^ I think everyone assumes you want more straight line speed in the Boxster when you mention HP upgrades. Because in the opinion of most people, the Boxster goes plenty fast for what the car is capable of, in turns.

Top 5 stright line speed HP increases

Trade in for a Hemi
Trade in for a Cobra
Trade in for a Vette
Trade in for a 911 TT
Trade in for a Mc Laren

I'm sure this list is debatable but I think you get the idea.

As said by my other well informed people here, the best way to make your car go faster is to get on a track and do some DE's and Auto Crosses with your local PCA. It really does make a big difference and you will really start to be amazed at how faster you are going after your 4th or 5th time out. The best thing about it though is that it is the one mod that you can take with you when you move on to your next car.

That's why you beef up the suspension and braking so you can go faster through corners and power out of them nicely.

Anybody heard of, or know of someone swapping the Porsche boxer engine for the Subaru boxer engine from the STI? One of the guys at my local Porsche dealership was telling me about it and how guys are doing it because the Subaru engine is easier and cheaper to tune out.

Yeah that is a perfect example of urban legend, Old wifes tale, and just Good o'l b.s. They say that because Subaru started coining the phrase "Boxer" engine (to ride Porsche's success) Their version is a 4 cylinder turbo. Porsche has been famous for their flat 6 which is basically a boxer style motor. This mean the pistons are in a flat configuration versus a V position or straight/inline style. For example BMW's are famous for their in line (all six cylinders are in a line and Chevy's are famous for their V8 four pistons on each side meeting in the middle hence V configuration etc. This rumor could have been further fueled by the article in Excellence Magazine a few months ago in which they did put in a Subaru motor in a early model 914. So yes, someone did do it. I'm sure that motor swap was more feasible due to the simple wiring in the earlier cars (in general) Keep in mind there has also been many engine transplant in 914's with Chevy implants etc. So in regards to a 986 with a Subaru swap, I really do not think so. It would be easier and probably cheaper the do a 3.4 (996) motor swap than a Subaru due to all the custom fabrication and wiring conversion. No bashing intended on the Subaru's...Yes, they are good cars and very fast.

Why would you do that?
 

Why on earth would anyone put a turbocharged 4 cylinder Japanese motor in a Porsche. Porsche are renowned for having some of the best engineering going around. Suburu are renowned for fast cars that last about as last about as long as a set of tyres (Ok I might be a little cruel)

If it's all about power why not whack a big block in there I'm sure you would get a few more horses.

Actually Subarus have a strong reputation for reliability and dependability, probably even stronger than Porsche's. The speed / performance tag Subaru is now wearing is fairly recent and limited to 1 car.

I have had Subaru's and the North American engines aren't suitable for high performance use, and they are in no way cheap to replace (JDM / European are a different block / bottom end of the engine). I had a bearing spin in my WRX (a very common problem problem with the N/A engines) and I could put a 3.6 in my boxster for the same money as fixing that engine!

Needless to say no more Subaru's for me.

Marc

yeah, too bad they turned it into a minivan.
i used to like the wrx and sti, now, well, looks like any other grocery getter with altezzas :rolleyes:

I owned a WRX which I had tuned to over 300 HP. Great car, but the AWD system is probably the biggest part of what makes it great - allowing throttle steering in turns and hard launches. The engineering of the engine though simply does not compare to Porsche's products. Porsches are designed to be sports cars. The WRX is not designed to be as highly tuned - the fact that you can tune them for more power just shows this. You can't get much more power out of the Porsche engines simply because they're already designed for great performance from the factory.

I would NEVER dream of dropping a WRX engine my Boxster. A 3.4 or 3.6 L sure, but a WRX engine would cost MORE and give you LESS.

My 2 cents
 

I have a 2000 S w/30K miles- I have the upsolute chip, FVD headers and short shift, Dansk 100 cell cats and muffler. I also added a cold air cone. HP increase? I don't really know, but I do know that these mods have not caused a single problem. Anyone concerned about these sorts of changes should take solace in the fact that I am thoroughly pleased with the changes. Great sound, wonderful performance, and zero problems! I say go for it!

I'm sorry guys, I have to laugh...the guy posted a total of 1 time back in late September, and probably won't return. It's almost like one of those types of post where a newbie just posts once to get the forum all stirred up, then posts links of this topic to the forum they regularly visit just so they can get some laughs.

I personally got a good laugh at how worked up some people got when I asked if anyone had heard of dropping a subaru motor in a boxster. Hilarious.

Thanks Good Forum
 

Cool share it is without doubt. I’ve been looking for this info.

why would one need to upgrade the brakes to anything more than a stock S brakes? those things are straight up amazing, throw some track pads on them and they are race ready!

1) AASCO Lightweight Flywheel
2) FVD Brombacher ECU Tune
3) IPD Intake Plenum/75mm 997 TB
4) KW Variant 3 Coilovers
5) Road Sport Supply (RSS) Underdrive Pulley Kit (UDP)

The above in no specific order.

I'm not an expert, but depending on what you are paying for your Boxster if you want more HP buy an S to start with. From my experience you can gain 45 to 50 output horse power at the wheels on a non S Boxster. It isnt hard but it is expensive, and you do not have to open up the engine. Ive done these
1. Exhaust modification 15 hp $2200
2. Desnorkle new air filter box 8-10 $350
3. IPD and 74MMT body 8-10 $980
4. ECU Flash 6-8 $998
5. Underdrive Pulley 6-8 $235
These were done to my 2003 tested with dyno scan software on quarter mile runs. based on actual acceleration weight of the car and time. Other factors were air temp, barimetric pressure, and humidity.
$4763 in parts I did all the mods

I know this is an old thread, but I think all the people saying the base model was "slow" were coming from vehicles that were much faster than the 2.5's ~6.5 0-60

Fastest car I owned before this was a Police Interceptor Caprice (purchased straight from IL State Police auction) with a V8 350 LT1 Corvette engine. 260hp (cast-iron block), 330 ft-lbs torque stock, and with custom CAI and headers 0-60 was 6.6, didn't test quarter but should have been high 14s because before headers with 7.2 0-60 it did a 15.1 quarter

2.5 Boxster feels much faster although they should be able the same, I think having a 5-speed manual makes all the difference.

So before anyone thinks they should keep saving for a 3.2/3.4 S here's my advice: don't, the 2.5 will be plenty fast and you'll save a significant amount of $$$ at the pump.

If your current car does 0-60 in less than 6 then get an S.

And I respectfully disagree.

S model 986s are not that much more these days, and they feel quite a bit faster behind the wheel.

I can't think of a single S boxster owner I've visited with that looks at the base model when driving by and says, "Gee, I wish I'd bought the one with a smaller motor."

However, many* of the guys who buy the base model will look over at the S in a parking lot or driving by and think, "I should have held out and found an S."

*"Many" does not mean every base boxster owner. But if you polled this forum asking non-S owners if they wish they had more HP and also wished they'd held out and found an S, you'd discover what I know oh so well—a sizable percentage would say their 2.5 box just doesn't have enough low end grunt for a car they plan to keep a long time.

I've owned a 2.5 200 hp Boxster for eight years now. I've spent wads of cash eeking out 20+ hp in an effort to get more power out of my motor and it's futile. Had I just waited a year and saved more for an S...