giskard

Hi all,

I'm considering a 2000 Boxster S with 79k miles for $21k.

I have read some of the "how to buy a Boxster S" FAQs and I have some more Q's.

Is that right that even the 2000 S's can have RMS failures?
How about catastrophic engine failures? (sleeve failing, etc)

What year did PSM first appear in the S? About what % of S's had it?

How about the stiffer (030?) suspension package? What % had it?
I can install it, but how much do they go for if I buy used?

TIA.

lowside67

Firstly, the sleeve failing issue does not effect S models. However, if you were considering a regular Boxster, it is only a very small range of 99 base models that were affected - searching "sleeve failure" in this forum will yield you the exact range of production dates. While Boxsters (and 996s) can have RMS issues, from my experience I've seen more in the 996s - even so, in the worst case scenario, factor $1000 to re and re tranny and replace the seal. If the clutch is weak, this is a great time to do the clutch, as you can replace it for virtually no extra labour.

There are two types of 030 suspension - US 030 and ROW 030 - US 030 is not much of an improvement over standard suspension, and virtually every set of 030 you can purchase after the fact is the ROW (rest of world) version which is a bit stiffer yet and also lowers the car more. IIRC Sunset out of Oregon is usually the cheapest for NEW parts, otherwise hop onto Ebay for more information.

Sorry, I cant tell you about PSM - I wasnt even aware the Boxsters in that vintage had it.

jwilson95

giskard-

The RMS can happen on a '00 newer Boxster or S, but it is almost always a drop or 2 of oil here or there and not a true "failure" resulting in big bucks. This has been covered extensively on the forum in the past. Make sure you get the PPI and have them look it over.

While it is tough to say a % of PSM vs. no PSM, I would say it was installed on less than 50% of them as I paid attention to this when I was searching. I wound up going with one without it as everything else was there I wanted.

Get one, you'll enjoy it.

Regards,
Jeff

giskard

Thanks all.
So 2000 S's don't have engine failures?

Does the suspension have camber adjusters from the factory so one can fine tune the handling balance?

JP-"S"

No factory camber adjustment. There are a few places that ell camber plates for about 600 or so…. Owning a Porsche is not cheap especially if you plan on modding it or driving it hard. It can also be one of the most rewarding....

Gary Gaukler

No, camber on Boxsters is adjustable without camber plates. However, if you lower the car by a lot, then the factory camber adjustment won't be sufficient, and you will have to install camber plates.

Caster is not adjustable.

Gary

Turboflyer

2001 S 60K. RMS, air oil seperator, ignition switch, runs like a top.

Bob Rouleau

gisgard - RMS failures can happen on any of the Boxster engines. Not a big deal and if it happens Porsche has a new seal which seems to prevent repeat failures. The 3,2 liter engine is robust and not failure prone.

PSM was an option and fitted to some Boxster S models. I did not order it on mine because the early versions of PSM were a bit intrusive on the track. That was corrected with the 987 Boxster and 997 911.

Front camber is not very adjustable. You can get negative 1.5 to negative 1.8 or so (it varies from car to car) by simply elongating the camber sdjustment slots. I did that on mine and enjoyed better handling at the track. It is a ten minute job with a dremel type tool. Porsche restricts the negative camber adjustment to make the car understeer.. a liability thing no doubt. Rear camber is adjustable to about neg 2 with no mods required. Neg 1.5 F and Neg 2 rear is a nice street track compromise setting.

If the car has a US M030 then simply buy the springs and shocks of the euro M030, the sway bars are the same. If it has the base suspension, buy the Euro M030 - not very expensive and ride, handling and looks are improved. FWIW, I bought a 2000 S and tracked it for 2 years, sold it to another trackie and it is still going strong with no failures or issues after 50,000 miles.

Best,

giskard

Thanks again.

I test drove a 2000 S with 50k+ miles. I got lucky, the owner let me drive it spiritedly on a twisty road. I'm very impressed with the car - it has an excellent blend of ride and handling, with no chassis flex discernible. I even got to get the car a little sideways with a throttle lift, and it was easy to catch, despite lack of PSM. Nice engine soundtrack too. The power is very adequate, much better than the '97 I drove, which I thought was a bit pokey. Brake feel was awesome, steering was very good.

The tires were Yoko AVS Sport, which seemed a lot louder than the ContiSportContacts on the 97 I tried.

A couple of little questions.

1) The gas pedal doesn't seem amenable to heel-toe downshifting with light braking. Is this something some folks correct with pedal attachments or by bending something a bit?

2) The gas pedal feels like it has a bit of stiction - is this something correctible with a bit of grease in the throttle cable?

3) Ditto the clutch - does it use a cable?

4) It had 18" "turbo look" wheels - would 17" factory wheels be lighter?

5) There was a little red lamp flashing beside the temp gauge, though it was only reading a bit more than 180*F. What does this lamp mean?

6) I didn't try to break the rear loose with power - How does the car behave powering out of corners - does it transition smoothly to power oversteer, and is it controllable and behaved?

Thanks again in advance to all the helpful folks.

stumpjumper

the avs sports are terribly loud, and get louder with wear, I replaced them with Pilot PS2's which are very quiet in comparison

the 18 turbo looks are renound as heavy, while the 17 inch boxster II wheels are some of the lightest you can get for the car

my size 12's don't heal-toe so well in mine, haven't tried other pedals or driving shoes though, just the running shoes I wear every day

I've never seen the lamp flash on mine, and don't know off the top of my head

I haven't had the opportunity to break the back end out at speed yet, but it's quite nice around town powering through turns in 2nd, I haven't lost the back end yet, even in the rain and snow though I keep psm on for those conditions (it's usually off for fun)

I'm by no means a trained driver nor do I have any track experience, so I'm sure people will have better input for both the heal-toe and powering through corners

lowside67

4) Yes, though not by a whole ton. The lightest OEM wheels around I believe are the 18" carrera 5-spoke model.

5) Coolant is low! Check the level.

6) Like all mid-engined vehicles, they behave very well until you get to the point of no-return in which case it becomes exponentially more difficult to recover than an equivelant front-engine vehicle. However, the Boxster is not really a huge power monster - I'd not be worried about stepping on it agressively in 2nd coming out of a corner and spinning the car unless you were perhaps in the pouring rain or something. All in all, like most all Porsches, it behaves very predictably and nicely until you push it too far!

99firehawk

1 it can be done with the factory setup, just takes practice some people like to put the huge pedal covers on but I dont think that is necessary and most i have seen were dangerous for street use
2 no thers nothing to grease its all in the pedal assy thats normal on the the later cars
3 clutch is hydrolic, it gets stiff when its worn due to the angle of the pressure plate fingers bvecomes more requiring more effort to do the same work (think 3rd grade and simple machines)
it can be helped by remving the tranny cleaning the input shaft splines and the cluth hub greaseing and reinstaling not 100% like new but helps
4 id keep the turbo look becasue they look way betetr then the 17s, id agree that the 5 spokes are probaly the lightest
5 coolant is low, proably for a resaon, lift up the carpet in the rear trunk near the coolant tank
iof theres evidece of coolant in the trunk its gonna need a coolant tank
abnout 800$ iirc
6 Boxsteres are very stabile come out of corners nice and clean, best car for a beginner and makes your average guy look good

giskard

Which wheels are these?

99firehawk

thats the 18 5 spokes

giskard

And which are these? These are also 18" with 5 spokes..