Boxter: update2 - 03/22/03

When we purchased the Boxster, our thoughts were to take it from a street stock competitor and modify it to meet each racing class specification within the POC. We had done this with our 944 Turbo and had tremendous results, taking 1st place in each class we entered. That changed once we got the car out on to the track and realized the car's potential. We then immediately set out to run the car in the very competitive Orange group. This group is dominated by 911 SC's, Carrera's and 944 Turbos and frequently turn sub 1:30's at Willow Springs.

First order of business was to install a proper roll cage. 1.5-inch 4130 chrome-moly tubing was utilized for the installation. The cage was welded within the passenger compartment and incorporates reinforced "NASCAR" type door beams. One thing that we noticed while welding the tubing into the vehicle was the amount of chassis flex that the car had with the interior removed. When we had two guys standing in the vehicle locating the cage tubing, the windshield surround flexed inward about a half an inch. Because of this chassis flex we decided to reinforce the cage a little more than normal. After the cage was installed it was painted yellow and the rest of the interior was finished a contrasting glossy gray.

Next step was to make the driving environment a bit more comfortable. When we had the car out on the track we thought that the shift lever could be placed a little higher to facilitate and reduce shift movements. Our solution was to install a riser made of 6061-T6 aluminum. The new box raises the shift mechanism 5.5 inches and slightly tilts it towards the driver. This combination gives a "rally-inspired" look and feel to the car and reduces the movement of the driver and time his hands are off the steering wheel.

We also installed our new Kokeln 996/Boxster Fuel Cell. We had several customers with 996s and Boxsters who wanted to have a factory fit cell that did not alter any of the bodywork. Kokeln designed, prototyped, fitted and tested both the main and auxiliary cells. We then contracted Fuel Safe to produce our custom cells. Because Fuel Safe makes the cells, they meet all required safety regulations by all sanctioning bodies. The main cell fits into the factory location, utilizes the factory fill tube and sender gauge. With this cell installed there is no cutting or modifying of the body so that you maintain clean factory bodylines and the factory fuel gauge still works. The capacity of the main cell is 17 gallons and you can add an auxiliary cell to bring capacity up to 25 gallons. The auxiliary cell requires only a small hole to be drilled into the luggage compartment bulkhead to pass a connecting tube to the main cell.

Suspension duties are being handled by custom short JRZ shocks and 2.25" Eibach linear rate springs. Spring tuning is still being done at this time. New Kokeln FTD 2-piece wheels were installed along with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires sized 225/40ZR18 fronts and 265/35ZR18 rears. We have also developed new sway bars that are approximately 13% stiffer that the M030 bars. We kept the stiffness percentages similar to stock so as to not upset the cars inherent balance. The bars will be available for sale by the end of March.

Lastly, we are looking at ways of making more power. We know that the stock exhaust manifold is very restrictive and are taking measures to fix that. New custom equal length race headers have been prototyped using 1-5/8" to 1-3/4" stepped primaries. The length of the primary is still under development testing. We will post the dyno results in the near future. We are also going to be adding a cone replacement filter set-up and will be looking at reprogramming the ECU. Stay tuned for more updates.