Upgrades?

[Soulglow]

Just purchased my 1st Porsche (03 BoxS) and now understand what all the hype is about. My first two mods were a new sound system and the short throw shifter. Has anyone had any success with mods such as air flow, exhaust and/or computer chips.

[Brucelee]

The general experience here appears to be negative on the air flow mods, chips etc.

[RandallNeighbour]

Ditto. Boxsters just dont' seem to like them. Do a thorough search of threads on this site alone and you'll find guys who have dropped $5k or more into intake and exhausts and chip mods and have actually lost HP. That just had to suck!

Don't use any oil-based air filters like K&N either... they'll screw up your MAF (mass air fuel sensor) and it will cost you plenty to get that replaced.

Now you can "desnorkel" it if you like to get a little louder sound, which was done to my car before I bought it used.

[Porschekid]

Good article... http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Columns/articleId=105024
Applies to the Boxster fairly well.

[BuffaloBoxster]

Good read.. A year ago I decided to sell my 14 month old Acura RSX and get into a Boxster rather than spend money modifying the RSX. I've never been upset that I didn't stick with the Acura.

[Adam]

I've had good luck with the BMC F1 high flow filter. It's an oil based cotton filter like the K&N but comprised of higher quality materials and they don't go overboard on the oil from the factory. It's supposed to flow considerable more air than the stock paper. It is the standard filter in F1 racing. Here is the link http://shop.store.yahoo.com/eagleday/pobmcpefi.html The cheapest price I have found is 70 bucks at eagleday and some places as high as 120. Dansk headers and cats will give some gains on their own and are relatively inexpensive compared to places like S-Car-Go or Gemballa.

[99-Boxster-MK]

I think that article about modding is sooooo true, especially when it comes to the boxster. I recentrly traded my BMW 325 for my new boxster and before I traded it, I removed the mods i did, chip, intake, strut tower... The car actually felt better without these mods. I was shocked, as I was expecting a noticible negative difference..

I think the boxster is build with soo much thought, that all the expensive mods are just not worth it.. If you have a stock non-S and want more power, then trade up for a boxster S.. Will be cheaper in the end, then modding your current ride.

Mike

[Brucelee]

"If you have a stock non-S and want more power, then trade up for a boxster S.. Will be cheaper in the end, then modding your current ride."

I would concur with this!

[PasadenaBoxster]

Originally Posted by Porschekid

Good article... http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Columns/articleId=105024
Applies to the Boxster fairly well.

Dang that was a good read! Thanks for the article Porschekid!

[Adam]

Wow, that was really good. Makes me think twice about messing with my car. Tinker idous is so easy to get though! Anytime I think about modding my car I'll read that article first and then decide if it's worth it.

[ntmatter]

I'll also add my $.02 - the Edmunds article is right on. Several years ago I turned a nice '98 Viper GTS into a race track beast - 500 HP at the wheels, extensive track mods, race car aero, the works. For tens of thousands of dollars I got a car that was maybe 1.5 seconds faster around the track, and 50% less drivable on the street. My 01 Box (which I just traded it for) is so nice to drive that I don't even want to mess with the exhaust tips.

I firmly believe these days that a car like the Box is about as well built as Porsche can make it given a budgeted per-car cost; and they get their stuff wholesale. If you want to spend money on the car, get some Litronics and XM radio - if you want more power then get an S or a used 996 Turbo.

[Brucelee]

You know, the S as it is, is just so DRIVABLE in all sorts of ways. It basic good ness seems to me, not to be messed with.

Having said that, I notice that some folks simply HAVE to do this. They have a tuner's heart.

Me, I am more a bling guy; give me Carerra wheels, some aluminum trim inside and a great stereo and I am happy happy.

:dance:

[Soulglow]

Fellas - Thanks for the good feedback on doing or not doing performance mods. to the Box. After reading replies and doing some research on other sites I think I'm going to leave her as she is for now. My itch comes from owing a 99 M roadster where many mods can be installed and guaranteed from the dealer and actually do improve the cars performance level. Seems with the Box you on your own with the mods and the results and reliability are questionable. Making your ride better is fun but after owning the S for a few short months I'm convinced that the car is almost perfect as it is.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

Me, I am more a bling guy; give me Carerra wheels,

:dance:

With Spinners?

[ntmatter]

If you want to autocross a Focus or something, then mods make sense. But a modern Porsche is much like a Lotus or Ferrari - they're made about as well as they can be made.

[Pilot2519j]

I would say the short throw shifter is about the only thing I would do after much mulling over. In order to get more power the law of abominable diminishing returns is applicable. You have to spend oodles of money to knock off a second and to me it is really a complete waste of money. Again concurring with was said before in this thread the Boxster S engine at least does not lend itself for modifications. Drive it the way it is a because it is a throughly enjoyable machine like no other in the world.

[Perfectlap]

very true inexpensive cars can always benefit from proper tunning. For the simple fact that they were not engineered to be performance cars. Even my Miata which did acutally undergo a fair bit of testing for balance and handling can be transformed into a world class handling car with some aftermarket upgrades. But that's because the Miata stock is a cheap car with cheap components.

Porsche's are Porsche's. Significant improvements will be very very expensive.

but the author of the article is being far too general and inacurate at times.
A properly tuned car by profesional tuners will RARELY be slower than stock.
Will costs justify the enhancements? hard to say and depends on what you wish to accomplish.

and the author is wrong on another bit: Bigger Wheels don't always equal slower wheels.

I have stock 17" wheels and I'm mounting 18" wheels.
Its not the size that necessarily makes them slower but the weight.
The 18" carreras are 20-21 pounds 18" TT's are probably in the area of 29 pounds
and I'm sure my 17's were not far from the twists. Lighter is better and Lighter can mean bigger contrary to what the author claims. I'm always amazed at how wheel retailer rarely publish the wheel weights. Even when I called Wheelenhancement.com the sales rep had to look up the weights in a book! They weren't right there on his computer.

Its always best to consider upgrades after consulting with outfits that spend all day testing and tunning one particular car or group of cars. This week I spoke to someone at RUF NA in Texas and he talked my ear off about the Boxster. There are groups like RUF for every car and they do make the car better. The author of this edmunds article must have only dealt with ricers who had little knowledge or training.

Trying to improve the car's performance solo without input from the pros is a gamble.

By the way I sold a $3,000 Miata (retail dealer book value with mileage) for $7,000 because of the Mods, I bought the car for $5000 and drove the wheels off it.
Within the first five minutes of placing the internet add I had several phone calls and about 40 emails by the end of the week. Two guys literraly begged me sell them the car. 90% of the interested parties knew exactly what the upgrades were and how much they cost. With the internet enthusiasts have become very informed and know the value of a good deal. Also I never made performance mods unless it was time to replace a worn out part, why replace with OEM? better to upgrade.
p.s. I still get random emails asking if they will give the contact info of the new owner.

anyhoo with the Boxster I would limit upgrades to exterior mods. Things like Litronics, aero kits, hardtops, interior ugprades are very expensive and if you can find them cheap it will help your car when it comes time to sell.

[clubhead]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Porsche's are Porsche's. Significant improvements will be very very expensive.

but the author of the article is being far too general and inacurate at times.
......

I agree with you. Most cars will benefit from proper ECU tuning to fine tune the fueling and ignition map. Factory programs need to be engineered with a wide variety of drivers/conditions in mind. From careful owners like ourselves to people who just plainly ignore the maintenance of their cars, from low grade fuel to high quality fuel.

I don't subscribe to the stock-is-best way of thinking as you can see. Quality aftermarket parts like you said will enhance the vehicle in terms of performance, looks and re-sale value.

It's generally difficult to extract significant performance gains from NA cars. Try tuning a Civic/Integra Type R and you'll know what I mean. The cams, compression ratios, fuel and ignition have all been but optimised. But that doesn't mean it cannot be improved upon. There's still that couple of % that can be extracted from the car... Blueprinting the engine is a good way to start. Even the exhaust can be worked upon. Just stock to reputable tuners like Mugen for the Hondas....

On turbo cars, I beg to differ. A downpipe upgrade with a free flow exhaust will liberate 15bhp alone! A boost controller works wonders for driveability. The STi mentioned in the article probably has wrong springs fitted or with the damper setting all screwed.

[Perfectlap]

yep intake and exhaust done properly can be done by the manufacturer for very little and produce an instant increase in HP when the car is in motion. Makes me wonder why Toyo, Honda, Nissan have allowed the aftermarket community to reap so many millions of dollars that they could just have easily made themselves.
THis whole Scion approach to "aftermarket marketing" seems long overdue.

Even an expensive car like the Boxster benefits from upgraded intake and exhaust. IF DONE PROPERLY. The newest 987S Boxster added another 30 HP without increasing the engine size or any other significant changes to the engine itself. Its not like putting in a 3.6 but 30HP by just bolting on some upgrades is pretty darn smart of those Porsha guys.