Racing parts kit, including cage?

[imon_2nd]

Hello, all.

I'm new to Boxsters, having just upgraded from a modified production Miata (not Spec Miata) which I ran on HPDE days at Thunderhill in California.

I searched this forum and on line to see if someone in the USA is offering a complete conversion kit for Boxster S production racing like the one in the UK, shown here:

Porsche Racing Drivers - CLASSES

"The kits are now available at a cost of £3,297.90 plus VAT, which includes a set of Toyo Tyres."

Or, do I have to piece this together bit by bit, myself? My Miata was put together piecemeal, so I know what's involved doing it that way.

Cheers,

Dave

[Sassmatt72]

Piece it together.
Start with a reputable cage fabricator (who had done cages for Boxsters before)...
The rest is just deciding how deep your pockets are in relation to how bad you wanna win...

So ask yoursefl, what do you want? Are you going to compete, or just trackdays...
Do you need to win, or be competitive, or is getting out there and having fun your goal.

Each ?=$

[thstone]

Unfortunately, you're not going to get much for $4,837.36 - including tires. A decent Boxster suspension upgrade will cost that much alone - without the tires.

A good custom cage will run $2000 to $4000 depending on what you want.

In reality, you're looking at $15K to $35K (not including the donor car) to build a real race car; depending on what you want, how competitive you want to be, and how nice you want it to look when you're done.

If you simply want a track day Boxster, then you're probably looking at something like $5K-$10K depending on what you want and how many compromises you're willing to make between street and track.

[imon_2nd]

Thanks for the replies, gents. Very helpful.

To clarify, I'd like to make my Boxster competent for track days, not "real" racing. That said, I did a lot of wheel-to-wheel driving with other track day Miatas.

For my Miata, which I also drove on the street, that meant:

Roll bar with 4 attach points
Lowering springs, shocks, sway bars
Bigger, lightweight wheels
Bridgestone RE-11 tires
Cat-back exhaust
Cold air intake
Supercharger
ECU and ignition controller

For the Boxster I don't need a supercharger.

The 17-inch factory wheels seem like they will be good enough. True?

Do I really need a full cage, given that the Box has roll bars behind the seats?

ECU flash?

Seems like most of the money to make my car an "OK" track day and street-able Boxster will be in the suspension.

Cheers,

Dave

[JayG]

You need to see what the requirements are for what class and organisation(s) you will be running with

For example, in PCA, you don't need a full cage or a racing suit to do time trials at the track (depending on what performance enhancements you make) For POC, even a bone stock car needs a cage and racing suit for their time attack (time trials)

Of course, safety is a big motivator

17" wheels are perfect, lower cost tires as well. Look at RE-71's over the RE-11's / better grip and performance

As far as performance mods, look at the rules to see what is allowed

[thstone]

Originally Posted by imon_2nd

Roll bar with 4 attach points
Lowering springs, shocks, sway bars
Bigger, lightweight wheels
Bridgestone RE-11 tires
Cat-back exhaust
Cold air intake
Supercharger
ECU and ignition controller

You may want to consider building a BSX; which is the street/track day version of a Boxster Spec Racer (BSR). Here is a general list and rough pricing;

• Use the stock roll hoops with a Brey Krause roll bar extender $700 new/$400 used
• Bilstein PSS9 coilover shocks ($2100)
• Use the PSS9 springs ($0) or use Swift racing springs (your choice of stiffness; $300)
• Porsche 996 GT-3 front adjustable sway bar ($350)
• Tarett rear adjustable sway bar ($300)
• Tarett adjustable drop links ($500 extended front + $225 rear)
• Tarett adjustable rear toe control arm ($395; needed to align toe properly on a lowered Boxster)
• Front 996 GT-3 type adjustable lower control arms ($900 w/ shims)
• 17" wheels are fine but mount 8.5" rear wheels in front and go 255 width tire in front ($400 for two used 8.5" wheels)
• Tires (your choice - $800)
• Top Speed Pro 1 catback exhaust ($300)
• No supercharger
• No ECU flash
• Do whatever you want with cold air intake
• Racing seat ($700)
• 6-pt harness ($350; keep stock seatbelt for street driving)
• Install, align, set ride height, corner balance, and adjust sway bars properly ($TBD)

Adjust this list as best fits your needs. This list is a bit over $6K in parts + whatever labor is needed. Your mileage may vary.

Then hit the track and kick some ass.

Here is a pic of my old BSX;

[imon_2nd]

thstone;

Thank you very, very much. That's the shopping list I needed.

I knew the suspension parts would be pricey, but not THAT much.

Oh well, if you wanna play you gotta pay.

Cheers,

Dave

[thstone]

Originally Posted by imon_2nd

thstone;

Thank you very, very much. That's the shopping list I needed.

I knew the suspension parts would be pricey, but not THAT much.

Oh well, if you wanna play you gotta pay.

Cheers,

Dave

The old joke goes like this: What part of Porsche racing did you think would be cheap - the Porsche part or the racing part?

[specboxCO]

Originally Posted by imon_2nd

thstone;

Thank you very, very much. That's the shopping list I needed.

I knew the suspension parts would be pricey, but not THAT much.

Oh well, if you wanna play you gotta pay.

Cheers,

Dave

I would avoid the PSS9 suspension unless you really intend to build a spec boxster and come racing. It was specced for the series because it is cheap, and in reality isn't very good. The JRZ double adjustable is a much better system for a race car, although if you balked at the price of PSS9s, you will get a real shock. KW clubsports might be a good middle ground.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by specboxCO

The JRZ double adjustable is a much better system for a race car, although if you balked at the price of PSS9s, you will get a real shock.

For the shock value alone (hah, get it?), I'll let folks click through to see the price: JRZ Two-Way Adjustable Damper 986 Boxster

[imon_2nd]

Those JRZ shocks remind me of what the owner of the speed shop where my friend's 'vette was being set up for SCCA racing said. "If you wanna go faster, ask yourself how much money you're willing to spend. More money means more speed." Of course, there's always a point of diminishing returns.

[Greg Holmberg]

I would start with the PCA Spec Boxster (SPB) rules.

https://www.pca.org/rules-licensing-forms

BSX is a subset of the SPB modifications, designed for DE and TT events, while still being streetable. BSX is merely a suggestion made by the socal Porsche club, and not a recognized class. But it's a good place to start on your way to full SPB.

https://porscheclubracing.org/technical/general-competition-rules-gcrs/

Here's a spreadsheet I created with build parts and costs for SPB.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxSiHAHlNm6Bpi8IDsrKyRIvAFFqzrNUFzGQLTWr0NU/edit?usp=sharing

I personally think those stock roll hoops are useless. If I'm on the track, I want a full cage, including the FIA bars that support the front of the cage.


Hope this helps,


Greg

[imon_2nd]

Thanks, Greg. That's a really useful spreadsheet.

When I upgraded from Miata to Boxster, I assumed that the parts I anticipated needing would be more expensive than Miata stuff. Now, I can see exactly what I'll have to spend to get into the game. That British parts package was too good to be true.

Cheers,

Dave

[Sassmatt72]

I've got one for sale... time to start collecting the pieces...