Side vent cover questions.

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Burg Boxster

haven't done the swap but yes there is a subtle difference in the side intakes from early 986s to later (lip on lower left etc.). See if you can get it to catch like the old did. If not, you should be able to line the inner lip of the new w/ some 3M foam tape adhesive to keep it in place.

Thanks Burgman, the idea of foam tape could be an answer. I believe that Grizzly has done the change and was hoping to hear from him. I think that the shape of the '03 is the same as the '02, just the vanes are attached to the vent body and not separate so there had to be a way of keeping it in place.

AKL

[Marc Gelefsky]

I did the swap on my EX- 01S, just buy the vents, paint em, pop them in.
Very easy

[Grizzly]

Hey Allen,

For some reason, I didn't catch this post till a little while ago. Then, I went to the garage to take pictures of how it works. Once I got down on the garage floor, I couldn't stand back up. Hence, the delay. O.K. here's how it works:

This is what you're looking at now, right?



The '03/'04 vent has a little curved tab on the lower front corner. It holds the vent to the front and bottom. It looks like this...



When you put the new vent in, put the rear in first. Once it's in place, slide it Back as far as it will go. This will give you enough room to drop that tab behind the sheetmetal.



Once it is flush with the body, move it slightly forward and down so the tab goes behind the quarter panel at the front and bottom of the opening. Put the screw in the top and you're done.



But... while I had mine off, I put some mesh inside of the vents. I've heard horror stories of desnorkled Boxsters sucking up schmegma, particularly lit cigarettes, so I did this...



It's held on with tiny wire ties at the corners (man, that's a bad picture, sorry).



Don't worry if you don't like the mesh look. Once the vent is on the car, the mesh is nearly invisible.



Hope I answered your questions, pal.

[jmatta]

Not bad...I'm starting to think this might be a nice mod for my car.

[lapis986]

I just discovered that my drivers side and pass side vents apear to have a slightly different orientation and look.
Drivers side seems to stick out slightly more in the front, and the passenger side vent fits neatly inside the metal body. Is it possible the drivers side is not attached properly or is this normal?

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Lapsis, the sides are different by Porsche design, nothing wrong with them. They are supposed to be different and I think it is to keep water from flowing in the intake that the drivers side vent cover is shaped the way it is. Others can confirm or deny but that is what I think the case is.

Grizzmeister, you da man! I knew it had to be something fairly easy in order for it to work that nicely and thanks for the photos. These '03/04 side vent covers make it real easy to access and clean out both sides of the compartments. I will probably do the mesh like you did just for safety sake but the mesh will not provide the restriction that the snorkle did. The Boxcar sure howls in the higher revs now that the trumpet is gone.



AKL

JMatta,

I'm sending my inner vents to be metalized for a chrome inner look, I had the same idea with a twist to match my wheels, I'll have to post pics when it's done.

[jmatta]

Originally Posted by xusmnimij

JMatta,

I'm sending my inner vents to be metalized for a chrome inner look, I had the same idea with a twist to match my wheels, I'll have to post pics when it's done.

I like the contrast...simple rattle can of Arctic Silver with clear coat. Nice touch,without being flashy. Good luck.

[Boxtaboy]

Originally Posted by lapis986

I just discovered that my drivers side and pass side vents apear to have a slightly different orientation and look.
Drivers side seems to stick out slightly more in the front, and the passenger side vent fits neatly inside the metal body. Is it possible the drivers side is not attached properly or is this normal?

This is perfectly normal. In 2000, Porsche changed the design of the driver's side intake housing cover so that it has a protruding lip. This was because there were reports of smokers who threw their cigarette butts out the window while driving, and the butts ending up getting sucked in the intake and into the engine air filter, creating a risk of engine fires. That little extra protruding lip is enough to redirect such debris around the vents at speed. The pass. side vent housing stayed flush with the bodywork because it doesn't suck air in, and instead is used for venting hot engine air out of the engine bay.

In 2003, they changed the vent housing back to being completely flush with the bodywork on the driver's side, and instead incorporated mesh inside the vent housing to prevent debris from entering the intake.

I run my 2001 desnorked, without any mesh protection because I think the protruding lip on the vent and engine air filter will do it's job of blocking out any debris, and because I think adding mesh would slightly reduce air flow to the intake.