Question by : how can i tell if my 986 Boxster S has the optional M030 sport suspension?
i dont have the window sticker or the build sheet. It has the optional 18s. its a 2000 model.

Best answer:

Answer by Paul S
On older Porsches there would be a tag under the front hood (locations usually varied somewhat) that had the paint code as well as the codes for all the factory options. I beleive this is still the case with the later model year examples though I’ve never gone looking.

You can also go through getting a certificate on the car from PCNA – the certificate will be based on the VIN and will have all of the info on the car and any options it had when it left the factory.

Though each of those routes will only tell you how it was when it left the factory, not what may have been done to it afterwards. Though both are sure proof ways if you know the suspension is unmodified… a similar route that is good if you are reasonably certainly that the suspension is stock: in Model Year 2000 for US cars, the M030 springs were red/white in the front, and purple/yellow in the back (seems to be the most common combination, though cars produced later in 2000 seem to have the yellow/white combo in front, and the orange/brown in the rear for M030) – springs are generally black with these color codes at the top (there’s also often a spacer that is either white or green and will look like a third stripe of color).

The colors will be fairly meaningless though if they are not factory parts (I don’t know the parts off hand, but if you see a stamped number 986-xxx-xx-xx, then it’s a factory part).

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