What options SHOULD Porsche add to Boxster list

[Lux]

Originally Posted by Adam

My car has some sort of Limited Slip device...

As stated prior, unless you have PSM then there is no LSD. The Boxster has an open differential. Here's a blurb on diffs I found:

The most commonly employed type of differential (because it is simple and thus inexpensive and durable) is the open differential, which simply consists of a series of gears. Provided that they have minimal friction and deflection, open differentials are an effective method of avoiding wheel hop of the driven wheels in turns. They do have some serious disadvantages, however; If one wheel is off the ground, then it will spin freely, and the other wheel will not apply any meaningful amount of power to the ground. Also, they tend to slip in wet conditions, which can be hazardous; When they begin to slip, they tend to continue to slip. Because the slipping wheel gets all the power they are not useful for off-road use, either.

I think adding an LSD will be as almost as good as adding the B&M short shift, in relation to the bang-for-the-buck ratio. I really can't wait to do mine.


-

[Adam]

I am going to do some research on this topic. Like I said before though when when my tires slip or spin they both do...and this is not characteristic of an open diff as your post points out. I'm sure you've had wheel hop before on your S right lux? This is a result of a limited slip or POSI diff as your post also points out. Am I the only one here that has gotten some wheel hop? I'm sure I can't be the only one here that has tried to launch my car..at least I hope not.

[Perfectlap]

Yeah i get the wheel hop when I'm being an idiot and not paying attention. A bad mix of too heavy on the right foot and and too lazy with the left foot.
But I seem to recall a review of the BoxsterS in Road and Track and they were getting big time wheel hop on the 0-60 test.

[Adam]

I'm not surprised, anytime you try an agressive launch like over 3,500rpm and drop the clutch too fast you will get wheel hop...at least I will.

[Brucelee]

I did verify with the dealer today that there is NO LSD option for the Boxster, never has been. He was at a loss to explain why and candidly, I think we were both stumped.

[Adam]

That is strange indeed. I'm still perplexed as to why the boxsters backend behaves like it has a LSD. Wheel hop occurs(at least this is what I thought) when torque is being distributed to the tires equally and sometimes when tires spin at the same speed they "hop" or skip on the pavement. I used to do burnouts/peelouts/donuts in my old 528i and it wasn't hard to do so because only one tire would spin! That car absolutely did not have a limited slip, that is precisely what LSD's are designed to prevent. The boxster S on the other hand doesn't seem to have the one wheel spin thing going on depite having oh about 100 more hp. I have a feeling if I ever did a successful burnout in my boxster S, I would see two black strips, not one like the old Bimmer. Are there more kinds of diffs than just limited slip and open on modern cars? Sorry to beat a dead horse but I'm very interested in certain technical aspects of my car and perhaps someone out there on this board can shed some light on the subject. Things just don't seem to add up right...but I'm sure it's something simple.

[Lux]

Many factors contribute to wheel hop. Suspension dampening, weight transfer, traction, etc.

Anyway, maybe we can set up a group buy on some LSD's and a shorter rear gear while we're at it. IMHO, this would be better than any intake/chip/header mod.

I have a feeling a Boxster with a proper mechanical LSD would be awesome powering out of corners. And with a shorter rear, I'm betting much improved 0-100 mph acceleration.


-