doode968

Hello All,

I am in the market for buying a Boxster to be used as a club race / time trial car. I intend to enter it in POC events and some Touring Car Club.

My dilemma is which Boxster to start with. Here are my thoughts, and I am confident that the fine talent on this board can guide me in the right direction.

Start with a '98 or '99 Boxster (2.5). Run in stock for a few events.

First stage in modifications: Install Cage, Suspension (shocks, springs, bars) and ligten (fiberglass hood, trunk, strip interior, etc..).

Second Stage in upgrades: Go to 3.4L motor

Another option is the '00 Boxster (2.7). Same upgrade for first stage, but I am not 100% sure as to how the engine upgrade would work.

Is the only option in the '00 (2.7) Boxster to go to a 3.6 motor that has the same e-gas throttle management as the 996? What hurdles, other than minor Motronic program updates for increased displacement (fuel maps), do I have to look forward to?

And finally, if I stick to the tried and proven approach of '99 Boxster with 3.4L motor, can the 3.4 be converted to 3.6? Is there enough room in the 3.4 motor to handle this?

I want to retain the ABS and PSM functionality, and don't want to go with an aftermarket ECU like Motec.

Thanks

M758

My advice is to look at POC class structure and rules points progression. Read and understand these know what impact your base car and modifictations will make. I assume that you wish to be competitive in class. So to be competitive in class does not take fast car. It takes a car that is prepared to the maximum of the rules.

Understand these first and then the right boxster to buy will make more sense.

You can of course just build a car to your liking, but you may end up with a bastard that is fast, but forced to compete with even faster cars and therefore not competitive.

doode968

Build-your-own is what I want to avoid. Been there, done that (twice).

I have been looking at the POC class structure and I think that the decision between 2.5 or 2.7 does not make a difference in the early stages as both models are lumped into the same class.

My time span between stock (JI) and fully modified (ZT) is probably two years. A lot can happen in two years, but I want to make the most leverage out of a decision made today.

Most likely, in a year and half or so time, the 2.7 to 3.6 conversion would have been done and proven. So my contemplations are moot and I should go with the 2.7 since it will give me more power in the same class (for POC anyway).

M758

If money is not object figure a why to get a GT3 motor in there. It is dry sump and a much better racing motor than the 996 3.4 ro 3.6 units. Better yet find a GT3 Cup motor with the "speed GT" Porsche motorsports upgrades. Here will be 400+ hp. Also think about gear box. Can you get a a GT3 gear box in there?

Around here Mike Lansky (from Tucson) has a Boxster that he races in PCA GT3. It started life as a 2.7 boxster, but he installed a 3.4l 996 motor in it with a boxster S six speed. Unfornatly he is down on power with about 255 at the wheels. Better than a 2.7 and a stock 3.2l S, but not really good enough to tackle the 350+ hp in class competition.

If I had the money wanted to make a boxster race car I'd try to transpant the engine and drive train from 996 Cup Car.
If done right could probably be faster than most 996 cup cars stock or modified.

Good Luck!

doode968

Although money is definitely a large consideration, an equal consideration is time.

I don't want to spend 6 months to a year developing and fabricating a conversion for a go fast motor. This is why I am trying to find the least path of resistance to better power/weight in a boxster.

The other major consideration is class progression. One can spend less money up front and buy a cup car, but then you're playing in a field with drivers that are more experienced and run the risk of becoming lap-traffic.

Doing the slow way, I plan on progressing through the classes and learning more than just trying to keep up.

M758

If you really want a great place to start you can try 944-spec.
For less than $8k you can have a class competitive car and race with a focus on driver talent vs car build and dollars behind it.

Quite honestly just because a guy drives GT3 Cup does not mean he is very good. I just means he has the $$ to get a fast car.

Personally I enjoy 944-spec since I know that when I go head to head vs the next guy what will win is driver skill not how much prep went into the car.

I believe of our current 944 spec drivers is using this as a stepping stone to a GT3 Cup car. Makes sense. In a 944 -Spec he can send far less money and really know if he likes racing. He can go up vs other and see how good he is or is not. Also he can learn race driving a car that is a momentum car. This means he will learn to be smooth and not use Power to get fast lap times.

Nice thing is that a stock boxster 2.5 or 2.7 is also a momentum car that will teach smoothness as the key to fast lap times.

NetManiac

Just to throw more confusion into the mix, <a href="http://www.gtpurelyporsche.com/issue/2003/03/TechArtBoxster.htm" target="_blank">here's</a> a story about converting an S's 3.2 into a 3.7. A little more cash up front, but you'll be starting with a better platform. In 1 to 1.5 years this will be common place (I hope anyway, since it's a direction I'd like to go someday) and you'll get more enjoyment out of the car in the meantime.

/net