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Old 01-14-2015, 02:27 PM   #1
Death Or Glory
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 1
HI EVERYBODY!! (Hi, Dr. Nick!)

I'd like to introduce myself to the forum and briefly touch on why I'm here. I'm trying not to make this the typical recent signup freakout post...

My name's Conrad. I just picked up a 1997 Boxster and I love it. I can't stop driving it. I'm about to begin work on it on my own. I haven't really done anything to the car and have already put about 1000 miles on it. It runs unbelievably. I try to idle it as little as possible-- I usually turn the car on, leave my spot within 60 seconds, and keep the revs around 2200-2800 until the temp gauge gets around the middle, then I try to always keep it at around 3000 rpms at all times, at least, making a conscious effort not to let the revs drop below 2500 when shifting. Even when I have to go to the grocery store, I drive the car until it warms up and try not even to turn it off until it's warmed up. I've never redlined it, but I'll occasionally get the revs around 5000-5500. I also try not to engine brake, coast in neutral, lug the engine, and I always downshift when possible.

It idles a tiny bit unevenly right when I turn the car on, but as soon as it's starting to warm up, it idles as smooth as the viral Kim Kardashian lookalike's butt. So far so good. No mysterious noises.

First things first, I changed the oil-- decided decided to go with Motul 8100 X-Cess 5w40 as recommended by Jake Raby. Also used a Hengst oil filter. Getting the filter housing off without the Porsche tool was a little tricky, but the plastic cover is strong enough that you can get it off with one of those clamp-style tools that goes all the way around the filter. The only disadvantage of this is that I couldn't tighten the filter housing to 35 lb-ft or whatever was the recommended torque...

The oil is amazing. The engine runs noticeably quieter and smoother than before. All the lifter noises are all gone either at start or 3 minutes later. I highly recommend Motul 8100 X-Cess 5w40 in your Boxster. It's on the Porsche A40 list of approved oils. All Porsches say "Mobil 1 recommended for entire life of car" but I don't buy it. We all know of Porsche's extended partnership with Mobil 1, so they have a marketing obligation to say that.

I'm also planning to change the transmission fluid (Swepco 80w90, Red Line MT90 GL4, or Genuine Porsche?), coolant, and steering fluid. I also noticed that the only time it ever starts to run too hot is when I'm sitting in traffic, which I try to never ever ever do. So I'm probably also going to replace the expansion tank, MAF, AOS, and anything else I might be missing that could go wrong with the cooling system. The LN Engineering low temp thermostat will probably go in there. I've also heard good things about Pedro's TuneRS DOF flange and oil hose. I may opt for that over the LN ceramic bearing. I haven't yet checked if the radiator fans work-- hopefully they do. Other than this minor flaw, the car has had no cooling issues at all.

So far, I'm in love with the car. It's now just under 136k miles, it's A LOT of fun to drive, and I plan to keep everyone updated with the maintenance. I haven't yet addressed the RMS/IMS stuff yet, and I'd like to replace the clutch even though it feels like it's good for a little while. I saw in the service manual that there was "major" maintenance done on the car at 60k miles at Carlson Porsche in Palo Alto. I'll probably give them a call to see if they have the details of that. Could be a good thing.

The only other issue I can think of is that the power top isn't connected. It has some easily-fixable body damage on the side. It has a salvage title, but seems like there's no damage to the frame. It was $2200 in Northern California.

I have yet to see an oil leak anywhere in the engine.

Any recommended projects? I'm planning to go down the list in Wayne Dempsey's Boxster book on Pelican. It all depends on those coups though...

And how about any noteworthy resources or recommendations? Thanks!
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