986 3.6 conversion vs 987 3.4 DI
 

Curious to know what the performance between these two would be. H.P. is about the same , I think torque would be different? Can the 986 3.6 hang with a more modern 09+ 987S . Just engines not any other mods.

986 is lighter & you can add power during engine swap/build. I would think the style you prefer would decide which way to go

Jacabean, your new Roock should be plenty fast and I prefer the look of the 986 over the 987, though I may be in the minority.

My sentiments exactly.

I don't know has anybody ever tested a 986 with a 3.6L swap to see what they can do? The 2009+ Boxster S puts out some pretty serious numbers. 0-60 in 4.1 sec and high 12's at 110ish mph.

those super quick 0-60 times are with the PDK

987 is a much beefier looking car body wise

True, all the road tests on the new models I've seen have been with PDK. PDK seems to be all the rage now. Manual equipped car would probably be a couple ticks slower.

Launch Control is the key to the low 0-60 times although I was not aware of a official 4.1 sec 0-60.

I prefer the 986 for the reasons I stated above

The official times from Porsche are conservative as usual and a few tenths slower for the PDK. Several independent tests have been in the low 4 sec range though.

Just the facts please, the quickest (reliable) claim I have seen is 4.6 by Porsche for the new lightweight version of the Boxster S & that is a long way from 4.1

One of the magazines tested an 09 Boxster S PDK, 12.6s 1/4mile. Not sure of 4.1 to 60 though.

the fastest 60 times i have seen in the car mags is 4.3 with launch control on the twin clutch . what about the 6 speed ? They are all gaga over the PDK i guess they forgot about the 6 speed.

i have seen claims online that the Roock boxster 60 times are 4.8 to 4.9 .
I am pretty sure that a lightly tuned EVO or STI will smoke the 3.6 boxster . my 03 evo was very quick but those cars are not that fun to drive though.

The Boxster is simply not a straight line car, even with added power. If you want that, get a Z06 Vette, STi, Evo, Twin Turbo Porsche, etc.

0-60 times on any powerful modern car are limited not by power, but by grip. Any of these cars have far more power than the car can put down from a dead stop launch, which is why AWD cars are at a distinct advantage here. To me, if we're talking about acceleration performance, I don't care about 0-60, I care about 100-160. Rolling start and quarter mile times and trap speeds tell quite a bit more than 0-60 in my opinion.

The new Series II cars are cool, especially when coupled with PDK. However, I really think that for a street car, I'd still rather enjoy rowing my own gears.

As to comparing the two cars, I think the 987 is better looking, but I like that the 986 seems a bit more unique, especially on the interior. While the 9X7 interior is better, it feels much more mainstream than the 9X6 does.

I have a 2004 Boxster non S, not a great deal of options, just a fun car. Anyway, I have been giving some thought to a 2009 base with a 6 speed and all my local dealer had was a base Cayman 6 speed which as the drive train was what I wanted to experience was just fine. My lady friend remarked she like the interior of my Boxster moreso than the Cayman (surprise) and to be honest the new car was almost too refined if that makes any sense.....great car though and I may yet end up with a 2009 (no IMS etc). I came out of the test drive realizing how much I liked what I had.
Dave

While the A96 engines in the Series II cars are cool, and certainly seem to have fixed all the shortcomings of the M96 engines, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they introduced a whole new list of problems. Obviously your 09 would be under new car warranty, but personally, I'd wait a year or possible two to let others play guinea pig.

Road and track achieved a 0-60 of 4.1 sec. I'd consider them a reliable source that uses accurate GPS systems to measure these kinds of things. If the source was joe blow driving his boxster with a G-tech then that would be a different story. The official Porsche times are notoriously inaccurate and conservative however. I'm not going to get into a bench race arguement over a few tenths of a second though so you can choose to believe whichever source you'd like. Here is a link to the R&T article for those who are interested.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=10&article_id=8087

all i can say is 4.1 is very fast.

I prefer the look of nicely done 986....especially with BBS style wheels(sport classics). It has a bit of a sixties sports car look to it.

The 987 is a fine care but they didnt quite get the back end right.....to blocky and mundane looking...they took away the 986 curves; arches.

I have to say I like the 986 interior better (the red leather i have is stunning). It is smoother and more organic. It is probably true to say the 987 interior has a better build quality though.

I would imagine the 987 is more stable with its wider track.....I found spacers really settle the 986 down there must a good roll centre change with 15/20mm spacers.

I think a 3.6 in a properly modified/updated 986 would be a dream..

I agree with Cloudsurfer. It's not the 60 times that is as important as the rolling times. Driving a Porsche is like life itself--What you do on the straightaway is not as important as how you handle the curves. What caught my interest was Roock. My 1998 Boxster is in Roock Autosport in Atanta getting a 3.8X51 conversion. Should be ready in late Dec or early Jan. I wonder how it will match up not only to a 987 but how about a 997?? It is still a 5 speed but, with 18 inch Cayman S wheels, PSS-9's, rear strut and and adjustable sway bars and Quaife ATB diff. Regardless, it should be fun to drive. To me it is important to be able to get through of a corner quicker (with more torque, traction and stability). Did I forget the brakes?? Braking distances are at least as important as 0-60 time. Upgrading my brakes will be next on my project wish list.......alturodoc

Alturodoc, how much is that conversion going to cost you?

I'm guessing north of $20k

I was talking with Roock last week they told me about the 3.8 conversion they are doing. That car with the 3.8 is going to be one nasty ride. The only thing i think he should have done was use a boxster S for the conversion. I will tell you my 3.6 has been a dream ride for me so far. I ajusted the H&R coilovers today for a more supple ride .

if you redo the motor toa 3.8 adn eventually do the brakes, does i treally matter if it was a base or S to start with?

North of $20K--yes. been saving my pennies for 2+ years for this. I'm guessing the difference between a 3.6 and 3.8 is not that significant since the limiting factor is not torque/HP, but traction and suspension to handle the over abundance of power. I'm not by any means an expert on the tech aspect of Boxsters and Boxster S's but except for the obvious interior differences, once you upgrade the suspension (wheels included), there is probably no difference in performance; unless, of course you think a 6 speed transmission is that much better than a 5 speed. I'm old school. Grew up on 3, 4 and 5 speed stickshifts. My reasoning is that 1st to 2nd gear will not be so quick a transition with all that low end torque. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
At one of the Drivers Ed programs in Memphis last spring I let an instuctor drive my boxster with all the suspension/wheel upgrades and 2.5Liter engine I had at the time and asked him after the session to compare it to his 2003 Boxster S. His response was that the difference in power was not noticeable because the handling of my car was so much better than his.

I was thinking mainly about the 6 speed and brakes. if i was going to do this conversion i would prefer an 03 or 04 model. I think the 5 speed is a little sloppy for such an upgrade.
after driving the six speed you can see how loose and clunky the 5 speed is . Are you going to upgrade the body work ? A fixed wing and a front splitter would also improve this package. you need to think about the whole package to get the most out of that 3.8

I can also add that the boxster handles the increased power with no problem at all . it's like it should have been built that way to begin with. it will be just like your 2.5 but those same attributes will now happen at twice the speed !

I'm also getting a GT3 front spoiler, (to allow more cooling for the engine) and a modest variation of the stock retractable rear spoiler. You are probably right about the 6 speed. If I'm really unhappy with the performance of the 5 speed, I can always upgrade at a later time. You can see the rear spoiler on one of the upgraded boxsters at www.roockautosport.com. I really don't want the my boxster to look too modified...a sleeper if you will. According to Fabian Roock, a fixed wing (like one seen on his website) would not add to the overall perforance of the car. It's more for looks.