2.7, 2006 Boxster Upgrades

[Topless]

Originally Posted by Michael Greenberg

What are the best upgrades for my stock Boxster, just one tweak up, for the street? Ones that actually show a performance difference.

On the engine side the "tuners" here in SE Florida all recommend an intake filter by EVO , the ecm flash, and either "gut the cats" or the Billy Boat exhaust.
some are saying 30 + HP/torque.

What works? Who's the best shop and ecm flash to use? Will the car still be reliable after the mods? Is it worth the $3 k.
Thanks

Most of us can relate to your questions from the time when we first bought our cars. The reality is that making power in a 2.7 is difficult and expensive. Forum member "edevlin" probably has the most tricked out 2.7 on this site but it took 2 years and $6k+ to get there. I think he enjoyed the journey but if asked I am not sure he would go down that road again. The other issue is that adding intake/chip/gutted cats makes the car no longer street legal in the US, although some states are more serious about enforcement than others.

I suggest to my students:
Ignore the shiny ebay lures and false hp claims, get a good set of tires and drive the car stock for a year. Once you are outrunning all other stock Porsches at the AX course and racetrack, then we should talk about building a real race car.

[Steve Tinker]

Mr Greenberg...
Most of us on this (and other sites) have fantasised/investigated/priced up the go faster goodies for our Boxsters. As said previously, most of the "upgrades" are either false promises or hidiously expensive.

1) Most all exhaust systems will not give you any more usable power, less torque and a terrible drone at highway speed. If you are into that style, you can bury $2-3 k with ease.

2) You can de-snorkel the intake for no cost which gives a more aggresive intake noise, though the jury is out as to whether it gives any increase in performance. I de-snorkeled my Boxster S, thought I lost a little mid range so replaced it.

3) Do make sure you get a good 4 wheel alignment by a reputable Porsche savvy shop - the improvement in steering feel and cornering ability is worth every cent.

4) Also make sure you have 4 (good quality) tyres to go with your alignment - it won't make you go any faster in a straight line, but not much will keep with you in the bends.

5) The best 2 mods I have done performance wise (apart from the above) is the LN Engineering low temperature thermostat and underspeed pulley. The thermostat (again) doesn't do anything for outright speed but the pulley adds about 7-8 hp to the bottom line - which really can be felt at low to medium revs.
Both these parts would cost you less than $500.

And if you REALLY wanted to go faster, invest in a driver training programme. I thought I was a bit of a hotshot (in my own mind) but when I went down to the driver training I found I was next to useless. I've done 3 now and still consider myself pretty average, but a lot more confident in my (and the cars) capabilities.

[Boxmike]

Thank you for the info.
I've read and reread article after article on exhausts, flashing, K& N filters etc.
20 to 35 HP at the crank may or may not be noticable. Checking it all out after the job is done on the dyno, well what happens if it isn't as promised or the car runs like crap?
Looked at a TPC racing low pressure turbo unit, that's got to work.
But the price $7500 plus..Ow!
And how will th car run afterward?
They say it runs like a stock car..well maybe.
Very fustrating to find out there's nothing to be done...but we send people to the Moon don't we?

Thought this forum(and the others) would have some answers.
If what you say is true then it seems there's a lot of guys spending some hard earned bucks on masturbation.
Rather spend my dough on a vacation with a hot blond with big boobs.

Comments ...anyone?

[Boxmike]

Thanks to everyone for their posts.
I'm disappointed but not as much as I would be if I spent my hard earned cash on BS.

I've bought a jar to start saving my pennies in for that GT3 RSR I saw on the showroom floor today.

Figure I should have that new GT 3 by MY 2050

[pothole]

I suspect that by far the most cost effective performance upgrade for the 2.7 Boxster is to sell it and buy a 3.2 or a 3.4.

[Lobo1186]

Originally Posted by Boxmike

Thank you for the info.
I've read and reread article after article on exhausts, flashing, K& N filters etc.
20 to 35 HP at the crank may or may not be noticable. Checking it all out after the job is done on the dyno, well what happens if it isn't as promised or the car runs like crap?
Looked at a TPC racing low pressure turbo unit, that's got to work.
But the price $7500 plus..Ow!
And how will th car run afterward?
They say it runs like a stock car..well maybe.
Very fustrating to find out there's nothing to be done...but we send people to the Moon don't we?

Thought this forum(and the others) would have some answers.
If what you say is true then it seems there's a lot of guys spending some hard earned bucks on masturbation.
Rather spend my dough on a vacation with a hot blond with big boobs.

Comments ...anyone?

if hot blonds and boobs are your thing then by all means.

but yes a low pres. TPC is a good kit and being low pres. it will drive more like an NA car.

but Like I said previously if you want raw power save for an X51 motor. if all you want is straight line performance for cheap... might as well forget even that GT3RS you were eyeing because that also will lose to any moderately built muscle car for a fraction of the price in the straights.

if you want looks there are many things you can do to make your car a looker. hey maybe you will impress a big boobed blond or two.

OR you could just find some good old bendy roads and tear the **************** out of your car. because you and her will love it.

[eightsandaces]

IMO, turbocharging a Boxster without changing other components, particularly the IMS bearing, is risky. Porsche didn't want it's new entry to cannibalize the 911 sales. As a result they did an excellent job of making sure a Boxster that can compete with the 911 would have nearly the same financial investment as a 911 or more. Google RKspyder for a corroboration.


Mike, is this your first Porsche? The reason I ask is I'm surprised you are not already impressed. Porsches can be deceptive in their speed, they're so smooth, sometimes you don't even know you're well above the speed limit.

As others have correctly mentioned, driving makes a huge difference. I'm quite sure Mario Andretti could scare the living crap out of me with a stock Boxster.

PS: 20-30 at the crank would be extremely noticeable, the issue is you aren't going to get there with ecu flashing and exhaust mods. One other thing that will always make speed is to ditch all the extra weight you can, I don't even run a full gas tank.

[The Radium King]

another thing to note in the hp game is that it is a curve that varies with respect to rpm. as rpm increases hp increases. so, an ecu flash may get you 10 hp, but they do that by moving the rev limiter up a couple hundred rpm; performance isn't changed but max hp at the new max rpm is a bit higher. how often do you drive at 7400 rpm vs how often do you drive at 3000 rpm? freer-flowing exhaust may net you a few more hp, but again at max rpm when the engine is trying to move maximum air. at 1500 rpm the engine actually wants to see a bit of back pressure, so your $3k exhaust is actually robbing from peter to pay paul. cold air intake - what do you think the box has already? in fact, you could argue that the stock intake is more of a cold air intake than the aftermarket units, as the stock unit is completely sealed, whereas the aftermarket units depend on a rubber gasket mating to the engine cover to form part of the seal.

ask yourself what you want - more top-end and max speed, or more honk to pull yourself out of corners? if you want to go fast and straight you may have the wrong car. the ecu/cai/exhaust are a good start, however. if you want something fast out of the corners, start thinking weight, rotating mass and engine load - light battery, light seats, light body panels, light wheels, light flywheel, ac delete, roof delete, carpet delete, underdrive pulley - find out what the racers are doing to their cars.