Just bought a Boxster S, what should I know?
 

I just bought a 2000 Porsche Boxster S that I will be picking up next week. I'm extremely excited about it. What I really want to know is, well, everything you know about Boxsters. What to look out for, preventative maintenance that is more important than Porsche's owner's manual will tell me, for instance what the actual oil change interval is if the 15,000mi recommended from Porsche is a tad too long. Also what oil I should go with. From what I'm reading online, it looks like Mobil 1 10W30 would be about right for south Alabama weather.

Also, I'll probably be doing some of the cheaper/bolt-on performance upgrades in the coming months, after I've driven it a while and gotten a feel for if/where I want better performance. A guy in Atlanta (the closest city with Porsche performance shops) http://www.roocksport.com/ quoted me $2500 for headers, new intake, and ECU reflash. From the 3-4 other places I've called, that sounds about right, and actually a little less than the others. He also had a German accent, which I like :P . I'm not really interested in making it screaming fast, but I would like a near-5 second 0-60 if possible. I'm not paying much for car, and it is somewhat high mileage at 70,000mi so I doubt I'll hold onto it for more than 3-4 years before trading. A short throw shifter might also be in the cards, but like I said earlier this is all subjective. I may very well decide it's fine the way it is, though knowing my history with car mods and my love of speed, I doubt it. My question is, going with headers, exhaust(maybe eventually), intake, ECU reflash, and a short throw, are there any glaringly obvious things that you've found need improvement?

Yeah, so that's pretty much all my questions. Thanks.

Oh, here are some pictures for anyone curious: http://www.ecarlist.com/showroom/2090/photos/600394

Nice! Looks well optioned with litronics, uprated stereo, and some interior upgrades.

One warning with headers is some folks end up with CEL and emissions testing issues. I'd get a guarantee in writing from your tuner that he will correct any such issues and return the car to stock if he is unable to do so.

Overall the car looks to be in good shape with only the fabric top showing wear. You may want to look at a new top -- see the GAHH advert to the left of this page.

A few items not shown in the pictures, that you may want, are the mesh inserts for the rollbar hoops (further reduces air movement in the cabin), the spare tire cover and tie-down (bolt + wingnut + backing plate), and the tool kit (which may be behind/under your spare).

Enjoy the car. I know I find mine to be a blast to drive.

Beauty...
 

I thought about looking at this one before I found mine locally. Love the aftermarket pedals. It has been available for a while so I hope you were able to beat them up on price :)

I am sure others would agree, but DO NOT go with 10-30. You can either go with 5-40 or maybe 15-50 in hoter climates, but deffinitly not 10-30.

Another suggestion, (sorry I am full of suggestions), in the very begining, do not waste your money on parts for the car. Find a local Auto-Cross organization or Track club and really learn the boxster's in's and out's. Absolutely best thing you can do is take a performance driving class with your new Boxster.

You will end up wasting a lot of money on parts, and will not be able to use them to their fullest. Many other members have proven that many of these extra add ons can actually decrease the overall power RATHER THAN increasing.

You will really enjoy your Boxster, Especially if you have a really good set of tires and the knowledge and skill to handle a mid engine sportscar. They are set up great from the factory.

Yeah, I got it for $13.5k all told, they were asking $15.5k. My family has a Ford dealership, so I'm not paying tax, doc fee, anything. Or insurance ;)


Also, I am gonna drive it for a good 3-4 months before I put any more money in it. All I've bought so far is the mesh screens recommended in this thread, a hard-wired FM modulator for my Zune, and a pair of fuzzy dice. :D

+1 Confirmed

Usually the weakest link by far in these cars is the loose nut behind the steering wheel (driver). Ignore the bolt on shiny bits and spend your money on tires and track time. For oil look for a 5w40 synthetic. I run Castrol Syntec 5w40 but there are other good choices. Change it every 4-5k miles.

Well I do have a little driving experience. My dad and I have taken his '07 GT500 to a couple track days, and I drive it a good bit out in the country. I also just traded in my '04 Lincoln LS V8 which I'd put some work into the suspension and engine, and I drove it about as hard as is safely possible, and occasionally more than.

I don't have any experience hard driving anything this light, though, or as well balanced or with as good of handling, so it will definitely be a new experience. I plan on my dad and I taking the Shelby and my Porsche to some more track days ASAP so I can see what I can do with it. It has brand new tires, by the way.

Oh hell yes. I'm definitely doing this before making any decisions on mods: http://www.porschedriving.com/Course-Description--Pricing.aspx

You did well...
 

You need to visit bumperplugs.com for front look. (Marc S '02S Suwanee GA)

What? Front look?

Cleans up the small holes in front bumper inexpensively. Plus other great items for 986.

Lowes have a cheap alternative to the bumper plugs...
 

$1 for 2 gray (match the silver color cars ok, they also have black) Push Fasteners. I think the part # is H# 881197.

I am sure they aren't as nice as the ones on bumperplugs but they work for now to fill in those holes.

Lol...I made the mistake of poking my head in the Lounge. Is everyone here a paranoid tea bagger?

Congrats on the Boxster, and I agree with others about enjoying it as is and spending your money on making sure everything's tip-top rather than looking for go-fast goodies.

As for the Lounge, I'd recommend not basing your opinion of the very diverse population of this forum on what goes on in there (or any forum, for that matter. :) ). I'm suire it's just that certain people are more vocal (if you will) in that section than others. That's why it's there, for people to talk about things they'd likely do in person and keeping it out of the important stuff that helps people with their cars that this forum was made for.

I'd say Porsche's 15k interval for oil changes is more than a tad long, btw. Some on here do changes every 5k, 10k, or anually regardless of mileage. I'd say choose one of those and stick with it. Not trying to insult your intelligence, but obviously, if you only put 5k on the car per year, you don't want to wait 3 years for an oil change. :rolleyes: I'd say choose what works best for the amount of driving you'll accomplish with the car.

Again, enjoy, DO drive it hard and feel good about it, and keep the car well-maintained, and I'm sure you'll be pretty problem-free. :cheers:

"everything" is a lot :-) But here's some info
 

1. as others have said, slow down on the mods. You may find they are not needed. These cars are pretty impressive right out of the box. I track my car a bit and it works - box stock.

2. That said, you can make dramatic changes to handling for not that much money, while power is very, very costly ( and sometimes elusive too). As always, handling is a trade off with ride and practicality.

3. Problem areas. Not too many. One biggie: the IMS. read up. really. Also motor mounts (mines out as i type), and, uh, not much*. Did i mention the IMS? If it fails, your $15k motor is toast.

These are fantastic cars to drive; sorted on the track; mostly very reliable; fairly easy to work on (considering); fuel efficient, comfortable on a long haul. Just great.

*ok, there are a few things. air-oil-separators; water pumps; a few micro-switches; few of them major issues.

Have fun with it.

I completely agree on shorter oil change intervals...4 to 5000 miles at the most/at least annually. In your climate, I would use a good quality 10W40 synthetic oil...30 weight is way too thin of base. If you drive in hot weather, 15W50 is a good choice.

Look into the LN IMS bearing upgrade...your engine (and wallet) will thank you. Also see if you have the original water pump...the impellers are plastic and don't last long and could ruin your engine should it break...cheap maintenance; replace the coolant with a fresh batch of OEM while you're at it.

Enjoy the car!

Yeah, I'll definitely do all of that. Is this stuff I can do myself with very little experience working on cars? Should a Ford Mastertech be able to do it? Do I need special tools?

yes and no
 

The IMS upgrade is pretty involved. Lift car; pull tranny completely; remove flywheel. So far a Ford MT is on board (with the right lifts, etc.). Now comes the tough part - use MANY special tools to lock all the ams and pull the cam timing bearing ( the IMS) without disturbing cam timing of any of the 4 cams.

Yes, you can do it. No, its not simple. I'd leave it to someone who's rebuilt a few M96 motors.

Besides being able to do oil changes yourself, it is possible for you to do some of the other items people have mentioned. There are people here who do as much of it as possible and I'm sure they're saving some good money in doing so. If you're not that comfortable with the idea, then I'd say don't be afraid to pay someone you trust to have it done right. And in the case of the IMS fix, I think it's well worth taking the car right to Flat 6 Innovations to have it done, because there will be no doubt that it's been done perfectly.

Oil for you boxster
 

Dd you say South Alabama and 10w30? I assume its generally warm there. Have you read the owner's manual? Doing so how could you possibly think 10w30 is a good idea? I mean if oyu put around town anything is ok. But the right selection would be far thicker, and would meet the key european high performance oil specs (ACEA A3)

Anyway, if its normally warm - say over 50 deg in the coldest times of year, i'd use 15w50 or Syntec 10W40 or even syntec 20w50 (or similar). M1 0W40 is really too thin - it just barely meets the ACEA A3 certification which is required, and in hot weather will not hold up.