18" wheels on a '97?

[JFP in PA]

Well, perhaps you were lucky. Over the years, I've had two 97's pass thru the shop, one on 18's, one on 19's, and both with the exact chassis problems mentioned in the Excellence article, neither had ever been on a track to my knowledge. Neither was easily repairable (one I believe was eventually parted out). I would also note that there is a lot of chatter amongst the Spec Boxster crowd against buying the 97 chassis for the same reasons. Can't all be a myth................

[RandallNeighbour]

JFP, how did you know you had subframe issues on your 97's?

[JFP in PA]

From our records, “Metal fatigue type cracks or splits in the metal, some around the suspension mount areas", on the worst one "there are significant cracks in the driver’s side forward bulkhead area, near with the rear chassis meets it.”

Of all the Boxster model years, 1997 is the one we see the fewest of, probably due to age and the fact there were not that many of them to begin with. Currently, our active customer base only contains a couple of them. To see two with metal fatigue failures out of such a small "sample" has to be considered unusual.

[keithl]

18s are fine on a '99 right?

[JFP in PA]

As of the '98 model, Porsche strengthened the rear of the car by using thicker gauge metal in the problem areas, eliminating the issue.

[jonnycool]

has anyone got pics of the mentioned failures?

[JFP in PA]

We didn't keep any as both the current and perspective owners where present during the PPI's.