Need advice about tuning up my 986

[Topless]

You don't mention your track day goals or experience. I will assume you are fairly new to the sport of high performance driving. As others have said:

The good news: Your Boxster was "Track Tuned" the day it rolled off the lot as new. Brakes, suspension and motor offer a great deal of reliable track performance without changing anything. It's a Porsche not a Honda Civic. Respect the racing heritage.

The bad news: Most of the Boxster aftermarket Hot Rod tuning and performance bolt on speed secrets that you see all over the internet are "greatly exaggerated" to be polite. They are extremely effective at lightening your wallet while offering little or no tangible performance gains (faster lap times at the track).

My suggestion is to get her up on a lift and do a thorough safety inspection. Make sure you have good tires, steering, suspension and brakes. Change out all the fluids and filters. Have a performance alignment done. Add safety gear like a helmet, gloves, fire extinguisher and roll bar extension if required by your local track. Run your car in stock class on street tires for the first year. Once you have honed your skills and shown your tail lights to the rest of the cars in stock class you will be ready to make full use of tuned suspension and comp tires. The really fast Boxster drivers in SoCal are running stock motors, tuned suspension and comp tires.


Have fun. Drive safe.

[j.fro]

Ditto on what the other two fellas have said. The most effective AX mod I've got is a set of R comp tires on another set of wheels. The second most effective mod is a set of K-sport struts.
Beyond that, I enjoy my short shifter and the sounds from exhaust and intake mods.

[renzop]

Although relatively low mileage, your car is 12 years old so I would be concerned about the basics first.

1) Brakes - replace the brake fluid with quality stuff. Don't argue just do it. If the pads are more than 1/3 worn replace them. Check rotors - consider new ones. Don't skimp on brakes they are the part of the car that gets the most wear at the track

2) Tires - full and careful inspection. Are there any signs of unusual wear? Any bulges?

3) Oil - change it and the filter - Mobil 1

4) Wheel mounting - jack the car up, remove each wheel in turn. Are there any bad bolts? Make sure wheels are properly torqued

5) Suspension - any creaks and groans? Any play in steering? Does the car pull to one side on the highway? Common problem is front sway bar end link - check 'em

6) Clutch - replace fluid or at least have it bled.

7) Safety - are seatbelts worn out? Are seats solidly mounted? Are seatbacks solid? Remove floormats. Check passenger side too - your instructor expects his seat to be as safe as yours. Is drivers footwell carpet holed or worn? Empty the interior of all loose stuff before going to the track.

8) Junk in the trunk - clean out both trunks before you get to the track

Other than those things I would not do any modifications to the car for your first track day. There will be enough to keep your mind busy without worrying about whether this or that performance enhancement is making a difference. Remeber this is not a race.

[edevlin]

"For $5K you can do a lot:

Coilovers
Front and rear sway bars
Extra set of wheels with sticky tires

I'd personally go for something like this:

Bilstein PSS9 or KW V3 coilovers - $1,800
GT3 front sway bar with end links - $450
Tarret rear sway bar with end links - $425
Wheels - $1,000 used
Tires - $1,200 or so"

Ditto, if you have 5K burning a hole in you pocket, that is just what I would do. Even if you were not to track the car the suspension upgrades will transform the driving experience.

Ed

[ekam]

"It's not a Honda Civic!"

Someone finally said it!