Highlander

Thanks for the responses guys

I know that the ROW 030(Red/Yellow; Red/Red) springs would lower the car about 20mm. Is there a difference between a Standard (Non-ROW/Sport) US and Standard Canadian springs???

Part #'s for US/Canada suspension parts are the same, so there will be no difference in ride height.

It's more likely a small rock got caught up in the dust shield. It's not an infrequent occurence, but it is kinda worrysome when it happens.

Glad you got it all fixed.

Graeme,

Looks like you laid down a pretty fair time at the Porsche Parade Auto-X at Qualcom. Top Boxter and in top 5 overall for the day. Nice run my friend. :cheers:

Were you running Potenza RE050A's that day?

I drove to the event on RE050's ;)

Hoosier A6's for competition runs though. I actually had TTD for about a minute... until a GT2 in the Modified class stole my thunder. Then when the Improved cars came out, I dropped down a few more spots.

Well time has come for me to replace my F & R rotors and pads. Sensor came on today.

Not looking to spend a ton of cash because I'm in the process of moving. Any one bought off ebay before and had good results on the product?

I see some DRT Performance rotors on there for just a little over 350, the seller is listed as brakpro.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-04-Porsc...sspagenameZWDVW

I found f & R pads and sensors for another 125.00. Which is much cheaper them OEM rotors and pads from porsche.

Just wanted to see if any one had brought from them, or if any one has suggestions on a good place to purchase rotors and pads.

thanks

Give board sponsor Sunset Imports a call before you go aftermarket. You might be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.sunsetimports.com/porscheatcost.php

hi,

unfortunately my tire popped and it is time to replace so i'm thinking of getting the potenza re050's. i heard these were not porsche approved yet. if so, is it ok i still get them fitted for my '02 boxster S?

thanks.

That is the exact tire I'm running on my '01 S in 225/40-17 and 255/40-17 sizes. I really like them. I have even run them on the track a couple of times and while they are obviously a street tire, they performed remarkably well.

Go for it.

Oops, typo! :eek: Fronts are 225/45-17.

hi,

unfortunately my tire popped and it is time to replace so i'm thinking of getting the potenza re050's. i heard these were not porsche approved yet. if so, is it ok i still get them fitted for my '02 boxster S?

thanks.

That is the exact tire I'm running on my '01 S in 225/40-17 and 255/40-17 sizes. I really like them. I have even run them on the track a couple of times and while they are obviously a street tire, they performed remarkably well.

Go for it.

Porsche tool 9560 (part no. 000.721.956.00) -- MSRP $209.78

I think you can find a similar tool via third party.

Dummmmb question do you have a illustration on how to use the tool please

Here's a pic from my suspension R&R (http://gwl.rmsolo.org/hacks/suspension):

Is your current alignment off?

You do not need an alignment if all you did is change wheel/tire sizes.

If you do need an alignment, your answers to the following questions will help determine what you should ask for.

1. What is your primary use of the car? Commuting? "Spirited" canyon driving? Autocross? Track?

2. What is your tolerance to uneven/high tire wear?

3. Will you trade tire wear for better handling?

19" wheels are an aesthetic modification. If you like the look of your car with 19's, I say "go for it". I would suspect however that ride quality will suffer because of the ultra low sidewall height. Porsche increased the rolling circumference of the 987/997 models to allow 19" wheels with reasonable sidewall height.

I'd guess the reason for the suspension "strengthening" is a combination of a heavier wheel, higher rotational inertia and increased impact loads due to the shorter/stiffer sidewall.

Good luck

I am getting noise from the right front. A humming noise that comes and goes. Mainly after it is warmed up at between 20 and 40 mph. This happens either going straight or turning. Also, going over rough roads at the same speed I get a metal rattle /grinding sound that happens every so often from the same right side. It is not consistent.

Porsche dealer said it was the tires. Replaced the tires. Still get noises. Had a reliable shop look over everything and compared it to the left side. Both look the same.

When I push down on the front right and front left side the struts do not make any type of noise.

I have seen many suggestions that it could be a bearing, lower control arm and bushing, sway bar,it could be the strut bearing or a combination of things. Just thought I would throw this out there before I dig into it and spend some money

2000 Boxster S 49k miles

Thanks,

steve

Humming noise... rattling... My bet is a bad bearing. Pretty easy to diagnose. Lift the right side of the car and spin the wheel. It shoud be smooth and quiet. If you can feel roughness, definitely bearing. The old fashioned "wiggle the tire" may not show anything.

Good Luck

I think the "vent" your referring to is actually just a drain hole for any gas that may happen to spill over during fueling...

Yup, that's exactly what it's for.

Good advice from Mike about getting used 16" take-offs.

For tires, I have had great success with Nokian WR's and Gislaved Nord Frost 5's on my BMW's - my Boxster gets racing slicks, not snow tires :D

http://tinyurl.com/299vp2

http://tinyurl.com/bhwj7

Both of these tires give decent dry and wet weather performance - for a snow tire - as well as exceptional snow performance.

I have also tried Michelin Pilot Alpins and was very disappointed in them. Felt like I was driving on marshmallows in the dry and their snow performance was only mediocre.

The Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 is another exceptional snow tire, but has only mediocre dry performance and does not wear well if driven predominantly on dry roads.

Good Luck

I'm finally getting pretty decent on the track during DEs (on street tires, anyway). I came back from this weekend's track event and pulled off the wheels to change the brake pads back to stock from the Pagid Oranges, and noticed that my tires were worn pretty well on the outside, but hardly at all on the inside. This was true for both the front and back tires, but seemed to be more pronounced on the rears.

I'm assuming I need to be running more camber. My 98 Boxster has never been aligned since it came from the factory, so (barring a little difference after ten years), the camber should be stock.

Yup, you need more camber. The "factory alignment" on my car straight off the boat had POSITIVE camber on the right, 0 camber on the left and a whole bunch of toe-out. Porsche must have thought I wanted to go circle track racing...

I'm trying to figure out the best way to add more negative camber. I could go with camber plates, which are probably the cheapest option, but they raise the ride height of the front of the car. I could get GT3 lower control arms, but they are rather expensive. I could go with the ROW 030 kit (I currently have the US 030 kit on the car) or get PSS9s, both of which allow about 1.5 degrees of camber on the front. The other option is to dremel out the stock mounts, which I've heard a lot of people talk about but never do.

Which is the best, most cost effective solution?

Either the ROW or PSS9's will help your camber problem at the track without compromising your street wear too much. Do not use camber plates on an otherwise stock suspension. It kills the handling of the car. Ask me how I know!!! <_<

GT3 control are work but as you said, they are expensive. Dremelling out the upper mounts? That's a complete hack. Can't recommend it.

What I would recommend are the PSS9's as they give you the ability to corner balance your car and you can stiffen them up for the track and then back them off so you don't lose fillings on the street.

Good Luck

If you search the forum you'll find a few posts on this...but here goes...I just did this last night to drill holes in the bumper for diffusors.

Pics?

Those settings are fine. A nice benign street alignment that will allow you to get the best mileage out of your tires, no problem.

Just had new Michelins Pilot Sport PS2 installed on my stock '03 Boxster S. Had the tires balanced on the Hunter Road Force machine, and a four wheel alignment performed. Drives like new.

But.

Looking at the printout the shop gave me (a good independant shop, but not a Porsche specialist) I see that the Printout says "...986 except US"

Does a US 986 use different specs than the rest of the world? Which specifications differ? Do I need to take it back to them and have them re-do it?

Thanks, Carlos

Post the actual values on the alignment sheet and I can tell you if it is worth taking your car back. If you can scan the sheet and post that here it would be even better.

This page explains how to get the mirror out of the enclosure. Hopefully then you'll be able to see how the mechanism is mounted.

http://www.toolworks.com/bilofsky/boxster/mirrors.html

Good Luck

Ditto on Pirelli...Rosso in the wet. I have 18s 265 at the back, 225 on the front. IT seriously does not feel good in the rain!

Seems good for dry roads though. What's the best allround tyre? (Excuse the pun!). Road use only, not too loud, but main thing is to grip like glue in wet and dry conditions.

The best tire I have found that meets the "grip like glue in wet and dry conditions" is the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. Very expensive and they don't last long, but boy do they work well!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?ma...Pilot+Sport+PS2

I had a set on my M3 at the track in these conditions and everyone who got in the car was shocked at how much grip I had in my totally stock car. Just don't try driving on actual snow pack. Then they act like normal summer tires. ie, absolutely no grip!!!

If you can get the old sensors out in one piece, you can reuse them. The only caution I have for you is that the plastic material they are made of can get very brittle with the heat they have to endure and they may fall apart as you pry them out of the old pad. IF they do fall apart, don't fret. Just tie-wrap them up out of the way on the strut somewhere (that way the brake warning light on the dash will stay off), finish our brake job and replace them at a later date at your convenience.

Check out Trygve Isaacson's excellent Boxster brake pages:

http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/brakes/intro/

If you want to skip the initial brake tutorial and go straight to the meat of changing them, click here:

http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/proje.../change_rotors/

This is a great writeup that will give you all the info you need to confidently tackle this job by yourself. Once you have finished, you'll wonder why you ever paid someone to do it for you.

This might also be a tracking device! LOL!!!

I'll ask my wife, hehehe.

Or maybe it's THE magnet??? :lol:

DO NOT REMOVE THAT MODULE...

The black helicopters will show up seconds after you do! :P

Hi- 97 base boxster w/40K miles. Ignoring costswhich would be a better choice for a street only shock- Bilstein HD or the OEs?

thanks chuck

I'd suggest sticking with OE parts. You know they work.

:huh: I bought my 03 S a few years back and there has been a clunk noise in the drivers side front end sinse day one. It hapens at low speeds when making a right hand turn over small bumps. I have to hit the bump with my driver side wheel. 2 shops have looked at it and both found nothing. The battery is bolted down and so is the spare wheel. Maby its a bad shock? Could I swap the two fronts (left to right and right to left)? Has any one else seen this problem? Thanks for any help you can offer. :)

Could simply be a slightly loose swaybar droplink mount. Check that the droplink is torqued correctly on the swaybar.

You can find how to do that here: http://gwl.rmsolo.org/hacks/suspension/index.html

To answer your original question, yes you can simply swap struts left to right, they are identical.

Good Luck,

Graeme

Hi guys,

I just changed my trans fluid to Redline MT-90 and it has suddenly become more notchy. The shift itself doesn't feel bad, but the engagement between gears seems really notchy. Almost as if the synchros are having issue. Once I get past the initial effort, the shift feels great. Anyone have this happen immediately after changing their trans fluid? Only thing I can think of is that the redline is too slippery for the synchros to properly engage, although I've never had this problem in any other car (nor have I heard this as being an issue in the 986S box). BTW, this was several hundred miles ago on a 986S 6-speed box. Thanks guys.

-Tom

'01 986S

The general consensus is to use a cocktail of 2 Redline fluids:

2 parts 75W/90 NS

1 part Lightweight Gear Oil

I use this in my B&M short shifter equipped "S" and it improved the shift quality considerably. It's still a little notchy when it's cold, but way better than with the stock Porsche fluid.

Good Luck,

Graeme

Hi Loren and Graeme

I just went over to pep boys got the battery tender. It worked perfectly. Next time you guys are in Southern Cal, Ill buy you all lunch. Thanks a bunch. Now I just need to get the ignition tumbler situation figuered out Ill be great.

Thanks alot.

Excellent! Thanks for the update. :clapping:

Not a quick solution, but try a cigarette lighter plug-in battery tender and see if it will charge the battery enough to at least open the hood.

G