Lower Stress Bar Group Buy

[dcporsche99]

Thanks Kirk! Can't wait to try 'em out!!

[Kirk]

Just some more info regarding the fit of the lower stress bars on the 987 and Cayman.

The guys at Niello Porsche in Sacramento, CA were very kind today and let me and my assistant crawl under their new 987's and Caymans, including the new 987 special edition and the Cayman S by Porsche Design. We were getting measurements and checking the fit on parts. Here's what I found:

A few things have changed from the 986, but the key dimensions between the mounting points for the bars has not changed. In fact the 987 and Cayman dimensions are exactly the same as my 986. The only things that I've seen different are:

1. The newer cars have a coating on the Porsche stress plate that the stress bars reinforce.

2. The newer 6 speed transmission gives a lot more room for installation.

3. The suspension point where the main bar mounts is a bit different, but dimensionally still the same.

4. The side braces are different, but still have the same kind of tab that needs to be removed to install the side braces. I took some photos for the instructions.

That's about it. I even tried fitting some side bars in place to see if there was enough room and there were no problems.

So spread the word. If you've got a 987 Boxster/Boxster S or a Cayman/Cayman S these lower stress bars will definitely fit.

Here's a photo of my assistant hard at work doing some measurements and test fitting.

Kirk

[blinkwatt]

Kirk does it fit the Carrera GT they have on the showroom floor?

[Sammy]

Kirk,

I looked forward to trying them out! The arrival should be just before I start de-winterizing my car.

:dance:

Sammy

[JP-s-in st. louis]

I honestly would like to try these but really how much of a difference do these make? And what is the difference between the 1 bar and all 3 bars?

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by JP-s-in st. louis

I honestly would like to try these but really how much of a difference do these make? And what is the difference between the 1 bar and all 3 bars?

For daily driving I don't think you'd notice a difference, which probably is a good thing. The difference is with aggressive driving and track days. The lower stress bar was originally developed by Mantis Motorsports for their race Cayman. Insite on our board here picked one up, installed it on his 986, tracked it, and documented the improvements in the original post. Check out the first couple pages of the original post and you'll see some of these details.

Here's specifically what Mantis says about it on The Cayman Club:

"Designed to eliminate and reduce camber/toe change due to rear suspension mounting castings flexing. This caused by the fact that castings are only mounted to the chassis at the top. They are not connected at the bottom other than the aluminum transmission plate, now with a 1" bar between the two castings no more flexing. Also if you cannot adjust camber evenly, by twisting the stress bar heim ends , you can shift the castings side to side. The alignment guy will like that."

The side bars are just more of the same thing - strengthening and stiffening the suspension at the bottom. I don't have any track data though to quantify how much of a difference you get with the side bars.

Kirk

[Kirk]

I'm going to close the group buy tomorrow (Friday) at noon and get the parts on order. If you have not sent payment or received a personal message/e-mail from me directly stating that I received your payment and have added you to the list, then you're not included in the group buy. To get on board, simply send me a PayPal payment at kbristol@lycos.com

Kirk