Need to buy a X-Mas gift for my Boxster
 

I have a limited budget, so I can only do one of these upgrades now. I got hooked on Autocross this year and I want to improve the handling of my 2004 S Tiptronic. The car has 31,000 miles on it.

I am going to assume the shocks/struts are good. They aren’t leaking. I am trying to decide which will give me the most bang for the buck. Either go with lowering springs or replace the front sway bar with a “GT3” like adjustable front sway bar.

I still want a car that can be used for cruising with the wife as well as dodging cones. Your insight will be appreciated.

The top priority should be the best AX tires you can get. I hear a lot of good things about the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R. If you don't have good tires, don't worry about the rest. The next thing to worry about is the understeer, but you should make sure you don't get bumped into another class by the changes you make. For Showroom Street class you cannot modify the suspension from OEM, so if you want to stay in that your only option is to use tire pressures to reduce understeer by increasing front pressure and/or lowering rear pressure. If you don't have one, get a tire pyrometer and learn how to use it and know what it is telling you.

And the golden rule is that the most most improvement is to be made with the nut behind the wheel!

With the new tires you could also tweak your alignment settings to improve handling for autocross, but it may cause uneven tire wear in everyday driving. When I added ROW M030 suspension almost a year ago, my indie offered to tweak my alignment, but I've left it stock so far.

Well, i have Toyo R888’s ready to go for the track and I am planning on attending the next autocross driver training school in the spring. So I have those 2 boxes checked. When I do one of these upgrades I know i’ll need a new alignment.

Any thoughts on what the best upgrade of the two that I originally posed?

Thanks

May be the recently added Porsche App could give better ideas as it may have a gift section, giving access to everything. It's called the Porsche Passport. While it gives users access to its entire lineup by with a touch on a smartphone screen, these car company apps do much more, including access to their upgrades and new features. Perhaps it helps.

Interesting app, but from what I read it's not supporting older models in the Porsche lineup.

The R888's like a LOT of negative camber so a performance alignment should be #1 on your list.

With that being said, out of the two options, I'd go with the lowering springs because they might help with getting a better performance alignment (a bit more negative camber lowered vs the stock ride height).

If you're starting to see a trend in my comments (alignment, alignment, alignment) its because the proper alignment makes a ton of difference in handling, lap times, and tire wear.

And as you become a better driver, the alignment will have to change to keep up with your driving skill. Its never ending. Even after 7 years of track driving and 4 years of Boxster Spec racing (and 68 races), I am about to change my alignment again (for the umpteenth time) to help me to perform better.

TH - Thanks for the input. I just finished ordering new H&R springs for installation next year. I know I will be needing an alignment, so my mechanic added that to the work order.