98 Boxster needs new rear struts

[Bladecutter]

Hey guys,

I just recently picked up a 1 owner '98 Boxster, and it is in need of new rear struts.
Looking at the Bilstein shocks, and have run into a question I don't know how to answer myself, and was wondering if anyone here can help me answer it?

There are two choices for the Bilstein shocks, "Heavy-Duty" or "Sport".

How do I determine which one my car came with from the factory?
What are the differences in ride between the two?
Are they interchangeable with the '98, or if my car came with one set, does it has to have those same replacements?

I've been searching the forum on struts and suspension, and there's alot of information, but not really anything on helping me identify what the car came with from the factory, or the differences between "Heavy-Duty" and "Sport" replacements.

Thanks!

BC.

[Boxster44]

If you're going to want to do some basic things to your car and get a little better understanding of it, a very good source to start with is the "Bentley" manual through Amazon or such. It happens to include the 'color' codes of the springs and struts I believe with a colored dot on the parts for I.D. At any rate, it's a good source for info.

I recall that the "sport" vs. "heavy duty" is actually valved the same but the difference is only the length. For instance, if you get a lower spring set, it might be a good idea to get the "sport" (shorter) version. At least that's the way it worked for an older Carrera I had years ago.

good luck,

kj

[RandallNeighbour]

If you are looking for a straight swap for factory struts, you want the heavy duty ones. If you put the sport ones on, it would be best to put same up front at the same time for handling and safety's sake. You don't want the rear to rebound differently from the front under hard turning or heavy loads.

You should know that replacing struts was a slippery slope for me...

I replaced just the rears a while back, and then decided to replace the fronts because my front wheel bearings were making a racket and I had steering wheel shake on the freeway. I also thought it would be really cool to have the car lowered, so I debated springs or coilovers... and coilovers made more sense, but either way I had to do all four.

So I bought the coilovers and front bearings.

Then I realized I had to buy adjustable toe links in the back to correct the lowering, and sheesh, while I was at it, I should probably go ahead and replace the control arms all the way around since they were all original and the car had 100k on it.

Then I figured I might as well knock out the rear bearings as well to save on labor so I bought those.

So what started out as two front struts turned into a totally replaced suspension on the car to the tune of $3200.00

Of course, it drives on rails like a brand new Porsche now, but anything gets better if you keep throwing wads of cash at it.

Lots of luck with your strut replacement and watch out for the slippery slope of which I write!