pvaughan

Here is my dilema. The left side bolsters on the drivers seat of my MY99 Boxster are wearing through. The bolster on the seat back which gets hit by my belt and the bolster on the seat bottom. They are vinyl on the sides and leather in the middle. I have been to an upholstery shop that can do the work. They replaced my rear window earlier this year. They do good work.

For $275 they would sew in a new piece of vinyl on the seat bolster and the seat back. Another option is to replace the entire seat covering with new vinyl and reuse the center leather areas for $375. To repalce the entire seat covering with new leather and reuse the center leather areas would be $750.

I'm inclined to do the $375 option but have just been wondering if anyone knew what other peol=ple have done. And does anyone know where to get the seats from a salvaged/wreck car.

Thanks in advance,

-pvaughan

I didn't know Bose made cars. When did they start doing that? :)

Aside from the audiophile opinions, I'd take it off. It's not you have a sponsor. What is this NASCAR. I've seen some that say either PORSCHE or Boxster that look pretty cool.

Happy motoring! :cheers:

-pvaughan

dejavo0 and ToolPants -

You guys cracked me up! This is great! Thanks for the laugh!

And dejavo0 - you need to list your PayPal info.

Later,

-pvaughan

OK. I did my first mod by taking the foam off the air filter. Whoa-ho! Can't say as I have noticed any difference. Except that I then went on the freeway to go home from work and the car sagged. I hit the gas and the car acted like it hit a pool of water. I thought, Oh no! I screwed something up and now it can't breathe. After a couple of test engine revs in neutral it returned to form. Maybe the computer had to take in what I had done or something. Anyway, all is well.

I'd like to de-snorkle my machine (MY99 non-S). What is the best way to get at it? Are there any tricks/tips to removing the side vent grille? I did a stereo install in the past on a different car and ended up a some broken panel clips/tabs and would like to avoid it with this car. Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Later,

-pvaughan

Take a look at some of the other topics listed in this forum for real world info about tires.

Also, try the link below to Porsche Club of America for more info about tire/wheel sizing.

http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_area.asp?id=31

Good luck!

Later,

-pvaughan

Well, I've put about 1000 miles or so on the new Michelin Pilot Sports. They are great tires! They hold the road very well. I haven't had them in any heavy rain yet but there has been some light rain and they performed very well on wet pavement.

Dry traction and handling is excellent. Accelerating from a stand still seems much quicker. I seems like I'm springing forward as though I were being pushed from behind. Impressive (wish I had a higher HP engines from one of the more recent model years). When cornering, the tires seem to reach out and grab the road. Like the car is trying to pull itself through the turn. Sticky, sticky, sticky. I love it.

I would highly recommend these tires. Thanks to all who participated in this survey. Happy motoring to all.

Having lots of fun in SoCal!

Later,

-pvaughan

java script:emoticon(':o')

smilie Whooooaaaa!!!!

Try this link to EagleDay.com -

http://www.eagleday.com/porscheaudio.html

Get the following:

Boxster/996/997 Factory Radio Removal Tool Set for less than $10.

Easy ToolPants....let's not be scaring people.java script:emoticon(':lol:')

smilie

Later,

-pvaughan

The tires came in and were mounted on Friday evening. They are great! I know I need to break them in for the first 100 miles but they are pretty tacky right out of the box. I'll comment further on them once I pass the 100 mile mark.

LVDell - Thanks for the link to the Porsche tire specs at TireRack.com Here it is for anyone that missed it in the other topic. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/porsche.jsp

Also, I purchased Pilot Sport PS2's, not the Pilot Sport. Sorry for the mix up. The Pilot Sport has a center rib and then a V-shaped tread pattern. The PS2's have straight channels similar to the ContiSportContact tread pattern. I went with them because they rated higher on the TireRack comparison chart and on the Michelin web site.

Here is a link to the TireRack comparison chart -

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresult...lay.jsp?type=MP

Here is a link to Michelin about the PS2 - http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/tires/M...retype=3&tire=1

And a link to the Pilot Sport - http://www.michelinman.com/catalog/tires/M...retype=3&tire=2

And sorry about all the typos in the first tread. I used the spell check - bad idea. I would like to see some more input about what people have experienced with the tires they are running on. There are a lot of questions and answers but lets not pass on point of the survey. Let us know your tires - brand, model, performance, handling wet and dry, their personal driving style and what kind of tread life they are getting.

But really this is great. Thank you to all who have read and to those that have contributed. And if you're reading this go ahead and hit the reply button below and let us know.

Later,

-Paul

I bought a MY99 Boxster in August 2004. It has 17 inch ContiSportContact tires(N1 rated). I don't know that they are the original set of tires installed at the factory but, the car only had 30k miles on it. Could be the second set.

Regardless, I have put another 5k on the odometer and it's time to get some new rubber between me and the pavement. I did a bunch of research online and even recently started a topic querying fellow 986 owners. Maybe some of you have read it or contributed. In all, I received some very good information which helped me make a decision on what to put on my car. I decided on Michelin Pilot Sport (N2 rated).

In my recent quest for knowledge I thought there should be a place where we can tell each other what we have on our cars and what we think about a particular tire. Well, where better than right here.

I know some people use their 986 as a daily commuter, some use it for weekend cruising and some for autocross racing. Some drive theirs like Miss Daisy and some like Mario Andretti. Also, some may need to swap out sets for winter fs. summer conditions. All of these factors influence tire selection. So as a part of this I thought we should include all of that information so that people can chew on it.

So here's my info:

MY99

17 inch wheels

ContiSportContact

potentially 35ka on this set

spirited driving style (I won't cut you off but I'll pass you for sure)

The current Conoids were great tires while I have known them. 5ka miles ago I could accelerate through a corner in second gear at 30/35mph. The car might raise up a bit but when it dropped back down it shot off like a rocket. I could follow the curve of the line of a left turn lane and it would stick like glue as I accelerate. Now it's like a Zamboni when I try that stuff. The first time my back side slid was pretty interesting. I was waiting at the light in the right lane of two left turn lanes. When the light turned green I pressed onward. I was ahead of the SAVE next to me as I started to track the line only to end up wagging my tail back and forth. It was a little disconcerting since it was dry pavement. So I checked the tires and it's time.

I decided on the Pilot Sport mainly because it rates higher than the ContiSportContact2'sa. I'll comment on the Pilot Sports once they are broken in.

Thanks for participating.

Later,

-pvaughan

Thank you to all for your input. I truly appreciate it. After much consideration and research I have made up my mind. I ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Sport (N2 rated). I still don't have a clear understanding of the N rating system but maybe someone can enlighten us.

Anyway, all this made me think we should do a survey about what tires people are runnig on. I think people may be interested. So I thought I'd start a new topic. I'm labeling it "Survey - Where the rubber meets the road / Tire talk"

Thanks again.

Later,

-pvaughan

I have a MY99. I had mine replaced by a local upholstry shop a couple of weekends ago. The cost was $428. They do have to remove the softtop to sew in the new window. It takes all day (about six hours). I was told they use the same material used in military gas masks. Anyway, they did a great job and it looks like a new car now. The old window was discolored and difficult to look through. Now I can watch the other cars getting smaller.

I'm in San Diego. If you want info on who I used send and email to:

pvaughan"at"san.rr.com

Later,

-pvaughan

Thanks for the quick responses. I have a few follow-ups.

porscha996 - Which PZero (Nero, Nero M+S)?

LVDell - Who did you like the S02's? Who was tread life?

I have been to TireRack.com and found the site to be a wealth of info. I always have to laugh when I read a review of a tire by someone that has been running them on a Neon though. I've had an occasion to drive a Neon and I don't know that tire would.....I digress, enough said. I drive a Boxster so I thought I ask some fellow owners for their input. Thanks to all who have responded. I look forward to further opinions. I'll be ordering this weekend.

Later,

-pvaughan

I need new tires. I have done some research and have read good things about a number of tires. I have narrowed my selection to two. I am looking at the Goodyear - Eagle F1 GS-D3. It is highly praised for wet and dry traction along with long tread life. I'm also looking at the Continental - ContiSportContact2. Highly regarded but I fear short tread life. I am looking to get 30k out of a set of tires. That would give me two years before I have to do it again. If anyone has any thumbs up or thumbs down on a particular tire or a recommendation I would appreciate your input. Thanks in advance and I'll see you on the road.

I bought a pre-owned 1999 Boxster that is awesome. I absolutely love it! Drives like a dream! I take lunch nearly every day now just to go out and drive it.

However, it has a CDR220 CD stereo in it. Standard factory component speakers in the dash as well as the doors. I know the system is not the best and is generally criticized for its poor quality. However, I have noticed with mine that the sound quality of a CD is much better than that of FM band radio stations. Even stations with strong signal reception. Has anyone else noticed this? Is this unique to my system or typical of Becker units? I know there are local shops that specialize in repairing Becker head units. Does mine just need a tune-up or should I replace it with an after market unit?

IMHO - the system is horrible and I want to improve it. I am looking at either adding to and/or replacing the factory amp. The door speakers will be replaced with mid-woofers. I know of a place that installed 8” Rainbow speakers. I may duplicate that. I will probably add rear speakers and possibly a sub-woofer too.

So I guess what I’m really asking is what should I expect from the factory head unit? I’d like to keep it in order to maintain the integrity of the dash and not have it look like some bastardized project car. Any ideas, comments, recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Happy trails!

-pvaughan

I am looking for a simple shop manual for a 1999 Boxster. Something along the lines of a Haynes or Chilton manual. I'm not looking to teardown the engine or transmission. I just want to install sound system and don't want to bust any plastic.

Many thanks in advance!

-pvaughan