Side air ducts
 

Hi new to the site and thought this would be best place to get answers and info on. I have a 2.7 2001 Boxster which I have had for about 7 months but just noticed today when washing the car that the drivers side air duct on the back wing sits within the opening while the passenger side one as like a lip on the outer edge and tends to protrude slightly.....are they meant to be different ? Tried looking at photos on site but hard to tell. Thanks !

Yes.
the driver side, is an intake to the air filter.
the passenger side, is an outlet. behind it, there is an electric fan, that will blow air out, when the temperature at engine compartment gets to a certain value (can't remember the value at the moment).

Yep - they have a different purpose, but i wouldn't have thought the vent itself sat differently from one side to the other. Surely they should both sit exactly the same albeit having a different purpose.

Air ducts
 

Many thanks for your prompt reply, kind regards Jasper

they sit differently; you're fine.

It has something to do with directing water (rain) away from being sucked into the drivers side intake.

When I bought my 2000 Boxster in December, I noticed a similar thing after I drove it home. The passenger side vent piece was hanging outside on the bottom edge. I figured someone didn't put it back on correctly so I unscrewed it, and popped it in so that all of the little catches were inside. I hope I didn't do it wrong. But it really looked like the wind resistance from a high speed run would have snatched it off...

Steve

IMHO, it has more to do with people pulling them out and putting them back.
The craze for de-snorkelling etc plays havoc with the delicate plastic veins that hold them in.

Personally I cannot for the life of me believe that Porsche or the aero dynamic bods at Porsche said..I know lets make these different?

I have measured mine and they are mm perfect.
Just my opinion and my car.

Check your IMS.

Me?????
Is that code for something other than what we all know?
Could be the de ambering???

I'm sure mine are the same on both sides and will post back tomorrow if they are not. There was a change to the design somewhat in MY2002, I think. Welcome aboard by the way!

They are different by design where as the driver side duct feeds to the airfilter and the passenger side is an outlet to help with engine cooling.

I know what they do!
I just don't believe that they sit differently per side . They both have function and symmetry would have been top of the list for the designer.... Hence they should be the same.

If they are different, then I would say at some time or another, for whatever reason, either one has been out .

I love the internet.

I just checked mine('99 2.5) and they sit exactly the same. I'd say that something on yours hasn't been fitted correctly.

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...824774A2A8.jpg

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...3E5634A7-1.jpg

and here is a shot from a different 986 with the driver's side proud of the quarter:

http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/acatalog/1336_large.jpg

must differ between MYs.

Yeah, it looks like that style has a raised lip on the leading edge. The engineer in me says that this would indeed help deflect rain out away from the intake. Interesting...

My intake has the same lip on the leading edge as linked by Radium.

auto atlanta says that the right side vent changed in 99, 02 and 03, while the left side vent changed in 02 and 03. so, the op's 01 would be the same as my 00 which has the lip to deflect water away from the air intake on the left side.

leave it to porsche to make it THAT complicated!:p