Top 5 mods to add HP - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Tripbox · 09-30-2007, 02:19 PM

Hi I am new to the forum, and love all the cars I have seen on here. simply amazing. I am looking at purchasing a 986, but want to know what I could do to add some HP, as it is my understanding that the base models are not the fastest car on the block. Let me know what you guys think? thanks

09-30-2007, 02:33 PM

1. Buy the S
2. supercharge
3. intake
4. headers
5. muffler
6. decrease weight
7. the blade

09-30-2007, 02:40 PM

what year and model?

blue2000s · 09-30-2007, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boggtown

7. the blade

LOL. Almost as good a boost as the tornado.

edevlin · 09-30-2007, 04:47 PM

I would encourage you to first work on the suspension, then see if you need any more HP, its pretty amazing what some folks can do with their Boxsters with stock engines...

Ed

steve00s · 09-30-2007, 05:35 PM

There aren't many more than 5 things to do to increase HP short of engine conversion or forced induction. If your very first thought after purchase is dramatically increasing HP than this may not be the car for you. You can achieve some noticeable gains by:
1) cold air intake
2) some form of modified exhaust (be wary of side effects such as resonance)
3) ECU tuning
Pretty standard recipe.

I have gained just as much or more pleasure from the short shifter and the suspension upgrades. I have also found that the potential in these cars is further realized the better driver you become. I have had better drivers race my car and I am humbled. All the HP in the world wouldn't help me keep up with these guys.
Lots of luck to you.

09-30-2007, 05:45 PM

Tripbox, work on becoming a better driver, and use the HP the Boxster already has.

I am learning every time I take mine out. Learned a ton today on the race track.

pteam · 10-01-2007, 04:02 PM

If you havnt bought a box yet, and your already thinking about HP upgrades, you better get the S. 2nd, if you really want more hp, spend the money and get a 987 S, its the easiest way to get hp out of your box. Many mods give very little hp, some exhaust mods are known to actually decrease hp.

djomlas · 10-01-2007, 07:02 PM

definitely a wrong car for power increase, other than FI.

work on suspension, short shifter, loosing weight, and it will be MUCh better car to drive.

pecivil · 10-02-2007, 09:33 AM

haha

can't believe nobody mentioned the 996 engine swap. Not exactly bolt on, but close!

RandallNeighbour · 10-02-2007, 11:09 AM

One only needs one sizeable mod to make one's ride really fast.

Trade in the boxster for a Z06.

Our cars really aren't designed for straight-line performance.

I've been salivating for a TT or a SC kit for my 2.5 for three years now, but when I drive it hard on country twisties I realize I simply do not need more power. Putzing around from light to light in town I always feel underpowered.

So I just stopped putzing around town and I'm feeling much better about my NA 2.5. It actually has tons of power for what it was designed to do.

The guys in the S's behind me on the Tail of the Dragon trip said I was every bit as quick as they were and no easier to keep up with than other boxsters with 3.2's and 3.4's in them.

I say add strut tower braces and lowering springs (and new struts if you the one you buy is over 60k mileage) and you'll be amazed at how well the car will perform around corners, where it was designed to be used.

rdancd816 · 10-02-2007, 12:22 PM

I totally agree with Randall. I had my 2.5 up in the mountains last weekend and had a motorcycle guy behind me for about 15 miles. At an opportune stopping point he came up to me and said he couldn't believe the speeds I was negotiating the turns and twisty roads. The power band on these older Boxsters is still quite amazing and the handling is why we drive this car. I just turned 23,000 miles and this thing is bullet proof so far. (except for the roof cables!) Seems the deal with a 2.5 is RPM management, that's why it's so much fun!

Franco · 10-02-2007, 02:32 PM

HI, I bought the car for it's curves and the ones up ahead

Lower strut brace is one mod I'd recommend

linkjones · 11-06-2007, 08:16 PM

I have a 99 Box and I added the powerflow cold air intake and power intake plenum (available from ************************************************************) this winter I plan on chipping it, updating the suspension and cooling system (GT3 center rad and bumper) along with the below that I'm wondering if anyone has done.

Has anyone added any of the following:
Adjustable fuel pressure regulator?
Aux Oil cooler & stat?
Silicon hoses (Samco)?

Since I added the two above mods I've been experiencing some cooling system issues so I've been doing some research trying to find the root cause and am looking for some feedback. One of the interesting things I found was when increasing HP the fuel pressure regulator needs to keep up, if it doesn't the engine runs slightly lean causing the engine to heat up more than normal, in the event of a failed or failing FPR this is definately the cause along with poor fuel economy, sluggish throttle response etc. So, that got me thinking that if the engine is going to run hotter than normal during normal conditions when I'm really leaning on her she's going to heat higher than normal.

I know that Porsche engineers will have a safety factor considered when designing the cooling system but given age that factor decreases and plastic/rubber breaks down. Higher heat also equals higher pressure which I think may be the reason why my car will puke coolant out after a hard drive.

I'm rambling a bit but I'm looking for some feedback, one thing I did notice was a lot of people here are having problems with their cooling system and I'm wondering what the probability that it's performance upgrades that are the root cause.

rick3000 · 11-06-2007, 09:49 PM

If you are concerned with HP and straight line acceleration you bought the wrong car.
These cars accelerate plenty fast, and handle better than most other high HP cars. The only cheap HP increase is to desnorkle, it is a proven 2+ HP.

Topless · 11-07-2007, 05:59 AM

linkjones,
If you are having overheat problems and your car is dumping coolant you have cooling system problems... Bad t-stat, clogged radiators, bad coolant cap etc. Others have replaced their motors with a 3.4 996 without cooling problems or fuel starvation. Have someone who really knows these cars go over your cooling system.

Sammy · 11-07-2007, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

One only needs one sizeable mod to make one's ride really fast.

Trade in the boxster for a Z06.

Our cars really aren't designed for straight-line performance.

I've been salivating for a TT or a SC kit for my 2.5 for three years now, but when I drive it hard on country twisties I realize I simply do not need more power. Putzing around from light to light in town I always feel underpowered.

So I just stopped putzing around town and I'm feeling much better about my NA 2.5. It actually has tons of power for what it was designed to do.

The guys in the S's behind me on the Tail of the Dragon trip said I was every bit as quick as they were and no easier to keep up with than other boxsters with 3.2's and 3.4's in them.

I say add strut tower braces and lowering springs (and new struts if you the one you buy is over 60k mileage) and you'll be amazed at how well the car will perform around corners, where it was designed to be used.

I can vouch that the 2.5's aren't that much slower than my 3.2 S (2002). Not only at the TOD but in addition NickCats and I spent quite a bit of time autocrossing and his last few events he was only 1.5-3 seconds behind me and I was on R compound tires versus his street tires (a lot of people say R compounds knock off 1-2 seconds from your time). Yes, I'm a bit quicker in terms of power but it isn't as dramatic as I thought it would be. IMHO the biggest difference in a "race" setting is the brakes. I'm going to get quite nervous when he buys race tread.

It also helps that he's become one heck of a driver in a short period of time.

aussieboxy · 11-07-2007, 10:52 PM

I concur with the opinion of others here. On the street it could do with more power only for fun really as you can't use it seriously. I just took mine for a nice run and found some fantastic twisty roads, and I was unable to use all the power without the car getting aout of shape. So there is plenty there is you drive the car for the purpose it was originally intended.

Mine is my everyday drive car so it see's a lot of miles, but I still love getting in it even if it is just down the the shops to pick up some bread & milk.

My advice:

1. De -snorkle...if only for the sound, but I feels it adds a few horses.
2. Tyres. Well worth the expense for good ones.
3. Work on the handling although they feel more like a go cart than a car.
4. Forced induction
5. 3.4L swap.....from the new Boxy S or Caman would be great

NickCats · 11-08-2007, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammy

I can vouch that the 2.5's aren't that much slower than my 3.2 S (2002). Not only at the TOD but in addition NickCats and I spent quite a bit of time autocrossing and his last few events he was only 1.5-3 seconds behind me and I was on R compound tires versus his street tires (a lot of people say R compounds knock off 1-2 seconds from your time). Yes, I'm a bit quicker in terms of power but it isn't as dramatic as I thought it would be. IMHO the biggest difference in a "race" setting is the brakes. I'm going to get quite nervous when he buys race tread.

It also helps that he's become one heck of a driver in a short period of time.

Thanks, Sammy. What can I say, I had a great teacher

Nick

linkjones · 11-08-2007, 12:37 PM

I don't know why everyone always assumes that when you try to get more power out of the boxster that you're trying to go fast straight. I grew up a car guy and love to tune out and add performance parts whether it's suspension, brakes and engine. These things come from the factory de-tuned to try and work in all climates, elevations and available fuel quality. If you read my post I'm planning on updating the suspension and update the cooling system (oil included) and get as much as I can out of my car.

On another note, has anyone dropped their suspension 1.5-2" and added 19" rims? I haven't done the math to see if it'll work and would like to add the Brembo 6 piston calipers with 15" rotors while dropping the suspension and adding the 19's (19's are required for the large rotors).