Roock - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

The Radium King · 04-21-2011, 06:27 AM

cool name; i think that's what i'll call my firstborn ...

anyways, check out their site; they are offering a 4.0L engine for the boxster utilising the bulletproof turbo/gt2/gt3 block (ie, not the m96/97 block). anyone know costs or have any experience? trk.

Johnny Danger · 04-21-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Radium King

cool name; i think that's what i'll call my firstborn ...

anyways, check out their site; they are offering a 4.0L engine for the boxster utilising the bulletproof turbo/gt2/gt3 block (ie, not the m96/97 block). anyone know costs or have any experience? trk.

The words "stay away" fall far short of any advice one could give you regarding Roock .
"Run in the other direction" more apply applies !!

The Radium King · 04-21-2011, 07:39 AM

fair enough. it begs a bigger question, however. the turbo/GT2/GT3 engine (sorry, don't know the designation) is reknowned for being bulletproof, it fits in the boxster, and they are starting to show up at wreckers, on ebay, etc. one would think that this option will become more and more viable for those looking to up-gun or replace stock. i would love a jake raby opine on this. i can pre-guess his position would be that a raby m96 is as strong as a gt3 engine and less expensive, but i can't help but feel that costs/availablity of the gt3 option are getting closer to the upgraded m96/97 option, and the gt3 engine is a better engineered piece of machinery.

2TrunkSteve · 04-21-2011, 07:42 AM

I have been looking into a possible 3.4 conversion for my car for awhile. Reading Insite's thread, this may be more than I am willing to bite off. I came across an Ebay ad Roock had advertising the complete conversion for $16,500 (still available - Ebay item # 170549299498). I called and left a message with their answering service but never heard back.

Searching the various forums, I found a few happy customers and positive discussion, but I found a few that weren't happy. It appears they completed the jobs, but with issues and delays.

Given the amount of money this would cost, I think I'll save up and pay the premium to have Flat 6 Innovations do the work. I know they have some higher horsepower options beyond what I'm looking for. They also have EXCELLENT customer service. I recently had an issue with my car and called to talk with Jake. He took a 1/2 hour to discuss the issue with me knowing full well he wasn't going to get the repair business. After that experience, he's tops in my book and will get my business if I do the conversion. Beyond having the LN IMS retrofit, I have no affiliation with either.

There is a lot of problems that crop up with these conversions. There is also too much time, potential heartbreak and money at stake to accept anything less than perfect customer service.

Johnny Danger · 04-21-2011, 08:03 AM

The merits of an engine swap notwithstanding, it's Roock's reputation (or lack thereof ) that I am cautioning members about . It has been my experience, that the owner does not conduct himself in an aboveboard manner. That's all that I'm going to say at this point.

insite · 04-21-2011, 08:54 AM

byron in atl had an engine put in by them & has had other work done as well. i think he had very good experiences.

as for the GT3 engine? that is a HUGE proposition. not at all the same as throwing in the 3.4L. for starters, the bell housing is totally different, which means you have to use a GT3 transmission. problem is, they spin the wheels backwards......

the integration issues make the 3.4L swap look like child's play.

thstone · 04-21-2011, 10:43 AM

Seems like the OP had a good point in that the GT3 engine doesn't have the same design issues as the M96 engine and therefore might be a better replacement option - especially if the GT3 engine prices are dropping into the $16,500 range (including installation).

Agree completely that you need to do your homework on any engine replacement and have confidence in who does the work for an upgrade like this but as all of our engines tick off the miles (mine just passed 90K), I feel that the more options available, the better!

jacabean · 04-21-2011, 10:57 AM

i had a Roock 3.6 boxster for a short period of time. the car had nothing but problems.

The Radium King · 04-21-2011, 11:04 AM

Fyi, I reread the Roock page regarding their 4.0L engine, and what they say is that it is "closed deck LIKE the GT3 engine" so probably the crank, etc. are stock m96 and they just do something with the cylinders. Oddly enough, they then refer to the images on their page, all of which show an open deck engine ...

jacabean · 04-21-2011, 11:10 AM

i think a raby built 3.6 would be a better option

tuanle16 · 04-21-2011, 01:50 PM

stay away from roock!!! i have personal experience with him and had to put so much more time and money into fixing the problems that he caused. he didn't even fix the problem that i original came to him for. just caused more and then charged me for his time. TRUST ME!! STAY AWAY!! i can't stress enough.

2TrunkSteve · 04-21-2011, 03:40 PM

I was reading my new issue of Excellence (June 11) and I noticed the Flat 6 ad on Page 16. They are advertising a 4 ltr M96 engine starting at $20,499.

That would be awesome, however, I am fairly certain my driver's license would not be able to sustain that kind of power....

thstone · 04-21-2011, 09:05 PM

They are advertising a 4 ltr M96 engine starting at $20,499.

Problem is that its still an M96 with the 20 other failure modes. The OP's point was about switching to a GT3-based engine to avoid all of those.

jacabean · 04-22-2011, 03:41 AM

I think the flat 6 motor addresses all issues the m-96 has ?

JTP · 04-22-2011, 07:14 AM

Looks like Roock spelled their own name wrong. Shouldn't the "c" be in the front?

The Radium King · 04-22-2011, 07:55 AM

this whole thing got me doing some research on open vs closed deck. the m96 is open deck - floating cylinder sleeves surrounded by a water jacket. under hard use the sleeves can go oval and/or move around. further, it's more difficult to be directive with the coolant and get it where you want to go. also, there's less to attach the heads to so it's harder to maintain higher compression. cheap to make, though.

the turbo/gt2/gt3 is closed deck; the cylinders are cast into a solid block, as are the coolant passages. this fixes the problems described above and makes for a stronger, longer-lasting engine.

there is also the semi-closed deck, which is a compromise of the two above. tuners of other manufacturers (honda, subaru, especially in the turbo world) use deck inserts to strengthen the cylinders. is there a future for something similar in the m96?

jacabean · 04-23-2011, 04:21 AM

has anyone heard of a 911 turbo engine being fitted to a boxster ?

mmontfort · 04-23-2011, 06:12 AM

If you are in the Atlanta area and looking for a good shop you just cant beat Kinetic Motorsports. I have dealt with Roock in the past as a matter of fact that is where I bought my Boxter. Had a check engine light and a code of P0430 showing on the car two days after I bought it. Took it to them and they supposedly fixed it. Two days later the same code came up. You guessed it, they just erased the code. Went back again, you guessed it, they erased it again. The car was four days old now and I learned my lesson about their service. I agree, "STAY AWAY" go to Kinetic instead even though they are in Buford it is worth the drive or tow.