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You are correct!! With the wheels i just got where a set of 18mm spacers, put the wheels on tonight and they rub the strut!! Going to see if i can get some 21mm spacers tomorrow!! FYI, any Porsche hubcentric spacers for 911's, 944's, etc will fit. i got mine off ebay for like $20. i got the bolts from german parts and restoration.

you can get them here: http://www.hrpworld.com/index.cfm?form_pro...;action=product for a 996, you will need: Front: 2 x 40mm 2 x 36mm Rear: 2 x 30mm 2 x 28mm

if you've tested across the motors and show an open loop, then the motors are fried. i've never actually taken a climate system apart on this car, but from the schematics, there is a common resistor pack in the top of the mixing box to the left (driver's) and slightly above the blower housing. also try testing the relay coil and main positive leads at the relay panel. also, not sure if any of these have to do with climate control, but there are fusible links in the cowl that could be bad. if there's no panel voltage, this could be the issue.

it's not bad. i'd go with zero toe up front and closer to .1 degree toe in at the rear. this will help your turning response. the rear camber variation between right and left should rectify itself when you sit in the car (i.e. both will be -1.6) which is good. in the future, i'd go with more neg camber overall. try -0.8 up front and -1.8 in back. overall you have an adequate alignment, but it's one that would drive me nuts personally.

btw - most 'specialists' suck at electrical diagnosis; you're probably doing a better troubleshoot than they would. keep going a little longer.

so far you're doing great. have you checked for voltage at the servo motor when you operate the climate controls to see if they are getting juice? even though the servos aren't grounded out, have you applied test voltage to see if they move? it may be possible for the servos to have gotten wet or something if one of the cowl drains were clogged. we need to isolate the issue: is it the servos, or the servo control system?

here's a few. oddly, i don't think i've ever taken a picture of both cars before, so here's the entire stable (all two of 'em):

my rears are the same size and offset; i use 21mm spacers. anything much less would hit the struts.

blue's right, no PSM on '99. as for ease of rotation, this only occurs when you're at or near the limit of adhesion. it's not like you'd be driving around town, lift, and spin the car. for track use, though, when you're at the limit, you want to be able to easily steer with the throttle. more gas should push you wide, less gas should tighten the line / rotate the car. the M030 sways really improve this. as for the PSM, it's my understanding that it really doesn't kick in until your slip angle is high and still increasing. i don't think it would upset the car.

actually, i run 225/265 on my car. i thought the factory 18" boxsters ran either 245/265 or 235/255. anyway, my wheels are certainly different widths; i have 7.5" up front and 10" in back. this doesn't really effect the footprint, though. i still say run the S front w/ base rear. the base front / base rear will understeer even less. for grins, try upgrading just the rear sway first and go for a drive. it's actually really fun, but too easy to provoke a slide at speed if you're not careful.

from a balance perspective, increaing the stiffness of a swaybar will reduce the grip limit of that axle relative to the other. so, if you increase the front sway, the front tires will slip sooner, hence increased understeer. increase the rear sway, the rear tires slip sooner, so DECREASED understeer. to an extent, the loss in grip can be regained by manipulating tire pressures. so, you want thicker sways because they reduce body roll, improve transient response and high speed stability. you can then reduce tire pressures slightly to increase grip. if you go too thick on the sways, you lose your independant suspension (one side is linked to the other). this results in poor performance over rough or bumpy surfaces. it also results in unpredictable tire breakaway at the limit. since sways are so easy to change, a lot of people try to stiffen the car using this route, which is fine to an extent. often they go overboard and ruin the handling of their cars; they might feel stiff and crisp, but driven at the limit, they are unpredictable and darty. ideally, roll stiffness should be controlled by springs and dampers, then supplemented and fine tuned for balance by using the sways. the factory sways on the box are tuned to heavily favor understeer and comfort. the M030 option dials out some of this understeer (desirable for the enthusiast) and adds some roll resistance at the expense of comfort. the added roll stiffness helps vehicle control at high speeds and helps the vehicle change direction better (i.e. quick left to quick right) by limiting motion caused by lateral weight transfer. this comes at a sacrifice to ultimate grip. with the M030 options, the best set of comprimises, in my opinion, come with the S front bar and the base rear bar with slight changes to tire pressures. configured this way, i am actually achieving higher grip limits with the thicker sways because of the lower tire pressures, but the car is much more controllable at speed. it will break away more sharply, though, than the stock setup.

not trying to make it oversteer; trying to make it understeer less. porsche dials more understeer into the S M030 package to create a safety margin for the larger motor breaking the tires loose. to good drivers, this understeer is not desirable. i have run the car with the following combos: base front w/ M030 base rear S front w/ base rear S front w/ M030 base rear M030 S front w/ M030 base rear the last combo, in my opinion, is most preferable. the M030 base front sway is exactly the same as the S (non M030) front sway, btw, so the base M030 package really includes the base S front sway and the M030 base rear sway. handling was good here, but a tad darty at speed for me. using the M030 S up front and M030 base in rear w/ adjusted tire pressures to me feels optimal.

the RoW doesn't lower the car that much. unless you have an aftermarket bumper, i'd go ahead and lower it with the RoW. not sure how the idea with the smaller wheel diameters will work. as for the sways: the base M030 rear sway is 19.6mm thick with a 2.6mm wall, making it 24.6% stiffer than stock the S M030 rear sway 19mm thick with a 2.7mm wall, making it 14.5% stiffer than stock you are correct that the S sway has a thicker wall, but not enough to make it stiffer than the base bar (which is 18.5mm / 2.5mm for the base AND the S).

back from the track. no GPS logger; couldn't make the arrangements in time. anyway, here was my setup: Front: Cold Pressure: 30psi Toe: 0 Camber: -1.6 Rear: Cold Pressure: 32psi Toe: 1/32" in Camber: -2.0 the car ran awesome. pyrometer showed even temperatures across both front and rear tires (street tires, race would need more camber). i did notice when aligning the car that the front tires are wearing a bit on the inside, indicating -1.6 might be a little too aggressive for the street. i will dial it back to -1.0 for the street and use -1.6 at the track. the track is smaller (<2.0 miles) and fairly tight, so the minimal rear toe worked out very well. very easy to rotate the car with a little breathe off the throttle. there is one corner on the track that is a closing radius horse shoe; i was able to trail brake into the corner a little hot and then lift just before the late apex, rotating the car's trajectory to track out. felt very good. there's a longer carousel that i was able to modulate through nicely as well. very neutral car. i really don't think there's anything (from a setup perspective) i'd change on the car.

man, that's a lot of GREAT info. thanks for the link.

my bad. i am indeed refering to the motor.

access the transmission. on either side, there is a metal clip that holds the cables into the tranny. remove each one. slide each cable out. if a cable is busted, you will be able to pull it out of its sleeve. to check the transmission, unlatch the convertible top & put the e-brake on. have someone operate the convertible top switch and look inside the transmission to see if the gear is turning (on each side). my gut feel is that the transmission is bad. if it were a cable, your clamshell would have opened unevenly and probably bent in the process.

man, i'm dealilng with the same thing ('99 boxster). for me, it happens at slower speeds, too. i have to push the pedal really hard to get it to stop well. if i do a few panic stops, everything gets really good for awhile. then, back to crappy stopping power. i've power bled w/ Super Blue, replaced pads w/ multiple brands, replaced rotors, replaced master cylinder, replaced rubber lines w/ SS. what kind of brake fluid do you use? i'm starting to wonder if the higher viscosity of ATE Super Blue can somehow cause problems....

sounds like your convertible top transmission. maybe one of the cables broke. you will have to disconnect the clamshell and top mechanisms from the motor arms that operate them. this is kind of hard to do from inside the car, but it can be done. once you have done this, manually open the clamshell and manually put the top into its service position. the transmission is under the clamshell just in front of the trunk. it has a cable that goes into each side. my guess is that either one of the cables broke or the transmission is bad. if i had to guess, i'd say the transmission since BOTH sides of the top mechanism quit working. if you need one on the cheap, call german auto dismantlers in georgia.

this will sound wierd, but when the car is not starting, can you turn your radio on? i ask because one part of the ignition switch that allows the starter to turn over is actually a little button that is pressed by your key. if the ignition switch was not properly tightened when installed, it can back away from the ignition lock so that the button does not get fully pressed. this will prevent the car from starting. it will also prevent your radio from coming on. if that's not the problem, does your car have a factory alarm?

thanks. i checked the booster for fluid or water. nada. i think the check valve is ok since my car retains vacuum overnight while the switch is off. wow. this is really bugging me. i'm hoping maybe there's just still a bit of air in the system after changing the master cylinder.

cup holders!

about a year and a half ago, i got a brake pad retainer spring caught between two pads when i changed the pads. it took me a couple of days to find the issue. in the meantime, there was much mashing of pedal during the diagnosis. ever since then, my brakes have never felt right. i can stop the car fine, but it requires much higher than normal pedal pressure, especially when cold. initially, i attributed this to pads / rotors since i'd been to the track recently. i now have tried 3 brands of pads and have all new rotors. bled brakes w/ power bleeder. problem still exists. then i thought maybe i trashed a master cylinder seal pressing the pedal so hard diagnosing the first problem. i now have a new master cylinder. bled brakes w/ power bleeder. problem still exists. then it was on to brake lines. since i was hard on the pedal and the car is getting older, i thought maybe my lines are ballooning. replaced w/ SS lines. no improvement. i'm now leaning towards a brake booster issue. i have found two TSB's w/ different dates (4770 @ March 8, 02 and March 30, 01). problem is, theyare listed, but not available, in the TSB section. they appear to apply to 1998 models. i have a '99 that was manufactured in '98, so maybe it applies? does anyone know what these TSB's say? anyone ever have a brake booster fail? i'm also open to other possibilities here. this is driving me nuts. if the booster fails, it should be leaking, right? if that's the case, i can probably check w/ propane or such, no? any ideas are appreciated. thanks. note: the car does not pull to either side under braking; it brakes straight.

glad you got it squared away. best kind of fix: FREE! enjoy.

Jules - there's a diaphragm inside the oil separator, too, so just because the bellows is ok does NOT mean the oil separator is ok. i'd go ahead and replace it. also, while you're at it, i thought of another thing you can just replace (cheap): oil filler hose. if this thing cracks, the motor sucks in air and runs funny.