pk2

A supercharger will do both, especialy the low-end torque. A n engine swap will do it to. But I don't think thats where your going. Short of that, you'd need somthing to boost hp and torque all around, that's no small trick with the box. No quick bolt on that I know of has really shown to do that and no way to do it just at 6000 in 2nd only, as a "doable" compromise. The box is pretty buttoned down from the factory. No easy wat to milk any more out of it. Rgards, Pk

Apologies for the long message. And thanks to all in advance! Thats O.K, every one here has been there. I've screwed around with that relay wiring quite a bit as Maurice will attest (hi Maurice). You seem pretty astute so I would get your self a copy of the obsolete but serviceable factory Boxter manual that floats around the web for free to $5. The wiring diagrams are very complete and a pain but, once you get them organized they are quite informative. You might just fix your prob for real!. Google my friend… Good luck

I'd follow vicary's advice but I would I think but I'd put be a little more urgency on getting your oil analyzed. The fact your motor isn't clanking away is good, but in general, the fact that metal has been filed from something and worked it's way through the system is not a good thing anyway you look at it. I personally would be hesitant to drive it 'till the results are in. Regards, PK

+1 above. "Toe" can acentuate even the slightest camber issue 10 fold to. Any frame damage? Weird that it would be front and back though. PK

Don't know the answer off hand but you can do the math and find out for your self. The "45" in "235x45x17" is 45% of the "235"(mm circumference). So the side wall height is 45% of 235mm or .45 x 235. That equals 105,75mm side wall height. Subtract that from "235"mm and you have a tire 129mm wide. So in this case; 235 - (.45x235) =129. Add the mm and you have129mm tire width...magic! Plug in your other and have fun. Regards, PK Note, the 105mm side wall includes about 20mm hidden behind the rim lip

You can rule out your battery as the problem. You have a fuel supply or possibly an ingnition problem. You would have to give a lot more informathin and symptons to narrow it down ( I.E. runs rough, dogs on acceleration, only happens when it's hot, etc, etc, anything). BTW, do you have an CEL? Regards, PK

No level sensor that I know of (what happens if you park on a hill?). It's cable operated. You can reach up under the bumper and pull the other end of the cable I believe (can on mine) and pull. Also pull the release and have some one bounce or bump the hood briskly along the front and/or see if you can get something in there to pop it open. Regards, PK

Mine seems to go of sort of randomly but, I think it’s supposed to beep when the door or something is ajar…or in a witching moon. I don’t really care anymore, I just listen for the locks or just watch the lights, but it has ammused me for years. I listen to your replies. Regards, PK

-I would look at window seal -door seal -top in good shape -passenger side mirror intact -gas cap cover seated properly A goofy way to figure it out is to try it is to identify the exact circumstances it occures (assuming top is up).; passenger and drivers window poisitions, vent and/or A/C-heater positions, wind direction, wind speed, your speed etc. When it is repeatable, have a passenger stab a rubber hose here and there (one end in his ear) to zero in on it. Regards, Pk

I'm not convinced the shop did it -- none of the body work had anything to do with getting in/out of the car. Now when I thought they had physcially broken the handle, maybe by yanking on it, I called them up and they said they will fix it. But I'm not going to make someone fix something they aren't responsible for. I did notice they must have pulled the battery as the clock was messed up and they had pulled off the positive terminal protector. I'm going to try a reset routine that was posted at PPBB tomorrow when I go out to the shop to finish up a few things. Hopefully it works and I don't have to open up the door. I hate messing with body trim that I care about. Too easy to mess it up. thanks for the help/suggestions Mike Low and behold it is a snapped cable -- right at the point it connects to the brass piece. Looks like no way to fix it. I think it did work the last few times by luck in a sense that there may have still been a strand or two connected. Fortunately I have another set from my track car -- but I have to pull it from it. I tore the door apart today -- not too bad. but I got stuck trying to figure out how the cable connected to the door release/lock mechanism. A few questions: How does the other end of the cable connect to the door release mechanism? It was not obvious how it connected and whether it was one piece or two? didn't want to get too rough with it. Can you remove the cable from the door release mechanism if they are indeed two pieces -- if so how? Lastly, if I need to remove the door release mechanism -- I have to find a T40 12pt star driver -- but I have not been able to locate one -- anyone have a source? thanks, Mike try Norther tool or ebay PK Edit: forget norther, try McMaster carr or just google

Ya I’ve been through the sunken imobilizer drill 3 or 4 times. Got it covered (literally) now. I think mikes problem is a disturbed connection in the circuit (read unplugged, broken or cut wire maybe). To me It would to be a question of what’s the bigger hassel, taking it back to the shop or hunting down the problem with a DMM (volt meter) myself. Regards, Pk

Txhoxie4life makes some keen observations and diagnostics. I have a similar problem, The outside handle stopped working after a week of torrential (for us anyway) rains. Drained my battery several times. Made me think "immobilizer" to since my battery went dead several times and electronics went bonkers. I twiddled with most possible secret combinations I could think of... nada. It might be a bad connection in the door (or nearby related circuitry). In his, case, its probably because someone jerked a wire lose during whatever sort of repair he was doing. This might explain his windows intermittent nature. Sometimes a loose wire connection accidentally knocks it's mate and makes contact making the circut work temporarily. ( mine is due to water related corrosion I'm sure) Regards, PK

JPK, Your methodology is quite thorough, extraordinary and has all the makings of a bid for a PhD. Add to that, all the time spent here defending it here leaves me with a more practical question; Exactly why the effort? Regards, PK P.S. Smog, why would someone with all the acumen of you and yours not be able to borrow some quality time on someone elses smog machine or cob together one yourselves with a dyno and some slightly obsolete (no longer certified…worthless) machine modules?

If your temp is reading 185 all the time even when the ambient temperate is cool , your ok as long as you cooling system is clean. In this case your temp gauge is probably off. If it runs at 180 when it's cool and 185 when it's hot, a third radiator would probably fix that. ( I believe you would need an "s" bumper to let the air in). A 160 thermostat is just going to be the lowest your (warmed up) temp you will have, (correct me if I'm wrong JPK) But, if your cooling system can't hack the heat, It's still going to peek at 185 (according to the gauge.). You shoud have a thirds radiator (again, asumming your cooling systen is tip-top)' In my opinion. Regards, PK

I was hoping you would pipe JPF, What's the exspensive fix? a reflash. This nags me, if an engine is running a 16o stat from the get go, I get can picture it. Hpwever, if a motor that has broken in at 219f for 50k ( worn to fit do a degree) is'nt dropping the temp 50 degrees all the sudden going to change all the tolerances due to a new coeifient of exspansion value. resulting in a refit of all internal components( I.E wear)? I suppose you have had the oil anayze before and after a "stat" change on a high-ish milage motor? Regards, PK

1) Heat is not bad. If your car were actually running at 185 you would be perfect. If you were running at 160, that would be bad. The motors are designed to operate at peak efficiency of about 180ish. 2) By "Government", do you mean this and the 11 other states with strict state standards? Or the federal government with weaker standards? They're both irrelevant. All the motors in this country and I believe the world, run at the same temp as your motor. 3) The theory is that Porsche actually thinks they have to run these motors at 210 to pass emissions. So you don't freak out, they jigger the gauge to read a false 180ish when it's actually 210. 180 is good. 210 is to hot and shortens the life of the motor. Little do they know, so the "160" theory goes and as I understand it, they could actually run them at a true and safe 180 (with a 160 thermostat), add years to the life of the motor and, still pass emissions. And so by extrapolation, after some 20 years developing this motor, they haven't figured that out yet. So the theory goes. Regards, PK

I'd get a junk yard motor. Somthing with reasonable miles on it and with a warrenty. Silverstar recyling in sacramento is my fave. I've had motors shipped across the country several times. Seems like up to Canada would be no big thing...look for porsche junk yards in Canada for that matter. Just an educated guess but I'd say you will pay $3-4k shipped for a 2.5. Regards, PK

It's probably harder on an already flawed engine, but the 3.4 is just as flawed and is really no big hp gain. With that said, the extra 70-90 hp i got from my 4.5 boost is an elluva lot of fun. Regards, PK

Loren's on to something, awful lot of codes. It might be a central problem that cascades and throws everything out of whack. Most Codes seem to point to heat, shorts (shorts make heat, or heat can look like a short) resistance (more heat), heat, heaat, and more heat. Don't know how technology has progressed, but I remember a thing call arcing where bad ignition components, especially plug wires, would arc, at running temp. and run like 'ell. You could actually see it like lightening if it were bad enough and dark enough. Could be the equivalent of bad the bad coils Loren mentioned. Regards, P-

I’m not up on all the internals of this particular engine. I do know in general that a motor that makes that kind of sound like that one does is best left alone before it tears itself apart. Get it to a shop (flatbed?), if it’s going to take a big expensive teardown, look at picking up a used motor. Regards, PK

Hard to tell, allot of ambient noise, what I can hear sounds like a bearing. Are you concerned about that knocking? You might be able to narrow it down with a stethoscope or take to a good indi shop for diagnosis only (they're not always right it's a start). Regards, PK

I've followed this topic over the years and it's been pretty controversial. A lot of knowledgeable people have piped in though. The conclusion I came to is that you buy absolutely nothing with an aftermarket air filter. Even the direct, cool induction filters from K&N do nothing performance wise. It's just like after market headers, nada, just sound. You should do a search on the subject. Regards, Pk

There Is so much space around stock 17 inch wheels that I doubt you would have a problem. The key is the offsets which you can learn about on wikipedia. Even if there is a different you can peak around and see if a cm this way or that is going to be a problem. Regards, PK

Your first idea makes scence and would bemy firs guess though mine have usually been most pronounced at idle...If i recall corectly. How did you check your vacume lines? A loose and slipping belt can squeak but that usually goes away when it warms up Lifters to but I think that goes away. Is it a low droan on or a squeak or…. Dose it go away Regards, PK

Hard to tell from your pictures but, the drain is a tamper-proof star wrench on the bottom of the transaxle at the lowest point a possible. It requires a special tamper proof star star wrench from Porsche ($$$) or the same from Ebay for about $15 The fill plug is a giant-ish allen-head on the left side of the transe, in front of the axeland, about level with the bottom of the axel. Requires either a large 13-15mm hex head allen head socket. Probably a Porsche special tool, maybe available at an auto, box store or, just purchase an appropriate sized bolt & nuts, tighten them all together but tight and, slip a regular 13mm (or 15 mm socket, whatever) on it, instant "special tool". The box is supposed to only be filled 11 mm below the fill whole...go figure. Your on your own there. Good luck, PK