sailor

Well, After seriously conidering replacing the old Boxster ( a '99, 2.5) with a newer car, perhaps a 911, I'm having second thoughts.....I need more power, but love the ride and handling. Any recommendations of tuners specializing in conversions, say to a carrera or 3.2 Boxster engine? Any other less drastic recommendations? My car is in fantastic shape, with only 55K miles. I sorta hate to butcher her, but maybe more power and a little facelift can keep her around for a few more years. Ny pics and /or powerr mod recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Macster

The ride and handling you so enjoy arises from the car's balance. Not just weight balance, but the balance of power, handling, ride, comfort, cost, and so on.

The base Boxster: 2.5l, 2.7l and the 2.9l; are some of the most balanced cars around. If a car could be described at just right, a Boxster is it.

If you add more power then you are in some ways upsetting this balance. The result may not be as satisfying as you expected.

There are several ways to get more power from the car. But one way, and probably the least costly (over the long term) ways would be to replace the 2.5l engine with a larger engine from either a similar model year Carrera or a later car. A later car's engine requires more work to adapt it to the Boxster but many have gone this route and the problems have been solved.

There is no replacement for displacement. The engine swap if done right is almost factory. The car starts, drives, and runs just like before. Only it has more power. More torque. The larger engine is less stressed than it would otherwise be in a heavier car so all things being equal it should last a longer timer.

If you decide to not keep the 2.5l engine around -- and engines don't store well -- you could recoup some of the cost of the larger engine by selling the 2.5l engine.

The resulting car would have more power, but may not be as satisfying as you were hoping for. It all comes down to balance. And the larger engine with more power, more torque, and its ability to push the car to higher speeds in less time, has changed that balance.

Sincerely,

Macster.

arenared

I think it would be a lot cheaper to just get an '00 or later S with the 3.2L in it in the first place (plus 6 speed, bigger brakes, etc.) The conversion is not trivial, and you are probably better off (cheaper and HP-wise) targeting a 3.4L, but you are still probably talking $10K min and probably more like $15K once you realize you need bigger exhaust, etc., and other changes/upgrades. You would also get the nicer plastics (non-football grain), 3-spoke steering wheel, etc.