BRAN's - 986 - Seal Gray Anatomy

[BRAN]

Porsche Boxsters are history now!
Only ones available: Cayman GT4 RS and Spyder RS.
Which leads me to the most versatile Porsche ever created: The Boxster 986.
Total confusion:


The 4 seasons Boxster Spyder Speedster Cayman

[BruceH]

Yep, sad day when you can no longer buy a new Boxster with a combustion engine.

[BRAN]

I want that tartarn PORSCHE decal so bad My golden classic side decals look so boooooring suddenly

Deleted the lower front decals, installed a camera underneath the license plate, AND sealed the new blinker cut outs. When the eyes are getting old, you need to install new ones



But I still need a 360° dash cam solution, JUST IN CASE

[BRAN]

A new project on the horizon! A found by chance two interesting things, which I always wanted, ever since i got my 996 instrument cluster:

1.) That instrument cluster had a broken clock shaft/knob from the beginning and was declared defective. And Porsche offers no replacement. So I created a workaround, which worked "okay".
And then this headline caught my attention: "Finally sort out that annoying broken trip or dimmer knob on your 996 or 986 Boxster!"


2.) I always wanted to individualize my center tachometer gauge face, but could not find ANY I liked.
And then I stumbled across "gaugefaces" and we created the following retro inspired, but modern Porsche 911 looking face together:


So I have 2 good reasons to tackle that instrument cluster job. Not really looking forward to it, as it is a fiddly job.

[BruceH]

That should be an interesting result

[BRAN]

It resembles the 911S/T tachometer a bit, the classic dark green from 356 and early 911 (instead of the lighter 911S/T green),
the number font stays original 996 with original orange ticks instead of read ones...and a "subtle" BRAN logo

[BRAN]

No risk, no fun. But failure!
After changing the tachometer face, the tacho needle is dead silent.

Not exactly sure, when it exactly happened, probably when trying to (very) carefully lever up the needle.
I then changed the strategy to twist the needle counterclock wise, and then it would come off "pretty" easily.

Which hurdles did I take:
1.) Opening the case without damaging electronic cables, braking the plastic hook or damaging the plastic outter case.
I invented a new way to open the case, as I saw a lot of people failing at that step. I drilled a super tiny hole, so that a bend paper clip can pry open the plastic hook inside the case. Works like a charm.
2.) Removing the needle. I probably failed here like most others. I guess the ONLY way to go is to turn it counterclockwise and carefully lift it off. I tried to carefully lever it off first, but noticed, that this is NOT going to work, as MOST youtube videos try to tell you.
3.) Removing the metal ring, which secures the gauge face. Very delicate work! I carefully removed the top ring, braking tiny little bits off until the decal came off. It is a perfectly round part to center the new gauge face, still.
4.) Putting the needle back on. Again turned the needle counterclock wise and pushed a little, untill I reached the original spot of the needle.

I am an expert now, when it comes to detaching/reattaching the gauge cluster, opening/closing the gauge cluster case. I do all that in under 5 mins, now. lol
And I replaced the broken shaft stalk.

Drawback: I need a gauge cluster repair shop for the tachometer, now, I guess.

[BruceH]

Well, at least it looks very cool! I have no doubt you will get its sorted

[BRAN]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Well, at least it looks very cool! I have no doubt you will get its sorted

Thank you, Bruce. Yup, found a specialist, who repaired it for a fair price.
Working on some other projects, while the cluster and other parts are deinstalled.
Btw. I found two interesting things meanwhile:
A modern and tasteful interpretation of the horseshoe trim, including a center console delete solution for the climate control:

https://artndvehiclestudio.com/
On a german forum, someone installed a modern steering wheel on his 986, supposedly "plug'n'play", no error codes:

[Cunningr]

Bran car is looking good! I havent been very active on the forum for awhile, but just had my boxster updated service and got me fired up again!

[BRAN]

One project finished, and the next already started.
uhm...seems like a life time project, I just can't finish it

Project "uphostery, illumination and tacho face" done.

Project "Mille Hertz" begins...

[BRAN]

From a coaxial speakers mishmash (JBL and infinity) to a 3-components speaker set from Hertz MPK 165P.3 (3 ohm woofer + 4 ohm mids and tweeters).
Sound damping the doors (wherever possible/usefull) was priority #1. Actually, there was a little alybutyl installed by Porsche already.




Sound damping the subwoofer frames was priority #2

Sound damping the door carts was priority #3
Maybe a little over the top

[Smallblock454]

Did you check if the VAS of the Hertz speakers corresponds to the relatively little volume (i think it*s about) 5 litres of the door speaker enclosures? Result might be a relatively high resonance frequency.

And: there is no overdamping of a speaker housing walls. Maybe at some point you have a weight problem.

[BRAN]

Yes, I did a little research and figured that most factors cannot be changed easily. So improving the factors I can change was my strategy: Damping damping damping
The bose cases have a volume of 6 litres. I gutted them completely of their interior and upfront plastic sound channeling. That possible gained a few extra ml of volume.
I moddified the speaker holding frames, so that they can hold the cross-overs and the woofers (extra distance layer). That possibly gained another few extra ml. The cases are still a closed system.


My mid/low HERTZ woofers => VAS = 8 l
Most other 6.5" woofers have a VAS of 10-13 litres. And going smaller, like 13cm...have max 4 l VAS.
They are (almost) perfect, but won't reach their full potential.

But that is fine.

[BRAN]

[BRAN]

The extreme sound damping with alubutyl (first layer) and sound foam (second layer) ...
- inner doors
- door cards
- woofer cases
- upfront speaker frames
... plus the upgrade from Infinity coax speakers to a 3-way 4-channel Hertz MP165.3 Pro system (plus mini subwoofer) lifted my sound to NEXT LEVEL.
Was it necessary? Not really, but it was on my bucket list, just like the PCCM+

The doors make the most satisfying sound now, when they fall into the lock.