What's up 2020

So after sitting out 2019 whilst we rebuilt the engine we were gearing up for 2020.

The BRSCC let go of the Porsche championship at the last minute due to dwindling numbers which in part was due to increased costs for reduced track time. The championship has been divided for a while with more speed / cost going into Boxsters that really only a very few could afford and a growing separation with 924 drivers.   

So we signed up for the CALM Porsche trophy with a mix of Porsche models and race types run on a not-for-profit basis and raising funds for the Campaign Against Living Miserably a well established mental health charity.

A track day in March with the 750 Motor Club went well, despite a minor panic when the exhaust disconnected and I thought the new engine had failed (lots of vibration / won't rev feeling 😭).

Then the c-19 thing happened and Motorsport was cancelled until July. 

Most of the CALM Porsche season was in the early part of the year so has been lost. But the best is saved until last a shared grid with v8s on the under-card of the British GT/F3 weekend on the Brand's Hatch GP circuit.

Checking the car over the week before we found the battery leaking and steam coming from the centre radiator, so were hastily arranging delivery of replacement parts to ensure we could go racing.  

Engine Ancillaries Overhaul

At our last event at Rockingham we ended up beached in the gravel trap during the final race after the brakes locked and the ABS failed to kick in.

Whilst we initially suspected a failed brake master cylinder, the post race diagnosis was in fact that the alternator had failed.  There is no volt meter display on the Boxster dashboard (unlike its bigger brother 911) and the battery warning light seems to only come in some failures not all. It's not that surprising that the engine ancillaries tend to fail more often when the car is tracked.  With the engine running constantly at high rpm, they get harder use than they are designed for.

We have also been suffering from a leaking power steering pump caused by the vibration of the engine wearing the joint separating the reservoir from the pump.

Having to tackle one of these jobs is quite time consuming due to all the bits you have to remove to gain access. It made sense to change both ancillaries at the same time, making for a pretty long, days work.

There are always "whilst your in there" jobs on any Porsche, so we took the opportunity to fit an ancillary under-drive pulley.  This replaces the crank pulley driving the ancillary belt with a smaller diameter one. The benefit of this is that it slows the alternator, steering and water pumps by around 25% to give them more of a normal life.   As an added bonus, less energy driving the ancillaries in theory adds a few BHP to the engine output.

So drivers seat out, engine covers off, top of the air intake removed and you can at least get some access.  The roll cage makes it even more difficult though.

Tricky Access to Top of Engine with Roll Cage

Reading the factory manual and a few online forums gave us the insight that the alternator required a special procedure to remove it. A few large hammer blows in the right place and it was free it from its mounting. The power steering pump has a more delicate release mechanism for the hydraulic line which came out quickly too with the help of a second pair of hands.

Our car already has the air-con compressor removed which made access easier on the left side of the engine bay.

Ancillaries Removed

Small Under-Drive Pulley

After cleaning up the power steering fluid; which was everywhere, and quite a lot of stones which somehow got on top of the engine.  Don't go in the gravel traps!.  Final refitting included a new shorter drive belt to fit the smaller pulley.

Hopefully this sets up us for a good, trouble free performance in July at Donington Park.

Winter Upgrades and Servicing

Three years of racing is starting to take its toll on the Boxster with some wear and tear items needing to be addressed. 

The leaking power steering fluid has been fixed by replacing the o-ring seals between the reservoir tank and the pump.  Access is very tight on top of the engine so we're hoping a full replacement is the pump isn't needed.  

All four brake calipers have been sent away for a full refurbishment. The diagnosis from Pro Calipers was that they have been over heating significantly.  All the rubber seals were disintegrated and the paint color darkened to a deep red indicating temps of 300c+. Disintegrated seals prevents the pads retracting fully, increasing wear and heat and ultimately slowing us down.  

The refurbishment included new bleed valves, seals, anti squeal shims and we also fitted the Goodridge braided hoses.  The latter having sat on the "To do" list for over two years.   

At the front of the car we've replaced the centre radiator which along with its bracket was on its last legs. 

Whilst the front bumper was off we've added brake cooling ducts, forcing air through the front bumpers and onto the brake discs.  This adds to the GT3 ducts fitted towards the end of last season as an attempt to keep brake temps down.

In the engine we re-attached the the exhaust with new clamps.  The exhaust falling off was the ultimate reason for my DNF at Donington last October.  It must have been knocked on the kerb going into or out of the gravel trap, but took another 10mins to properly fall off.  

We needed a new inner wheel arch liner which had melted on the exhaust. 

A full oil change, brake fluid flush with 2 litres of Castrol SRF and the BMC performance air filter cleaned and recharged completes the regular service items.  

Final Preparations for 2014

Finishing the Winter overhaul took a bit longer than planned.  

On replacing the leaking coolant hose, we found another leak, this time in a different hose. After this was replaced we were still dripping coolant, and this time we traced it to the water pump.

This is a time consuming job, since the front seat has to come out to get access through to the engine compartment.  The pump was replaced with an uprated OEM part as well as the thermostat (which you have to remove to get access) and new gaskets.  The thermostat is a low temperature version which is one way of limiting bore scoring in these Porsche engines.

In all we have refilled the coolant 3 times now - and hopefully that is the last time for a while.  We are far too familiar with the process of bleeding the system, which takes around 45mins each time!

Our front brakes were worn down to 2-3mm, so these have been changed along with new brake discs.  The pads are Mintex race pads, but the discs are OEM standard fit drilled and vented ones for a 3.2S Boxster.

  

A new sports exhaust has also been purchased and fitted, saving around 10KG's of weight.  This is significant, given the minimum weight limit is reduced this year by 20KG's.

The final servicing work was to replace the engine oil and filter.  We have used the last of our Mobil 1 15-50 Motorsport oil. This oil is no longer being produced so an alternative is needed for next time.  Whilst the oil was out we also changed a leaking seal on one of the camshaft chain tensioners.

The replacement front bumper has been resprayed and fitted, giving the front end of the car a nice shiny look, ready for the updated 2014 championship decals to be fitted.

Start of the Winter Overhaul

Constantly alternating between full throttle, hard braking and high g-force cornering will take its toll on any car. The Porsche Boxster handles this better than most, so our winter overhaul is more akin to a full service and some preventative maintenance. No full strip down and rebuild needed!

First job was to remove the starter motor.  This has been getting more and more sluggish recently, struggling to start the car when the engine is hot.  

 

It sits on top of the engine so removal of the throttle body and air intake make it easier to get to.  These are cleaned up as we go, as is the BMC performance air filter which is has to be washed and re-oiled.   A two- foot-long 2 foot socket extension is needed to get to the last bolt, which is accessed through the engine cover behind the seat.

Top of the engine minus throttle body and starter motor

While we are in this area of the engine, the oil air separator is notorious for failing, allowing oil to be sucked into the engine.  Our intake showed some signs of oil residue. There is a motorsport version - but this isn't available for our earlier model car.  Special hose clips and small arms from above and below are needed to replace this. 

Lastly we turned our attention to underneath the car where we've been seeping fluid.  A length of hose had to be cut out. Initially we thought this was power steering fluid, however it turned out to be coolant. Porsche factory fill with a yellow liquid which isn't available any more. Given the potential problems with mixing different coolant types we'll flush the system completely and refill after replacing the hose.  

Phase two in the new year will be to change the oil and filter, then replace the front bumper.   Finally we'll be removing more unnecessary wiring and getting a lighter weight exhaust fitted. 

Winter Work Progress

Progress has been a little slow with the bad weather recently, but with the 2013 season looming  fast the main service work has been completed.

The coil packs were removed and replaced along with new spark plug tubes, spark plugs and o-rings. The old coil packs were very badly cracked and corroded with bits of their casings missing and oil was leaking from the o-ring seals around the plastic tubes.  

Next the oil was drained and a new genuine filter fitted.  Finally a the engine was given a good clean around the valve covers and the underside of the engine, where oil is weeping (not dripping yet!) from the rear main seal area.

The engine runs noticeably smoother now.  




In the mean time our H&R anti-roll bars arrived. 

Whilst these are heavier than the originals (being solid rather than hollow) they will reduce the amount of body roll when cornering.

These were fitted with new rubber bushes and stainless bolts.  Adjustable drop-links are being made up for us and these will enable the car to be correctly corner weighted.

The next piece of work was to remove the seats and dashboard (again!) in order to pull out the main air-con and heater matrix unit.  

This is the work we should have done the first time around when getting the roll-cage installed having now realised we still need to reduce the weight of the car by around 20kg's. 

A basic lightweight heater will be installed to ensure we can still clear the windscreen in the rain and have some cool air flow in the hot summer.

A significant amount of wiring can also be removed which fed the roof mechanism, interior lighting, heater control, air-bag control and PCM sat-nav units. Every little helps.

Winter Work

The car has taken everything we've thrown at it over the last six months without any mechanical, engine or electrical failures. The forces and stresses placed on the car are far greater than road or even track day driving.  It shows how well engineered the Porsche is from the factory.

After over 6hrs of track time we'll be treating it to a major service;

•   Replace spark plugs / coil packs / spark plug tubes and o-rings
•   Change Engine Oil / Filter (Mobil 1 15/50 Motorsport)
•   Clean Performance Air-Filter
•   Bleed brakes with some more (Castrol SRF)

There are also some outstanding upgrades to bring the car up to the same standard as the other Class-A Boxsters and fully take advantage of the regulations.

•  Goodridge stainless steel brake lines
•  H&R Anti-roll bar Kit
•  Adjustable drop links
•  Short shift kit

Oh...and there is some minor bodywork to attend to;

• Repair and repaint the rear bumper (hit up the back more than once)
• Repair and repaint the front wing and door scrape (failed overtake at Brands Hatch)