Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T

[Escy]

I wish I could have gone for supercar slaying power again but I know how much it cost me the last time (about 4x more than this car).

I've still got most of the parts from the fire damaged car (exhaust, wastegate, turbo, gearbox with a Quaife, etc). I want to build another in the future and perhaps i'll use a different engine from the VAG stable, i've got a silly idea

I haven't been driving my Boxster yet, i've been too busy/lazy watching football and drinking beer. I'm going to start using it to commute to work next week and then on the weekend i'm going to meet up with some guys on the Boxa forum for a road trip around South Wales which should be good fun.

[Escy]

It's been really hot lately, I was keeping an eye on the inlet air temperatures, when cruising I am seeing around 50c and ambient was around 25c, not good, I don't know what I am getting when booting it but it'll be bad and explain why it feels flat at the top end.

I know the way i've set up the charge cooler system isn't ideal, the engine bay is like an oven and has really poor airflow, even by mid engine standards. I've got all my charge coolers bits fitted inside the engine bay (header tank, water pump and 2 heat exchanger cores with the radiator bellow the engine). I was amazed I could fit it all in to be honest but it does mean even some simple maintenance will be an issue, i've barely got any space left.

This is how the radiator sits


I decided to add a shroud to the radiator to improve airflow


The shroud worked too well, at about 50mph it flipped the radiator so the shroud ended up facing backwards. I didn't have any tools to had to work it back and fore to snap it off so I could get home. The radiator amazingly didn't leak but it's all bent out of shape. In hindsight I should have seen this happening.




I'm unsure where to go at this point. The current system is flawed, it all heat soaks inside the engine bay and like I mentioned, maintenance will be an issue in the future. I could replace the radiator, improve the brackets holding it and make another shroud, it could work well but it's in a vulnerable position anyway so I won't bother. I can fit a radiator at the front (get a Boxster S centre radiator and use it for the charge cooler).

I have just bought a cheap used AEM water/meth injection setup. I'm thinking about ditching the charge coolers completely and running the water/meth pre-turbo. I'd like to ditch the inlet Y pipe, run an air filter for each turbo and move the MAF post turbo.

Whatever happens probably won't be for a while now.

[Escy]

Both good ideas but I think i'm done with the charge cooler set-up, I don't want to buy another radiator for it, I might try bending my current one back into something that resembles flat and try another shroud but it'll just be a stop gap now i've got water methanol injection on my mind.

[Escy]

I have decided to go for the Boxster S centre radiator. I'll add the water meth injection later but i'll use it with the charge coolers rather than as a replacement for them.

phalanxs said:

There has been tesing on a Subaru for a meth injection + no intercooler setup, and it was shown to be not as good as an intercooler alone.

I have read this article, it's interesting but it doesn't mention how much water meth was used. Perhaps they weren't running enough? I've spoken to some people that run just water meth after taking an intercooler off and have made an improvement in power.

[Escy]

When I bought the car it had the original sat nav unit, it was faulty however. It would power on but the screen was totally blank. Parts can be had to repair them but they are expensive and it's ancient technology so not worth the effort in my opinion. I did open it up for a look inside.




Replacing it turned out to be a load of hassle. I bought an Android double din and a double din installation kit (cage and facia) for a Boxster. The cage didn't fit the dash without trimming, the head unit didn't fit the cage and the fascia was too small for the head unit also. I sent it back and decided to try and bodge it in. I bolted it into the original cage and made a foam surround and then cut a piece of carbon fibre I had to go over it and make it look reasonably respectable. I might add a Porsche sticker on the carbon above the head unit to break it up a little. Changing a head unit is usually a 15 minute job, this wasn't. The light at the bottom right corner is a reflection, my phone struggled to get a decent photo.





The original sat nav had an amp that can no longer be used so I had to replace it. Luckily an old school Alpine amp in tidy condition turned up on Facebook just around the corner, it was only £20. It just about fitted where the CD changer used to live, I needed to trim a few plastic parts but it sits in nicely.




I had noticed the window washer bottle looked bodged so I picked up another one. The old one had a drain plug at the bottom and it was leaking. Interestingly, the replacement didn't have the drain even though the part number is exactly the same. While doing the job I saw that the line for the headlight washers had broken.I bodged that one myself with some superglue. You can see why it would easily snap.





I took a punt on the drivers side door lock actuator being faulty (which i'd assumed it was all along). That fixed it so now the central locking works as it should.

[Escy]

Added a Porsche sticker, I think it looks alright.

[Escy]

That depends on the engine you're thinking of.

[Escy]

Thanks, it turned out better than I thought it would.

[Escy]

Thanks. Do you have a build thread of the TR7? I would like to see that engine swap.

[Escy]

The coach house sounds good. I've got a bit of a building update myself.

I've just bought my first house and the garage was the main reason. Most houses in my price range don't have a garage and all the ones that do have a small garage where if you put a car in, it's full and you can't do any work on it. I got really lucky to find this place.

The pictures are from the day I moved in so everything there is things that were left for me by the previous owner. They've been restoring classic cars in there so it's built as a working garage. It's got a winch on the roof beam for pulling engines out. There is a pit which my back is thankful for, it's going to make so many jobs so much easier not needing to raise cars. There is a water heater and a sink so I don't annoy the wife in the kitchen. They left a 150 litre SIP compressor and there are air lines plumbed all around, he also left a load of decent air tools. I've always wanted an air compressor, there has been a few times i've been stuck where my battery impact gun isn't up to it. There is a thick steel work bench and a huge vice, that definitely beats kneeling down on a piece of MDF like i've been doing. There is a winch under the workbench for pulling in or lowering non runners. It's got an electric roller shutter door which is nice.

There is a seperate room at the back, ideal for storage and a bit of a random toilet which i'm not so sure about. It's all a bit grubby, when I get a chance i'll give the walls and floor a fresh coat of paint. I'm so chuffed, I have a smile from ear to ear everytime I go inside. So pleased I don't have to work outside in the elements anymore, it would be soul destroying when it would rain and the roof in the car port would leak, eventually everything would get soaked.









Those of you that are eagle eyed will notice there is now a centre air duct on the Boxster for the charge cooler radiator. I need to run the lines and plumb it all in and that'll be my next update.

[Escy]

Yeah, he was. It was his dad's house and they'd all grown up there. I think the lads spent all their time in the garage (hence the toilet). They were all pretol heads and the son I spoke to had an Aston Martin. When I came around on the 2nd viewing after my offer was accepted I asked what was staying and he was explaining all the bits and pieces they'd done (I hadn't spotted the winch for example). He had just started clearing out the garage and told me he'd been really upset when he was chucking away some of his father's old tools so he was pleased he could leave all the rest for me. He only lives around the corner so will be popping over to check out the Boxster at some point.

[Escy]

Cheers guys. Anything beats working outside in the winter.

[Escy]

They left me a bigger extinguisher also. Today is actually exactly one year on from the fire.

[Escy]

Thanks guys. I can't wait to get stuck in. I'm unpacking boxes of all my garage stuff and i'm overwhelmed, i've got more shelf space than I know what to do with. I had everything dumped on the floor in a shed before. I'm sure it won't take long to fill them up.

MX6 said:

Loving the garage. I've got a pit in mine too and it's a godsend! That hole in the ground was probably the main reason I bought the garage, it also came with a 150 year old terrace cottage as well...

That was pretty much my thought process, I was looking for a garage, if it came with a house that was a bonus.

Dewi-asl8m said:

That's around the corner from my mother in Penyrheol. I grew up around there and always remember seeing the garage door open and them fixing cars.

Yeah, that's the one

Nunga said:

Jammez said:

Excellent garage - really felt for you on some of your pics where you were working outside. There will be no end to the projects you'll be able to fire through now!

No one else thought, “phrasing’?

I have huge garage envy; what a find!

Ha ha, i didn't spot it but you're right. I don't want to "fire" through any more projects.

[Escy]

I've been busy working on the revised water to air charge cooling. This time I'm going to use the center radiator that comes standard on the Boxster S for the charge cooler system. This will keep things look factory.

I could have bought a Boxster S bumper which would have have the center trim panel but they are expensive so I just bought the trim and decided to cut the hole in my original bumper.



I used the back section of the center trim to mark out where I needed to cut.



I gave the grills and center trim a lick of gloss black.



The trim panel is the sort of thing where once you remove it the first time it doesn't clip together the same, it's like the melt the plastic mounting tabs into the rear section. I ended up having use Tiger Seal and clamps to hold it together.



Center radiator and shroud fitted.


Finished, I also added the proper number plate plinth as the plate didn't sit nice before.

[Escy]

I wanted the charge cooler system to not take up any space in the front or rear boots. That's easier said than done, there are some fundamentals of the system you need to work around, you need the header tank at the highest point in the system and the water pump at the lowest point. The system goes, tank -> pump -> radiator -> heat exchangers -> tank.

As the air-con has been removed it made my life easier when it came to routing the pipe work. I bought a 2 litre stainless steel beer growler to use as my header tank. Ideally it would have had a screw top rather than the swing top but it was only £15 and I thought I could make it work. To get it in where I wanted I needed to give the tank some mallet action to re-shape it at the bottom, I then welded in some fittings top and bottom. I had to cut the neck down and used some elastic bands to hold the cap down. The elastic bands don't look great but it works.





The pipe comes out of the header tank and snakes it's way down to the pump. I've made an effort to have the minimum amount of joins in the system as possible. I'm using PVC pipe, i'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand having clear pipe work is very useful for seeing air locks but it's a nightmare to seal with hose clamps, you can have a tiny leak, tighten the clamp and suddenly have a huge leak.



I've gone for a Pierburg coolant pump, these are generally considered to be the best pumps for a charge cooler system, definately superior to the commonly used Bosch pump that comes standard on lots of cars. It's fitted behind the bumper, mounted just below the radiator. To save me running wires around the car i've wired it into the wiring used for the original fans (i'm no longer using them) and changed the fuse rating to suit.





I could of run the pipes inside the underbody panels but decided to have them exposed, my thinking being having air flow over them will help cool the water temperature, if they were inside the underbody panels they'd be getting hot from the engine coolant pipes that run inside them. The reason they are in an S shape rather than straight is the floor of the car has a depression there so it's best for clearance. I had to weld a few bolts to the floor of the car to hold the pipes up but that's the only physical modification on the whole system so i'm pleased with that. Heat exchangers removed to aid bleeding in the last but one photo.

Edited by Escy on Wednesday 5th September 00:19

Edited by Escy on Wednesday 5th September 00:21

[Escy]

carinaman said:

Looks good, though I am still admiring your garage.

Thanks, everytime I open the door I have a smile from ear to ear. The pit is proving to be invaluable, it's making things so much easier.

[Escy]

I wasn't happy with the inlet pipe work, I cobbled it together with hoses I had and had to modify the big Y-pipe, it worked fine, the car drives very well but it takes up lots of space and I was left with the air filter not being in a great place. I wasn't happy with it.




I've now replaced that lot with 2 individual inlet pipes. I've got the air filters level with the bottom of the engine undertray so they shouldn't be drawing in as much hot engine bay air as before. They are the same height but It's a shame I couldn't have them both sitting at the same angle, i'd need to move an engine coolant hose over to make space, something I may do in the future. One thing I need to be aware of is flooded roads, it'll be a bit easy to hydrolock the engine with low air filters so I won't be take any chances.




Having the individual inlet pipes means I have had to ditch the airflow meter. I've basically swapped complex pipework for complex electronics. I want to keep the Audi ECU so I'm speaking to a tuner that knows how to convert the ECU to use speed density rather than the map sensor. He's disassembled the ecu with IDA and is patching in files from other ECU's. It's all a bit over my head but if it works out like i'm being told i'll be very happy. As i'll be going speed density i've made some changes to the engine bay, i've ditched the silver recirculating blow off valves for black vent to atmosphere ones (I don't know if they are seen as cool or tragic these days but the chav in me likes a bit of WWOOOOPPTTTSSSHH action ). The first photo is how the engine bay was. If you are playing spot the difference, i've relocated the crankcase breather hose (black with red pinstripes) to under the inlet manifold, this is then split with a T piece at the front of the engine and gets fed into the inlet pipes. I've now removed the N249 from the inlet manifold and all it's pipe work and the blue vacuum reservoir, this was used to open up the recirculating dump valves to improve throttle response by bypassing the turbo at low loads (the jury is out on if it actually makes much difference). The engine bay looks much tidier now I think and definately easier to work on with all the pipework changes.

Edited by Escy on Wednesday 5th September 19:38

[Escy]

I'll keep it in mind for the next time. I had gloss black on the shelf so just went with that.

[Escy]

I did take it, there were loads of cool cars. Everything was quite spread out around the town so I was in a random car park and the car is nothing special to look at from the outside so it didn't draw any attention.

I'm using the car quite regularly now as its my only car. No issues so far. Still not had the map finished, it's half done but there is a misfire when the boost builds up.