Bought my first Porsche! 986 Boxster S. A few questions...

[TroubledSoul]

So, I was about to spend a few quid and buy a 2ZZ MR2 Roadster. Had a 'Ring trip in mind but also fancy a drive down to Italy potentially. That got me thinking... would I be better off with a Boxster? OK, it's heavier and will be a compromise if I use it on track, but it's a better all rounder and would make such a trip a lot more pleasant.

So I went for it. Here she is:



So far, I love it. I do most things myself on my cars but it has such a comprehensive history that I'm tempted to pay the extra to maintain it and let the pros do the jobs on it. I've come from a Subaru WRX STI as my main fun car before this so it's a bit of a change, but I have owned multiple types of MR2.

I'm interested in polybushing the car but would like to know whether it's worth doing all of the bushes or just the ones in the middle of the coffin arms? I can't tell from pics I've seen whether the rest of the suspension arms have ball joint type bushes in them or not. If they do, I'm not sure I want to replace those with non ball joint type bushes. Unless folk recommend otherwise?

Also interested in any worthwhile upgrades, both handling and power. I've seen something about a 74mm throttle body mentioned in various places and I believe I saw something about GT3 suspension arms fitting?

A few niggles:

One headlight is extremely difficult to remove, as I found when changing a bulb
Indicators don't self cancel
Remote fob works intermittently but always flashes the light when the button is pressed
Steering feels very light, even when just moving off etc. is that normal?
Clutch pedal is heavy as hell, but I read up on this and have ordered a clutch pedal helper spring

Cheers for reading and any help is appreciated

[KPB1973]

Good luck with the helper spring. It's worth checking for a broken one before replacement. Perhaps more likely is that the clutch itself is worn. It's not a cheap job and can be a cause of people shifting 986 and 987's along.

Not trying to be negative - you might find that you quickly adjust to its weight and come to prefer it. I did with my first one.

Enjoy your car chap!

[TroubledSoul]

It's cool, I did see that it might be the clutch and tbh I am starting to get used to it but if I can sort it I will

[Andyoz]

I like that color combo.

[mr pg]

Had polybushes fitted all round to my 996T when I had it, including the ARB's. Worth doing. Boxsters/Caymans are great for euro trips, done 5 in our 981CS, should have arrived back yesterday from this years trip :-(.

[TroubledSoul]

Andyoz said:

I like that color combo.

Thank you, me too

mr pg said:

Had polybushes fitted all round to my 996T when I had it, including the ARB's. Worth doing. Boxsters/Caymans are great for euro trips, done 5 in our 981CS, should have arrived back yesterday from this years trip :-(.

Even the front and rear track control arms? They look to be the ball joint bush type. I'm wondering if replacing these with new and polybushing the ARBs and the coffin arms would be the best route.

[LennyM1984]

Definitely don't do the front or rear track control arms (the tuning forks). They have a ball joint/rose joint thing in them not a bushing. It is supposed to move freely. There are a few aftermarket places offering polybushed versions but these just don't make sense and will undoubtedly lead to issues further down the line.

[mr pg]

TroubledSoul said:

Even the front and rear track control arms? They look to be the ball joint bush type. I'm wondering if replacing these with new and polybushing the ARBs and the coffin arms would be the best route.

No, just where there were previously the standard rubber bushes. As you say coffin arms, and ARB's.

[TroubledSoul]

Excellent. Good to know I'm not completely daft Thanks guys.