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Old 02-19-2010, 04:21 PM   #1
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Boxster article in Excellence Magazine

There is a nice write up about Bill Diaz's 2.5->3.4 conversion in the April 2010 issue. Not sure if Bill is on the forum, but if so, congrats on the article!

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Old 02-20-2010, 05:41 PM   #2
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I liked the article too, so much so, I've read it over again. Some great ideas for both power increases and some nice interior tweaks.
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Old 02-21-2010, 05:38 PM   #3
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I don't understand why he chose to maintain the stock 3" MAF from the 2.5l?
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Old 02-21-2010, 05:45 PM   #4
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I thought the article said he changed it to 3.5" and a new intake box after the initial dyno didn't yeild the results he hoped and determined the stock intake was the issue. Didn't he install a IPD plenum and an overbored TB? I may be confusing it with another conversion I read about in another publication.
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Old 02-21-2010, 08:04 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eclou
I don't understand why he chose to maintain the stock 3" MAF from the 2.5l?
That's what I thought as well??

On my conversion I right away swapped to the stock 3.5" MAF Housing from a 3.4L engine. I had to remove the airbox and go with a cone filter but I wanted as close to stock setup for the 3.4L as possible.

I'd have to read the article again, but some of the stuff described in the conversion just didn't make sense???
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Old 02-22-2010, 06:08 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VRsyncro
I'd have to read the article again, but some of the stuff described in the conversion just didn't make sense???
Exactly. 2 big questions marks for me:

1)upgrading the exhaust headers and piping but retaining the stock cats and muffler = probably net gain of zero

2)upgrading plenum, intake but retaining smaller MAF = probably net gain of zero.

The car should not need a piggyback signal massage device like the Apexi if it were setup correctly.
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Old 02-22-2010, 07:20 AM   #7
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i have a nieve question.

When they are doing these conversions, do they not take the entire setup and transplant it?

take the motor, intake, headers, wireing harness, DME and transplant the entire system so that there are no issues with fittement.
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Old 02-22-2010, 12:03 PM   #8
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Yes and no to all the questions. The headers are designed to face the other way so they won't work. 996 stock airbox does not fit in our location. I was able to use the 996 maf housing though. I don't know why he is using stock cats. After it is in there all perfect there is still some sort of maf reading issue. It reads correct but the calculations are off I'm guessing just from the intake length and all that could vary with that. The ipd is worthless in my opinion. I have the same tuning issues as he did. So do others. Some choose to put a resistor in line on the maf. I have used piggybacks before and work well for me. To do the dme I just had mine reflashed. Otherwise you need the alarm and key fob to match. You have to switch harnesses also to fit our dme location. Even if all is done correctly the motor does not match up our intake setup and that is why I think people have some of these issues.
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Old 02-22-2010, 12:30 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eclou
Exactly. 2 big questions marks for me:

1)upgrading the exhaust headers and piping but retaining the stock cats and muffler = probably net gain of zero
Perhaps he retained the stock cats because he needs it to pass emissions. And he used a factory muffler because he didn't want something real loud. He probably only swapped out the headers because the exhaust ports on the 3.4L heads are too big for 2.5L manifolds and the bolt locations may be different as well. Is that right Jaay?
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Old 02-22-2010, 09:08 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Adam
Perhaps he retained the stock cats because he needs it to pass emissions. And he used a factory muffler because he didn't want something real loud. He probably only swapped out the headers because the exhaust ports on the 3.4L heads are too big for 2.5L manifolds and the bolt locations may be different as well. Is that right Jaay?
No, you can run the stock headers and exhaust from the 2.5L. For the first year with my conversion I ran cheap Chinese headers and the stock 2.5L exhaust, it worked fine but to maximize the performance of the swap I really needed to upgrade the whole exhaust system.

As for emissions testing, I am now running Supersprint headers with 200 cell race cats and pass emissions testing with no problem. Heck, in Ontario I test my car as a stock 2.5L and pass without any issues! (even though I am running a 996 3.4l)

Anyhow, I just don't think the owner of the car in question really did his homework. All the info you need to know about this conversion is available on the internet.
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Old 03-12-2010, 10:52 AM   #11
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Hi Everyone, It's "The Quick Cuban" from Excellence article April 2010.
I am normally on Renntech forum and have been missing in action from this forum, so my apologies... my name is Bill Diaz.

Just to clear up some of your questions. First off, thanks!, I am glad some of you enjoyed the Excellence article. I think it turned out very nice and I am very proud of it, but, do to space and some editor choices some things happened a little bit out of order in the article and some things were completely left out. I have to give Excellence magazine major thanks. Zachary Mayne the photographer and journalist was very professional and a really great guy. Amazing photographer too, you can see more of his photos of my car here:

http://www.qikqbnboxster.9f.com/photo.html

Pete Stout the editor was always very nice and encouraging. They run a great magazine and I have been a subscriber to 10 years now.

So, as you guys know, conversions are a labor of love and.... budget...

When the 3.4 liter was installed originally I added B&B sport headers to work with larger 3.4 liter exhaust ports, but decided to keep the stock cats. The stock cats were modified and larger piping was welded on to work with the headers and exhaust. I went this route at the time for a couple reasons..
1. Emissions
2. cost $$100 bucks to modify vs $1200 for Dansk hi flow cats.
3. sound
4. proper back pressure for low end torque.

Based on lots of research and also referring to the RuF 3400 exhaust system,
I decided to go with a 2004 Boxster S exhaust because the 5-6 hp increase in the upper rpm of some aftermarket exhausts were not worth some of the annoying sound resonance and loss of power and torque down low for city driving to me. It's all personal taste ofcourse, but I preferred to have a bit more torque down low for daily driving. Plus, I also got a steal on the Boxster S exhaust for $300 and aesthetically I wanted to add the 550 S split tip oval exhaust. It really is a great compromise of quiet cruising with a great scream once rpms hit 5000 rpm. Zachary Mayne was really impressed with the sound and almost everyone who drives it loves the way it sounds.

As far as the MAF is concerned. At the initial installation the original Boxster Air Box
was used although it was desnorkeled and had a K&N airfilter. The original Air Box uses a 3 inch Maf Housing. Because air travels faster through 3 inches vs 3.5 for the 996 maf housing the 996 ecu was being confused by the voltage signal and applying too much fuel. In hind sight I should have tracked the proper size 3.5 maf housing to begin with. I admit I had to Live and learn on that one.

As many of you already know, there are 2 ways to solve this Rich Air Fuel problem:
1. Use a "resistor" with 3 inch housing maf voltage line to "calibrate" the signal
2. Use a 3.5 inch Maf housing similar to the 996 original size.

I have tried both ways actually. i started with the Apexi Maf Air flow controller, which essentially is a variable electronic resistor that you can program from the seat of your car. I cut the stock Air Box out, but kept the original 3 inch maf housing and added a cone filter to the end of it. Using the Apexi maf signal controller we dialed in Air fuel ratios to be 12.5-13 AFR at wide open throttle. This tuning showed 270 hp and 234 lbs of torque at the wheels on a dynojet dyno.

just for comparisons here are dyno jet readings of 3.4 and 3.6 996's:

2001 911 3.4 liter Factory crank Horsepower 300 on the dyno = 252
Factory torque at crank is 258 on the dyno = 215
vehicle weight 3000 lbs.

2002 911 3.6 liter Factory crank Horsepower 320 on the dyno = 265
Factory torque at crank is 273 on the dyno = 228
vehicle weight 3100 lbs.

Bill's 1998 modified Boxster:
98 Boxster 3.4 liter approximate crank Horsepower 324 on the dyno= 270
torque at the crank 280 on the dyno = 234
vehicle weight 2700 lbs.

According to my Accellerometer tests my Boxster hits:
60 mph in 4.4 seconds
100 mph in 10.6 seconds
130 mph in 17.3 seconds
1/4 mile 12.8 @ 110 mph

These numbers are almost identical to the new Boxster Spyder.

Now, almost a year ago I switched out the Maf Housing for a 3.5 inch Cayman/Boxster S housing. So now I no longer really need the Apex voltage control unit. With the Cayman S Maf housing in place AFR's are between 12.5-13 without any voltage calibration. Excellence Magazine knew this, but they decided that the "voltage correction" made a more interesting story. So that is why they kept it in there.

The IPD intake is a definite plus for smoothing out mid to upper range power.
Most of the difference happens between 4-6000 rpm. 10-15 hp difference between 4500-5200 rpm. That is where its biggest gains are made.

As I said, hind sight is 20/20 and the proper size Maf is the way to go from the beginning. Can't say i did not have fun and learn a lot along the way though. if you have any other questions, fire away. As you can tell, I love talking Porsche
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Old 03-13-2010, 04:52 AM   #12
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Bill - thanks for clearing a few things up! Now that you are on the forum, you need to stay a while.
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Old 03-13-2010, 05:27 AM   #13
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[QUOTE=qikqbn]Hi Everyone, It's "The Quick Cuban" from Excellence article April 2010.
I am normally on Renntech forum and have been missing in action from this forum, so my apologies... my name is Bill Diaz.

Welcome Bill, Arriba!!!, and thanks for sharing the great article. I think most of us, especially the 2.5 and 2.7 guys fantasize about your type of conversion. Car looks fantastic and I especially like the front bumper. Also the shine on your car is outstanding. Did you sand down the orange peel to get it that smooth? Beautiful work and stay in touch with us.

AKL :dance:
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Old 03-13-2010, 08:14 AM   #14
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Thanks guys! One thing about the Porsche community is that we all know how special are cars really are and just enjoy sharing our experiences.

I have to admit I had the car and engine detailed a few days before the photo shoot. The detailer I used does a lot of specialty cars and I was amazed how nice the wax job turned out. Hard to believe its original paint and 12 years old. I do park it in the garage most of the time and have a clear 3M bumper bra on it.
The front bumper and side skirts are the Porsche Tequipment Aero Kit I from MY 2000. ( the Aero kit II that came out MY 2002 was the GT3 look alike.)

After having the car detailed I was so bummed when we parked it in the dirt for photos! I was wiping the dirt off the tires before every shot, but could not get all of it still, the photos and article from Zachary Mayne are something I will always have now and I am really happy the way they turned out.

I Also have the GAHH Glass convertible top on it. One of my favorite additions to bring the car up to date. A great product.

If you would like to see a list of all my additions you can see them on my Boxster story website link below.

www.qikqbnboxster.mysite.com

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

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