Ger's 2003 Porsche Boxster S

[That986]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Not harsh at all, I've never touched the bolt so must have been a previous owner/mechanic I've got two torque wrenches that I use when working on the car.

And thank you!

It always amazes me how much difference a good alignment makes to a car.

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by TrumpyAl

Speaking of not having touched that bolt - how has the driveshaft boot worked out for you Ger?

I recall that you used one which didn't required the shaft to be removed, which I'd have avoided but I'm curious to know how that's panned out for you so far as it's quite a time saver...

Absolutely fine it's exactly how it was when I fitted it!

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by That986

It always amazes me how much difference a good alignment makes to a car.

Absolutely, totally shocked by it.

[TrumpyAl]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Absolutely fine it's exactly how it was when I fitted it!

Brilliant. I'm glad to hear that.

[That986]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Absolutely, totally shocked by it.

It's one of the first things i do when i buy a car and it always amazes me on 2 fronts, how far they are out and the difference after. Turns a good car into a great car, especially something like a Boxster.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Not harsh at all, I've never touched the bolt so must have been a previous owner/mechanic I've got two torque wrenches that I use when working on the car.

And thank you!

You have two more wrench than I have, lucky. Things are so much different here, don't need a torque wrench at all, for the car anyway. Authorities/insurers scrutinize your vehicle repairs when accident occur so everything has to be done at the dealer (period), genuine this and that. Brutal stuff I tell ya :/

Indy here are good for old oil and pink flushes, windshield fluid refill and paint cleaning/detailing. Can't "legally" torque anything on privately own cars anymore. Funny stuff lolll

Keep the thread's pics coming, tc bud

[alynch]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Not harsh at all, I've never touched the bolt so must have been a previous owner/mechanic I've got two torque wrenches that I use when working on the car.

And thank you!

Maybe an idea to check the track arm on the other side especially if both are of the same vintage and if both were replaced by the same previous owner/mechanic?

[Dubaday]

glad you and the car is ok man, some scary stuff there.

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by TrumpyAl

Brilliant. I'm glad to hear that.

You and me both.

Originally Posted by That986

It's one of the first things i do when i buy a car and it always amazes me on 2 fronts, how far they are out and the difference after. Turns a good car into a great car, especially something like a Boxster.

Absolutely. It's hands down the best money I've spent on the car.

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

You have two more wrench than I have, lucky. Things are so much different here, don't need a torque wrench at all, for the car anyway. Authorities/insurers scrutinize your vehicle repairs when accident occur so everything has to be done at the dealer (period), genuine this and that. Brutal stuff I tell ya :/

Indy here are good for old oil and pink flushes, windshield fluid refill and paint cleaning/detailing. Can't "legally" torque anything on privately own cars anymore. Funny stuff lolll

Keep the thread's pics coming, tc bud

Christ that sounds horrendous. Where are you? They're a lot more relaxed in the UK.

Originally Posted by alynch

Maybe an idea to check the track arm on the other side especially if both are of the same vintage and if both were replaced by the same previous owner/mechanic?

That's what I'm thinking, I wonder if the other side has been over torqued too...

Originally Posted by Dubaday

glad you and the car is ok man, some scary stuff there.

Cheers dude, was pretty hairy!

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Christ that sounds horrendous. Where are you?

In a place where:

The average technician can't read the automaker's "specs" in English. That same place where they gladly fool you to believe the work was carried to those exact specs, and charge you twice for it. That very same place where they all use non-calibrated torque wrenches/knockoffs "and fake car parts". Same goes for pretty much any other equipment/tooling found in these garages; all copied stuff, so are most of the Technician Certifications.

For once you and I can be grateful to the Chinese Government for wiping-out this industry real good. These Beijing chaps have to babysit their population like this every single months with similar policies. Since then we've seen so much less broken cars on the side of the roads, less traffic jams, less cars with missing wheels, you can imagine the rest (e.g. less fatalities).

Different here bud. Believe me when I say I am not complaining a single bit for having to go to the dealer for those important car repairs. Its only expansive if compared to the 'knockoffs' lolll

Sry for the long OT reply, couldn't resist. Feeling better now

[Nine8Six]

and oh, even the M1 oil is all fake man. Got to go to the dealer if you want to oil up decently in China

ok, done now. Let's see more of your car's pics please!

[RichRobby]

Originally Posted by geraintthomas

Unfortunately I've just read the MOT guidelines and they say the surface of the bulb cannot be 50% covered.

BUT, it also states that the front 'positioning lamps' (sidelights) should just be two lamps, either side of the car, are forward facing, same height (no specific height), white in colour (blue tint is acceptable as long as it's predominantly white), and that's it. It states that DRL's aren't testable unless they are replacing the positioning lamps, in which case they must dim when the positioning lamps turn on, and extinguish when the headlamps turn on. But mine aren't running as DRL's as they don't activate with the ignition, they're just replacing the sidelights.

So these DRL's are white, same height, either side of the car that illuminate when the switch is turned to the positioning lamp indicator. That's all that's required of sidelights. The only thing they can't be is different height, a different colour other than white, or the surface covered 50% by an object.

So in your case, if you don't want to fit DRL's like I've done, you'll have to either make the front foglights the sidelights (and fit a dimmer LED H7 bulb), or replace the main beam bulb with a sidelight bulb and have the dipped beams come on when you flash (but you'd be flashing HID's, which could be bad?), or drill holes in the headlight. That's your only options!

I'm going to the garage on Monday to confirm all of this, but the information was from the 2017 MOT guidelines.

To update,
Just had the MOT yesterday and it passed with no advisories.
The partially covered sidelights didn't cause an issue (I was pleasantly surprised as I anticipated a fail).
As mentioned in this thread I had replaced the bulbs with the brightest LED bulbs that physically fit. There are brighter ones available but they won't fit, some are too long and hit the projector shroud and some are too fat to go in the hole.
All in all, a good result.


Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by RichRobby

To update,
Just had the MOT yesterday and it passed with no advisories.
The partially covered sidelights didn't cause an issue (I was pleasantly surprised as I anticipated a fail).
As mentioned in this thread I had replaced the bulbs with the brightest LED bulbs that physically fit. There are brighter ones available but they won't fit, some are too long and hit the projector shroud and some are too fat to go in the hole.
All in all, a good result.


Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

Nice one buddy!

Okay! This is a long post.

I had a bit of a weird week last week - I wasn't happy with the car anymore.

I'll explain. Being a petrolhead like the rest of us, I'm far more excited by B-roads than I am by any motorway. Straight line speed does absolutely nothing for me, as I've always gone by the quote "Straights are for fast cars, corners are for fast drivers". I'm a stickler for how a car feels in terms of my connection with the car, and in turn the car's connection with the road. My last car was a Celica T-Sport, which I completely kitted out in terms of performance and re-trimmed its cabin in leather and alcantara to an OEM standard. What I loved about the car was the rawness of it when you pushed it; cable throttle, rev-happy (8,250rpm) 4-cylinder engine, and a brilliant chassis, allowing you to really throw it around and instigate a lift-off oversteer state that was completely controllable and intuitive. The car wasn't as plush as a Porsche at all, with its interior panels all plastic, but it was the absence of luxury that made the connection with the road all that more special.

Now i'm not saying I'd rather have the Celica over this, not at all... but I started to get worried over something. Someone once told me that the Boxster was a cross between an Elise and a Jaguar (performance with luxury). I was worried that after driving this for almost two years, the Porsche was more towards the luxury side of things than it was performance, which isn't what I'm about. Yes I love the luxury in a sense that the car can do everything and still drive to Germany and back without a flaw, but I was concerned that it was more focused towards comfort than performance, especially with its target audience originally being men with money with no interest in driving passion, but just because they wanted a 'Porsche'.

The one thing I hate is wearing a suite while driving the Boxster. I can' stand it. I loath the idea of people with a lot of money buying sports cars that they know nothing about, just because they can. I bought the car because it was rear wheel drive, had a N/A 6-cylinder engine, great balance and was a two seater roadster. If it had a Nissan badge, I would have still bought it. I even looked at an S2000 before this, and an MX-5 too. But when I have to drive the car wearing a suit, I always think I'm going to get mistaken for one of those aforementioned stereotypes. This tied in with my worries of what the Boxster was built for. Now of course it's a very capable car, but it has leather on the doors and carpet everywhere - even inside the sun visor mirror flaps. Is it more for 'that' type of person?

Then I went back to what I thought earlier. The car is a mix of an Elise and a Jaguar.

An Elise...

So that's what I started to shop for. On paper, the Elise S2 111S is exactly what I'm after. Low centre of gravity, mid-engined, rev-happy uncomplicated engine, simplistic build, no electronics between the driver and the car, sublime handling and, with a designer head on my shoulders, drop dead gorgeous looks. I was sold. In September, I start a new job with a pay rise, and was willing to sell the Porsche and find an Elise in a few months.

But then I started reading every single internet page that referenced "Boxster S vs Elise S". Everyone said "The Boxster S is a grown up version of the Elise". There were a few concerning things, the complete lack of an interior (I'm up for simplicity, but this was a bit far), the lack of pull after 70mph due to its 1.8 engine, and the fact that it's made of fibreglass wasn't winning me over (good luck repairing that). I still liked the ethos of the car though, and I was still drawn in.

Then I bumped into someone who owned one, and had a little nose around his cabin. I knew an Elise cabin was bare, but wow. The carpets are an optional extra, so are the sun visors, and so is the central locking. When I got home, I started to look at what modifications you could do to an Elise interior to plush it up a little (leather trim, better radio, sound deadening), and that's when I realised something. I was inadvertently planning on turning the Elise into a Boxster.

So that was when I knew the Elise was unfortunately not for me. Not yet, anyway. My drive home that day hit home with me that this is actually an incredible car. But even though I couldn't ignore the fact that the Porsche may still be a little too towards caring about comfort than performance, I've got a plan to fix it.

I'm going to keep the car. I was willing to spend a bit of cash on a new car in September, but now that I'm not going to do that, I'm going to throw £2,500 at the Porsche instead in one go, to turn it more into a car that focuses much more on performance whilst retaining its quality, so no ripping out interior parts. I've got a big document full of things I'd like to do to the Porsche which I've had since I bought the car, and this £2,500 covers most of them in one fell swoop, from performance upgrades to visual enhancements.
​​​​​​​

Here's what's going to happen in one go in September:

- Lower, stiffer suspension (M030 springs)
- Spacers (10mm front, 15mm rear)
- GT3 brake ducts
- GT3 style front rubber splitter
- GT3 side skirts
- GT3 style steering wheel, black alcantara rim, red 12 o'clock ring, red stitching
- GT3 style black 997 gear knob with alcantara gaiter
- Short shifter upgrade
- Red mohair roof
- Gloss piano black painted centre console and speedo surround
- Subtle carbon fibre dipped radio surround and side air vents
- Red seat belts
- DOT-Matrix dials with cruise control


So you can see where I'm going with this. A car more focused on driving, more performance focused elements, such as the alcantara wheel and better suspension. A red and black 'performance' look and feel, while retaining all of the original Porsche road car feel. A Boxster GTS, I suppose. I'll be keeping an eye out for better seats in the future, too.

It took me all of this to realise that of course I've got an incredible car to start with, I just need to tweak it in September to turn it into a car that I feel more connected with. These tweaks above, even though they're expensive, are really going to change the feel of the car and the way I connect with it, as it'll focus more on driving enjoyment. The exact same ethos of the Boxster GTS.

But...

My engine water pump is on it's way out, it needs a service (including coolant when I change the pump), and I need to replace the front control arms (I changed the rears, going to do the fronts too) as well as give it another alignment setup. So I need to do these things first before I think about transforming the car.

So there we go! Apologies for the enormous post, and if you've read all of this then I really, really appreciate it and can't thank you enough for listening to my ramblings.

Cheers guys

[TrumpyAl]

Have you considered starting with the seats? In the past I've been amazed at the difference that grippy seats makes to how capable and connected a car feels.

Is it worth considering switching to 19" wheels to take some refinement out of the car?

+1 for more pictures :-P

[oldskool73]

Sounds like you need to get a '97 model like mine, cable throttle and none of that luxury leather crap, it's light weight plastic all the way buddy! haha, if you want to swap just let me know...

[Dave80GTSi]

I have a chance to pick up a set of 18" wheels which look like yours - see picture.

How do you like yours? Did you need to use spacers?

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by TrumpyAl

Have you considered starting with the seats? In the past I've been amazed at the difference that grippy seats makes to how capable and connected a car feels.

Is it worth considering switching to 19" wheels to take some refinement out of the car?

+1 for more pictures :-P

I'm looking into the more sport version of the Boxsters seats but that won't be for a while yet. I'm happy with the seats, but unhappy with other areas, so I'll start with the areas I'm un happy with!

Originally Posted by oldskool73

Sounds like you need to get a '97 model like mine, cable throttle and none of that luxury leather crap, it's light weight plastic all the way buddy! haha, if you want to swap just let me know...

Hah you're alright I' think I'll stick to mine!

Originally Posted by Dave80GTSi

I have a chance to pick up a set of 18" wheels which look like yours - see picture.

How do you like yours? Did you need to use spacers?

Nice! No need for spacers, just a straight swap. Unless you have a 2.5 Base, in which it's recommended you don't put 18's on at all.

I think they're okay. The anthracite colour helps, but I don't like the style much I don't think. I bought them as they were an 18" upgrade and original Porsche, but I'd rather have the GT3 wheels, or better still the lobster claws or Carrera Sports (my favourite).


Had a productive evening. So I've removed the DRL's for now as one of them has failed (again) due to water getting inside of it. They're sending a replacement, but I may try some different ones. For the meantime I've put the sidelight bulbs back in which are seated behind the projector lenses, but I've put very bright ones in to make up for the fact that they're hidden.





Only temporary until I can find a good set of DRL's.

I got a little fed up of the car intermittently not cancelling the left indicator, so decided to open everything up to have a nose.







Then I noticed this tab which pushes the indicator mechanism back into place when it comes into contact. It's worn down on one side, so like a door latch, it skips one way and works the other way.




Decided to file down the curve so it was a perfect right angle:




And voila! Nice free fix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=wVLagCp6my0

[geraintthomas]

Had a very, very busy weekend.

The car now has new:

- Front control arms
- Water pump
- Coolant
- Drivebelt
- Oil
- Oil filter
- Air filter
- Pollen filter
- Spark plugs
- Wipers
- Parking sensor speaker

So Friday was spent servicing the car. I originally thought "Ah it'll only take an hour or two", and ended up finishing at midnight.





Was never a great fan of working on the gravel driveway, so my brother in law offered his driveway for the weekend. The beauty of his driveway is that it's on a slight slope, which means when I jack the back of the car up, it ends up being level. Perfect for draining coolant where the nose needs to be higher too, as I just lower the car again.

Did the control arms in about half hour, they were an absolute doddle. There's a slight knocking after I've changed the arms, so this will either be a loose bolt or a drop link. I'll have a check on the weekend, either way it won't be anything serious.

Started the water pump then. The job was easy enough, the coolant was drained, water pump changed, but the jubilee clips on the hoses were a pig as I didn't have the right pliers so I couldn't finish the job on Saturday due to this.****Also, it didn't help that it rained, so I called it a day and waited for the next day to borrow a pliers off their neighbour.



The next day had gorgeous weather in store, and as I had the right pliers I finished attaching the hoses within minutes. Filled the car with coolant, bled the system, and away we go!



Car runs fantastic. It's amazing how loud that water pump was, it's lovely and smooth now.

Also, the ebay parking sensors are still working brilliantly and look completely OEM, but they don't sound OEM. The speaker that came with them is a rubbish piezo speaker, so I decided to change it to more of an original sounding beep.

I bought a gong from a BMW 3 series for £9. You can wire this thing to make different sounds - triple beeps, echoing beeps, etc - but I settled for a straight beep that didn't echo. It works by wiring the positive and negative to the + and - terminals, then you split the negative terminal and wire it to one of the other pins depending on the sound you want.



Once I was happy, I taped it so that it was permanent, and resulted in a positive and negative wire to directly replace the old speaker.



This is the sound after testing it on a 9V battery:

https://youtu.be/ikNpddVeYXc

I've also ran wires from the sensor box all the way to the dashboard (nicely hidden away), so the sound now comes from the dash. It's now totally OEM feeling!

I'll get a better video of it soon Not bad for £15 ebay sensors.

[BruceH]

Nice work

[geraintthomas]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Nice work

Thanking you