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DingusKahn · 06-13-2023, 03:09 PM

Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I recently purchased a 2001 986 Boxster S. I took it to a shop and besides a minor oil leak, everything’s in good shape.

The car had the IMS replaced with the LN retrofit kit in 2017 by Formula Motorsports in NYC, and now that it’s been 6 years since the replacement, the shop I took it to is strongly recommending that I replace the bearing or upgrade to “The Solution”. I talked to Formula Motorsports and asked them about the car, and they said that they had never seen a retrofit bearing fail barring some “racing shenanigans”. At this point I feel like talking about the IMS bearing in a M96/97 is like beating a dead horse, but I wanted to get your guys’ opinion on whether I should get a replacement and which one I should go for. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Edit: I forgot to mention that the shop I took the car to is estimating $3600 for a new retrofit and $5000 for The Solution, not including a new clutch and RMS (not that they are needed). The bearing was originally replaced at 45k miles, now it’s at 56k.

06-13-2023, 03:09 PM	#1
DingusKahn Registered User Join Date: Jun 2023 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 2	Replacing an IMS Retrofit bearing Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I recently purchased a 2001 986 Boxster S. I took it to a shop and besides a minor oil leak, everything’s in good shape. The car had the IMS replaced with the LN retrofit kit in 2017 by Formula Motorsports in NYC, and now that it’s been 6 years since the replacement, the shop I took it to is strongly recommending that I replace the bearing or upgrade to “The Solution”. I talked to Formula Motorsports and asked them about the car, and they said that they had never seen a retrofit bearing fail barring some “racing shenanigans”. At this point I feel like talking about the IMS bearing in a M96/97 is like beating a dead horse, but I wanted to get your guys’ opinion on whether I should get a replacement and which one I should go for. Thanks for all your help in advance! Edit: I forgot to mention that the shop I took the car to is estimating $3600 for a new retrofit and $5000 for The Solution, not including a new clutch and RMS (not that they are needed). The bearing was originally replaced at 45k miles, now it’s at 56k. Last edited by DingusKahn; 06-13-2023 at 03:12 PM.