electric power steering pump
 

anyone have any experience with this? put an electric power steering pump in ther boxster? this gets an accessory off the engine and into the frunk. avoids all the melting issues from de heat. there are porsche-specific conversion parts for gt3 cup racing, but they cost $2k; i've read that some folks are using pumps off the toyota mr2 and vw polo. a cruise of ebay shows several options. sounds like a relatively simple conversion - fuse, 12v power that comes on w/ ignition, mount the pump, connect the much shorter hydaulic lines.

Never heard of it but makes sense just not for 2k unless you are a serious racer and have unlimited funding tell us some details about these conversion sound interesting

i don't have a lot of info; what i know comes from googling rennlist. from what i read/infer, you look for a pump that does not weigh too much, does not draw too much current and that does not have a lot of complicated control (ie, some pumps take signals from the ecu so that they can react to vehicle speed, etc.). You want a pump that turns on only (ie, +12v and gnd). they typically draw 60 to 80 amps, so it want's it's own fuse. you want a relay or a switch in place so that it is only on when the ignition is on (some have an internal relay, and only require an input signal to activate). you need a reservoir (many pumps have this integral to the pump) and it should be large enough that it doesn't cavitate when max fluid is called for or overflow when idle. you need to sort out the specific fittings required to tie it in to your car - pressure from pump to steering, return from steering to reservoir, supply from reservoir to pump. you need to mount it somewhere (beside the battery?). porche motorsports can provide the parts for approx $2k, or there are many pumps on ebay for less than $200. apparently the porsche soln is actually a mercedes part ($700) but comes with the specific fittings, mounting hardware, etc.

Interesting idea you would get back all the power steering pump power losses save the attendant increased load on the alternator....which would be intermittent. The pump would run only when it is needed as in high demand steering situations.

Sounds like the ultimate under drive pulley! No drive....

How much drag on the engine is there with the original setup? Can you quantify it in HP?

the number i saw thrown around for the gt3 cup cars for power steering delete AND underdrive pulley was 8 hp. assuming 4 to 5 hp for the udp, we are talking a few hp at the most. i think we lose to basic physics on that one - work is work, whether done by a pump or by an alternator. i see the true benefits in weight redistribution and heat management.

Not just a hp issue it would help balance the car a little better by removing the weight from the back and dumping it up front plus get rid of those looooong hydraulic lines plus liquid. and more hp sounds like a win win situation. Would like to hear from someone who has actually installed it in a box or 996

Sorry OP or stealing the thread...
but Harry how does your the 3.8 DFI project coming along?

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hi Giles, slowly, work keeps me from playing - engine is in the car -transmission mounting flywheel clutch and motor mounts have all been sorted dropped the enigeing by 1/4 " for ather reason besides clearances. working on the intake and wire harness (almost have the old wire harness out) exhaust of course will be another custom issue. thanks for asking, can't wait....

I heavily contemplated this when I put the 3.8 in my car. Less about HP gain to me, and more about just getting rid of this mess of a system.

There are plenty of parts available from various hot rod catalogs to do this, I just decided at the end of the day to leave stock well enough alone.

What I think is would be really nice, as well, would be to go to an electric vacuum pump for the brake booster, again, mounted up front. I do have a tandem pump on my 3.8, which provides brake vacuum mechanically instead of "stealing" from the engine, but I'd love to see the only lines from front to back be fuel and coolant.

electric pump
 

I contemplated doing the same conversion but ended up installing an inline cooler a remote reservoir and taped all the connections on the pump to AN fittings. it has been 2 years and I haven't had any problems

Huh? Punctuation much? What do you mean "taped all the connections on the pump to AN fittings?" I have no idea how you would tape any fitting for a line that carries any pressure, so can you elaborate here?

Cloudsurfer,

Perhaps he means replacing the Porsche crimped connectors with AN fittings, there had been several Caymans that had been modified with a cooler installed on the low pressure side of the system, some at the exit of rack (front) and other right before the pump (rear).

The pump gets removed, tapped and gets AN fittings, on the front I believe that you tap into the low pressure side of the rack (not 100% sure), and install the AN fitting with the hose to the cooler.

There is an interesting article (with pictures) written by Krokodil at the Cayman club (AKA Planet-9) with pictures, I have seen this car and the installation is top notch, however it was designed for a dual use car, however now it's dedicated track car and so far this mod has been reliable for almost three years...

http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-modifications/25511-power-steering-system-modification.html

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Thanks Gilles,That's what I meant ,replaced porsche connectors with AN fittings and ran a remote reservoir to stay away from engine heat.

And no I don't worry about puctuation much, and my spelling is not all that good but I would have figured out that what I meant was tapped as in drill and tap not taped