1999 Boxster - bought sight unseen and have some questions

[ctripp96]

Thank you all for the replies. On the wheels, I was set on something multi-spoke from BBS but do appreciate the clean look of these and the ease of keeping them clean. I'm easily swayed and probably should use the cash for more functional upgraded anyway, so thanks for that!

On the brakes, seeing as how they are more than likely the standard brakes, are owners finding a good bang for the buck in moving to a slotted rotor and more aggressive pad compound? I'll start researching but would like to firm up the braking sooner rather than later. Any input would be appreciated.

paulofto - love the tonneau cover, am thinking about that down the road as well. Thanks for the pic, I see I'm in good company!

JayG - thanks for the info on the options - I'll have to look into it and start researching the factory options.

As much as anything, I want to find an indy in the Philly area who can give the car a once over but also serve as a sanity check for future upgrades on a car with 107k.

Thanks again for all the responses and feedback.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by ctripp96

On the brakes, seeing as how they are more than likely the standard brakes, are owners finding a good bang for the buck in moving to a slotted rotor and more aggressive pad compound? I'll start researching but would like to firm up the braking sooner rather than later. Any input would be appreciated.

Welcome!

Do you intend to track your car? If not, the std brakes are plenty fine. You probably need to flush the fluid (Porsche recommends EVERY 2 yrs) and most owners skip that process. Plus check the pad depth. Changing pads and fluid will make your brakes feel like new and give you plenty of stopping power. No need to spend your money on a 6-pot set-up if all you're doing is driving it around for the weekend.

Randall's suggestion is wise. You'll probably be dropping some coin on the things he mentioned. Those will be necessities vs blingy wheels and bigger brakes.

[Luv2Box]

The issues with swapping out the brakes to the "Big Red" brakes that came out on the "S" model can get expensive and require modification to your car you may not need, or want. I was tracking my '99 Boxster and wasn't happy with the OEM brakes and had 2001 S Big reds installed. The rear axle housings (knuckles) have to be changed to S housings so your emergency brake will hook up and work, otherwise you are without one. The S housings are larger in diameter so the ABS sensor module will not detect the rotating axle, which is smaller in diameter to an S axle. You can also change the axles out, which gets really expensive, or you can do like my mechanic did and and make an adapter that holds the sensor further down into the housing so it can see the axle rotating. Your rear wheel bearings will be larger and have a sensor built into them which translates into more $$ when they have to be changed. My entire conversion was $1,500 which was a steal at the time and the larger discs and calipers really make a difference in track use, and street as well. It is one of the best mods I've done to my '99 but you will spend a lot of money and have a car that no longer has the period correct parts as well as having to align the rear which no longer can be done by inputing the VIN into the alignment equipment and getting OEM specs. There is a lot to it and if I hadn't been tracking I would have painted the calipers red and put cross drilled slotted rotors on. Great color choice BTW and if you do decide to sell those wheels pm me, I'm interested.