Boxter:  Update1 - 03/21/03

Kokeln Racing Products decided it was time to move on to another model in the Porsche line-up. With the success we had with the 944 Turbo, we decided that Porsche's current underdog, the Boxster, would be the perfect choice. Released in the U.S. as a 1997 model, the Boxster is now starting to show up as second- and third-owner cars. These owners, we found, were more willing to take them to club events. Our thoughts were confirmed when we looked at club attendance and found that there were more and more cars showing up at track events. The Boxster's better weight distribution, longer wheel base and compatibility with many of the 996's motor sport bits would allow us to transform it into a track winner.

Our R & D vehicle is a 1997 Boxster 2.5. From this base starting point we will be testing and designing new race and street components to compliment the Kokeln product line.

First step in any project is to get a base line for our research. We
strapped the Boxster to the dyno and did several runs to establish
horsepower and torque readings. The average of 6 runs gave us a horsepower total of 172.1 and a torque reading of 157.9. The highest readings were 173.4 hp and 160.0 lb-ft.

Not content with just dyno readings we took the Boxster to Willow Springs to get a better feel for the car's handling and balance. Set up for the track consisted of changing the front camber to the inner most factory setting, replacing the factory, air-bag steering wheel with a MOMO Mod. 07 wheel, installing a Brey-Kraus roll bar extension and setting the cold tire pressure to 30 lbs. Tires were Bridgestone RE 730 sized 205/50ZR17 front and 255/40ZR17 rear on the optional factory 17" Boxster twist wheels. Average for 7 laps was 1.41.37. Our beast lap was 1.40.68, which beats the POC J-Stock record by over 2 seconds. Ironically a 944 Turbo held the old record. We chewed the tires up pretty well. Turns 2, 8 and 9 are especially hard on the driver-side outers. Other than that we were very pleased with the balance of the car.

Our goal is to upgrade the car without losing that sense of balance. The first upgrades are to be for the suspension. A little lower, a little stiffer, more adjustments and wider wheels and tires. After that we will be looking at reducing weight and adding more power.