2004 S for trackdays and anydays
 

Bought up this 04 Boxster S from right here on the forum. This was an genuinely positive experience and I bought it (mostly sight unseen).

The car was in the Palm Springs area and I am in Michigan. I had a friend in SoCal pop over and give it a look and based on his endorsement we made the deal and put it on a truck bound for Michigan.

For me this is a perfect step as a fantastically balanced car that I can use when its not frozen-over here, and on both of the racetracks that are less than a half hour away for track days.

Going to show some of the things I will be addressing and working on to make it a great(er) car for road and track.

Cheers -

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Congrats! Great looking car! I don't track my car but from what I've read, it'd be worth looking into a deeper sump and different oil pan baffles. Might want to ask around in the track car sub-forums. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to such a nice car!

Thanks.

I have the EBS baffle on the way going in with upcoming oil change. Previous owner was wise enough to put in an LN IMS as well so I have confidence in that.

First I am going over the outside of the car with a bit of TLC, then ill get into the guts.

First couple steps -

The car came from the Palm Desert area, and living out there had faded some of the exterior plastics and the trim molding around the windscreen. See image:

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So I masked the trim off with painters tape and lightly sanded any high and rough spots off:

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I removed the painters tape, and applied 3M 471 trim tape as it is flexible and is made to be used to mask curves:

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I then went back and applied painters mask tape outside the 3M tapeline and masked off the front of car. I cleaned the trim with alcohol (not acetone)

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Then I simply painted the trim with a semi gloss black enamel from a spraycan in 3 coats. Done and on to the next project. Result in image



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Congrats! Looks Great!

The car came form the Palm desert area, so the paint had some sand contaminates in it.

Easy to work out with clay and a polish.
Using clay is very easy, no circular strokes and keep the area really soaped up and wet.

Look at what came out of the trunk area alone:

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Last for this round of aesthetic work was a machine polish. Not much time invested (boxster is a small car) and paint on this one is like glass. Almost looks new.
On to the mech stuff...

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Great job and nice car, it looks brand new!:cheers:

Exterior twin to my car. I just got a new OEM windshield and replaced that trim in the process.

Car is getting better.
I had to travel a bit but back to business... some parts arriving now. getting ready to get to work on it....


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More soon.

Going on this weekend (I think) - Ill write a bit about it when I get into the swap


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Finally got around to getting it up in the air.

Got the pan off and swapped in the EBS motorsport baffle. Worth the reasonable price for a bit more protection in steady state cornering.

It is a tight fit, and i dint like the pressure exerted by the foam pad on the side dams to the front side of the pan as its a thin aluminum casting, so i removed the foam from the top of these dams and cleaned off the adhesive.

Managed this with a minimum of swearing and no blood. I am amazed.

Tomorrow brakes.

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OEM

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EBS with dams to keep oil flowing to pickup

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Very nice.

Nice Boxster and write up.

Make sure you don't get any sealant in the sump.

Look forward to seeing the other work you do on the car.

Brake time
 

Ok Brake time -

The Girodiscs are a great solution to gain proper competition spec 2 piece construction for weight savings and increased cooling potential.

The set is larger in diameter by 22mm front and 27mm rear, (340mm/325mm vs 318/298mm) and includes color coded billet spacers and longer bolts to set the calipers in the proper radial location.

And even though the set is larger in diameter, Front is 19.8lbs and giro is 17.2 lbs 2.6lb diff each. In total the system loses about 11.5lbs in total off all the OE rotors. That’s a worthwhile loss in rotational inertia.

The mechanical brake torque is up by 8% based on the caliper piston center being a moved out radially by 11mm (front) from where the OE was. Torque actually increases additionally from the higher friction value of the pads, but I don’t have metrics for the difference. Another bonus is that fade resistance is increased via the rotor having 9% more surface area, while still cooling better based on 2 piece construction and an improved vane design.

The Girodisc rotors have a proper curved vane design to cool better with more air reaching the vents and pumping out. It’s a great win-win to loose rotational inertia and gain thermal and brake torque performance.

I am also trying out the Girodisc SS pads – these are an intermediate solution between a full race pad and OE. They come recommended as a good pad for something that is primarily a roadcar and needs to perform at trackdays.

I will let you guys know if they make significant dust or noise over the OEMs.

Last item is Pentosin (ATE) Super fluid. Picked this one as it has a 500F dry boil point and a 330F wet point. Because I don’t want to be concerned to drain fluid once or twice a year, this fluid makes sense as it has a very low hygroscopic (water attracting) index. Racing fluids like Motul are really good, but are more hygroscopic and not meant to be left in a system very long. Also the Boxster isn’t known to boil fluid as a common issue. So this fluid is more than enough for my use.

Spacers and bolts from kit
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Front rotor comparison
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Rear rotor comparison
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Spacers are color coded F/R. Nicely made billet pieces with laser etch

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mounted between caliper and knuckle. Can also see how open the curved vane vents are

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Backside of front rotors compared, notice hoe open the entry for ventilating air is in the center of rotor:

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Same at the rear, look at the opening difference
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BTW the orange tool in the image is a super handy racing caliper pad/piston spreader from girodisc as well - quick lever action opens pads and retracts pistons in one stroke - good for pits at enduros

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Like art! Almost hate to make them work hard (almost)

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Compared to OEM
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Fills the wheel nicely too
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I wonder if you could fit 17z calipers on those front rotors?

That not only is a nice upgrade in performance but also visually since they fill more of the wheel. Look forward to hearing about how they actually perform. Nice job!

I like where you're going with this work! Having done 4 HPDE track events now I'll be following this-my car is a Seal Gray 2003 S with Black top and interior. If you have a good report on the brakes I may do that next time I need brakes. Do the longer caliper bolts need to be replaced each time they are undone like the OEM caliper bolts? You should get some stainless steel flexible brake lines to replace the rubber ones that may now be 14 years old. An under-drive pulley will also help preserve your power steering pump while on the track, and save you a few extra HP from parasitic loss to boot. You might want to consider adding a deep sump like the smaller Mantis which would also provide some extra protection from oil starvation in high G cornering.

I did this upgrade earlier this year with the exact same baffles (EBS) and had the same problem on my 02 Boxster 3.2. I ended up removing the rubber edging (foams) on the top of both side dams just like you did. The sump plate would not fit correctly otherwise... I do hope that this does not reduce the efficiency of the "holding" or "sealing" too much.

I also now have a 2 quart Accusump with full filtration remote oil filter setup installed and I hope the combination of the EBS baffle and Accusump will greatly mitigate the effects of oil starvation on our wet sump systems... Was also thinking of upgrading to the 987/997 oil cooler (taller) for reduced oil temps at the track. I don't think a 2 quart deep sump (or any deep sump) is a good idea especially for a track car. I'm not a fan of having the sump being lower than the rest of the undercarriage, much less with a lowered suspension. Dry sump would be the best (Chris Cervelli) https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-and-drivers-education-forum/981880-boxster-dry-sump-system.html

Thanks for the inputs -

Glad to hear I am not alone in removing the foam on the EBS unit.

Will consider strongly the deeper sump as well.

For HDPE this year I am going to run on pilot sports and OEM suspension as I want to learn the car and its balance in a raw form. I did brakes and some of the other things to make sure it can survive the day.

Next steps will be deciding how far I want to go with suspension. I want to baseline the car to understand what changes I would like before jumping in. Have done that in the past and didnt end up where I wanted because I didnt really know where I was starting from.

The pulley and engine details are a good idea as well. I may get to those this winter.

for anyone interested in girodiscs (not me) ...

https://rennlist.com/forums/parts-marketplace/1010342-girodisc-2-piece-rotors-front-and-rear-for-996-997-a.html

For my deep sump I went with the Mantis Sport Oil Sump Extension Kit 1 based on my Indy's recommendation. It doesn't hang down much lower than the stock sump, and adds 1.2 liters of oil which Mantis says allows the air in the oil to dissipate before it is picked up by the oil pump.

Thanks for the rec Paul. Definitely on the list.

BTW - on a cosmetic note, when the wheels were off i used this handy tool to clean the lug sockets. Probably old news here but worth a post.


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It's news to me-what is it called so I can search for it? Happy to throw in my $0.02 on the sump. I met a guy at an HPDE that got a rod knock in his 997 due to oil starvation on the track and saw a guy with a 987 at another HPDE get a low oil pressure warning out on the track and then have to borrow a trailer to get his car home. In my case though, it will be a long while, if ever, before I am cornering at G's that will cause oiling issues! (Beginner on street tires, stock brakes, stock ROW M030 suspension.)

Got it at griots garage, seems a silly thing and then used it and wouldnt do it another way

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/drill-operated+lug+nut+cleaning+brush.do?sortby=ourPicks &refType=&from=fn

OK so thats a bit frustrating - I knew the Sparco seats wee going to be a tight fit, but the way the adaptor bracket places the seat belt and the width of the seats means they are nearly impossible.

I damn near stripped threads on the seat mount bolts trying to test fit one, and best case they wont slide to end of travel rearward for contact to tunnel and sill.

Back to drawing board.

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I am thinking that fitting these Sparcos leaves too many compromises for me.

I would prefer a set of the Porsche sport seats. Anyone have a set to trade?

Last Trackday of the year. Loved how it drove, and putting together next steps to get it closer to where I want it to be over winter

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Great work!

What track were you running at, and did they require a rollbar extension?

Waterford Hills in Michigan. No extension required as long as factory hoops are solid and bolted/welded to vehicle (not flip up style crash activated type)

Was wet for half of day and was a great chance to work on balance in low grip condition.

Dried out for afternoon and got a chance to try different lines and approaches to same sections.

Gave me a good Idea what i can do to help the car and how I can be better with it

Winter is over and time to dust off the car and get ready for more track days.

I have some plans for changes I want to make but first thing to work with is the alignment.

I got the car up on ramp blocks, and made turn plates out of abs plastic with motor oil between. A little redneck but works well. Just have to be careful with getting the tire to come down on block and center the plastic plates so there is room to slide around a bit.

I use the smart string system which has always treated me very well.

First image shows that i loosened the 3 nuts on the front shock tower and pushed the strut inboard as far as will go. then get bolts torqued down again. This needs to happen with front wheel in air an unloaded. This gives as much front negative camber as possible without cutting the lots longer or using a camber plate.

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Next went on smart strings and i got the back end in the standard S alignment, which is fine on these tires as I didnt have a rear grip concern
The front is at max stock neg camber and I set the toe to effectively 0. no toe in/out. As expected the the vehicle responds much better , and I will get feedback on front end grip improvement and understeer reduction at next day on track.

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oiled ABS turn plates on stand:

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I like your home mechanic turn plates. While a tiny bit redneck it's still pretty damn clever.

Look forward to hearing about your track day results.

More than a tiny bit redneck, but would only be full redneck if I was holding a beer while making them

Last bit swapped before first track day this year.

Grabbed a Top Speed 2nd cat delete stainless pipe set. I usually am wary of parts from SE Asia, but these fit right and gave me no problem on install, so lets see if they hold up in running. I replaced the kit hardware with some stainless units, and these pipes sit unshielded a bit closer to the CV boot. I may do a local heat shield wrap to protect them.

As most know, using these pipes sheds a small amount of weight, and helps the sound be a bit more basso on the bottom and angry at the top. The idle dosent change much so in town it isnt annoying, and I havent had a resonance yet. At some point I may consider a muffler unit, as i could shed more weight, but this suits my needs at the moment.

replacement pipe -

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vs OE 2nd cat:

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In place:

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All done. Not the easiest job on jackstands, but some patience and long extension for the 13mm will get it done

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Any updates on the brake mods?

Brakes are fantastic. Really the strongest part of the car on track, and any driving really.

Really powerful from tip-in and can modulate right up to ABS point. Dust is minimal for the hard use i have given them and no squeals.

If I do an R-comp tire I may bump up to a full competition pad which I know will squeal and dust off for street use.

Popped in a proper seat for this track season as well. All the difference in the world.

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