secretdonkey

Ummm, yeah, I know this is about the oldest and most trite topic under the sun, but if ya have any sympathy, all replies appreciated.

Yeah, I've done some searching on thar intarwebs, but (whaaa) it amounts to sifting through info that spans more than 10 years.

That makes it tough for a lazy and dimwitted guy like me to know what CURRENT outlook and costs are for a budget 996-swap. Or then there's the TPC-seems-to-have-used-to-make-a-nice-supercharger-but-now-they-don't thing, and it all seems to get more confusing from there.

I'm in a small town and don't have much P-car cohort to ask, and I'm spoiled on the web forum answers that pop out so politely for other cars with less history, options, iterations, etc.

I have a very nice '99, 52k miles and the engine is pretty happy now. No signs of RMS trouble since I became the second owner about 10k miles ago. Sure, some minor stuff that's common enough for these cars, but she's a happy car overall.

I don't have any special HP goals, just can't help but feel that the car is capable of being perfectly comfortable with more power - I've had cars with more power and less composure. I'm just looking to feel good at the casual autocross and track day (no class competitive aspirations) and if I can get a little bit of the understeer out (separate issue - working on that!) and a bit more juice in, this will be the car I wanna keep for the long haul, on a budget I don't have to sweat too terribly much.

Beyond the most basic, any kind of bolt-on or engine-swap options might I be overlooking that come to mind? Thanks in advance for indulging Mr. Lazyweb, here...

sjfehr

I bumped my front tires from 205 to 225mm and pushed the front struts to the stops for as much negative camber I could get, and it was night and day- dialed most of the understeer right out.

The single biggest mod you can make is tightening that loose nut behind the wheel

secretdonkey

sjfehr - well wouldn't ya know - I am indeed putting 225's on next week - even though the resident Houston region Boxster hotshoes I've been listening to said folks go even bigger than that. After owning another small rear-engine car, PUSH was something I did not expect from my Boxster. Despite it's pushiness in those tight autox spots, it amazes me with its confidence and poise in faster corners. You are right - the nut behind the wheel is what wants the most adjustment!

And yeah, suggestions on more juice will be much welcome!

Macster

Boxster engine is just an air pump. Run more air through it the more power it can produce.

Several ways to run more air: Spin engine faster; Increase engine's displacement; Force more air into engine.

Intake mods, larger throttle body, camshafts, exhaust system upgrade with custom chip/tune will allow you to spin engine faster and run more air through it.

Bore/stroke engine or replace it with a bigger engine -- there is no replacement for displacement -- will offer more HP.

Add turbos or add a supercharger either setup will force more air through engine and produce more power provided of course the engine receives any upgrades in other areas to make the turbo/supercharging viable.

Speed costs money. How fast you want to go?

Sincerely,

Macster.

Fly911

The search for more power is an endless story, and you will never get enough. However, how powerfull your car is, is a very subjective feeling, it's not how fast you are going, but how fast you FEEL that you are going. Your "butt dyno" is often a better measure than a real wheel dyno. First mod is to change the air filter to a BMC, K&N or similar, and open up the noice reduction baffles on the left side air intake. The Boxster engine is soooooo muffled underneath the folded top and numerous lids, so the air intake is the only place to let the good motor sound out. The next is the exhaust, the Boxster has probably the worst exhaust system of all Porsches (apart from the 964). There are headers for sale on eBay for $68, don't know about the quality, but they look OK, and will definately produce a better sound. On pre 2000 cars, these will not set off the CEL. Also, you can buy cat bypass pipes for around $500. That will cause a CEL, but with a DME upgrade, you might be able to suppress that. With a modified exhaust, air intake and a DME reflash (with a higher rev limiter), you will gain maybe 15-20Hp for less than $1,500, depending on what systems you use. Not much power increase, but the fun factor is great. Your car will sound MUCH better, and feel much faster (than it really is...). And that's what it's all about, the FEELING !!!

racer

Step one.. Sell low HP car.. Step 2 .. buy Higher HP car. It IS the cheapest way, and the most complete way. Find a Boxster S or a 996.

mikefocke

Your options
Here with the pros and cons on each I've heard and approximate prices.

Beware that you can easily get carried away, make mods that are not-acceptable for the class you want to run in, and spend money on things that sound great in the advertisement but don't really help much. Are you really gonna feel 10 HP? Is your butt dyno really 5% sensitive?