V8 Boxster

[JAAY]

This may be old news but here is the vid of some bodys Audi V8 99A8 motor in a box

V8 Boxster :: video-2011-08-20-20-38-32.mp4 video by mrmiatanut - Photobucket

[houstoer]

sick.... I want one !! congrats

[Overdrive]

...what the heck is up with the driver's side intake? Looks like the ram air scoop that comes out on aircraft. I'm sure it pulls in more air, but not too great for aerodynamics, and could pull in more undesirable stuff than usual.

I'll have to come back on here and comment on the sound when I can get to a computer where I can hear it.

EDIT: Definitely sounds like a nice V8, and I'll give them credit for not putting an SBC in there and sourcing an engine from the same company & country...but I really have to wonder what that does to the nice balance this car had as it was built...

[truegearhead]

Still no write up on this right?

[wulfgang]

Originally Posted by Overdrive

...what the heck is up with the driver's side intake? Looks like the ram air scoop that comes out on aircraft. I'm sure it pulls in more air, but not too great for aerodynamics, and could pull in more undesirable stuff than usual.

I'll have to come back on here and comment on the sound when I can get to a computer where I can hear it.

EDIT: Definitely sounds like a nice V8, and I'll give them credit for not putting an SBC in there and sourcing an engine from the same company & country...but I really have to wonder what that does to the nice balance this car had as it was built...

I can't say definitively what it does to the balance, but I can tell you that I did all of the measurements on the 4.2L V8 and compared them to my 986S. The V8 is *very* close to the overall volume of the 3.2L H6. It is a hair taller, but it is of course much narrower. Also, I know that we all think of boxers as having a low center of gravity, but comparing our engines to that V8 side-by-side, I just don't see it. The heads on the boxer are halfway up the engine and the 90 degree V8 seems to actually have quite a bit less metal in the block (because the sides of the V share a large portion of the block whereas the boxer has two completely separate banks of cylinders). Keep in mind that the Audi V8 is a 90 degree V8, so it's not very tall compared to other DOHC V8s.

In short, according to my (non-expert) eyeballs, the 4.2L V8 is likely the same weight or lighter than the 3.2L H6 and does not seem to have a lot of weight higher up.

I might also mention that oiling is easier to do right on a V8, but of course that does not mean that this particular V8 design will have no issues on the track.

[Overdrive]

I wish there were more info on this. I want to see how the heck they got it in there, breathing right, and cooled.

I was looking into this a little bit elsewhere on the internet and saw some whisperings that the stock transmissions for the Boxsters, at least the 986 ones, mate up to these Audi V8s without issue...I have to admit, that makes it tempting if there's truth to that.

[JAAY]

Agreed. I would love a bunch more info on this. Overdrive... you live just a ferry ride away. Have we ever met before at any gatherings? TSBL?

[landrovered]

Yowza, I think that is one of the sexiest sounding roadsters I have ever heard. Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass on a track day!

[The Radium King]

read this thread ...

V8 powered boxsters

then ask mrmiatanut for more info ...

[Overdrive]

I don't see him saying in there that he's used an Audi V8 specifically, but I'll be sure to pick his brain since he knows something we don't, lol. I'd be more interested in being able to mate up my existing transmission to a large displacement Audi engine that'll fit in the Boxster's engine bay. I believe it will also mate up to the 2.7 twin turbo Audi motors, but I don't think all that hardware will drop in as nicely even if it is a smaller engine. It just happens to be of the same transmission family.

...Alledgedly.

[The Radium King]

here you go. thread got stopped by the moderator as, apparently, an audi engine in a boxster isn't 'porsche' enough ...

V8 4.2L Boxster Swap - RennTech.org Forums

[Overdrive]

Yep, that's my alleged forum post that got me wondering about this, Radium.

[tommy986]

Here's the engine of the white Boxster with the V8 that was in the video.
It's an Audi V8 and was built by a local car enthusiast, mrmiatanut on this forum.

[Overdrive]

Well, Holy Shmokes. So it sure fits, but where's the intake plumbing? I wonder if you could use both side intakes to pull in air....

[The Radium King]

if you read the thread i attached previously, mrmiatanut gives a bit of info, including an invite to visit:

"Its a 99 A8 4.2 V8 engine run by AEM fuel injection. The tune still needs a little work, I haven't had a chance to put it on a dyno yet, hopefully in the next couple weeks. Everything custom made. Motor mounts, transmission mounts, wiring harness, cooling system, flywheel and clutch, etc. If you're ever in MS stop by and I'd be glad to show it to you."

the thread also has a lot of dialogue on the various transmissions that will work.

here is an interesting thread:

http://m.modmotortech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1240791

it's an ls into a 996, but what is interesting is two things:

1) the dme conversion doesn't look that difficult; he uses the porche dme to run the car and the ls dme to run the engine, and just does a bit of cross-over where the porsche dme needs engine info (speed, rpm, etc.).
2) the guy from renegade hybrids chips in near the end of the thread and gets asked two quesions (about the two telling ommissions from his web page on is 996/ls conversion kit): do you have to cut the frame, and how do you handle the electronics. apparently you DO have to cut the frame on his 996 conversion, and apparently he was having trouble with the electronics on his kit. so, perhaps this explains the lack of uptake on his 996 kit, and the lack of a boxster kit.

[nieuwhzn]

Isn't that the same Audi V8 engine that Spyker is using?

Btw, I was just wondering, why trying to mate the Audi computers with the Porsche computers instead of just using all the Audi stuff somehow? It's only the Boxster chassis your interested in, the electronics isn't anything special.

The $900 for the Audi engine kind of jumped out at me, I assume that's from a wrecked car?

[The Radium King]

the porsche computer is pretty intrusive and interfaces with the security system, a/c, dash cluster, abs, etc. best left alone, or removed entirely (race car).

[landrovered]

I just got a woodie looking at that engine bay stuffed with German V8 goodness.

[mrmiatanut]

Trey Walker V8 Porsche Boxster Grenada Autocross 11/6/11 In Car - YouTube

Originally Posted by landrovered

I just got a woodie looking at that engine bay stuffed with German V8 goodness.