Porsche Boxster S (2000)
Discussion
So, I was thoroughly bored of owning a nice new car on a lease, so I cut my losses and replaced it with 18 year old topless pork!
No photos yet (still haven't cleaned it), but it looked like this in the ad:
The good points:
No photos yet (still haven't cleaned it), but it looked like this in the ad:
The good points:
- It was very very cheap!
- Less than 100k on the clock (just)
- The wheels are nice
- No dents or rust anywhere (that I know of)
- It has the fancy sports seats
- It has a Porsche sports exhaust (very rare it seems, and not cheap)
- Full service history, mostly at OPCs
- No slack in the steering, no major noises from the suspension
- The wheels are 18s, I would prefer 17s myself
- It has new Acellera tyres on it
- The rear window is cracked and needs to be replaced
- The steering wheel is off at an angle, so I will get it aligned soon
- Air conditioning needs a regas (and, I suspect, new condensers)
A - W said:
This silver gingercadeted Boxster club seems to be growing.
There was a deal on PCGB with one of the roof companies fro a full replacement for about £600 inc vat if I remember.
Can you remember what company was offering that deal? I wonder if I can get them to price match it. The nearest specialist to me is BAS in Swansea who charge £695 fitted for the glass rear window.There was a deal on PCGB with one of the roof companies fro a full replacement for about £600 inc vat if I remember.
ethomas said:
A - W said:
This silver gingercadeted Boxster club seems to be growing.
There was a deal on PCGB with one of the roof companies fro a full replacement for about £600 inc vat if I remember.
Can you remember what company was offering that deal? I wonder if I can get them to price match it. The nearest specialist to me is BAS in Swansea who charge £695 fitted for the glass rear window.There was a deal on PCGB with one of the roof companies fro a full replacement for about £600 inc vat if I remember.
Got under the car today and had a poke about. A few interesting things, firstly it has some kind of aftermarket spring:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cxb8nzckx29prni/2018-07-...
Since it is red, I am guessing Spax or Eibach. Either way the car is a bit low at the moment, so I may replace these with OEM or H&R 030 spec. The shocks look in decent condition, with no visible leaks, but the bump stops have had it.
Next, I noticed the arms look like they have been replaced. No sign of porsche logos on any of them, and very confusingly, what looks like a Pankl logo on the rear tuning fork arms:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ojf4kef6ton5zol/2018-07-...
This is very weird because as far as I can tell, Pankl don't make suspension components.
Front coffin arms:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xb2kari5kbfkezb/2018-07-...
Everything felt nice and tight, and all the ball joints passed the rubber mallet test!
It seems that as well as the Porsche sports exhaust, someone has fitted longer headers to the car as well. I don't think there is much hope in identifying these, the fitment doesn't look great (touching or almost touching the sump on the driver side) so I assume cheapo ebay headers:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ltgsyc56p9sfag3/2018-07-...
There is a spare connector kicking around next to the manifold on the drivers side too, any clues on what this should be connected to?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q94kbslkg3uamja/2018-07-...
Lastly, the wheel bolts are not in great condition. The ball cup things have started welding themselves to the wheels. I will get a new set ASAP, but I will need to figure out how to unweld the existing cups from the wheels, as they are stuck in there pretty solidly.
If anyone has any suggestions on what the connector is, or who make the lowering springs, please let me know. I might get it booked in for an inspection from a specialist when I get it recoded for cruise and obc, get a second opinion on the suspension and so on.
Cheers,
Ed
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cxb8nzckx29prni/2018-07-...
Since it is red, I am guessing Spax or Eibach. Either way the car is a bit low at the moment, so I may replace these with OEM or H&R 030 spec. The shocks look in decent condition, with no visible leaks, but the bump stops have had it.
Next, I noticed the arms look like they have been replaced. No sign of porsche logos on any of them, and very confusingly, what looks like a Pankl logo on the rear tuning fork arms:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ojf4kef6ton5zol/2018-07-...
This is very weird because as far as I can tell, Pankl don't make suspension components.
Front coffin arms:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xb2kari5kbfkezb/2018-07-...
Everything felt nice and tight, and all the ball joints passed the rubber mallet test!
It seems that as well as the Porsche sports exhaust, someone has fitted longer headers to the car as well. I don't think there is much hope in identifying these, the fitment doesn't look great (touching or almost touching the sump on the driver side) so I assume cheapo ebay headers:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ltgsyc56p9sfag3/2018-07-...
There is a spare connector kicking around next to the manifold on the drivers side too, any clues on what this should be connected to?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q94kbslkg3uamja/2018-07-...
Lastly, the wheel bolts are not in great condition. The ball cup things have started welding themselves to the wheels. I will get a new set ASAP, but I will need to figure out how to unweld the existing cups from the wheels, as they are stuck in there pretty solidly.
If anyone has any suggestions on what the connector is, or who make the lowering springs, please let me know. I might get it booked in for an inspection from a specialist when I get it recoded for cruise and obc, get a second opinion on the suspension and so on.
Cheers,
Ed
I recently restored my boxster S so this is pretty fresh in my mind but still your pics are a bit isolated so it’s hard to apply context.
The connector - all I can think of is the first lambda sensor. Normally that’s clipped into a plastic housing on the rear crossmember. There should be 2 lambda sensors in each side of the exhaust - one is just after the manifold and then the other is further back after the cat.
The springs - no idea but I replaced mine with M030 complete kit and some skinny tyres on those 18’s you have and now it’s an absolute gem. I went for pilot sports at 205’s on the front and 245’s on the rear which reduces the stagger a bit as the car is overtyred on the standard setup for the 18’s. I also replaced the standard top mounts with some mono balls as the standard ones don’t let you add in a lot of camber on the front and they move around a lot, also.
The exhaust manifolds are always a bit of a tight squeeze - I have Euro Cup GT ones and mine are fairly close to the sump and the crossmember also. They should not touch though, obviously.
Great little cars though I really enjoyed fixing mine up :-)
Here is your centre console delete in action. When you come to fit it you’ll find that at the edge closest to the shifter there are two holes that want to press over the pins on the floor pan but are not large enough. Drill them out to about 6mm and install some nuts onto the floor pan, before the console delete panel, then secure the panel down on top. You’ll see what I mean when you come to do it!
Here is your M030 kit with the spangly top mounts. Note that you can’t buy M030 manual transmission kit from Porsche now but you can buy the tiptronic one and then buy the manual rear springs which is the only difference. That works out the cheapest way to get fresh M030.
I also found that a set of decent drop links worked really well with the M030 ARB setup - the originals felt ok at first tug but using my scissor table to load them I could get them to “click” a bit and so they were another worthwhile change.
Below is your finished M030 ride height on same wheels as yours but using the tyres I’ve described which are obviously a bit more delicate than standard.
The connector - all I can think of is the first lambda sensor. Normally that’s clipped into a plastic housing on the rear crossmember. There should be 2 lambda sensors in each side of the exhaust - one is just after the manifold and then the other is further back after the cat.
The springs - no idea but I replaced mine with M030 complete kit and some skinny tyres on those 18’s you have and now it’s an absolute gem. I went for pilot sports at 205’s on the front and 245’s on the rear which reduces the stagger a bit as the car is overtyred on the standard setup for the 18’s. I also replaced the standard top mounts with some mono balls as the standard ones don’t let you add in a lot of camber on the front and they move around a lot, also.
The exhaust manifolds are always a bit of a tight squeeze - I have Euro Cup GT ones and mine are fairly close to the sump and the crossmember also. They should not touch though, obviously.
Great little cars though I really enjoyed fixing mine up :-)
Here is your centre console delete in action. When you come to fit it you’ll find that at the edge closest to the shifter there are two holes that want to press over the pins on the floor pan but are not large enough. Drill them out to about 6mm and install some nuts onto the floor pan, before the console delete panel, then secure the panel down on top. You’ll see what I mean when you come to do it!
Here is your M030 kit with the spangly top mounts. Note that you can’t buy M030 manual transmission kit from Porsche now but you can buy the tiptronic one and then buy the manual rear springs which is the only difference. That works out the cheapest way to get fresh M030.
I also found that a set of decent drop links worked really well with the M030 ARB setup - the originals felt ok at first tug but using my scissor table to load them I could get them to “click” a bit and so they were another worthwhile change.
Below is your finished M030 ride height on same wheels as yours but using the tyres I’ve described which are obviously a bit more delicate than standard.
Forgot to mention - yes about your condensers - when I pulled the front bumper off there was about ten tonnes of crap in there - all five of the rads were knackered really but especially the aircon ones. Replace your dessicator too at the same time (up near the battery) because they’re cheap and whilst you have no gas it’s worth it. Don’t forget to get new O rings for everything when you rebuild as otherwise it might leak.
This is mine with the bumper off at first - look at the floor!
And here we are with new rads:
This is mine with the bumper off at first - look at the floor!
And here we are with new rads:
Julian Thompson said:
I recently restored my boxster S so this is pretty fresh in my mind but still your pics are a bit isolated so it’s hard to apply context.
Thanks for your help, your car looks awesome. A fresh 030 kit would be the ideal, but it is a chunk of money and I am hoping to avoid spending too much on the car for a while. I will look out for a set of OEM springs in reasonable condition (perhaps from someone who did the 030 swap 
), and perhaps treat the car to the 030 kit (or Ohlins...) next year. You can see here how low the car is at the front:https://www.dropbox.com/s/9bmfdlee2sngxwt/2018-07-...
and back:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lelc4lfntwittei/2018-07-...
I like the idea of slightly narrower tyres, it is weird that the 18" wheels have wider tyres than the 17s, even though the wheel widths are the same. May I ask what ARB links and top mounts you used?
Lambda sensor is a good shout, but I checked those and they appear to be wired up correctly. I don't have any warning lights on, so it can't be anything too crucial. I will spend some time checking parts diagrams and try to figure it out.
Next job will be replacing the air conditioning condensers so I can get cold air when it rains again. Turns out that it *doesn't* just need a regas
No problem my car had only done 25k miles but had been owned by a guy who lived up a farm track. Hence underneath it was standard rusty fare. This is how it looked when I bought it
And same shot now:
Can’t quite get my head around the connector and it’s a shame as I’ve moved the car away from my ramp as I’m working on my little 7 now so I can’t easily just lift it up and have a look.
I have the original 25k mile suspension, yes, it drives great but looks a bit sorry for itself but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it that a wire brush and some hammerite wouldn’t fix up. You can have it if you like for the cost of postage or come and get it from Cheshire or I’ll drop it off depending on where you are as I travel a bit for business.
Here it is:
And same shot now:
Can’t quite get my head around the connector and it’s a shame as I’ve moved the car away from my ramp as I’m working on my little 7 now so I can’t easily just lift it up and have a look.
I have the original 25k mile suspension, yes, it drives great but looks a bit sorry for itself but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it that a wire brush and some hammerite wouldn’t fix up. You can have it if you like for the cost of postage or come and get it from Cheshire or I’ll drop it off depending on where you are as I travel a bit for business.
Here it is:
About the tyres thing yes - I had the 17 inch wheels on to start with and it drove great. Swapped to the 18’s and they came with the Porsche recommended tyres (think 215/265 IIRC) but it dulled the steering and spoiled the playfulness of the chassis a bit. I didn’t notice the ride going really bad as I’ve heard, to be honest.
I think it looks fine on the 205/245 18’s personally but I can imagine that it’s not “powerfully built” enough to be a standard option ;-)
I think it looks fine on the 205/245 18’s personally but I can imagine that it’s not “powerfully built” enough to be a standard option ;-)
Julian Thompson said:
No problem my car had only done 25k miles but had been owned by a guy who lived up a farm track. Hence underneath it was standard rusty fare. This is how it looked when I bought it
And same shot now:
You have done an awesome job on that. I did something similar back when I had my 325ti. Every part of the suspension was replaced with new or stripped down and repainted. That is where I hope to end up with my Boxster, but for now I am trying to be sensible!And same shot now:
Julian Thompson said:
Can’t quite get my head around the connector and it’s a shame as I’ve moved the car away from my ramp as I’m working on my little 7 now so I can’t easily just lift it up and have a look.
No problem, I will figure it out eventually. I will get the engine cover off later and see where the other end of the wire goes.Julian Thompson said:
I have the original 25k mile suspension, yes, it drives great but looks a bit sorry for itself but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it that a wire brush and some hammerite wouldn’t fix up. You can have it if you like for the cost of postage or come and get it from Cheshire or I’ll drop it off depending on where you are as I travel a bit for business.
That is incredibly generous! I am in Bristol so postage is probably the best way, I will drop you an email and we can take it up there.Also forgot:
Wheel widths are not the same. I’ve forgotton exactly but I’m fairly sure your sport design wheels are half an inch or an inch wider than the standard cockster 17 inch wheels. The 205 fronts fit fine though, as do the 245 rears.
Oddly, the first Caymans came with narrower 18 inch wheels than the boxster....
But I can definitely recommend the pilot sports at those widths.
Drop links and top mounts are Tarett engineering.
Wheel widths are not the same. I’ve forgotton exactly but I’m fairly sure your sport design wheels are half an inch or an inch wider than the standard cockster 17 inch wheels. The 205 fronts fit fine though, as do the 245 rears.
Oddly, the first Caymans came with narrower 18 inch wheels than the boxster....
But I can definitely recommend the pilot sports at those widths.
Drop links and top mounts are Tarett engineering.
Also about the tyres I read up on the lads who race the 986 and they seem often to go for a square setup rather than having any kind of extra tyre on the back. That was what put me onto reducing rear stagger and it definitely works well.
Having said this, I recently test drove an Elise and a new Exige and I had driven to the garage in the Boxster.... which, despite all my work, still felt like a bus by comparison as I drove off. I think I saw the sales guys laughing at me as I drove away like “uauauauah about now he’ll be realising what a bus that 986 is!”
Hehehe
Having said this, I recently test drove an Elise and a new Exige and I had driven to the garage in the Boxster.... which, despite all my work, still felt like a bus by comparison as I drove off. I think I saw the sales guys laughing at me as I drove away like “uauauauah about now he’ll be realising what a bus that 986 is!”
Hehehe
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