Driving Impressions: Lower Stress Bar

[Topless]

Nice work Insite,

You patiently seek out leading edge performance upgrades, act as test pilot, verify your impressions with instrumentation and lap times and share your findings with all of us. Bravo!

This is not bolt on fluff, but tested and verified with results. 2.5 sec on a track you already have wired is pretty good stuff. Just for kicks, if you had not made these improvements to your suspension and braking and focused only on the motor, how much HP increase would you need to get the same lap times? 50? 80? Interesting question don't you think? I suspect you are already outrunning most of the 987's in your area with a stock 2.5 motor.

Thank you again for sharing your findings.

[insite]

Originally Posted by Topless

Nice work Insite,

You patiently seek out leading edge performance upgrades, act as test pilot, verify your impressions with instrumentation and lap times and share your findings with all of us. Bravo!

This is not bolt on fluff, but tested and verified with results. 2.5 sec on a track you already have wired is pretty good stuff. Just for kicks, if you had not made these improvements to your suspension and braking and focused only on the motor, how much HP increase would you need to get the same lap times? 50? 80? Interesting question don't you think? I suspect you are already outrunning most of the 987's in your area with a stock 2.5 motor.

thanks for the kind words. for those reading this, i'd say that maybe .75 seconds was from the stress bar. another .75 was shocks. the final second was all brakes. either way, measurable gains.

to put the lap times in perspective, this was faster than the other boxsters, 996, a 928 race car (2700lb / 400HP), a 928 twin-screw (550HP), etc. i have a buddy with a tricked out '99 box that has a 3.2 in it. on street tires, he ran a 1:14.5. on race tires, he ran a 1:11.7. with my stock motor, i ran a 1:12.7 on street tires. not bad!

this chassis is really getting well developed. it's retarded, stupid fast in corners now. with the brakes, it's just patently absurd. now i need just a LITTLE power......

[Topless]

Time to go shopping for that shiny new 3.8L.

[insite]

Originally Posted by Topless

Time to go shopping for that shiny new 3.8L.

no joke. i may do a 3.6L in a year or two. i'll probably spend some more time developing the chassis and taking the car as far as it can go with stock power. then we'll step its game up with another one or two hundred ponies.

only problem is that THEN everyone will be like, "well you have that 400HP motor; THAT'S why you beat me!" it's fun now stomping them down with 201HP. no excuses. :-)

[Topless]

Originally Posted by insite

no joke. i may do a 3.6L in a year or two. i'll probably spend some more time developing the chassis and taking the car as far as it can go with stock power. then we'll step its game up with another one or two hundred ponies.

only problem is that THEN everyone will be like, "well you have that 400HP motor; THAT'S why you beat me!" it's fun now stomping them down with 201HP. no excuses. :-)

Just keep putting away $$ for a rainy day. When your 2.5 breaks...it's time.

I too enjoy being that guy in the old, underpowered 2.5 that knows how to drive. I am committed to S/S class for another year. After that, who knows.

[insite]

it really is a blast. i especially enjoy giving hot lap rides to porsche folks who have never been in a boxster. without a doubt they are absolutely FLOORED after the ride, usually with a comment like, "man, maybe i'll reconsider those cars!" most people, especially die hard 911 fanatics, are totally unaware of what these little monsters are capable of with a little bit of work.

[2000SoCalBoxsterS]

Thanks Insite. This is great info. I appreciate the pictures too.

[blinkwatt]

Hey insite where are you putting the jack stands underneath the front of the car in these pics? Does it leave obvious indentations?

[djomlas]

Insite, thx for finding out about this mod.
I just got done drilling and installing a piece on my car, took it for a drive, and wow, you really can tell that there is some more support in the back, that its not as twirly around the corners anymore.

i love it when you can actually feel the mods that you install, and for the price you cant beat this, i actually had some random pipes and bars in the garage, and happened to be the right size, so free hehe.

thx again

[HB.]

Topics like these are exactly why I love this place

[rick3000]

I agree $10 modifications are the best, because any $10 improvement is worth it, in comparison to a few hundred dollar modification.

So all you have to do is take a 1" or 3/8" round bar (or a 1" flat bar) and shave the ends flat then mount it under the plate?
Is that it?
Also, I don't understand what the two extra bars with eye bolts do. Could someone explain that.
And you could you do this in the front as well?

Thanks!

[blinkwatt]

Does someone here want to make a bunch for 986forum.com? I'd be willing to pay for your time & efforts,it'd kinda be like a group by thing. Mantis wants at least $150 for the bar shipped to my house,I'm sure someone here would be willing to make the same thing for less.

[rick3000]

Originally Posted by rick3000

So all you have to do is take a 1" or 3/8" round bar (or a 1" flat bar) and shave the ends flat then mount it under the plate?
Is that it?
Also, I don't understand what the two extra bars with eye bolts do. Could someone explain that.
And you could you do this in the front as well?

Could someone explain this to me.
Thanks!

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by rick3000

So all you have to do is take a 1" or 3/8" round bar (or a 1" flat bar) and shave the ends flat then mount it under the plate?
Is that it?
Also, I don't understand what the two extra bars with eye bolts do. Could someone explain that.
And you could you do this in the front as well?

Thanks!

Yes, that's pretty much it, or just order it from Mantis.

The two extra bars with eye bolts help to further stiffen up the rear end. Take a look at all of the picture attachments, not just the ones with the pretty girl. There's a photo that shows how the two extra bars tie the rear of the car to the lower stress bar.

[MartinJ]

Installed mine on Sunday, and took a spirited ride on some twisty Northern CA Mountain roads (they are very empty this time of year) that I am very familiar with. I did not drive the way I drive at an AutoX or on the track but I was able to tell the difference on some fast turns. On my spirited runs I usually push the car enough to get a little “rear end hop” as I accelerate out of a tight turn, driving the same way Sunday the car did not hop and definitely felt more planted. Of course there are many other variables at work (temps in the low 50s…) but I expect that track and AutoX experience will improve. Looking at the rear tires afterwards I could tell that they did not get as far over onto the edges as usual so I expect that I will be able to lower the tire pressure 1 or 2 lbs on the track and AutoX to get a little more grip (I will need to get the chalk out). I run PS2s on 19s” with 36psi in back and 34psi in front.

I have a 987S (the brace is 3mm shorter than the 986 version, so make sure you get the right one) the install is very simple (just follow the instructions), I did not need to remove or loosen anything other than the bolts that hold it in place, the longest part of the process was jacking up the car and putting it up on jack stands! The brace was well made and fitted perfectly – Thanks Pedro