jimbo19722

Hello! I see the the S has some issues with 2nd gear in the manual trans. I have test driven a few and l like the gearing on the base Boxster better.
Has anyone swapped a base 5spd into a 6spd S?
Just wondering. Thanks for any input you have.
-Jimbo

Macster

The 2.5l engine and the 2.7l engine have different power bands and torque curves. The 5-speed in the 2.5l car has different gearing than that of the 5-speed in the 2.7l car to compensate for the 2.5l engine's lower output. It is the gearing of the 5-speed that contributes no little to the 2.5l car's spirited performance in spite of the engine's size.

Likewise the 2.7l engine and its 5-speed are a sweet combination. Even with just 5 gears every mile in the car was a real joy and due in no small part to the perfect pairing of engine to transmission and gearing.

The S has a higher output engine and either the 2.5l or the 2.7l 5-speed may not be up to the task. Then there is the gearing question. You might find with the shorter gearing, especially with the 5-speed from a 2.5l engine (assuming the transmission can even be transplanted into the S sans major car surgery), the S engine and the car's performance less than satisfactory.

Might mention not long after I bought my base 2.7l Boxster I had a chance to spend some day or so in an S loaner with a 6-speed. While there was of course the more powerful engine in all honesty it didn't feel like it warranted the difference ($7K IIRC) price difference. I had been prepared to regret my base Boxster purchase but fortunately I did not.

Now 7 years later I did buy a new 2008 S (Cayman S) with a 6-speed manual. But it was the 3.4l engine and had even more HP than the 3.2l engine in the Boxster S I had as a loaner. And I got the Cayman S $12K off of sticker price. But I kept the base Boxster and even after I lost the Cayman to an accident and replaced it with a very nice 2003 Porsche 996 Turbo -- with a 6-speed transmission -- I kept the Boxster and believe it or not enjoyed it as much as I did the Turbo.

dr914

there is more to it than you think, when we installed a six speed in a normal boxster we had to change the cv axles and the shift cable. I would repair your transmission, it is fairly straightforward and will keep the same ratios like previously stated