Boxster Subaru conversion interest?

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by Brinkley

I'm late to this build thread...but I have to reiterate what others have said, your fabrication skills, welding skills are phenomenal!!!!

As someone who built a boxster into a dedicated race-car with a 3.6L 996 motor I can't get over your thoughtfulness in locating every system so that it is serviceable. The detail work of the plumbing is fantastic.

You showed a close up of two stainless tanks, what are they? Engine Oil and Engine Coolant?

Just fantastic!

+ 1

but the two tanks seem to be made of aluminum (thick welds) I may be wrong however, very impressive attention to details none the less.

.

[kcpaz]

Originally Posted by Brinkley

As someone who built a boxster into a dedicated race-car with a 3.6L 996 motor I can't get over your thoughtfulness in locating every system so that it is serviceable. The detail work of the plumbing is fantastic.

You showed a close up of two stainless tanks, what are they? Engine Oil and Engine Coolant?

Just fantastic!

Your comment proves you know your way around the Boxster chassis and are familiar with the space limitations you run into once you start adding components all over the chassis. Keeping all of the plumbing and wiring systems modular and serviceable is definitely a challenge in these mid-engine cars.

The two tanks are aluminum. The rear tank is a coolant expansion tank and the front tank is an oil/vapor catch can. This is probably the same configuration I will use in the street version only instead of the front tank being a catch can, it will probably be a reservoir for the air-to-water intercooler system.

[jaykay]

awesome stuff.....please let us know if you are thinking of a "street" car conversion kit or something down the road

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by kcpaz

We are also using this car to test out a few non-conversion related products including a programmable brake light flasher module. With this module, we are able to set the brake lights to activate with an adjustable number of flashes prior to constant illumination, and adjust the flash frequency (faster flashing available with LED bulbs). This is something we are developing specifically for full size cars and is not just a retrofitted motorcycle flasher unit.

Race Car Brake Light Flasher - YouTube

I would be interested in this set-up once you get it done...!

[insite]

kcpaz -

i like that truss you've used to replace the shear plate at the rear subframe. will you be selling these?

[The Radium King]

the oem plate was specifically designed to direct airflow over the transmission, no? also, the oem plate ties back to the brace (the one used as the subi engine mount). is not the oem a bit better as a result?

[insite]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

the oem plate was specifically designed to direct airflow over the transmission, no? also, the oem plate ties back to the brace (the one used as the subi engine mount). is not the oem a bit better as a result?

actually, the OEM shear plate is designed as a stress member. a side effect may be airflow directed at the transmission.

the part shown in the subi conversion improves upon this. a shear plate is a good choice in tensile applications. in this case, though, cornering forces will apply both tensile and compressive forces to the shear plate. a shear plate does nothing to fix subframe component locations when resultant forces attempt to move subframe components closer together (i.e. toward the center of the car).

the result is flex under cornering loads. this causes two primary concerns:

the first is at the lower control arms. without another structural component, cornering forces would push the lower control arm subframe mounts to move toward the car's center. this would result in loss of camber, particularly over bumps. porsche combats this with a boxed steel crossmember that bolts to the subframes, fixing their outward locations. kzpaz's component further improves upon this by placing the lower control arms BETWEEN two structural members.

the second concern is at the toe arms. in this case, porsche provided NO structure to support compression loads at these subframe components. the result is toe change in corners, especially over bumps. this can result in severe instability and snap oversteer. aftermarket 'lower stress bars' were designed to jack these points & keep them fixed under load. kcpaz's solution addresses this.

ultimately, porsche's shear plate would have been better designed as a trussed component, as kcpaz has developed here. it fixes these suspension subframe components for tensile and compressive forces in both longitudinal and lateral directions. the result will be a truly fixed set of locating points for all control arms & the inherent stability that comes with it. porsche's shear plate is a nice, cushy, CHEAP solution that works fine for a road car. on r-comps at speed, it doesn't measure up.

[kcpaz]

Originally Posted by insite

actually, the OEM shear plate is designed as a stress member. a side effect may be airflow directed at the transmission.

the part shown in the subi conversion improves upon this. a shear plate is a good choice in tensile applications. in this case, though, cornering forces will apply both tensile and compressive forces to the shear plate. a shear plate does nothing to fix subframe component locations when resultant forces attempt to move subframe components closer together (i.e. toward the center of the car).

the result is flex under cornering loads. this causes two primary concerns:

the first is at the lower control arms. without another structural component, cornering forces would push the lower control arm subframe mounts to move toward the car's center. this would result in loss of camber, particularly over bumps. porsche combats this with a boxed steel crossmember that bolts to the subframes, fixing their outward locations. kzpaz's component further improves upon this by placing the lower control arms BETWEEN two structural members.

the second concern is at the toe arms. in this case, porsche provided NO structure to support compression loads at these subframe components. the result is toe change in corners, especially over bumps. this can result in severe instability and snap oversteer. aftermarket 'lower stress bars' were designed to jack these points & keep them fixed under load. kcpaz's solution addresses this.

ultimately, porsche's shear plate would have been better designed as a trussed component, as kcpaz has developed here. it fixes these suspension subframe components for tensile and compressive forces in both longitudinal and lateral directions. the result will be a truly fixed set of locating points for all control arms & the inherent stability that comes with it. porsche's shear plate is a nice, cushy, CHEAP solution that works fine for a road car. on r-comps at speed, it doesn't measure up.

Couldn't have said it better myself. You just saved me a bunch of time

As far as transaxle cooling, because I'm running an external oil cooler and spray-bar set-up above the gear stack, I'm not at all worried about transaxle cooling.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by kcpaz

Couldn't have said it better myself. You just saved me a bunch of time

As far as transaxle cooling, because I'm running an external oil cooler and spray-bar set-up above the gear stack, I'm not at all worried about transaxle cooling.

kcpaz -wrote:

i like that truss you've used to replace the shear plate at the rear subframe. will you be selling these?

[/QUOTE]

kcpaz, + 1 your bar...!

I believe that your truss bar will be a nice compliment to the Mantis Sport rear stress bar that I installed a couple of years back

.

[kcpaz]

Originally Posted by Gilles

kcpaz -wrote:

i like that truss you've used to replace the shear plate at the rear subframe. will you be selling these?

kcpaz, + 1 your bar...!

I believe that your truss bar will be a nice compliment to the Mantis Sport rear stress bar that I installed a couple of years back

.[/QUOTE]

I could probably be persuaded to build some more. I just never pursued it because most of the Boxsters that are being raced are Spec cars and it's not legal in that application.

[The Radium King]

sorry if i was misunderstood. i understand the structural role the oem plate plays. i just noted that it also has air scoops build into it to direct air over the transmission, and that the boxster transmission needs all the cooling it can get. so , his system may work for a built transmission, but for the rest of us track rats we may miss the additional cooling. also, if you look, his truss system doesn't hit all the tie-in points that the oem plate does, so there may actually be some lost rigidity in some directions.

[kcpaz]

The only part it misses is the two bolts that go into the factory steel crossmember in the front and that part doesn't exist anymore. Instead, I integrated the engine cradle into those parts of the sub-frame so it's actually stronger than it ever was. Now the question is how strong are the 4 sub-frame bolts and their attachment points in chassis? I am planning on keeping a close watch on these and if I see any sort of deflection or cracking, I will be integrating the roll cage into those points.

[insite]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

sorry if i was misunderstood. i understand the structural role the oem plate plays. i just noted that it also has air scoops build into it to direct air over the transmission, and that the boxster transmission needs all the cooling it can get. so , his system may work for a built transmission, but for the rest of us track rats we may miss the additional cooling. also, if you look, his truss system doesn't hit all the tie-in points that the oem plate does, so there may actually be some lost rigidity in some directions.

hard to say whether the old plate increases airflow or whether there is more airflow with the transaxle completely exposed.

as to the tie-ins? i missed it before, but it looks like the boxed steel crossmember that connects the lower control arm sub-frame mounts has been removed in this application in order to make room for the exhaust and engine carrier. in its place are two provisions: the first is the lateral bar that ties the lower control arm subframes together. the second is the engine carrier itself.

in a boxster engined configuration, this truss could tie in with the boxed crossmember, as the OEM shear plate does, although i'm not sure if anything is lost by simply removing the shear plate & installing the truss as pictured on the subie car.....

regardless, i am awestruck by the amount of work that's gone into this. simply amazing.

[Perfectlap]

how much caysh has gone into this car so far (including labor) and when is Excellence coming to shoot?

[kcpaz]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

how much caysh has gone into this car so far (including labor) and when is Excellence coming to shoot?

I haven't been tracking labor because it's not a customer's project, but we are talking hundreds of hours. As far as cash, it's just a bit more that a Boxster Spec car, but a lot cheaper than a used Cup Car.

I seriously doubt Excellence would be interested in a car that doesn't have a Porsche engine. It's my understanding that a lot of people were peeved off when they did the story about the Subie powered 914. Maybe I'm wrong though. I haven't had anybody mention anything about wanting to do any articles, but that could be because it's not finished yet...

[Overdrive]

Can I bug you again for any new sound clips, kcpaz? Whatcha got?

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by kcpaz

I haven't been tracking labor because it's not a customer's project, but we are talking hundreds of hours. As far as cash, it's just a bit more that a Boxster Spec car, but a lot cheaper than a used Cup Car.

I seriously doubt Excellence would be interested in a car that doesn't have a Porsche engine. It's my understanding that a lot of people were peeved off when they did the story about the Subie powered 914. Maybe I'm wrong though. I haven't had anybody mention anything about wanting to do any articles, but that could be because it's not finished yet...

What's a turn-key all bells and whistles Boxster Spec going for?

Excellence would definitely be interested as long as the donor car wasn't an IMS victim. :dance:
bad P.R. for the factory...

[Brinkley]

PM Sent...

[Brinkley]

What has been happening with the build? I haven't seen anything written or pictures posted in a while.

Any news?

[Kroggers]

Wow, what a car...

I hope you do not mind me asking what is probably a stupid question?

I am going to install some wider rear arches on my Boxster racing car and to do this I will have to cut the outer and inner arches - as I will assume you had to do on this car?

Could you please give some details on how you attached the inner arch to the outer one again after having cut it, and possibly some pictures?

Did you just fold the outer up to the inner and weld them back together?