986 mods

[blackadder]

If you are after big gains, TPC have a turbo kit that is probably your best option. You can do things like exhaust, intake, retune, etc - and while these will give you gains, they will probably not be what you seem to be looking for.

Handling - a few people have KW v3, Bilstiens, if you are staying on the road only the ROW M030 is good (that is what I have).

Brakes - S brakes should be fine, unless you add a turbo then you might like to look at GT3 brakes.

LSD - Can't recommend one as I have no personal experience. But on the LSD option - an Aussie mag ran a 'Tuned' car shootout. A Cayman S was part of it and its only mods were exhaust, retune and LSD. On track (only a short circuit, under 3ks/2mls) it was only about a half a second slower than a tuned turbo that was running coilovers. All the testers commented that the addition of the LSD really helped to make a great car EVEN BETTER.

[kabel]

Why did you buy a boxster?

[markh]

Originally Posted by kabel

Why did you buy a boxster?

because it looked like the basis of a good project, is this okay with you?

[Topless]

The Boxster is a great project car. Ignore all the fluff and just get serious. Anything less than this will just be weak sauce for you.

1- 3.6L X51 motor complete- $20K
1- set JRZ or Motons $7K
1- weight loss stripdown to 2000lbs with driver.

Keep your 17s and run Hoosiers. You will be shredding a lot of tires with this setup and 17s are about 40% less per tire.

Then just focus on keeping the shiny side up. Good luck!

[al83s]

Here are some of my ideas on the weight loss (some already done, some on the way):
Lose spare tire and tools
Stock exhaust is really heavy, how about a spec-like stock header-custom cat bypass-magnaflow race muffler setup.
Lose the stock seats in favor of some manually adjustable or fixed-back race seats+5-point belts
Lightweight wheels (I saw a 500awhp 997tt pick up ~20 whp by switching from stock rims to a set of really light Dymags)
Lose the airbags all around and install a momo wheel (not for everybody, but I dont mind)
some light-weight battery (kinda expensive)

That would give you several hundreed punds, without sacrificing too much comfort.
If you want to go further - lose stereo and speakers, AC/heater, gut doors, lose trunk carpeting and all the sound insulation, CF hood/trunk, interior carpet, lose the convertible top etc. etc.

Regarding the rest of the mods, stock breaks + race pads should be enough, +1 on m030 or PSS9+ stiffer sway-bars.
It is very expensive to make your car equally fast in a straight line to a corvette, that just wasn't the point. . . I am playing with the idea of a turbo kit or a 3.6 transplant myself in a few years.
Good Luck with your car, Im sure you will enjoy it.

[kabel]

Originally Posted by markh

because it looked like the basis of a good project, is this okay with you?

um, sure.
I was just curious.
We see a lot of first time posts like this and it surprises me that some project oriented people tend to not do much research before investing in a project car.
Of course if cost is not an issue you can do a lot, like what Topless listed out.

[markh]

Originally Posted by kabel

um, sure.
I was just curious.
We see a lot of first time posts like this and it surprises me that some project oriented people tend to not do much research before investing in a project car.
Of course if cost is not an issue you can do a lot, like what Topless listed out.

That is a fair comment, I did a fair amount of research before I made my choice, I looked at Lotus Elise/Exige (although a great drive, where a bit too basic and a slightly 'homemade' feeling, abit like my TVR's) an M3 (but am not an inner city drug dealer) and even a Caterham (was a bit too exposed)
The Boxster ticked most of the boxes straight away, well built handled pretty well, was convertble, seemed the perfect base for a quick road/trackday toy, as I said the only real problem was lack of power, this will the final part of my upgrade and only after the chassis is done to take the extra power.

[Sammy]

LSD was the best mod I put on the car other than Hoosiers. For street driving it wouldn't be worth it but autocross and the occasional track day it is worth every penny. It transforms how the car handles and how hard you can push it. I estimate that it took 1 or more seconds off of my typical autocross run simply because it helps keep the rear inside wheel powered when going through corners.

[SeattleBoxers]

It sounds like you might want to get a newer Boxster S that has more HP to start with...

That's probably the best bang for the buck.

[extanker]

Originally Posted by kabel

Why did you buy a boxster?

i didnt...its a cracker smack n jack ride...some fool elton john type came to da hood lookin 4 sum rock wit no money.....but dis po is 2 slo to flea from 5 0 so i,m cuttin it up....waazz ya need elton