LS7 Boxster? That's what they told me...

[Topless]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

That's the beauty of an LS series motor. You don't have to work on it. The design has been refined over many years and the motors are near-bullet proof.

Plus, the oil changes are cheap!

Bingo! The Chevy LS motor is as bulletproof as it gets. Scott and I are friends and share some of the leadership duties in PCA Zone 8. If he says it's not quite ready... it's not ready. To put one of these motors in a base Boxster I would want S cooling with 3rd rad and larger diameter plumbing, S brakes, and "S" 6spd trans with LSD. The 5spd is not ready for this kind of torque and would overheat and grenade in short order IMHO. Find a nice "S" roller and have at it.

RE: "putting it in the weeds"
Any car with over 400hp is pretty easy to put in the weeds and requires patience and talent. The king is the tail-happy Viper but Vettes and GT3s certainly get their share of Ag time.

[stephen wilson]

It's not just the engine power, the Corvette suspension package is notoriously unforgiving at the limit. Also, many LS iterations have oil control/pressure problems when tracked.

[MikenOH]

Originally Posted by Topless

Bingo! The Chevy LS motor is as bulletproof as it gets. Scott and I are friends and share some of the leadership duties in PCA Zone 8. If he says it's not quite ready... it's not ready. To put one of these motors in a base Boxster I would want S cooling with 3rd rad and larger diameter plumbing, S brakes, and "S" 6spd trans with LSD. The 5spd is not ready for this kind of torque and would overheat and grenade in short order IMHO. Find a nice "S" roller and have at it.

RE: "putting it in the weeds"
Any car with over 400hp is pretty easy to put in the weeds and requires patience and talent. The king is the tail-happy Viper but Vettes and GT3s certainly get their share of Ag time.

Topless:
So the LS series motor will fit within the confines of the 986 engine compartment? Any major mods required to get it in?

Besides the tranny and cooling, any other major issues?

A while back somebody posted about the 4.2L audi v8 as an alternative; plenty of HP but less torque than an LS series.

[grubinski]

Originally Posted by MikenOH

A while back somebody posted about the 4.2L audi v8 as an alternative; plenty of HP but less torque than an LS series.

One reason the LS motors will fit where others won't is the relatively small heads. An Audi V8 with DOHC cylinder heads might well be heavier and certainly would be larger and harder to fit in the engine bay. Even though the LS "only" has pushrods, the redline is within ~500 rpm of my '00 S engine ... and the car would probably be faster even shifting at 3500. The only downsides I can see to the LS motor are that the CG of the motor would be higher, and it wouldn't make those sexy flat 6 noises.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by MikenOH

Topless:
So the LS series motor will fit within the confines of the 986 engine compartment? Any major mods required to get it in?

Besides the tranny and cooling, any other major issues?

Oh yes! Scott is in the final stages of development on this. He already has an LS powered 996 which had an m96 motor also. The major issues of cooling, motor mounts, trans adapter, electronics are sorted. The devil is in the little details that separate a "project car" from a bulletproof everyday driver. It is close and he has a drivable LS Boxster prototype now. The V8 actually weighs less than my 2.5L.

[BYprodriver]

[QUOTE=Topless;300345]Bingo! The Chevy LS motor is as bulletproof as it gets. Scott and I are friends and share some of the leadership duties in PCA Zone 8. If he says it's not quite ready... it's not ready. To put one of these motors in a base Boxster I would want S cooling with 3rd rad and larger diameter plumbing, S brakes, and "S" 6spd trans with LSD. The 5spd is not ready for this kind of torque and would overheat and grenade in short order IMHO. Find a nice "S" roller and have at it.

More likely a Turbo/Gt3 6-speed if you follow Porsche's upgrade philosophy.