Boxster mods: Which are worth doing?

[sd_boxster]

I've had my '03 986 for about six months now, and other than the short throw shifter have done nothing to it.

My previous car (an '05 Tiburon) was both underpowered and took very well to modifications; in the 3 years I owned it, I installed a catback, CAI, larger injectors, Eaton supercharger, fuel tuner, intercooler, strut bar, oil catch, and countless other little things here and there.

After reading up here on Renntech and a couple of other Porsche forums, I'm left wondering if the Boxster is better left un-modded. My understanding is that the motor isn't really boost-friendly without upgrading the internals, aftermarket exhausts seem hit-or-miss vis-a-vis drone and power, and as for the suspension... why mess with what makes a Porsche a Porsche?

The only mods I'm really considering are a cold-air intake and (since the stockers are worn) some quality drilled rotors. Can any of y'all who have been doing this longer than I have chime in and give me a short list of which mods are worth it, which ones are take-or-leave, and which you'd definitely advise against? What have you done to your Box that you love, what have you done that you wish you hadn't? What's the first mod to make?

TIA!

[kbrandsma]

I would upgrade the sound system, de-snorkel the air intake, deamber the front, side and rear lights and install the 4 stalk OBC.

Edited February 16, 2009 by kbrandsma

[sd_boxster]

Thanks for the ideas! My '03 came with clear fronts (no fried-egg look), and the sales guy at Pioneer Centre here in San Diego (Matthew Bang - awesome name for a Porsche salesman!) would not let me drive off the lot with the orange side markers.

I need to read up more on the stalk transplant - looks a little daunting from what I've read so far.

Seems to me from what I've read (and from pulling off the intake cover) that the '03 doesn't have the same removable snorkel as earlier Boxsters. Can someone set me straight on this belief?

I've been thinking long and hard about the sound system, but not sure I want to get into that mess (I've got the "upgraded" system and would have to rip everything out and start over... not sure that's where I want to dump $$$ into the Boxster. I didn't buy it for the stereo or cupholders. :D).

Thanks again for the ideas. Keep 'em coming!

I would upgrade the sound system, de-snorkel the air intake, deamber the front, side and rear lights and install the 4 stalk OBC.

[pk2]

Your correct in your conclusions about the motors. Most the bolt on stuff is dubious at best. Do to the 11:1 compression, super and turboing needs to be done with some fineness, pretty much what you did to your previous car. Without air to air intercooling (no really good to place to fit it it) or methanol/water your limited to about a 6 lb. boost. For me thats plenty of torque and lots of fun.

You can get pretty nice twin turbo setups and supercharger kits. But even with inter cooling, there precious little room an efficient super or turbo. The 'ell that unleashes itself on these motors really has nothing to do with how hard you can push it. If it's going to break in the usual ways it will regardless.

Regards, PK

[jmatta]

Short list of mods I'd recommend:

Evo Hi-Flow Air Intake: Worth the sound alone, doubt it adds HP, if any.

H&R Sport Springs: Stock stance is way too high, lower center of gravity = better handling

Good tires: Contact patch very important; unless you use simply as commuter vehicle

Sport muffler: It's a Porsche, should have some sports car sound (mod yours, it's cheap)

Stereo: It's a top down sports car, who needs it? That's what iPods are for.

I'd leave the engine alone, unless you'd like Flat 6 to rebuild it to 2.9 specs. Too much to go wrong when adding boost.

Edited February 16, 2009 by jmatta

[grover]

The Bose sound system is very good; it sounds excellent, even with the top down and at high speeds. As much as I like the sound of the engine, it does get rather tedious after a few years of hearing the same song over and over ;) I added an FM transmitting mp3 player to mine, but would love to do that satnav/DVD install, too...

One very easy mod is to increase the camber of the front wheels as negative as it will go. Between this and good tires, it will make a lot of difference in cornering performance. Lowering the car will decrease CG and allow increased negative camber, too. You're not going to be able to lower it all that much, though; it's already a very low car.

For any significant engine performance mods, I think it's going to be far cheaper just to sell the Boxster and buy a Boxster S or C2S.

Edited February 16, 2009 by grover

[savowood]

I'd stay away from drilled rotors unless you just want the look. For performance, they're not going to be any better, and possibly worse. Personally, I like the PowerSlot rotors. I've cracked two sets of drilled rotors and had to replace them before they were done from a thickness standpoint.

After the rotors, put some good pads in there. EBC Yellowstuff will give you amazing cold stopping power, but will also allow you to get extremely high levels of heat and still retain the stopping power. You'd probably also want to go with better brake fluid. Castrol SRF is great, but insanely expensive. You can get something like GS610 for about the same as Ate Typ 200 or Ate Super Blue, and it has a higher temperature rating very close to SRF.

Brakes are probably the most bang for your buck in performance mods. After that, suspension and tires. It really depends on how crazy you want to get with it. If you drive your car on the street and not at all on the track, then you can get a set of Eibach springs and some Bilstein HD dampers. If you want to track it, you might consider the PSS9. Add to that some nice R compound tires and you'll have a very quick car.

If you want to move from "very" quick to "what the hell did you do to that" quick, you can look at a motor swap. I put a 3.4 from a 996 in mine. I love the better fuel economy, and the 50% boost in HP doesn't hurt on the track.

-Michael

[jmatta]

One very easy mod is to increase the camber of the front wheels as negative as it will go. Between this and good tires, it will make a lot of difference in cornering performance. Lowering the car will decrease CG and allow increased negative camber, too. You're not going to be able to lower it all that much, though; it's already a very low car.

The stock ride height sits at least an inch too tall (look at those fender gaps!). When you lower the car, it will automatically increase the negative camber all the way around. This enhances corning ability, but will increase wear on the inner part of the tires. I lowered my S by about an inch and a half, running -1.5 camber front and -2.5 rear. Only you can decide if the trade off is worth it.

[sd_boxster]

Thanks again. First perf. mod will be the Evo intake. :D

Signed up for my first autox this weekend, too. Looking forward to that!

[jmatta]

If you do the Evo intake mod, be careful with the oil on the filter...most come pre-oiled. In any case, wrap it in some newspaper just to be certain it doesn't contain any excess. Complaints about spoiled MAF sensors are sometimes the result of over-oiled air filters.

[towney]

I'd love to do the 4 stalk OBC, but not car repair savy. I asked the local dealer here and the service manager didn't even know how to program the OBC hack <_< . Any locals here that can be of any assistance on this mod?

If your looking for inexpensive upgrades I'd de-amber the lights, add rear speakers like the PNP's.

Edited February 19, 2009 by towney

[grover]

Thanks again. First perf. mod will be the Evo intake. :D

Signed up for my first autox this weekend, too. Looking forward to that!

Oh boy, are you going to enjoy yourself, the Boxster is one hell of a fun autox car! Protip: if you're not squealing tires in every turn and sliding all over the place, you can still go a LOT faster. It seems to be the most common mistake of Porsche owners. Push her to the limit, THEN back down a notch :D

If you really get into autocross, be aware that any mods you make will knock you out of stock class, and into the same class as the race-prepped corvettes and 911s. If you're driving for fun, it's not an issue. But if you get good, you'll find you won't be as competitive as you would have been stock.

FYI: cone rash buffs out pretty easily. I've started putting painter's tape along my front bumper so that I don't have to worry about it, though.

Edited February 20, 2009 by grover

[LowFlyR]

See my blog for my mods:

http://www.myspace.com/porsche986s

[sd_boxster]

Autocross was a blast, though I need to practice. A lot. :D

If you really get into autocross, be aware that any mods you make will knock you out of stock class, and into the same class as the race-prepped corvettes and 911s. If you're driving for fun, it's not an issue. But if you get good, you'll find you won't be as competitive as you would have been stock.

FYI: cone rash buffs out pretty easily. I've started putting painter's tape along my front bumper so that I don't have to worry about it, though.

[Brad Roberts]

Oh boy.. you are on the slippery slope now!! :lol: Who was your instructor? I know 99% of the people in your SD region (I ran a shop down there for several years) and AutoX'd a Boxster with them :)

B