Pelican Technical Article: Rear Suspension Support - Pedro Bar Wayne R. Dempsey
Time: 1 hr
Tab: $100
Talent:
Tools:
Hammer
Applicable Models:
986 Boxster (1997-04) 987 Boxster (2005-08)
Parts Required:
TechnoBrace kit
Hot Tip:
Be sure to order the correct brace for your car
Performance Gain:
Stiffer rear suspension
Complementary Modification:
Replace suspension bushings
This article is one in a series that have been released in conjunction with Wayne's new book, 101 Performance Projects for Your Porsche Boxster. The book contains 312 pages of full color projects detailing everything from performance mods to changing your brake pads. With more than 950+ full-color glossy photos accompanying extensive step-by-step procedures, this book is required reading in any Boxster owner's collection. The book is currently available and in stock now. See The Official Book Website for more details.
Check out some other sample projects from the book:
The technoBrace is a precisely machined bar that fits across the rear aluminum suspension mounts and creates a stronger, boxed structure that reduces flexing under load. Manufactured from strong and lightweight 6061 aluminum, the bar reduces rear lower suspension flex, allowing for static camber settings to be maintained through sharp turns and cornering. Installation is a snap, and can be done in about an hour.
Be sure to order the correct brace for your car: technolab manufactures four different versions. There's a version for manual transmission cars, and one for automatic (Tiptronic) cars. In addition, each of those bars is available in a slightly longer version for cars that have had their engines lowered (as is necessary for the installation of the 996 engine: see Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Engine Conversion Project).
The first step is to raise the car off of the ground (see Pelican Technical Article: Jacking Up and Lifting the Boxster on Jack Stands). Then loosen the two nuts that hold on the ends of the aluminum cross bars (see Photo 1 and 2). Using a hammer, tap out the two studs. Then, install the brace in place using the hardware included with the kit. I recommend using a new nut on each of the bolts (PN: 999-076-053-09). Sometimes the brace will not slide in easily without first disconnecting and loosening one or both sides of the sway bar mounts (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
The technoBrace installs across the rear suspension of the Boxster. Begin the installation process by removing the nuts that hold in the last mounting point of the aluminum cross bars (green arrows). The rear sway bar mounts are shown in the lower right inset: if you loosen these it may make the installation process easier.
Loosen the nut but leave it on the pressed-in stud, as shown in the upper left inset photo. Tap the nut with a hammer to knock the stud out of its bore (lower left inset). The stud that you are removing is shown in the lower right inset photo. Finally, the main photo shows the technoBrace installed with the recessed bolt in place. The bolt is held in place by the slot that is cut within the brace: no wrench is needed to hold it when tightening. Install a new nut and torque to 48 ft-lbs (65 Nm).
This photo shows the technoBrace installed in a Boxster without the aluminum protection plate installed. As you can see, other than the thin aluminum plate, there is no longitudinal support for the suspension components that support the rear suspension mounts. The technoBrace solves this problem by creating a boxed structure that prevents the mounts from flexing under load.
Loading Customer Comments...
