[cnavarro]

HBI Automotive's service tech who spoke at this local PCA Tech event has mistaken the TuneRS DOF "direct oil feed" for the IMS Solution. It is a shame that someone in this position was provided a platform to provide incorrect information to this group and to see it being further propagated on the internet.

LN Engineering does not manufacture, use, or recommend the TuneRS DOF. He does mention using our IMS Retrofit ceramic hybrid bearings, but also incorrectly states he pulls off the grease seal to allow the engine oil to lubricate the bearing when in fact the IMS Retrofit has always used a bearing without a grease seal. As the IMS bearing is submerged in oil, a pressurized oil feed to the ball bearing is not required in our opinion.

The issue with oil volume as mentioned by the service tech causing leaks is a non-issue with the IMS Solution. The orifice size in the journal that feeds the plain bearing used by the IMS Solution limits oil flow and does not cause a measurable drop in system pressure and most certainly does not flood the IMS area with oil as the tech states the DOF does.

He is correct that on a 997 (or any Boxster, Cayman, or 911 from model year 2006-2008) the IMS bearing is not serviceable and indeed in that situation the grease seal should be removed off the factory 6305 non-serviceable ims bearing as this is something we have recommended for many years as preventative maintenance for these engines.

I do need to clarify that he states the incorrect service interval - 50k miles was for the classic single row IMS Retrofit that was superseded by the single row pro many years ago and has not been sold since 2014. Service intervals for all our dual row bearings used in the IMS Retrofit is 6 years or 75,000 miles. However, the IMS Solution is a permanent replacement that uses an oil fed plain bearing and that bearing has no service interval and is designed for the life of the engine.

He also goes as far to say that if the original bearing has not failed by 50k miles that they never do and that is 100% false and could not be any further from the truth.

The tech states that the crankcase is under pressure of one bar which is also completely false - the crankcase is under vacuum. The M96 and M97 engine runs under vacuum at 4-6 inches of h20 column, however I believe what he was trying to say is that since the engine is a wet sump engine and the IMS is located at the bottom of the engine that if there is no grease seal on the bearing that the oil in the sump will lubricate the bearing. And this would be correct and is the reason why the IMS Retrofit has no grease seal on it. However, the IMS Solution requires pressurized oil since it is a plain bearing like your connecting rod and main bearings and would not function without pressurized oil. This does not mean that the IMS Solution is going to leak because it uses pressured oil to lubricate the bearing. That is the furthest from the truth.

The tech does state that it is his job to give 100% of the information but the information he's given isn't 100% correct here.