Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T
Discussion
That's a good effort to try and get the wheels inside the arches, I'm sure there are some that would consider that perfect fitment now, though personally I would prefer to see it a bit more tucked.
As mentioned, rolling the rear arches in one trick, you may already know this but there is a special tool that can be used for this that attaches to the hubs. Another trick that these stance guys employ is to run more negative camber so the tops of the wheels lean under the arch. I'm sure we've all seen some silly examples of this but several degrees might be enough...
Or how about this, you could go full wide body
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-BOXSTER-WIDE-BO...
As mentioned, rolling the rear arches in one trick, you may already know this but there is a special tool that can be used for this that attaches to the hubs. Another trick that these stance guys employ is to run more negative camber so the tops of the wheels lean under the arch. I'm sure we've all seen some silly examples of this but several degrees might be enough...
Or how about this, you could go full wide body
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PORSCHE-BOXSTER-WIDE-BO...
Thanks Jim, I appreciate that. I don't feel like I've achieved anything yet, I need to get it finished. The last one fell at pretty much the same point this one is at so I won't count my chickens just yet!
MX6, I like that wide body on ebay but it's too pricey for me. I've got a camber gauge, will adjust the lower arms tonight and see how it looks. I think with a little roll of the arches they'd be alright like you say.
MX6, I like that wide body on ebay but it's too pricey for me. I've got a camber gauge, will adjust the lower arms tonight and see how it looks. I think with a little roll of the arches they'd be alright like you say.
You might be right about the rear bumper. I've ordered a rolling tool so i'll give it a go this weekend. I spent the morning on Youtube watching videos of people doing it, they all started by saying "it's an easy process" and by the end of the video they are showing you where they got it wrong, cracked paint, over pulled, etc. Going off that I'll probably end up making it look a dog's dinner, hopefully not.
I've bought some EGT sensors to replace the factory Audi ones which can be troublesome and only work in a small operating window. These bolted into the factory location with the adapters I bought. Quite a big job to fit them, had to remove the underplate, crossmember, exhaust and lower the gearbox to get access, probably one of the toughest jobs to do on this.
I also bought some coilovers, I went with Yellow Speed Racing which I had on the blue Boxster before and I was impressed with them.
Big difference comparing a standard rear strut and the coilover, these give me more space for the wheels.
One of the few things I could rescue from the old car was my Hard Race adjustable rear toe arms. They got away with just a slightly singed ball joint boot. Anything recovered from that car has surface corrosion, the stuff used to put out the fire eats into it all.
Fitting one of the rear coilovers turned into a nightmare, the drop link bolts through the back of the hub to hold the shock and I couldn't get it out, it was seized in, had to remove the whole lot so I could swing a hammer and even then it took me ages. That strut was leaking oil which I hadn't noticed before, it had 2 broken springs on the front. Just to maintain this car if it was standard would have been a pain in the arse.
I also bought some coilovers, I went with Yellow Speed Racing which I had on the blue Boxster before and I was impressed with them.
Big difference comparing a standard rear strut and the coilover, these give me more space for the wheels.
One of the few things I could rescue from the old car was my Hard Race adjustable rear toe arms. They got away with just a slightly singed ball joint boot. Anything recovered from that car has surface corrosion, the stuff used to put out the fire eats into it all.
Fitting one of the rear coilovers turned into a nightmare, the drop link bolts through the back of the hub to hold the shock and I couldn't get it out, it was seized in, had to remove the whole lot so I could swing a hammer and even then it took me ages. That strut was leaking oil which I hadn't noticed before, it had 2 broken springs on the front. Just to maintain this car if it was standard would have been a pain in the arse.
seized drop links is pretty common on the 9x6 and 9x7 platforms. I had this same problem with my fiancees 987 boxster! gave in and took it to a man in the end, the coffin arm inner bolt was stuck too, otherwise i'd have just taken the whole lot off like you have done here.
These cars can be expensive and tricky to maintain!
These cars can be expensive and tricky to maintain!
I remember the front drop links put up a fight on my old Boxster. Haven't got to the fronts on this yet but i'm not expecting an easy ride.
I'd initially made a wiring harness connector to go from the standard Audi Bosch ECU plugs to my standalone ECU. With 20/20 hindsight this was a mistake and became the source of frequent intermittent wiring issues. The problem was the majority of the pins were bunched together on the Bosch ECU which made it a night mare to solder them, The connector was very short (and even then was longer than I wanted), every time I needed to remove the ECU the wires would get pulled around and as I used head shrink where I soldered them to the pins they would often break and be held together with the heat shrink and i'd get intermittent issues that took a while to get to the bottom of. Thinking back it made no sense to use this harness connector as the i'd changed so many things around inside the engine loom and physically with different sensors and stuff that there was no way I could ever swap back in the factory ecu. This is how it was before.
I bought new connectors and pins, they are molex ones which are used on computer hardware so easily sourced and pennies (but postage was stupid to make up for it!)
Midway through the wiring, i'd under estimated how long this would take, thought it would be a simple case of just copying it all from before but I made lots of small changes. I find wiring just absorbs time.
Happy with it now, the wiring looks neater and hopefully it'll be problem free moving forward.
The drivers seat that's in it at the moment has a collapsed base, a previous owner must have been a bit of a lump so i've been on the lookout for something to replace it with. I picked up a pair of Recaro's from a Corsa VXR this evening, they are in really nice condition. I haven't seen anyone else put these in a Boxster, I might work out why that is when I attempt to fit them.
I'd initially made a wiring harness connector to go from the standard Audi Bosch ECU plugs to my standalone ECU. With 20/20 hindsight this was a mistake and became the source of frequent intermittent wiring issues. The problem was the majority of the pins were bunched together on the Bosch ECU which made it a night mare to solder them, The connector was very short (and even then was longer than I wanted), every time I needed to remove the ECU the wires would get pulled around and as I used head shrink where I soldered them to the pins they would often break and be held together with the heat shrink and i'd get intermittent issues that took a while to get to the bottom of. Thinking back it made no sense to use this harness connector as the i'd changed so many things around inside the engine loom and physically with different sensors and stuff that there was no way I could ever swap back in the factory ecu. This is how it was before.
I bought new connectors and pins, they are molex ones which are used on computer hardware so easily sourced and pennies (but postage was stupid to make up for it!)
Midway through the wiring, i'd under estimated how long this would take, thought it would be a simple case of just copying it all from before but I made lots of small changes. I find wiring just absorbs time.
Happy with it now, the wiring looks neater and hopefully it'll be problem free moving forward.
The drivers seat that's in it at the moment has a collapsed base, a previous owner must have been a bit of a lump so i've been on the lookout for something to replace it with. I picked up a pair of Recaro's from a Corsa VXR this evening, they are in really nice condition. I haven't seen anyone else put these in a Boxster, I might work out why that is when I attempt to fit them.
Escy - I understand your angst at being at that same point as last time, I'm currently getting my loom ready to fit. I toasted the original and had to make a new one which worked but I didn't tape etc and now I'm getting it ready to fit for the last time I keep having that thought in the back of my head when the loom smoked itself.
It's just a thought, I know it's easier said but push it to one side and focus on the job in hand - from reading this thread it shows your thorough when working on the Boxster.
If it makes you feel better I haven't driven my project car since 2006! I'm starting to doubt I'll make my June 2009 deadline I set myself!
It's just a thought, I know it's easier said but push it to one side and focus on the job in hand - from reading this thread it shows your thorough when working on the Boxster.
If it makes you feel better I haven't driven my project car since 2006! I'm starting to doubt I'll make my June 2009 deadline I set myself!
Jim, that does make me better about how long my project is dragging on. I'm determined not to miss another summer, want this car all sorted in the next couple of months so I can get out and enjoy it. I'm always going to have concerns in the back of my mind after what happened before.
drdino said:
Are you sticking those connectors in a dry area? Why not use automotive-spec connectors? TE connectivity etc are stocked by RSonline.
If you mean the Molex connectors, that's what my standalone ECU uses. It's a dry area. Matt Cup said:
The little red accents on the seats match your car perfectly 
Yeah, should look good in the car. Escy said:
The drivers seat that's in it at the moment has a collapsed base, a previous owner must have been a bit of a lump so i've been on the lookout for something to replace it with. I picked up a pair of Recaro's from a Corsa VXR this evening, they are in really nice condition. I haven't seen anyone else put these in a Boxster, I might work out why that is when I attempt to fit them.
These should just bolt in as the width of the runners is spot on. Maybe at worst a couple of holes need drilling in the rear of the runners to locate them. Front mounts have the right angle to bolt in.Audi TT Mk1 (and probably other VAG seats!) and Porsche seats of this era are interchangeable, and I've just put a set of TT seats into a Vauxhall Combo - which has the same mounts as the Corsa.
Hopefully it is that easy!
Escy said:
I've taken another look at these wheels. I had a rear coilover saved from the one that caught fire (I've ordered another set of coilovers the same already but they haven't arrived yet), I fitted it to see how they are looking now. The coilover body is narrower so it means I can get away with a smaller spacer. In this photo the wheel turns freely but it's still too tight. Pirelli's seem to have a thick shoulder on the sidewall, it's need to drop from 285 to 275 tyres.
I'm looking for opinions, yay or nay? I'm not sure, think it looks alright from the front but sticks out too much looking from the back.
If you just want more grip have you considered a grippier tyre?I'm looking for opinions, yay or nay? I'm not sure, think it looks alright from the front but sticks out too much looking from the back.
The standard 18 size Porsche wheel will take a 265 35 18. I'd guess if you bought a track day type semi slick they would grip like stink. I've only experienced track day tyres on a road car once. I put some used Toyo R888 on my 335i. Simple standard road car. I bought some wheels and the tyres came with the wheels so I thought I may as well give them a go. The grip was amazing. It totally transformed the car. You could throw it into roundabouts and it would just grip. I was laughing out loud regularly. They were absolutely crap in the wet though. I only had them on for a few weeks and it was summertime so no fears about temp.
Will, I hope they are pretty straightforward to fit, I know I'll need to modify one mounting at least as it bolts to the side of the gearbox tunnel (if a Corsa was rwd). I don't think they'll be much trouble, it's just down to how well they fit. Sometimes these type of seats sit too high and ruin the driving position. I know that was a problem in the Focus RS that uses them so even Ford got it wrong.
ATM, that is an option. I'd been looking for wheels for a while, not many decent aftermarket options second hand and the nice stiff tends to be for widebody 911's. I'm not that fussed on many of the standard wheel designs and find people often seem to want too much for Porsche wheels and they don't sell. These wheels came up on Facebook and they were good value for money as they have good rubber and I like the design. I'm now in 2 minds, do I risk butchering the rear arches to fit them or go for something that fits nicer and get smaller track day tyres like you say (that's what I had on the last car). I've not built the car for looks, I want it to do the business and wide wheels with too much camber isn't ideal.
ATM, that is an option. I'd been looking for wheels for a while, not many decent aftermarket options second hand and the nice stiff tends to be for widebody 911's. I'm not that fussed on many of the standard wheel designs and find people often seem to want too much for Porsche wheels and they don't sell. These wheels came up on Facebook and they were good value for money as they have good rubber and I like the design. I'm now in 2 minds, do I risk butchering the rear arches to fit them or go for something that fits nicer and get smaller track day tyres like you say (that's what I had on the last car). I've not built the car for looks, I want it to do the business and wide wheels with too much camber isn't ideal.
I've never had a go at bodywork as I suspect you need some serious patience. I prefer the simple does it work yes or no type of fixing with oily bits. I agree that Porsche wheels can be expensive as with most Porsche parts. Dont forget that Porsche people like nice and shiny. If you can find some tatty Porsche wheels they'll probably sell for not much because no one will want them on their Porsche. Or a grippy set of 17 inch track day tyres will transform your car and you wont need new wheels.
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