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I'm looking for advice or a kindred spirit to share information.
I’m becoming a fanatic with autocross. I’ve been running at PCA events where I’m pretty competitive in P3. I attended a PCA event this past weekend where I was 4th overall of 81 cars, fastest PAX, and fastest Porsche overall. I also run C-Street at SCCA events where I'm becoming more competitive. I'm in C-Street with the Miata ND's. I don't want a Miata and think I can be competitive with my Boxster S.
Here’s my current setup: Tires:
Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R
245/40R18 front
275/35R18 rear
I run 32 psi front and 36 psi rear and I check/adjust them after each run Wheels:
BBS SR
18x8 front
18x10 rear Anti-roll bars
M030 rear
Tarett GT3 style with adjustable drop links front Shocks/struts (on order)
Koni Sport (yellow)
Externally adjustable
They are on order because the rears are not externally adjustable and I'm having them modified to be externally adjustable which is within the rules. Driver:
Evolution Phase One
Evolution Phase Two
(I'd like to attend the Evo schools early each season)
SCCA WDCR Level 2 autocross school
I ran 16 events last year
I'm in south central PA and my primary affiliation is with SCCA Susquehanna Region HTTP://www.scca-susq.com/
I participate with three different PCA regions and 2 different SCCA regions.
Pretty sure your wheels are illegal, I have 18x7.5/18x9 as the biggest OEM wheels in my notes.
Also do you have US m030 springs? Afaik the m030 was a complete package, so you can't mix and match piece wise. You can run one m030 bar and regular springs, or all m030 plus one aftermarket bar.
Pretty sure your wheels are illegal, I have 18x7.5/18x9 as the biggest OEM wheels in my notes.
That's correct -- choice of 17" x 7" F / 17" x 8.5" R or 18" x 7.5" F / 18" x 9" R.
Originally Posted by burglar
Also do you have US m030 springs? Afaik the m030 was a complete package, so you can't mix and match piece wise. You can run one m030 bar and regular springs, or all m030 plus one aftermarket bar.
To answer OPs question, an "ideal" build would be:
US m030 springs & rear bar
Adjustable front bar of choice
Likely 17" wheels x 7.5/9, might want to play with tire sizes but I'd guess 225/45f, 245/40r, the 245 is the shortest for best gearing that's why I guessed that.
Konis are fine
If you can lose a few lb with exhaust that never hurts
Max out front camber, a smidge of front toe out, a touch of rear toe in, rear camber at OEM to start, and tweak from there.
If you're real brave you can try playing with the front bump stop. The OE one is super long, and rules allow any bump stop that is equal length or shorter. A shorter / softer front bump stop might buy a little more front grip.
I think your current setup falls under "close enough" for locals, but it's not legal for any event where contingency is on the line, so if you plan on doing national events you'll need to get it 100% legal. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there.
I've been running my 986 in BSP for the past two years and was in ASP for 4 years before that.
I'm running K-sport coilovers, -3.4 deg of camber up front, and 275 Hankook Z214s on all 4 corners. Current motor is a 3.2 with a 996 intake manifold, cayman airbox, and full exhaust mated to an early 5 speed transmission for a shorter 2nd gear.
Come out to the NNJR SCCA autoXs at Metlife. Its a little bit of a trip for you, but the competition is a lot more stiff with several national SCCA champions and the parking lot is HUGE. I'd be happy to discuss setups with you.
A 2003 Boxster S owners manual shows 18” wheels 8” front 10” rear available. So that isn’t against the rules. Regarding M030 suspension if components are purchased individually they aren’t the ROW M030. The entire M030 suspension components when purchased together at a discount are the ROW version.
Just because it's in the owners manual does not necessarily mean it's legal. But it's an interesting observation worth digging into.
In the PET is shows option code IXRC 18x8/10 for MY02-03 & MY04. Looks like it's the Sport Techno wheels:
Here's a photo of a 986 on them:
To defend a protest, if it came to that, you'd have to have proof that IXRC was a factory order option installed either at the factory or at the port for US delivery. Tequipment options are not legal as they are dealer installed. An under hood sticker or window sticker of a US car with IXRC on it would be awesome.
Similarly, in the US you could get M030 or not get M030. There was no line item option for "M030 rear bar." So the car has to start at full M030 or not, then the 1 swaybar allowance applies on top of that. ROW M030 is not legal at all in SCCA Street as it was never available in a US car from the factory, again, unless you have documentation that proves otherwise.
I don't have the details at my fingertips because it was a decade ago, but back in the day a bunch of us spent months trying to determine if the 8"/10" wheel combination was legal, and ultimately concluded that it definitely wasn't.
The owner's manual has no bearing on the legality of a part -- a part needs to have been demonstrably orderable, and we could not find proof for the wider wheels.
Likewise, to substantiate your claim that it's legal to install the USDM M030 parts piecemeal, you need to provide proof that they were individually orderable on a car (not just from the parts counter). Hint to save you some time: they weren't.
One thing that's changed since this was last seriously investigated is that Exclusive options are now explicitly legal. Likely your best bet if you want to claim your parts are legal is find proof that you could have ordered a car that way through the Porsche Exclusive program.
Note that burglar and I are taking about SCCA rules. I have no idea what's legal with the PCA.
I truly enjoy autocross with PCA but anything I do to the Boxster is done with the intention of conforming to Street rules so I can continue in SCCA C-Street. I’m not a fan of rule breakers, especially if they’re at the top of the heat. I have no desire to break any rules. Anything I do to my car with PCA almost immediately puts me into P3 and I’m ok with that.
I have no desire to buy an ND Miata. I’m just hoping to be competitive in my class. I’m certainly going to explore the thoughts I had with the M030 components before I install them. I appreciate all your comments even if they don’t conform to my interpretation of the rules.
Last edited by SailinBoxster; 06-21-2018 at 02:05 AM.
I’m certainly going to explore the thoughts I had with the M030 components before I install them. I appreciate all your comments even they don’t conform to my interpretation of the rules.
Let me help you out. From Section 13, Street Category:
Except for modifications authorized below, Street Category cars must be run as specified by the manufacturer with only standard equipment as defined by these Rules. This requirement refers not just to individual parts, but to combinations thereof which would have been ordered together on a specific car. Any other modifications or equipment will place the car in Street Touring®, Street Prepared, Street Modified, Prepared, or Modified Categories as appropriate.
(emphasis mine)
It's pretty unambiguous.
Note that these aren't burglar and my interpretations of the rules. Both of us have been kicking around at the national level for a decent length of time, we've seen the discussions and debates that have occurred about options and part legality, and our responses to this thread are informed by past precedent.
Note also that, to clarify burglar's previous post, the M030 parts that have to be installed together are the springs, one sway bar, and the bushings that go with that bar. You don't need to install the M030 struts, or both M030 bars, because there are allowances for changing the struts and one of the sway bars.
If you still want to challenge our interpretation of the rules (versus providing proof that the M030 parts were individually available, and thus are legal when individually installed), you can request clarification at http://sebscca.com.
Honestly, nobody's gonna protest if he has 8s/10s because
A) Only other Porsche nerds know or care what's legal.
B) There's no way he's going to even be remotely on pace with the ND and TRD FRS.
I campaigned a 986S in BS for several years. My only mods were GT3 front swaybar and max front camber. 17" tires are cheap, but wider 18" tires are a lot faster and going extra-wide in the front with 255/35-18 can help dial out some more of the understeer.
Burglar,
Are you hinting that I can piecemeal the US M030 components, i.e., US M030 springs and rear sway bar? As long as I do all components except one sway bar and the shocks?
06-18-2018, 01:09 PM
2003 Boxster S (986) Autocross Setup
