Closed Course Top Speed

[Overdrive]

I thought I read somewhere, possibly on here, that someone flipped the radiator's mounting and got it to vent upward out of the vents in their GT3 nose. No idea how easy/difficult/effective it is, but that may be a possibility for anyone that does go or has gone the GT3 route.

[The Radium King]

kpaz did it on his subi build, but he also removed his front bumper to give the air someplace to go, as well as some fabrication to make it work (the rad bracket and the rubber gasket that joints rad to bumper cover).

[landrovered]

The Boxzilla project had a functional top vent for the center rad that reminded me of a Ford GT40, might be some good ideas there.

[j.fro]

I've got my car modded for the center radiator inlet to vent over the hood instead of under the car. The bumper is a 996 GT3 replica, but I had done the same thing with my stock 986 cover. Moving the radiator isn't too difficult, but you do need to lengthen the hoses. On the 986 cover, I used some sheet metal behind the radiator to direct flow to the vents and over the top. On the GT3 cover, there are no holes underneath, so air has nowhere to go but through the vents in the nose.
On the highway at 70-80, the car is very stable. I've hit 100 or so during an AX (on a NASCAR track) and didn't notice and lightness to the front end. Haven't been to VIR for some real speed yet, but hopefully in the spring!

One big advantage I noticed is that the temps drop faster when you go from "in town stop and go" to highway cruising speeds.

[Pat]

I don't have much experience driving the car at very high speeds. That said, the little bit I did drive at high speeds I felt the back end get light. I didn't notice the front getting light. What have others experienced in this area? I'm a little surprised there's so much talk about the front getting light.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by thstone

Wow! 153mph in a base! The best that I've done is 137mph on a racetrack.

In a rollover, all of the protection is provided by the roll bars (hoops), the top (hard or soft) is pretty much irrelevant to crash safety.

Try sliding along the pavement upside down. It brings a whole new appreciation of steel.

[Overdrive]

He may have been referring specifically to the Boxster's hardtop.

[SoCalKen]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

I Porsche quoted top speed for 2000 Boxster S 6-speed is 165-167mph?? & my speedo seems to read 2 mph fast with 265/35/18 tire, do you recall what rpm you hit in what gear?

I thought I read in a book from Porsche that the top speed for the 2000S is 157 and the aero kit adds another 15 mph.
Ken

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by ProjectM96

I recently took out 25 lbs of junk out of my rear trunk and about 30lbs of junk out of my front trunk. I went out on the highway last night and got up to 80mph. The car felt very unstable. I felt more tire vibration in the front than usual. First time feeling it. Tires are still in good condition. Alignment seems good to me.

I have been up to 129 and it also felt very unstable with the wind and the feel of the front of the car lifting off the ground. I am looking for a longer straightaway to try to reach my top speed. Maybe Pocono Raceway. Summit Point's straightaway is too short in my opinion.

Unstable at 129? That seems pretty low to feel unstable. I've had mine at 135 and it felt fine, same as 60

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by Pat

I don't have much experience driving the car at very high speeds. That said, the little bit I did drive at high speeds I felt the back end get light. I didn't notice the front getting light. What have others experienced in this area? I'm a little surprised there's so much talk about the front getting light.

Recently I had my stock 2.5 at 135-140mph according to speedo (which gps says is about 7% over reality) and I changed lanes on a closed course and didn't notice lightness. Only other car I've had that fast was a LT1 Caprice police car and it felt VERY light at 130 despite the car weighing 4300 lbs

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by SoCalKen

I thought I read in a book from Porsche that the top speed for the 2000S is 157 and the aero kit adds another 15 mph.
Ken

Aero kits usually lower top speed, in this particular instance there is no way it will add 15mph.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Aero kits usually lower top speed, in this particular instance there is no way it will add 15mph.

+1
Every car I ever saw with a "full aero kit" was 15mph slower. YMMV

RE the OP: 135mph indicated in turn 1 at Auto Club Speedway. GPS data logger says 130.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by 986_inquiry

Unstable at 129? That seems pretty low to feel unstable. I've had mine at 135 and it felt fine, same as 60

Originally Posted by 986_inquiry

Recently I had my stock 2.5 at 135-140mph according to speedo (which gps says is about 7% over reality) and I changed lanes on a closed course and didn't notice lightness. Only other car I've had that fast was a LT1 Caprice police car and it felt VERY light at 130 despite the car weighing 4300 lbs

How fast were you driving last night in the St. Louis area when you hit that poor young lady with your Porsche Boxster?

[MileHighBoxster]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

it's a known issue with the boxster that the speedo can read up to 10% higher than actual.

That, of course, depends on the speed you are doing. Mine is off 3 mph based on many GPS comparisons. At 50 mph - that's 6%, but at 100 mph it's only 3%. Since I'm generally between 80 & 85 mph on the highway, mine is therefore off .03529%. Certainly not enough to worry about.