Boxster handling problem

[colinb1]

My friend has recently bought a 51 reg BoxsterS. She loves the car in most respects but a couple of things are spoiling her enjoyment of it. She speaks of it 'tramlining' and being affected noticeably when the car goes over white lines and even small potholes. She says the car feels as if it is flexing and she is becoming frustrated with it. She does 'not drive fast'.
The other thing is that she says the clutch pedal is "very heavy" when compared to her previous Honda. Is that usual for Boxsters?
Any suggestions as to how she can alleviate these characteristics?
Thanks for any help or observations...

 

[spyderman]

Mine suffers from the same to some extent, although the tramlining is minor. The clutch is heavy compared to my 10 year old Vauxhall Tigra, but I've got used to it now. The tramlining could just be down to tyre choice (mine are Pirelli PZero Rossos).

 

[jeegnesh]

Tramlining I have found this is usually tyres and even more so when the tyres are old and less tread on them. I had alot of handling issues, I swithced to Michelin Sport, filled with Nitrogen and had a full alignment done, feels like a different car.

The clutch is always going to be heavier then the Honda she is used to, those are light in comparison, would have to get used to this.

 

[Robin M]

Clutch heaviness is a known issue with the earlier Boxsters and it can get heavier as the clutch wears. Worth checking tyre pressures re tramlining but the car is set up to be a bit more twitchy than a Honda would be.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

A 51 isn't old though... I've got a "Y" and it is definitely not heavy.


PS, Any chance we could talk model years? I can't remember what a 51, 54, 57 etc are... But the MY is easy to remember as to what the spec is![]

 

[colinb1]

I'm pretty sure it's a 2001 model but as it's not my car, I can't be certain. I will ask her tomorrow.

Thanks for input so far. I've spoken with her husband and he's quite happy to replace the tyres if it's likely to make a significant difference. They've had the car around 6 months but he has no clue how long the tyres have been on or their type. He's going to let me know in the morning.
Watch this space. It's a cracking car and it woul dbe a pity if she decided to sell it when things could be sorted easily.

 

[Glyn]

Heavy clutch - well that is subjective - You need to sit in another car and press the pedal to see if its the same.
Of course the clutch will be quite heavy in comparison to a family car as it has so much more power to put through it therefore the pressure plate within the clutch has to be a bit more meaty - but excessive heaviness usually means the clutch assembly needs replacing - a 1K job.

Tramlining, check tyre pressures and make sure it is tracked right - you can have the tracking done without a full geometry check - cheap job

 

[colinb1]

Her tyre pressures (all round) were 22psi

Her husband corrected that last night but I haven't heard from her about any difference she may have felt....

Watch this space...

 

[AWR]

I have just changed from a Z4 to O4 Boxster 2.7 and the clutch is definately heavier to depress than the Z4, I have had tram lining with all cars with wide tyres to some degree.