insite

I've purchased the Brembo items from two sources: Suncoast Porshce in Fla. http://www.suncoastporsche.com/ , and directly from Brembo's US master distributor, Race Technologies in Marina Del Rey, CA http://www.racetechnologies.com If you just want to get the rotors, I'd suggest Race Technologies, as they tend to stock the parts while Suncoast carries the full kit (rotors, lines, calipers, etc.)........................

fantastic information. thanks!

one more question: since the base rotors and the s rotors are the same overall diameter (just different thicknesses), would it be possible to use base rotors with the S calipers? are the hub offsets different?

You cannot mount the factory "S" rear rotors on a base because the S car uses different suspension components (hubs) and have a different e-brake diameter (caused by the use of the 6 speed gearbox). Having covered that, you can obtain "S" diameter rotors from Brembo that are internally machined to "base" e-brake diameters, allowing the use of "S" brakes on a base car without changing over the suspension items (read big $). They simply bolt right on, no other mods. If memeory serves, the trick rotors are about $270 pair.......

well that's not bad at all. i figured from looking at the part numbers that there may be a difference in the e-brake setup. the shoes are the same, but the cams, springs and back plates are different. you don't by chance know where i can find these rotors, do you?

you could remove a wheel and measure. ;)

dude, i'm not THAT lazy... i just don't have an S. i have a base boxster that i'm going to install 'S' rear rotors / calipers on. i don't have the S rotors yet. i'm trying to figure out whether i will have any issues with the rotor offset, i.e. will the rotor center in the caliper, or will i need to shim it, and if so, how much?

i need measurements of the rotor hat depth and diameter. i have 's' calipers to install on my base box. the fronts were a snap; not sure if i'll run into offset issues in the rear. anyone?

Well, after talking with Mike at Powertech, we kind of arrived at a set of settings very close to your suggestions. These settings are based on street tires being used even if I do an AX or DE or two. We set it up to:

Fronts: -1.2 deg camber; 1/32" total toe

Rears: -2.0 deg camber; 1/32" total toe

We added the front toe to minimize railroad tracking and because Mike was very convicted in his belief that the tires require a minimal amount of preload. Mike has been racing since he was a kid, so I put faith in his experience.

Driving around last night, it became quickly apparent that I wasn't going to be dissapointed. There were a couple of times (with clear road and no one around..) that my eyes got beady and the adrenaline was pumping, because I was absolutely convinced I was entering a turn too hot, and the car didn't even sneeze....most impressive drive I have ever taken....yet totally inside the envelope. I can't wait to get this on a track. The only down side to this suspension change is that you have to learn the limits all over again.... :drive:

sounds like you have it dialed in! pretty serious difference, eh? i think that's how they should have built the car to begin with. what are your tire pressures?

I'd have to agree. It makes the stock US suspension seem "sloppy" if you can believe that (but of course you know what I'm saying...). Right now pressures are at 30 all the way around. Pirelli P Zero's - stock sizes - on M411 18" Lt Alloy Carrera Wheels.

sounds reasonable. i usually ran 30/32 or 32/34. i made some changes to my setup a couple of weeks ago, so now i have to run 34/32 to dial out some understeer. the M030 is a lot more reactive to tire pressure changes.

Well, after talking with Mike at Powertech, we kind of arrived at a set of settings very close to your suggestions. These settings are based on street tires being used even if I do an AX or DE or two. We set it up to:

Fronts: -1.2 deg camber; 1/32" total toe

Rears: -2.0 deg camber; 1/32" total toe

We added the front toe to minimize railroad tracking and because Mike was very convicted in his belief that the tires require a minimal amount of preload. Mike has been racing since he was a kid, so I put faith in his experience.

Driving around last night, it became quickly apparent that I wasn't going to be dissapointed. There were a couple of times (with clear road and no one around..) that my eyes got beady and the adrenaline was pumping, because I was absolutely convinced I was entering a turn too hot, and the car didn't even sneeze....most impressive drive I have ever taken....yet totally inside the envelope. I can't wait to get this on a track. The only down side to this suspension change is that you have to learn the limits all over again.... :drive:

sounds like you have it dialed in! pretty serious difference, eh? i think that's how they should have built the car to begin with. what are your tire pressures?

No surprise MNBoxster gets in there with his usual bs "expert" opinion.. :rolleyes:

Good write up, should look these guys up, where in Canada are they? Maybe I can pay them a visit.

he's a knowledgable guy. there are plenty of times i've read something, responded, and in retrospect realized i hadn't thought of something.

anyway, the Mantis guys are in Oakville, Ontario.

posted here: http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10817

While I did not take before and after measurements, my car appears to be noticably lower - especially the front as expected, but the back appears to be visibly lower as well. It may be an optical illusion, but the back appears to me to have dropped close to an inch, and the front maybe 1 1/2". I really like the look.

glad you're enjoying it. my impressions are similar. i also think that the RoW lowers the car a bit more than advertised. they say it's 2cm up front and 1cm in back; i think it's closer to 3cm / 2cm. what will you be aligning to? i ran -1.6 up front for awhile on the street; it's showing slightly uneven wear (wearing the insides). i think -1.0 might be better for the street in terms of tire life. i notched my strut towers so i can quicly set it to -1.0 for street and -1.6 for the track.

Seems like no one else is too sure what to call them either. The parts diagrams I have refer to both as simply control arms. My shop manual calls them the "lower control arm" and the "diagonal arm".

i've heard control arm, upper control arm, diagonal, trailing link and track arm. to me, there is no upper control arm on a car with mcpherson struts. a trailing arm should TRAIL. diagonal or track arm is probably best i think. btw, how do you like the 030 so far?

Not sure which is considered the "upper control arm". I assume that the UCA is the control arm that controls the toe, I unbolted and split the ball joint from the hub side and didn't touch the chassis side of that arm. The diagonal arm, I disconnected from the LCA and didn't disturb the chassis side.

i'm still confused by what to call it myself. the toe control arms are called 'toe steer control arms'. the 'lower control arm' is the one with the ball joint. the upper control arm, AKA trailing arm (it's really neither 'upper' or 'trailing') connects the lower control arm to the chassis. it sounds like you didn't mess with the chassis side of either one. you should be fine.

Worked like a charm insite. Your right, this is a much easier way. Am I correct in assuming that, as long as the eccentrics are put back in the positions that I marked, the current alignment will remain essentially the same, or does the geometry change significantly with the ROW M030 parts anyway ?

glad it worked out for you. did you remove the upper control arms from the chassis, or did you just unbolt them from the lower control arms? i ask because if you removed them from the chassis, you probably threw off your toe a bit. alignment isn't seriously pressing if the car drives ok, but i'd get it done soon none the less.

.....and for the record, I double checked last night - and there is NO WAY on my '03, that that nut is coming off the lower control arm ball joint with the half shaft in place on the hub side.

it's doable. what you have to do is loosen the ball joint nut until it hits the CV joint. then, split the ball joint with a pickle fork. now the nut can be removed. it's a pain in the butt. much easier to remove the control arm from the subframe.

SO...how about it, any advice guys? Any tricks I need to know ?

good for stopping. a couple of posts ago i listed some tricks for the M030 jobl. one was to NOT split the ball joints. instead, remove the control arms from the chassis. that way, the entire arm with the ball joint and knuckle all come off together. this way, you don't have trouble clearing the halfshafts, you don't rip the boots, etc. let me know if you run into any other issues.

I am also considering getting the ROW MO30 kit for my 02 996 do you know where could I find the alingment setings? do they come with the kit??

Thanks

not sure off hand what they should be on a 996. i do know that the Hunter alignment machines DO have the RoW M030 settings programmed in. tell the alignment tech that you have the Euro spec 'SPORT' suspension. the machine does the rest. i do know that the 996 spec for front camber will be incredibly inadequate, so it may help you to just tell the tech to set the front camber to -0.8 or so. this is a good compromise that won't wear your front tires too badly.

Insite,

This weekend looks like crappy weather and a good one to put my car back up on the stands and put the ROW M030 suspension on. Can you give me some tips on doing a rough alignment in the garage so it's not too bad to drive to the alignment shop? What would I need ? Any tips on the best way to measure for toe-in, etc......

Andy

you don't have to adjust the rear toe-link eccentrics when doing this job, so you won't alter any settings there. the upper control arms (trailing arms), however, can alter toe if you torque the bolts down out of order. when re-installing these, loosely install the bolts on the chassis side of the arm. install and torque the lower control arm side of the links, then torque the chassis side. if you adhere to this order, your toe should be fine.

you will see that the lower control arms (rear) connect to the chassis with eccentric bolts and washers. the washers have little dashes etched into them. mark them with a sharpie so you can match your original camber settings when you reinstall.

up front, you have nothing to worry about except camber. you should see the outline of the strut tower nuts in the paint on the strut tower. just align the nuts with the outlines on the towers and you'll have proper front camber.

the only other advice i can give: remove the sways, then do the struts / springs, then install the new sways. trust me on this. also, don't split any ball joints: remove the lower control arms at the chassis instead. MUCH easier / safer.

this is the classic symptom of worn synchronizer rings. the synchros match the speeds of the input and output shafts in the tranny so that you don't have to. when you let the revs drop as you described, you are in effect manually matching the shaft speeds, which is why it doesn't grind when you do this. you really only have a couple of options unless you're good a good mechanic:

1. manually match the revs when you shift to second (a.k.a. just deal with it)

2. get a used tranny and install it

3. have the synchro ring for 2nd gear replaced

4. have ALL of the synchros and bearings replaced (a.k.a. rebuild the tranny)

it's usually the drop links, but there are two other possibilities: strut top-mount bearing or upper control arm / trailing arm bearing (replace entire arm).

Thx Insite

I couldnt imagine it being good for the tire but im due for a new set very soon, as it is now the tire seems to be in good shape sidewall wise, no markings or indication of wear.

Im not quite sure if i was driving it flat or with a slow leak as i didnt notice it until a few hrs later when i was heading back to the car.

I will get it changed either way very soon

Cheers :)

just be careful. you won't see any indications of wear; it all occurs inside the tire where the rubber gets sandwiched between the rim and the road. the rim will roll grooves into the inside of the tire, making it much thinner than it should be. take care.

Got an Allen key caught in my tire a few months back on my E46 BM, drove for 10kms without even realising i had a flat amazingly

The tires were standard (non runflat) connie sport contacts.

It sort of flattened the edge of the rim slightly but little or no damage amazingly

Took it to a tire place, had them patch it, $20 later its back to new, that was 5,000kms ago, no probs since.

you're on borrowed time. when you drive on a non run-flat tire without pressure for any significant distance, the rim wears down the inside of the tire where the sidewall meets the tread. the tread can completely separate from the sidewalls when the tire heats up, causing massive failure. while you MIGHT be okay, this is a very serious risk imo. spend some $$$ on a new tire. btw, i speak from experience. i made this mistake about 10 yrs ago with my jetta. it's a miracle i didn't crash, as i was doing about 75mph around a bend on a crowded highway when the tire blew.

don't use your e-brake; just leave the car in gear until you get new springs. it looks like maybe your wheel lug bolts are a tad too long and perhaps hitting some e-brake components.

Just had a look under the arches and the handbrake cable was touching on both sides, pushed them out of the way and it seems to be ok on the r/h side but on the l/h side the actual wheel is only just scraping the shock.

Should i just run it and the scraping might clear after it has rubbed for a few miles? (i'm talking hair width that is touching)

nope. as your wheel bearings get old, there will be some play in the hub. you will damage the strut when you hit bumps, etc. get the right spacers.

Thanks for all the suggestions. All of these places have AMP extraction tools, but none seem appropriate for the type of AMP connector I have shown. I was hoping someone had experience with this and could tell me I need a particular set of tools rather than buying a bunch of incorrect tools or spending an hour searching the internet for something that may work.

try this catalog: http://www.aerocraftparts.com/images/Catal...-Pages20-35.pdf

i believe you want part # M81969/1-02 on page 30.

Just looking for the newest part number for the front and rear wheel bearings for a 1999 Boxster.

If someone could help me out that would be great.

Also i bought my car used and it had a replacement motor put in from the dealer. I only know this because in the service book it has a stamp from the dealership and says "Motor Replaced".

It was done by Porsche in Charlotte N.C. I don't live anywhere near there...Since this was done in 2003, would they have replaced it with a 2.5l? Just wondering because i am living in Florida and it seems to run Hot.

Cheers

pap parts has them for like $30 each

I already tried Radio Shack, however they only seem to have the round pin extractors and were very confused when I mentioned I needed pin extractors for AMP connectors. They thought I was working on my stereo.

Todd

ack radio