SCCA T3 Boxster S- Gearing and Exhaust question

[NomNom]

---- Hello. Im new to the forum, and am stuck. My T3 boxster is finally "working" at the track (took it from a $6k beater to a "race car"), but the 6 speed manual is horrible. 2nd gear is useless, so I end up running around in 3rd at as low 4krpm, which means everyone walks away from me on the straight. Aside from being a better driver (im working on that!), any ideas on how to manage this issue? I find that when i shift into 2nd, I have to go right back to 3rd and my "racing computer" is showing me that all the shifting loses time. So, I wonder if you all have any creative thoughts? I am running hoosier (for the first time) 245's on the rear with the stock wheel setup (not square). I did find that the 245s got me a little better gearing than the prior tires on the car
---- Finally, my class is restricted Ex. I can't put PS9s on the car. However, someone 6 years ago got them to add a variance in putting the 2.5L headers on the 3.2L motor. I cant find any clue as to if this mod actually gets more power/torque, and I cant find the rationale for it anywhere. So, I wanted to get your thoughts? Often times, people will get a variance for something that's useless, so I dont want to just assume that this mod is a good idea.
Thanks in advance for your time and help!

[Newsguy]

Can you back-date to the 5-speed? If you search, you'll see some claim it has better ratios for the track.
As for headers, have you seen the 2.5 headers? It's obvious they are better because the S headers are horrible for flow.

[truegearhead]

The Audi 016 transmission is a direct swap and has different gearing. Also the 2.5 and 2.7 have different gearing. If you really want to get fancy an Audi 01E will bolt up and they sell all kinds of gear sets for them. Even straight cut gears. An 01E would require custom transmission mounts and might need axles “work”. Of course changing your tire size also has a big impact

[Lemming]

S headers have integrated cats, 2.5 headers have no cats.

[NomNom]

Originally Posted by Lemming

S headers have integrated cats, 2.5 headers have no cats.

let me try the 2.5 headers and see how that works out. Thanks!

[NomNom]

Originally Posted by Newsguy

Can you back-date to the 5-speed? If you search, you'll see some claim it has better ratios for the track.
As for headers, have you seen the 2.5 headers? It's obvious they are better because the S headers are horrible for flow.

I can ask to do that, but I wanted to see if there was any evidence it would help first. Thanks!

[Topless]

The 1st gen 5 speed trans has a better gearing for motorsport. That is the one all the Spec Boxsters use so they are getting harder to find.

I don't have any data on 986S headers but the testing done with BSR was tepid. Changing headers just moved the torque curve around and while you might gain a few hp at 7k rpm, you give up the good pull at 4k rpm. Not a tradeoff I would want to make for a road course.

[NomNom]

Originally Posted by Topless

The 1st gen 5 speed trans has a better gearing for motorsport. That is the one all the Spec Boxsters use so they are getting harder to find.

I don't have any data on 986S headers but the testing done with BSR was tepid. Changing headers just moved the torque curve around and while you might gain a few hp at 7k rpm, you give up the good pull at 4k rpm. Not a tradeoff I would want to make for a road course.

Yeah, i really need the power at the 4k level. Im basically a sitting duck when i come out of curves right at that level. Thanks for the insight.