Top 5 mods to add HP

[linkjones]

That's why you beef up the suspension and braking so you can go faster through corners and power out of them nicely.

[linkjones]

Anybody heard of, or know of someone swapping the Porsche boxer engine for the Subaru boxer engine from the STI? One of the guys at my local Porsche dealership was telling me about it and how guys are doing it because the Subaru engine is easier and cheaper to tune out.

[boxs2000]

Originally Posted by linkjones

Anybody heard of, or know of someone swapping the Porsche boxer engine for the Subaru boxer engine from the STI? One of the guys at my local Porsche dealership was telling me about it and how guys are doing it because the Subaru engine is easier and cheaper to tune out.

Yeah that is a perfect example of urban legend, Old wifes tale, and just Good o'l b.s. They say that because Subaru started coining the phrase "Boxer" engine (to ride Porsche's success) Their version is a 4 cylinder turbo. Porsche has been famous for their flat 6 which is basically a boxer style motor. This mean the pistons are in a flat configuration versus a V position or straight/inline style. For example BMW's are famous for their in line (all six cylinders are in a line and Chevy's are famous for their V8 four pistons on each side meeting in the middle hence V configuration etc. This rumor could have been further fueled by the article in Excellence Magazine a few months ago in which they did put in a Subaru motor in a early model 914. So yes, someone did do it. I'm sure that motor swap was more feasible due to the simple wiring in the earlier cars (in general) Keep in mind there has also been many engine transplant in 914's with Chevy implants etc. So in regards to a 986 with a Subaru swap, I really do not think so. It would be easier and probably cheaper the do a 3.4 (996) motor swap than a Subaru due to all the custom fabrication and wiring conversion. No bashing intended on the Subaru's...Yes, they are good cars and very fast.

[aussieboxy]

Why on earth would anyone put a turbocharged 4 cylinder Japanese motor in a Porsche. Porsche are renowned for having some of the best engineering going around. Suburu are renowned for fast cars that last about as last about as long as a set of tyres (Ok I might be a little cruel)

If it's all about power why not whack a big block in there I'm sure you would get a few more horses.

[mtch]

Actually Subarus have a strong reputation for reliability and dependability, probably even stronger than Porsche's. The speed / performance tag Subaru is now wearing is fairly recent and limited to 1 car.

[mdex]

I have had Subaru's and the North American engines aren't suitable for high performance use, and they are in no way cheap to replace (JDM / European are a different block / bottom end of the engine). I had a bearing spin in my WRX (a very common problem problem with the N/A engines) and I could put a 3.6 in my boxster for the same money as fixing that engine!

Needless to say no more Subaru's for me.

Marc

[djomlas]

Originally Posted by mtch

Actually Subarus have a strong reputation for reliability and dependability, probably even stronger than Porsche's. The speed / performance tag Subaru is now wearing is fairly recent and limited to 1 car.

yeah, too bad they turned it into a minivan.
i used to like the wrx and sti, now, well, looks like any other grocery getter with altezzas

[nola911]

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by aussieboxy

Why on earth would anyone put a turbocharged 4 cylinder Japanese motor in a Porsche. Porsche are renowned for having some of the best engineering going around.

I owned a WRX which I had tuned to over 300 HP. Great car, but the AWD system is probably the biggest part of what makes it great - allowing throttle steering in turns and hard launches. The engineering of the engine though simply does not compare to Porsche's products. Porsches are designed to be sports cars. The WRX is not designed to be as highly tuned - the fact that you can tune them for more power just shows this. You can't get much more power out of the Porsche engines simply because they're already designed for great performance from the factory.

I would NEVER dream of dropping a WRX engine my Boxster. A 3.4 or 3.6 L sure, but a WRX engine would cost MORE and give you LESS.