rear diffuser - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

23109VC · 03-06-2010, 04:13 PM

they sell it for $275 painted...not a bad deal at all! if these are a DIY install, I'd be up for a pair!

MN 986 · 03-06-2010, 05:36 PM

I agree that it was a good deal for painted diffusers. I haven't attached pictures before, but I'll try to include is a picture from last summer of mine installed (before the smoked 3rd brake light). I think they go well with the Aero II side skirts I found on Ebay about this time last year.
It is fun to look at these pictures because the Boxster is still 'under cover' for at least a few weeks until the roads clear. :ah:

embryoguy@mac.com · 03-06-2010, 08:55 PM

three porsche s in the family. working my way up i guess

im not a car guy like most of you guys. so i find myself asking more ignorant questions.

thanks guys for the links/info.

i was worried about the potential polarity with the third brake lights. but im going to add the diffuser from MNs link. thanks! bolt on sounds alot better than taking off my bumper .

embryoguy@mac.com · 03-07-2010, 05:16 AM

MN, does that diffuser you have, bolt in easily? i mean, are there holes pre drilled in the oem bumper already? if so it should take 15 minutes to put it on right?

jmatta · 03-07-2010, 06:25 AM

I found it much easier to remove the rear bumper cover so that I could accurately drill the holes for attachment. You must be very careful to align properly so the seams line up near the exhaust. I also found it a PITA to reinstall the side bolts from the top inner bumper panel, into the diffuser threaded inserts.

BTW, I purchased mine unpainted and did the finish work myself with paint from www.paintscratch.com Several coats of base, then clear coat and buff.

embryoguy@mac.com · 03-08-2010, 11:13 AM

im not industrious like you are. im going to buy it painted. the website said only three bolts are needed on each side and when i looked, there are exactly three bolts to each side of the bumper so i hope these match up. than it should be pretty simple.

im not sure im mechanically inclined enough to even take off my bumper! haha

do you have a link to where you bought yours unpainted? the only one ive seen unpainted is from poland on ebay for $160

Gary H · 03-08-2010, 02:12 PM

There seem to be two diffusers there - the carbon one looks awesome and I reckon it does something, the other looks a little like a stick-on with no real benefit.
Unfortunately, I have the Tequipment Sports exhaust so both are a no-go. But I do have the smoked light:

Initially it didn't work, so I had to reverse the polarity. This is easiest done by pulling the rubber grommet out that holds the power cable for the brake light, nipping the cable, adding bullet connectors and swapping them over, and then put back the rubber so nothings visible, and voila.

MN 986 · 03-08-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by embryoguy@mac.com

MN, does that diffuser you have, bolt in easily? i mean, are there holes pre drilled in the oem bumper already? if so it should take 15 minutes to put it on right?

If I remember right, 2 of the 3 holes per side were alreay there and lined up well. The 3rd hole for each side (near the exhaust) had to be drilled, at least on mine.
The part came with threaded rod to screw into the parts, then I fit the parts to the car and installed with nuts and washers. I left the bumper on, but had the car on a lift so access was good.

jmatta is right that you have to watch the alignment, especially by the exhaust tip. It took a few adjustments to get the 2 sides looking the same.

Gary H is correct that there is no real benefit, unless you count looking good!

23109VC · 03-08-2010, 06:42 PM

assuming you buy these painted..and assuming you do NOT remove the bumper and do it with the car on the ground.... and you have "average" ability..but ARE capable of doing the job - how long shoudl it take to line these up and bolt them on?

so let me see if I have this correct - the bumper has two holes predrilled...and those holes correspond to mounting points that the diffusers use? then you simply add in the third one? sounds kind of easy..

do the diffusers have bolts embedded in them or predrilled holes...so you haveto lineup the holes on the diffuser with the hoels on teh bumper? then drill one more hole in the bumper by the muffler / tips ?

overall - it must be pretty straightforward to see how they line up - or would it be very easy to put one on "crooked" and then have it look "wrong"....

you could probably line it up and hold it in place with painters tape or some other cheap/quick tape type item..then step back and eyeball it to see how straight they look...then drill it in once you iknow it's all lined up..

MN 986 · 03-09-2010, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23109VC

assuming you buy these painted..and assuming you do NOT remove the bumper and do it with the car on the ground.... and you have "average" ability..but ARE capable of doing the job - how long shoudl it take to line these up and bolt them on?

so let me see if I have this correct - the bumper has two holes predrilled...and those holes correspond to mounting points that the diffusers use? then you simply add in the third one? sounds kind of easy..

do the diffusers have bolts embedded in them or predrilled holes...so you haveto lineup the holes on the diffuser with the hoels on teh bumper? then drill one more hole in the bumper by the muffler / tips ?

overall - it must be pretty straightforward to see how they line up - or would it be very easy to put one on "crooked" and then have it look "wrong"....

you could probably line it up and hold it in place with painters tape or some other cheap/quick tape type item..then step back and eyeball it to see how straight they look...then drill it in once you iknow it's all lined up..

The diffusers I bought from the link in a previous post had 3 threaded holes each, and came with threaded rod to screw into the holes, and washers and nuts (I thought the threaded rod was a little short, so I went to the hardware store and got longer pieces). Install took me a 2 or 3 hours working at a leisurely pace with the bumper cover still on the car, and the car on a lift.
The 2 holes needed toward the sides of the car were already in the bumper, but I think I had to remove some hardware holding the heat shielding in place, and I had to drill them out a little larger. The 3rd hole (near the exhaust tip) had to be located and drilled.
Sorry for some uncertainty on my part, but the car is in winter storage mode and I can't get a good look at it to refresh my memory. It sounds like at least a few others have the same diffusers, so maybe they can correct me or add any details I missed.
Good luck!