SCCA Solo II Autocross - Atlanta, Aug 22 Turner Field Green Lot
 

I'm determined to have a lot of fun with my new baby.

I now have 5500 miles on my 04 Boxster and I'm enjoying it more and more every day.

I used to Autocross in California years ago in a beautiful red Miata C-package and a Montego Blue RX-7 R2.

I observed the latest SCCA Solo II Autocross event at Turner Field in Atlanta last Sunday to become familiar with any changes and to see whats running.

I was happy to see 2 993s and 2 2000 Boxster esses run.
August 22, I will be running my 04. (number 88) So far, it will be the newest Porsche at this relatively tame event.

Of course there were a zillon Miatas and Minis on site.

From what I understand, I have the same suspension as the S car, although a little less HP than the 2000 S.

I'm told to leave the suspension alone, its great right out of the box. I have the 18" Carerra Light Alloys and Pirelli P-Zero Asymetrico - Rosso tires. This upgrade should help. I'm also told my base Boxster 5 speed will shift better than the 6 speed S

I could not find anyone whom has run an 03 or an 04 Boxster at these events to voice their opinions.

Has anyone on this group Autocrossed their Boxster new or old? Any advice?

Once this one is out of warranty, I will get into some serious PCA or SCCA club racing. By then I hope to have the new 987 as my daily driver.


Dave
Happy to represent the 986 at Solo II

re: "I'm told to leave the suspension alone, its great right out of the box. "
There are improvements available- Porsche M030, Porsche ROW M030, Billstein PSS9, etc. Whether to upgrade or not depends on your wallet, your need, SOLO II rules, etc.

re: "I'm also told my base Boxster 5 speed will shift better than the 6 speed S" This is a minority opinion of no relevance to most autocross courses where there are 0-2 shifts involved in the timed section of the course. If you are interested in a shorter shifter throw, B&M makes a popular shifter for the Boxster.

re: "I could not find anyone whom has run an 03 or an 04 Boxster at these events to voice their opinions. Has anyone on this group Autocrossed their Boxster new or old? Any advice?" Take a walk over to the Boxster racing board - http://www.iq.dynip.com/~racing/index.cgi/index.cgi?

Ad Sach - who might try autocross again if he can find a small enough group.

Autocross Results
 

I just wanted to report how much fun I had tearing around in the Boxster at the SCCA Solo II Autocross event 2 weeks ago.

I ran the car with no modifications, 18" Carrera Light Alloys and Pirelli-P Zero Tires.

First run my time was 68 second, a little slow. My best run was 60.008 seconds.

A more experienced Boxster S driver with racing tires was pulling 54's

I have to say the car is very predictable and forgiving. I learned to carry speed into the turns and brake way late. The mid engine set up allows you to carry a lot of speed through the turns without the pendulum effect in the rear engine 911s.

Over/understeer is can be finessed by the slightest throttle input and you really have to work hard to hang the rear end out. The rear may slide slightly when pushed hard, but stays behind you. (No PSM on this car).

Going through the course was like this:

first 90 degree right, hard on the gas in 2nd :D
quick left and quick right and throught the long left sweeper :D
through the 3 cone jog and hard into a right sweeper :D
following through to a left sweeper, drifting the rear end slightly :D :D :D
Perfectly flat through the 7 cone slalom then hard into an acute right loop (all tires) :D :D
Another long left sweeper and a mad dash for the timing box :D

I'd like to thank everyone in this forum for your tips and advice to make this experience a great one.

I took a couple of Boxster bashers out on a few runs to change their opinion about the Boxster being a real Porsche.

Owners of older Boxster S's were also impressed with my "out of the box" base 04 after taking a spin.

I'm totally impressed with the power, handling and ride the stock Boxster provides. Yes this is a real Porsche and I will proudly defend the Boxster from the nay sayers.

I didn't feel I needed PSM on this car (had VDC on my G35), you can feel the car through the seat of your pants.

I'm sure the Boxster S with PSM is a lot more fun. An 987 S may be my next Boxster.

Dave
crestwood986
2004 Boxster Guards Red

I just did my first solo II event about a month ago in my 03 S. I don't have PSM either and it really isn't needed due to the boxster's neutral and predictable handling characteristics. It is also an expensive option and is just one more electrical gizmo that may fail.

Interesting. The "esse" 6 speed is a true cable shifted box. The 5 speed uses lever arms on a hockey stick to convert the motion for cable shift. Basically it is a 944 tranny without solid linkage going forward. The "esse" box has two lever arms that the cables attach too. No "monkey motion" as we call it in the industry.

You can read this guy's excitement about his Boxster. It is a ood feeling when you get to kow your car. The best part is: he is already thinking about momentum and braking http://www.914club.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/clap.gif

I'm working with Koni right now on new shocks for the Boxster's and 996's. The new setup was tested several weeks back for the firt time at Mid Ohio on a 2000 Boxster. The owner of the test car was 3 seconds faster than he had EVER been at Mid Ohio (his home course).. he is a pro driver. Less than 4 laps into the test session he was 2 seconds faster. They ROCK. Hopefully (cross fingers) we will be able to role them out for public comsuption within the next few months. They are 4 way adjustable (high speed bump/low speed bump...high speed rebound/low speed rebound)


B