GT3 sway bars??
 

Does anyone know if the 996 front and rear sway bars will work and be an upgrade to a 986 Boxster.

TIA
Josh
:cheers:

It's probably not a great idea to get a set of bars that aren't designed for the specific car that you're putting them on. 911's have different weight distributions (and roll centers) than Boxsters and putting on bars set up for them will really mess with handling balance. The rear bar on a 911 will be pretty stiff when put on a Boxster, if it actually did fit. There are some really good factory and aftermarket sets out there that would probably be cheaper and work out better.

I'm very impressed with my M030 bars, the car is very neutral, tending a bit towards oversteer.

The front of the boxster is identical to that of the 996... so the bigger GT3 bar will work fine... big change in handling too... for the better. The Front GT3 bar is one of if not the best front Sway from the 986... I run one FWIW... the rear GT3 will not work though... there are other options though. HR, Tarrett, and others... you will probably will want to get new droplinks too.

GT3 bar won't work at all.

The GT3 front bar is not a bolt-on solution. You need different endlinks because the GT3 bar doesn't have the bend in it that the stock Boxster / 996 bars do.

M030 bars from factory
 

Josh, I replaced my stock '02 sway bars with a set of the larger M030 ones. The flatness in cornering is dramatic at least by the seat of my pants. Great mod. Got a good deal at Sunset in Portland OR.

AKL

:cheers:

I need to find out if I have the ROW suspension or not first I guess. Any clue on how I go about that task?

You could measure them. They should match the sizes listed here:

http://www.cb-racing.com/boxster_030.html

Check your option codes... or get under there and look for the part number on the sway bar themselves...

You wouldn't have the RoW suspension on your USA car, unless you or one of the previous owners installed it. Regardless, the RoW 030 sway bars are the same as the USA 030 sway bars.

In my experience the M030 bars don't really change the car that much. The GT3 bar is a pretty dramatic change, whether or not it's an improvement is a matter of personal opinion... but it is a drastic change.

John's right that the GT3 bar is a dramatic change. even on its softest setting, it's a LOT stiffer than the M030.

as for fittment, you need the GT3 bar & bushings, but you also need adjustable drop links; the stock links are too long. they're available from Tarrett or TRG. i also have a couple of sets if anyone needs some (i made extras).

the rear GT3 bar from the 996 will not fit the boxster. i've found that the H&R rear pairs nicely with the GT3 bar for a base boxster. for the S, use the rear M030 'Base' (not s) bar. the H&R rear is a bit too stiff for a boxster S; you'll have trouble putting the power down out of the corners (unless you have an LSD).

Insite, in the past you suggested the M030 "S" front bar with the M030 base rear bar. Now that you're currently running the GT3 front bar, and H&R rear bar, what are your thoughts/feedback on the driving experience, handling, and ride feel between these various setups?

it really depends on your personal tastes. most people would find the GT3 bar too stiff for comfort, even at its softest setting. with the GT3 bar full soft and the H&R bar in back also on full soft, the car really handles quite well. it's only over severely damaged pavement that it gets annoying.

on GT3 bar settings stiffer than position 2, the M030 struts can't properly damp the higher spring constant of the GT3 bar, so porpoising is a problem.

on the race track, i tend to run the GT3 bar full soft and the rear H&R bar full stiff. the handling is RAZOR sharp like this with no understeer at all. i run tire widths of 225 / 265. i think this works great with my setup. you can get REALLY aggressive with the car like this as it's tough to provoke understeer. you can really whip the tail around; it's quite a lot of fun.

i have run several different settings on street & track; for me, the GT3 bar stays full soft at all times. i move leave the H&R full soft for street, full stiff for track.

i did mention that for an S, the H&R bar may be too stiff in back. the added power of the S will cause the inside rear tire to spin under hard acceleration out of corners. this can be corrected with a limited slip differential or by using a softer rear sway bar (M030 base bar is great).

if you take your car to the track or are a real performance enthusiast who doesn't mind sacrificing some comfort, the GT3 bar is a great upgrade. if you favor a reasonable blend of performance with comfort, the M030 setup you mentioned (M030 S front, M030 base rear) is impossible to beat.

Did you ever try the H&R front bar?

nope; never tried it

. ..... if you favor a reasonable blend of performance with comfort, the M030 setup you mentioned (M030 S front, M030 base rear) is impossible to beat.[/QUOTE].....



This is the setup that I have and since I do not drive the track with this car and have a wife, the above setup as stated is "impossible to beat". The car corners much flatter than before. I left the springs and shocks stock and still have the 17" wheels on.

AKL :dance:

It's larger than the M030 front bar. TRG makes a kit that looks close to the H&R.

Eibach makes a kit as well that looks like it's close to the M030 in stiffness.

http://www.livermoreperformance.com/porsche_arb.html

eibach's front bar is almost identical to the S M030 in stiffness. compared to the PRICE, however, an M030 bar from sunset is less than half the cost of an Eibach.

a note about H&R's customer service: my rear bar destroyed a bushing in less than 2 months because of a defect in the bar; the metal stops that keep the bar from sliding back and forth were too close together. i fixed the problem easily by tapping the metal stops outward, but H&R charged me for a new bushing: $50!!!!

IMO, this should have been free and handled by H&R. instead, they refered me to AWE Tuning, who charged me $35 for the bushing and $15 for GROUND shipping.

Thanks for your input! Please PM me the price on the drop links. Since I have a few extra HP I would really need to et LSD in the back before I do the rear don't you think?

it's not the extra HP of the S, it's the torque. if you have a lot of low end torque, you'll get some wheel slip with a stiff rear sway when exiting slower corners.

Insite's got a VERY stiff suspension set-up and only uses the softest setting on the GT3 bar. Even though the GT3 is a lightened Carrera, it's still 150+ pounds heavier than a Boxster. It looks to me that you'd have more adjustability and still have a very stiff system with H&R front and rear.