Tune a 2.5 boxter to perform better than an S?
Discussion
How feasible is it to buy an old 2.5 or 2.7 boxter and 'tune it' to achieve greater than S performance?
I can not really afford 30k for a 2nd hand S but found the 2.7 -well limp. I have a lovely 20v Turbo fiat coupe at the moment which quite frankly eats most boxters for breakfast and i want something with even better performance. Please dont make me buy a TVR as im sure it will drive me mad. feasible?
I can not really afford 30k for a 2nd hand S but found the 2.7 -well limp. I have a lovely 20v Turbo fiat coupe at the moment which quite frankly eats most boxters for breakfast and i want something with even better performance. Please dont make me buy a TVR as im sure it will drive me mad. feasible?
I know Gemballa were prompt with their biturbo response to the initial release of the Boxster.
Whilst undoubtedly effective at despatching a Boxster S, or even naturally aspirated 996's, it is also unlikely to be cheap.
www.gemballa.com
Take a look. If you e-mail Germany you may even get a response from the man himself (i e-mailed about some split rims for my 993 C4S and got a reply from Uwe Gemballa!!!).
If you do go down this route i'll look forward to seeing your Boxster Biturbo at a future Virginia Water meet.
VS
Whilst undoubtedly effective at despatching a Boxster S, or even naturally aspirated 996's, it is also unlikely to be cheap.

www.gemballa.com
Take a look. If you e-mail Germany you may even get a response from the man himself (i e-mailed about some split rims for my 993 C4S and got a reply from Uwe Gemballa!!!).
If you do go down this route i'll look forward to seeing your Boxster Biturbo at a future Virginia Water meet.

VS
The standard 2.5 lump is not very responsive to conventional tuning and its not a very strong unit anyway.
Best to get a 2.5 with a blown engine or high miles which you should pick up for say under £15k (LHD) then rip the 2.5 out & throw it away and replace according to budget with a 996 3.4, 3.6, GT3 engine. You could get one of them shoved in an S gearbox and decnt suspension & brakes for under £30k and if you budget on a few bits under £25K is possible- even in the case of the GT3 lump. I know coz ive driven 3.4 & 3.6 Boxters & a GT3 Box is currently in development. And although i'm not the bigest box fan its easy to get 380bhp out of the GT3 lump and in a box hmm that would be a very very interesting ve-hick-cool.
If you want to know more and you are serious about this drop me an e-mail & I'll put you in touch with the man to talk to.
Best to get a 2.5 with a blown engine or high miles which you should pick up for say under £15k (LHD) then rip the 2.5 out & throw it away and replace according to budget with a 996 3.4, 3.6, GT3 engine. You could get one of them shoved in an S gearbox and decnt suspension & brakes for under £30k and if you budget on a few bits under £25K is possible- even in the case of the GT3 lump. I know coz ive driven 3.4 & 3.6 Boxters & a GT3 Box is currently in development. And although i'm not the bigest box fan its easy to get 380bhp out of the GT3 lump and in a box hmm that would be a very very interesting ve-hick-cool.
If you want to know more and you are serious about this drop me an e-mail & I'll put you in touch with the man to talk to.
If you are willing to take a bit of a risk you could look around for for a Ruf 3400S.
This is a 993 engine in a Boxster 2.5 basically. The job will have been done by professionals and there is no reason why the resulting car shouldn't be reliable.
In these very pages we have discussed such options before and even seen one for sale (can't remember where) at about 30K if I recall.
Remember that such a car is very, very rare and is unlikely to be resaleable easily. Like you, any subsequent buyer will be taking a risk and will expect serious depreciation to have happened!
So you'll get oodles of grunt, more expensive maintenance and disastrous depreciation.
Errr...have you considered a TVR?
This is a 993 engine in a Boxster 2.5 basically. The job will have been done by professionals and there is no reason why the resulting car shouldn't be reliable.
In these very pages we have discussed such options before and even seen one for sale (can't remember where) at about 30K if I recall.
Remember that such a car is very, very rare and is unlikely to be resaleable easily. Like you, any subsequent buyer will be taking a risk and will expect serious depreciation to have happened!
So you'll get oodles of grunt, more expensive maintenance and disastrous depreciation.
Errr...have you considered a TVR?

My thoughts on making a fast boxster:
1. Buy super cheap 2.5
2. Throw away aircon, sat nav, electric anything; aim to reduce weight to absolute minimum
3. Fit 3.2 S engine and box
4. Sell 2.5 to recover cost of conversion
5. Tune 3.2 engine to 290bhp with cats, cms, ecu reprogram & sports silencers
6. Fit 996 brakes
7. Fit pair of fixed back kevlar recaro seats & schroth harnesses
8. Paint it Maritime blue
9. Fit Boxster RS badge on the rear
Got the engine, got the brakes, got the bin (for the old parts), got the paint, got the badge, got the knowledge, got the time. Anyone got a trousered 2.5 going cheap?
>> Edited by ninemeister on Friday 21st February 15:44
1. Buy super cheap 2.5
2. Throw away aircon, sat nav, electric anything; aim to reduce weight to absolute minimum
3. Fit 3.2 S engine and box
4. Sell 2.5 to recover cost of conversion
5. Tune 3.2 engine to 290bhp with cats, cms, ecu reprogram & sports silencers
6. Fit 996 brakes
7. Fit pair of fixed back kevlar recaro seats & schroth harnesses
8. Paint it Maritime blue
9. Fit Boxster RS badge on the rear
Got the engine, got the brakes, got the bin (for the old parts), got the paint, got the badge, got the knowledge, got the time. Anyone got a trousered 2.5 going cheap?
>> Edited by ninemeister on Friday 21st February 15:44
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