cayman vs Boxster suspension

[Porschekid]

Missing a roof always makes the car lose alot of rigidity... Just like adding a roll cage to a closed roof increases it. The nice thing about the Boxster compared to say a 911 cabriolet is that it is designed to be a convertable. It's not just a coupe with the roof chopped off that is then reenforced like most convertables are.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Porschekid

Missing a roof always makes the car lose alot of rigidity... Just like adding a roll cage to a closed roof increases it. The nice thing about the Boxster compared to say a 911 cabriolet is that it is designed to be a convertable. It's not just a coupe with the roof chopped off that is then reenforced like most convertables are.

Hi,

Agreed, the Boxster is one of the more Rigid Convertibles, but there is still room for improvement. Adding Front/Rear Strut Tower Braces makes a big improvement. This is evidenced in the improved handling as well as an elimination/reduction for annoying rattles and squeaks...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Carl AMG]

MNBoxster,

Can you comment on the value of a front strut brace versus a rear strut brace in a Boxster application? Which will offer the most benefit on it's own?

As you saw, I added the Racing Dynamics front strut brace to my 987S but they don't offer a rear brace at this time. I intend to watch for the release of a matching rear brace but wonder how much improvement I'm missing without the rear brace.

Thanks,

Carl

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Carl AMG

MNBoxster,

Can you comment on the value of a front strut brace versus a rear strut brace in a Boxster application? Which will offer the most benefit on it's own?

As you saw, I added the Racing Dynamics front strut brace to my 987S but they don't offer a rear brace at this time. I intend to watch for the release of a matching rear brace but wonder how much improvement I'm missing without the rear brace.

Thanks,

Carl

Hi,

My comments are not empirical because I ran the Car for about 3K mi. before installing the Front Brace, never ran with the Rear Brace alone.

They were just being introduced then and the prices were in the $300 range. Not wanting to stick $600 in the Car on an unproven commodity, I opted for the Front Brace. As luck would have it, the day I called, they had reduced the price from $300 to $247. I installed it and saw a nice improvement in the handling - good investment I thought. (For the other query, I got the Racing Dynamics Strut Bar, they all work pretty much the same, but I believe from reports that the RD Brace is a better fit and better made).

The Rear was still in the $300 range, and I discounted it's effect thinking that the Roll Bar was already stiffening the Rear.

But, then I found the Rear Brace for under $200 and on an impulse, bought it. Once I installed it, WOW, it really tied the whole thing together, much more as a unit and this was what really stiffened the chassis. Handling was again improved, maybe more so and this is what really got rid of the squeaks and rattles.

I'd say that adding both is the way to go and I have never heard anyone else contradict this. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99