Turbo Style Front Bumper

[Bethencorp]

I know, I'm asking too many darn questions.

Has anyone converted the front bumper to the Turbo style bumper with the larger openings? The one I'm looking at is not original. This would be for my 99'. The company that makes it claims it is a simple bolt on, no modification required. I love the look of the Turbo front bumper to the point that I am considering it. Does anyone have this mod now that could shed some light?

Would you modify the front or leave well enough alone?

[clubhead]

I ordered mine but decided to cancel it after the company made a mistake on shipping and decided to charge me $180 more. Personally, I think it would look great on the car, which was why I considered it.

The only thing to concern with is the material. Most if not all aftermarket bumpers are made of fiberglass (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) to keep cost down. The original Porsche bumpers are made of plastic. Main difference is plastic will allow minor knocks and still retain the shape. Sort of like you press it in and it comes back out again to the original shape. FRP is brittle and will just crack, much like bumpers made out of carbon fiber. Hence, I doubt they can sustain minor bumps and still look ok.

I ordered my original bumper from the local dealer today. I made up my mind after a lady reversed her car right into mine without looking.... duh! I had my original bumper on. Only the paint cracked. The bumper still looked in great shape. I'm only replacing it cause I'm getting the car sprayed over and the bumper I have on now has been puttied before by the previous owner probably due to an accident.

If I had my brand new turbo look bumper on the day the lady reversed into my car, I would probably be crying now...

So aftermarket bumpers are fine if you don't live in the city where you're more likely to get into minor bumps with other cars...

[Adam]

Bethencorp, I believe JfMiller has the GT2 bumper conversion. You may wan't to speak to him.

[Bethencorp]

I emailed jmiller and have not had a reply. My concern is the same as yours. The fiberglass is brittle and may be all chipped up later. This would require more trips to the body shop is it survived.

Has anyone ever put the original turbo bumper on a Boxster for a reasonable amount? By reasonable I mean $1000-$1200. The other reason I like the design so much is if you look at the newest model Boxsters they have larger openings similiar to the Turbo style. I just hate to use the fiberglass version. My source says it's fiberglass reinforced with resin. I would love to have the plastic version though.

Anyone with suggestions?

[Ad Sach]

Originally posted by Bethencorp

Has anyone ever put the original turbo bumper on a Boxster for a reasonable amount? By reasonable I mean $1000-$1200.

No.

The Turbo has different shaped headlights, so If you want the genuine turbo bumper cover you are talking new headlights and fenders as well as the bumper cover (Which may cost more than $1000 anyway).

[Westwood]

I was also looking at adding the turbo "style" bumper to my 2000 Boxster and was wondering if anyone can recommend the best ones. I would assume that some are of higher quality than others. I read somewhere that one brand did not fit well at all and it would be nice to find something that would fit well. Did they ever make a 99-01 original bumper with a turbo or GT look?

Thanks for the help

Roger Forland
Rochester, MN

[Lux]

I agree with clubhead. The factory bumpers are made out of urethane (injection or roto-molded I believe). It is much stronger than fiberglass. I love the Caractere aerokit but went with the factory aerokit for this very reason. Go look at some of the bodykits on Civics and such. You'll see how f'd up they are just from minor scrapes, etc.

[jfmillr]

Sorry for the delay in this thread in responding. With the holidays was out of town for over a week. My GT2 front bumper is made by TTp and yes it is fiberglass. I have had it for over a year...almost 2 and have had no trouble with it. When I first put it on I kept all my stock lights and fitments. THere was no modification work other then painting the bumper to put it on. The GT2 bumper does not require changing your lights or fenders. Fits like a charm www.t-t-p.de

when i bought my turbo look front bumper it was fibre glass too, so i re-sold it and just stuck with good old plastic.
I never even took the bumper out the box and it was already chipped. I dont like the idea of fibre glass. If i knew it was that i wouldnt have bought it, i thought it was a plastic one..
It all depends on what you want your car to look like, no doubt they look great...
Mind i do like the look of the GT2 bumper... looks good!



www.essentialstyling.com do a kit also for UK owners.