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Old 08-25-2008, 07:54 AM   #5
Jake Raby
Engine Surgeon
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Cleveland GA USA
Posts: 2,425
I stumbled upon this post and figured I'd clarify a few points on the program we have developed.

Quote:
I have been checking their site out and they are rebuilding and upgrading 2.5, 2.7, 3.2 and 3.4 M96 engines.
Correct, but not just rebuilding. We have re-developed many aspects of the Boxster and 996 in partnership with LN Engineering.

The idea behind the project was to solve the major issues with the Boxster and 996 engine while offering the opportunity to actually rebuild engines, by making the procedures more known and by creating our own assembly tools that are easy to use and available for purchase.

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Does anyone in here have one of there engines?
Until a few weeks ago our engines were not for sale as the main focal point tus far has been research and development as well as component manufacturing. We are currently assembling the first engines that will be delivered to purchasers, some 3 years after the initial development processes began.

No engines have been delivered to thus far, but several are in the works as we are working to build an inventory of engines and components to mee projected future demands.

Quote:
They say they can safely increase bore on the 2.5 and 2.7, increasing them to 2.7 and 2.9 respectively. With a good valve job, bore increase and ECU reprogramming they claim 260+hp with the 2.5 (bumped to 2.7). I would assume a few more hp with the 2.9.
Correct and those are real numbers. The cost for a performance engine isn't much more than the stock rebuild as ALL engines get the Nickies cylinder upgrades to guard against future cylinder related failues, like the D chunk.

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Here is my thoughts on this. I think the ugraded and rebuilt Raby engines will last longer and run very strong, but they will not increase the value of your Boxster.
And neither will a factory Reman Porsche engine. The factory engines have been upgraded over time, but in a production manner the changes we are doing couldn't be applied by Porsche in high volumes.

We get a fair amount of calls from owners with factory re-man engines that have had a failure, some in less than 10K miles, but it seems the majority occur around 30K.

Quote:
A 3.4l swap will cost about the same, have a few more ponies and will increase the value of your car, allowing some return on investment of the engine swap cost if you sell it. But I don't think the 3.4 will be anymore reliable than the 2.5 or 2.7 you took out the the car.
The stock 3.4/ 996 engines are the absolute worst for cracked heads and D chunk failures. we have repaired more 3.4 cases than all the others combined thus far, and those had the most radical failures of all. They also seem to have the worst IMS failures.

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Anyone that has had them rebuild their engine please give me your thoughts, even if it was for a competition vehicle.
You won't find any of those people, as they are all currently awating their engines to be completed.

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I'd like to know your thoughts on dealing with Raby and how long it took to get the engine built.
An extensive amount of information about my company is available b doing a simple google search for my name. My biggest area of expertise has been in the Aircooled engine world and the re-development of the Porsche 914 engine. The 914/4 engine had many issues from the factory and for the first 20 years of it's existence it was considered a black sheep that not many people wanted. I put a decade of development and application into it and turned my version into a true "problem solver" for the 914 world. I have done similar things with the 356/912, also with exceptional results.

Three years ago I was approached by Charles from LNE Engineering to assist him with the development of the 986/87 and 996/97 engines. I had been prodded by many folks to apply my experience with engine and component design with other engines into the later model Porsche engines and finally I decided to open a division to specialize in this, I would head this division.

We have now solved most all the general Boxster and 996 component issues and have a product that we feel is ready to be applied to the market. We will continue to hone the processes and components as evolution and experience is further gained.

Thats a little about me/ us and the program. More can be found on our websites as we are more well known in the aircooled circles than anywhere else.


I'll now address some comments made by other posters in this thread:

Quote:
Posted by Kubel.
I do not think the intention was to increase the value of boxsters, but simply to provided a needed service. .
Correct. We have never been concerned with the increase of vehicle costs and until a few weeks ago we had no concern with costs at all! Till that point we hadn't even added up the costs of building the engines as we were more concerned with the efforts being effective more than anything else.
I believe that over time our finished product will become synonomous with effectiveness in the Boxster world as more cars are equipped with our engines and components. At that point, more than likely cars equipped with these engines **may** be worth more coin.

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The new spec boxster series will need a supplier like this too
Correct and we are currently working with the "powers that be" to create a "spec Boxster" engine that will not give a performance edge to the purchaser, but will provide the added reliability and longevity that competitors can desire. The combination we are testing now does just that. It was difficult not to provide more power that a stock engine as the Nikisil and our valve job alone can make a HUGE differene in power and throttle response.

Quote:
By silver arrow
I agree that increasing the value of the car was not his intent, but from a price, performance, value stand point, Raby will be competing directly with the engine swap option for customers and as such, you have to make a good case for the rebuild or people will just stuff 3.4l engines in and call it a day.
I want to take the opoprtunity to share a bit about what we desire from the program . The ultimate plan is to make these engines capable of being repaired and modified by more normal gear heads, or by independant Porsche shops across the country that currently can't even work on them, because they can't source parts, tools or even ask anyone a question.

We will be offering "rebuilt" engines that are fully dyno tuned and upgraded, but thats more the case initially as we need more and more experience to learn the engines inside and out. The ultimate goal is the creation of a program that will provide open source support to the enthusiast and shop alike and will allow shops to attain components, tools and even training on using these items when creating a Boxster or 996 performance engine.

So, just to clarify, we have started the first US based engine alternative for the 986/97 and 996/97, and we have no intention to compete with Porsche or engine swaps. We feel that there is a significant market for our alternative engine program, especially as the cars become older and are used more in amateur racing venues that would not accomodate the 3.4 conversion.

Guyss wanting even more power than the 3.4 can provide would also be interested in the higher echelon of our offerings, using boost specific components and application.

The goal was to provide an option. That option would be a true alternative to paying Porsche for a re-man engine. And we looked into the future to the time when Porsche will no longer offer a re-man engine for the early cars, leaving thousands of owners without any options for engine repair. The tentative date fior this is 2011, so we will be well prepared for the day, when it comes.

Quote:
I'm just giving my opinion and would like to hear other peoples opinions and experiences with swaps, value, rebuilds and such. .
At the present, it is VERY difficult even for a shop, or a professional to "rebuild" the engines. The parts are almost impossible to find (Porsche lists them, but try to order them) and not enough people have taken engines apart and rebuilt them successfully to have any knowledge base as of yet. It was even difficult for a guy like me, an engine designer and developer to do this! Thats what we want to alleviate, foiling Porsche's "plot" that worked for several years.

Quote:
I think this subject is very hot in the 986 community as most of our cars are getting up there in miles and or have had engine problems
Exactly.. We want to make it a possibility for the Boxster to be worked on internally in the back yards and garages all over the country, and help people overcome the complexity that Porsche designed into the rebuild process by supplying parts/ services/ training for anyone who desires it..

So, thats pretty much sums it up.. The program is going strong already, and with our original businesses paying the bills we were able to afford the development of this program without having to "sell" engines to clients as "guinea pigs". We have our own test vehicle (98 Boxster) and have used it to apply concepts and gather data.

We are currently working on both single and twin Turbo application specific engine internals as well as the "kit" of components that will compliment these into complete packages.

In the aircooled world our team has been very effective, doing more R&D and true development than anyone else over the past decade. We plan to develop the Boxster and 996/97 engines with the same level of dedication and philosophies and we are certain that we'll be successful.

Thanks for the opportunity to discuss our program.

Jake Raby,
President, Flat 6 Innovations
www.flat6innovations.com

FWIW- I have sent several messages to the admin about advertising here on the forums, so I hope the post doesn't "ruffle any feathers". If a member of the admin will please contact me I'll gladly begin advertising!!

Last edited by Jake Raby; 08-25-2008 at 08:04 AM.
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