV

I also live in Chicago. My '08 BoxS (died in a flood, RIP) had the same package. To the extent there is a problem it is not with pot holes etc but entry ramps. in my case, just one that I have to navigate on playdates (not mine, my son's :)). Accept it and enjoy the good looks! Also my current car '09 BoxS (insurance replacement) is w/o the package yet I scrape on the same entry ramp, so the difference is minor. (fyi, I liked the older package back end treatment better; plan to try to add that someday.)

Thanks for the info. I just ordered a 2011 Boxster last week without the Sport Design Package. The main reason I didn't go that way is because I too liked the older package. The new Sport Design just does not seem to be as pleasing to my eye. Incidentally, Napleton Porsche put together the best deal. I had one local dealer who wanted full MSRP and then tried to under-price the trade-in of my 2007 Cayman S by about $2K. Some of these guys are sharks. It will be mfg in Feb for March-April delivery. Since the crappy weather is upon us I don't mind the wait.

I am considering ordering a 2011 Boxster S and one of the options that I am thinking about is the XAL SportDesign Package, which is described as a new front apron, with spoiler lip and an auto extending rear spoiler. I have seen a few Boxsters with this option and they look good. The one thing that concerns me is that Porsche warns that this option "substantially reduces entry angle to gradients" and that the option "slightly lowers the front end".

I live in Chicago and occassionally encounter potholes and steep entry ramps, but this has never been a problem with my Cayman S. Can anyone enlighten me about just how much the front end is lowered with this option? I would be grateful if someone with the XAL package could measure the ground clearance so I could compare it to my Cayman.

Any other comments about this particular option would also be welcome, either pro or con. This is one of the more expensive options ($4,900) and I want to make sure that I don't destroy it on the streets of Chicago.

When this happens to me, I just remove the key and put it back in again. That always works. I can't say if I take my foot off the clutch but I probably do that too. There is something about the system that requires you to do everything all over again, beginning with the reinsertion of the key.

Hmm, I removed the fuse, it looks fine. I turned the ignition on without the fuse in, the onboard computer said "PASM indicator faulty". I've put the fuse back in but the PASM still doesn't come on and the same alert is displayed. No other alerts stored in the computer.

Did you drive the car after the warning indication? I noticed that whenever I disconnect my battery, at the next startup I get a warning PSM system being inoperative. Once I drive the car less than 100 yards, the warning turns off.

It does. My hand is on it. Headlight removed for the picture. But it is on the left side. On this car it did not have a loop on the end of the cable. Take out the left headlight so you will know where it is.

I have been told by 2 mechanics that the jumper in the fuse box will work even with the battery removed.

Thanks Tool Pants

I just spent about an hour trying to get behind the fender panel to find the release on the right side, as it was in the Boxster. So they switched sides to make it more difficult for us. This is great info, thanks a load.

DANNOV

As a former Boxster owner, I know that this subject has been covered thoroughly on this forum. But I am now a Cayman owner. Does the Cayman have the same emergency hood release behind the right front fender liner like the Boxster? I did a search and I can't find any postings about this with regard to the Cayman, but there are numerous postings for the Boxster.

I looked at the right front fender liner and I don't have a clue as to how to get it loose, I can't find any fastners, etc. Do you just use a lot of muscle and just pull it away? It seems to be securely fastened. Is there a hood release behind that liner?

The reason I am asking this question is that when my Cayman goes into winter storage I plan to turn off the battery with one of those battery disconnect switches that cuts off the ground to the battery. I would prefer to use a charger to keep the battery fresh but that is not possible in my parking space. If I absentmindedly close the hood to the point of locking, I want to be able to open it again. I am not sure if using the jumper in the fuse box as outlined in the manual will work if the battery is disconnected at the ground. Am I correct?

For those of you who read Road and Track magazine, I suggest that you read the "Side Glances" column by Peter Egan in the December issue. The article contains some perspective comments about Boxsters from a very interesting and entertaining car writer.

I currently have 18" Dunlop Sport 9090 all the way around. Picked up a screw in the driver's side rear yesterday. The rear tires are at the wearmarks. The fronts have 3/16" left.

Anyone have experience comparing Dunlop sport 9090, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS3 and the Michelin PS2?

Is it time to replace all four? Can I get away with replacing only the rear? And could I replace only the rear with a different tire now, and later replace the front with the same brand?

Thanks.

I put Michelin PS2 tires on my 2003 Boxster S, repacing Bridgestone SO3. It made a world of difference on the track. What a great tire! I am very happy with the changeover. Also, the Michelins seem quieter on the road. They are not cheap but well worth the price.

Try the emergency release in the door frame (above the top hinge - way back in there).

Thanks!! I'll try it tonight. :cheers:

Be careful with the emergency release. The first time I pulled mine, it broke and my dealer had a heck of a time getting a replacement. Be gentle with it.

Be aware that you can get the gas door to lockup if you let the car stand inactive until the the system automatically shuts the battery down (that is about 7 days of inactivity). When this occcurs the fob does not work and you have to use the key to unlock the car. If you open the door with the key and start up, and then stop for gas, the gas door will still be locked.

To get the gas door unlocked you have to lock the car again by pressing the button on the key fob. When you unlock the car using the fob, the gas door is now open.

That does not sound like your problem but this little gas door quirk is a good thing to know.

Just look at the bulkhead just behind the battery and you will see the large rubber grommet, you may have to loosen the battery mount and move it over slightly. Just push a metal rod through the grommet and then look under the dash to see where it comes out.

insite

If I read you correctly you are now using 32 psi cold on both front and rear, am I correct? After several track sessions my front tires look like your picture, using 30 font and 37 rear. I am going out this weekend and my try 32 psi cold all around, I would like to reduce the understeer.

Thanks for the clarification and update. I think I will do this mod.

Great writeup, I just have one question. I went to the website you referenced and it seems that the HID conversion uses only one HID bulb per side. I assume the HID is the high beam whlie the low beam is the regular halogen bulb. Is that correct?

Nice writeup; but, I am surprised by your tire pressures. You are using 35 psi front and 32 psi rear? I would think it would be the other way around, with more pressure in the rears, per the Porsche manual. I am on the track quite a bit with my 2003 Boxster S, and use 30 psi front and 37 psi rear. With these pressures the car understeers and I get much more front tire wear than on the rears. I am running Michelin PS2 tires, 225x17 and 255x17.

Am I missing something by using this kind of setup. What is your logic for using more pressure upfront?

How do they feel comparatively ?...sidewall flex etc...

When I bought my MY03, the dealer was nice enough to put on a brand new set of Pirelli P-zeros, and I love 'em. Excellent dry and wet traction and, although I have seen others say they are noisy, I don't consider them noisy at all. A bit on the expensive side, but it IS a Porsche after all.

I have been considering trying out a set of Bridgestone Potenza S-02 A when these wear out. The S-02's seem to be VERY highly rated by other Porsche owners who drive, shall we say, "spirited" like I do.

I just replaced the Bridgestone S-O2A tires on my Boxster S with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. I thought the SO-2A were good tires but they wore very down quickly on the track, especially the fronts. But other than the wear, I had no problem with the Bridgestones in the dry or the wet. If you check the wear rating on the Bridgestones it is relatively low, if I remember correctly it is about 110 AAA while the PS2 is at 220 AAA. The TireRack website spec sheets and test results are a good source of info on tires, generally quite accurate.

I just bought Michelin PS2 tires for my 2003 Boxster S. They get very high ratings by TireRack for both dry and wet traction. A lot of people I know just love these tires. The Pilot Sport PS2 are OEM tires on the new Cayman S, Boxster 987 and 997, and Carrera GT.

But they are not cheap. 225/45x17 on the front and 255/40x17 on the rear cost me $884 after installation and taxes at TireRack. TireRack has an excellant review dated 11-11-05 comparing the Bridgestone RE050A and S-03, and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, and the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. This review helped me to make my decision. If you have 17" wheels you might consider going from the 205 tire up to the 225 on the front, this works if you have a 7" front rim.

I have not been on the track yet or in heavy rain so I can't give you a first hand opinion, but I will say that these are very quiet tires which is a plus in the Boxster.

I just had new tires installed on my 2003 Boxster S. I put on Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, 225/45x17 front and 255/40x17 rear. After a few hundred miles I am pleasently surprised to discover that normal road noise with these tires is much less than with the OEM Bridgestone SO-2A. I can now listen to the hi-fi on the road at cruising speeds and it sounds OK, and that was certainly not the case with the old tires.

I have not been to the track yet, so I can't comment on the handling, but all of the tests indicate these are great tires for high speed lapping DE type events. So while I don't expect to be disappointed by their handling qualities, the lack of tire noise was a nice unexpected surprise.

Based on my emails/conversations with PowerChip, they are a joke.

I am not thinking about PowerChip. The software mod I am considering is the REVO by Technik. Price is $899 and they indicate 274 HP on a Boxster S after installation. But the interesting thing is that they have a test drive feature that allows you to get the performance gains for a 5 hour period, then it reverts back to the stock programing. If you like it, you pay the price and get it setup permanently, if you don't like it, they just uninstall it and you go home. It is a no obligation trial.

REVO also has something called serial port programming which enables you to switch between stock settings or performance settings. Here in the Chicago area the software is sold by Midwest Eurosport. The guys at Midwest Eurosport are the top Porsche experts in this area, great reputation, all they do are Porsches, and they know these cars. If they say it works I have to lean toward being a believer, because I just don't think Midwest Euro will knowingly sell you junk.

If I take the jump it will with the REVO chip mod, not PowerChip, and that decision is made primarily because Midwest Euro is standing behind the modification.

Guys, I have to admit I would love to have 280 HP+ from a chip as advertised for my 2000 Boxster S yet I am very skeptical too. There is one thing that always bothers me about Porsche. Why do Boxsters and now the Cayman put out less hp per liter than 911's of 7-10 years ago? I have to believe they keep the less expensive models tuned down to make sure they do not outrun their more expensive brothers. Based on that it makes me believe that there is more hp lurking in that motor that Porsche is afraid to release. Why does the BMW M3 make something like 330 hp from it's 3.2 liter motor?

That is the reason I started the thread. Porsche seems to get a bit more HP out of its cars with each successive model year with some kind of minor changes that are less than fully explained. I can see increases resulting from an increase in engine displacement, but how did they get the Boxster S from 252 HP in 2000 to 280 HP in 2005 wihle still keeping the engine at 3.2 litres? I have a suspicion that the wonderful world of electronics may provide an answer. I have debated about spending the $1K for a chip just to see if it makes a difference. Unfortunately, I have to first pop for a set of new Michelin PS2 tires. The chip is on my list of things to do in 2007. I will keep you informed.

I mentioned in one of my posts that C6 Corvette owners are going this route and getting some excellant results. A cottage industry of "tuners" has arisen who reprogram the GM chip for more HP. The Corvette people I know who have done this are quite happy with the result. They claim that they can instantly see the difference in their drag strip times..

I wouldn't worry about that at all. First of all, it's the radius of the tire that directly determines the height, not the diameter. So, you are really talking about 0.1", not 0.2". This is small compared to the tread depth and won't be noticeable.

My error, you are right, it is the radius that determines height. The change is so small that it probably does not matter. Thanks for the reply.

My 2003 Boxster S has 17" Bridgestone SO2-A tires. The fronts are 205/50 on a 7" rim and are listed as having a diameter of 25.2". The rears are 255/40 on an 8.5" rim and have a diameter of 24.8". I have done a lot of track miles and my fronts are worn.

I am considering changing to Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. I intend to install 225/45x17 on the front and 255/40x17 on the rear. The Michelin 225/40 has a listed tire diameter of 25" and the 255/40 is also at 25". All of these diameters are from the spec section on the TireRack website.

As you can see this change will lower the front of my car by .2" and raise the rear by .2". That does not sound like much but in my experience, often even small changes are noticeable. Has anyone done this, and is the increased rake noticeable? Will it affect handling on the track? Any opinions on the Michelins?

I thought the results were pretty impressive on the dyno and although the owner didn't feel any real power increase the improvement in throttle response and driveability was certainly worth the money and effort spent. Something to realize is that with and older model car with dated electronics greater gains may behad using todays technology, also different cars, models, equipment packages, etc will respond differently to ECU changes.

If I chipped a car I would want a power increase that I could definately feel. On Harley Evos I can achieve a 50% increase in RWHP, from 47 to 70 for under $1500.

A chip mod apparently works on a 968, but how well will it work on a 986? That is the real question. At least I got you to believe that there is something to be gained with a chip mod. Perhaps all the 968 owners should be aware of a cheap way to get an extra 6% HP and torque for only $150.

Nick49

I just emailed you the Excellence article regarding the results of the chip mod on the Porsche 968. We have a lot of people who have viewed this thread, so there appears to be some interest. Post your comments here rather than in an email to me.

I thought you may be interested...I was, so I'll relay a couple of more opinions from "Experts (?)."

Anyway before work this morning I stopped by an automotive machine shop that I have used for years to do cylinder boring and valve seat refinishing. They do very good machining and do exactly as requested as far as specs relayed to them. The guys that run it are the "***** on (insert brand here)", USA V8 Gear Head Roundy Round kind of guys, that don't like foreign cars or for that matter anything foreign. I told them that I heard of a chip that will net a 10% power gain and increase torque as well and it was offered for $1000. The machinist guy wholly agreed that it was most likely totally accurate, and chips that he has experience with will give 10% or more gains and a lot of his friends have used them with terrific success. He also stated that with todays cars and all the computer controlled ignition and injection that this is the way to get more power of of these vehicles. I have disagreed with him before on various mechanical issues. His daily driver is a '57 Ford One Ton PU 4x4 and he has never been on the internet or used a computer. Not that it makes his opinion any less valid, but it could, LOL.

The second opinion is from a tech at a Porsche dealership, that is also a friend of mine. His opinions pretty much mirrored my own thinking. He stated that at the previous dealership he worked at, he installed several chips on customers cars and had comparison dyno runs done either on their own or at the customers request. He said he found little or no difference on naturally aspirated cars and varying degrees of increases on turboed cars. He also has done quite a bit of race car building, prep, and racing.

I'm certain that the more people you ask, the more confused you may become. Just like religion...

I sure would like to see those comparison dyno runs. The Corvette people do this stuff all the time and there is independant dyno data and graphs available on the internet for chips and just about any other mod. I don't understand why Porsche owners don't show an equal amount of interest in determining the effectiveness of modifications.

I should note that you have yet to refute or comment on the results of the chip test article done on the Porsche 968 in the May issue of Excellence magazine. Those test results, which I might add, are verified by a before and after dyno test. The owner had no vested interest in the result and bought an off the shelf chip for only $150. What is your opinion of those results? Please read the article. If you like, I would be happy to scan the article and email it to you, I don't think I can post the article here because of copyright concerns.