I started a thread over here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-997-have.html

But I figured the folks that might know are probably here in this forum. Did the 997 come with the weaker rear bumper bar mounts like the 987, or does it still have the stronger mounts like the 986/996? All of the parts diagrams I have found still show the stronger 996 part number for the 997.

Thank you,

Steve

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I'm in the middle of putting a hitch on my 03 996 Turbo and it has the top mounts stock. However, I was told to replace those with the mounts on the bottom, as the top mounts have a shock in them that will collapse on impact whereas the lower ones don't.

So I'm a little confused here as what you're saying is the direct opposite of what I'd thought...

 

My understanding is that the top version is a lot stronger, while the bottom version is weaker as it is designed to crush on impact vs the shock absorber type approach of the top style. The 2nd style is a lot lighter as well and the tube appear to be much less substantial. I personally have towed probably 15,000+ miles (several years worth) on my 986 Boxster with the top style, and a trip to VIR and back from FL in my Cayman (1,140 miles) which was my first time out with the Cayman with the hitch, with that same top style retrofitted that I got from a dismantler.

From looking at the threads where Cayman folks have developed a hitch, it was the weaker 987 version that cracked and the solution was to go back to the original stronger one. Naturally I can't find those threads right now as I am typing a reply But if I do I will post them here.

Sport tows (and I think will wood back when he was making them) has a custom solid welded set to replace these mounts, and while they may have recommended them for all installations, my personal experience with the original 986/996 style from the top has been successful.

Updated to add: here is a thread on P9 that shows a picture of the custom heavy duty mounts made by Will Wood to replace the crush mount on the 987, my understanding was that this is only needed when replacing the weaker style mount. The one on the right is the custom mount.

https://www.planet-9.com/threads/wil...139857&slide=1



Here's a thread on the 996 that has a screenshot of the original Will Wood instructions, where he says that 05-12 only need the heavy duty bracket. I am trying to find out if that is Caymans/Boxsters only or if that includes the 997.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...tall-help.html

 

The one on my left is my stock one. The one on the right is the willwood heavy duty one I installed.

Now I have heard that the 2005+ cars are the ones you should replace and not the earlier cars like my 2003. It's obvious that my stock ones are impact/shock ones. Maybe they're stronger than the later 2005 ones but they're not as strong as the willwood ones

I think I'm going to leave the willwood ones installed, they can't do anything but help.

 

Those Will wood ones look pretty strong, if you have those I wouldn't go to the trouble to swap back. Thank you for joining in on this thread. Towing these little trailers is the bomb isn't it

I'm hoping someone with a 997 will chime in and confirm which style the 997 has...

 

Going to tow this to the track

 

Very nice, we are trailer brothers :-)

 

Nice! I'm trying to figure out how to mount my fuel jug rack to it. That way I can carry two 5 gallon jugs on the trailer...

 

I would love to learn how to get have a receiver installed on my 997.2... anyone? A hidden one would be perfection. Can't get anyone in the vendor world to respond to me. Have the center delete/x-pipe, so less in the way. Does anyone have a receiver installed on their 997.2/997.1??

 

I've got one for sale here, and it has links to a couple installation threads, one of which is a 997

https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1227193

There is this one that is commercially available and it says it fits 997: https:/https://www.sporttows.com/shop

I personally have only experience towing with a 986 boxster and 987.2 Cayman and I have found it is very handy to have a trailer with tires, brake bleeding equipment, tools, and spares. I picked up the hidden hitch I have for sale because my boxster hitch that mounted to the bumperettes didn't map to the Cayman and at that time I didn't realize there were specific willwood systems for 987/987 and 996/997.

 

I have just installed the Sporttows version of the receiver

 

A friend of mine has one installed on his Cayman, it is very nice.

 

Are you happy with the results?? Look's like bumper lined up nicely when reinstalled. Any PIA items or issues??

 

Yes, quite happy with the way it turned out. The receiver is invisible when the license plate is installed. I haven’t used it yet - the hitch extension from Sporttows is out of stock, but I anticipate no problems when I use it with a bike rack in the Spring. The install went a lot easier than expected. It probably took 5-6 hours of actual work, but I spread it out over the course of a week. I must have measured and remeasured the locations for the holes that needed to be drilled a couple of dozen times. But that’s just me being obsessive.

 

Thanks BB. I was hoping you would say that. Also OCD here, so I'm assuming the holes to mount the receiver were the ones you were obsessing about. Agree getting them prefect is a requirement here too. This is exactly what I was looking for. Thinking about a Leroy tire trailer https://leroyengineering.com/collect...oducts/paddock having seen more than a few at my last DE in October. Any others to consider? thanks for your reply and excellent photos!

FYI, taking the car to Goldcrest Motorsports this morning to have my new LN deep sump oil pan installed, so we can run some fresh oil for the winter and make sure it's nicely seated before the season starts. I'll post a couple of photos, probably on a fresh thread.