3.8 in a 986

[jacabean]

Anyone know if a 3.8 would be any more difficult than a 3.6 in the 03 , 04 986 ? Anyone up here have a 3.8 986 ?

[winter.k]

I have read in the forums that a 3.6 in a 986 is much more involved than a 3.4 conversion in comparison, but never heard if there is a difference between the 3.6 and 3.8. They seem to have been introduced in the same time frame, that may suggest they have a similar ECU/DME interface, and are a similar project.

Looking forward to see if anyone has the answer

[Jake Raby]

Or build a "conversion less" 3.8 from your current engine. It can make more power than a factory 3.8 engine and be fully upgraded from the beginning.

[jacabean]

i believe the 3.6 works fine with the 03 , 04 boxster more so than a 3.4 . The 3.8 is from a the later 997 and was wondering if their was any thing that would limit its installation. I know a fellow PCA member who has a 3.8 x51 in his cayman and the car is one wicked sleeper .

[jacabean]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Or build a "conversion less" 3.8 from your current engine. It can make more power than a factory 3.8 engine and be fully upgraded from the beginning.

What kind of basic power would a 3.2 to 3.8 build make ?

[BugsFerBrains]

…or how 'bout this option?

Renegade Hybrids

[Joe B]

Originally Posted by BugsFerBrains

…or how 'bout this option?

Renegade Hybrids

Interesting, but I couldn't find a clue as to what it would cost.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Joe B

Interesting, but I couldn't find a clue as to what it would cost.

Last I checked, the conversion kit was ~$10K. A donor engine starts at ~$4K and would be ~$6-8K for GT3 type power. Not including bigger brakes and all your other handling modifications needed to keep the balance correct. Expensive but there's no way to simply swap an as-is motor into the Boxster to get big power and durability. You'll be spending more than you paid for 10-15 year old Boxster for sure.

But imho, as far as sports cars, you'd be better off buying a first generation Boxster, stripping it down, adding lighter wheels, optima, lighter brakes, lighter exhaust, throwing some sticky tires on it, and you've got a ~2,600 lb. (or less) car with mid-engine handling and lower COG than you're getting with the Cayman version of the Boxster. You can lay down some very fast laps for cheap money relative to spending $30-$60K on more expensive second hand Porsches.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by jacabean

Anyone know if a 3.8 would be any more difficult than a 3.6 in the 03 , 04 986 ? Anyone up here have a 3.8 986 ?

Yes it is. Simplest swap is installing a M96 3.6, anything else adds time, cost, complexity, footnotes to the service manual, & diminishing returns.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by jacabean

What kind of basic power would a 3.2 to 3.8 build make ?

My 5 chain 3.8 in a Boxster makes 290 RWHP and the 3 chain 3.8 record now is about 318 RWHP. A stock 986S 3.2 makes 230RWHP on a good day here in my lab. Thats my Stage II set up.

The best part is no one even knows its there, sounds and looks 100% stock from the outside.

[jacabean]

I been looking to pick up a 3.6 motor for when the time is right . can't seem to find any decent ones and the prices are crazy . any suggestions ?

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by jacabean

I been looking to pick up a 3.6 motor for when the time is right . can't seem to find any decent ones and the prices are crazy . any suggestions ?

The prices are crazy because they fail more than all the other engines combined.

No exaggeration, of the 24 engines I have in queue right now, 20 of the are 3.6 base engines. Every single one of those 20 has failed.

[silver-S]

Jake, I'm intrigued by your 3.2-to-3.6 conversion. However, I didn't see any numbers on your site.Could you give me that idea of the price range to do that conversion, please? Also, how long does this conversion typically take? Thanks very much.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by silver-S

Jake, I'm intrigued by your 3.2-to-3.6 conversion. However, I didn't see any numbers on your site.Could you give me that idea of the price range to do that conversion, please? Also, how long does this conversion typically take? Thanks very much.

I pulled a ton of stuff off the site, tired of the copy cats. The latest fiasco comes from someone robbing a picture, with a caption off my site (and a copyrighted video) and using it in their most recent ad in a popular magazine! Its lonely at the top, but they are about to learn that its a ******************** at the bottom.

Our first available delivery date is now April 2015.

Stage I engines are 18,500

Stage II engines are 22,500

These are elective prices, and built from your engine, not some core exchange platform. Collateral damages add dollars.

We are so tired of dealing with everything being blown up I am ready for some preemptive builds, so much that I'd actually offer a discount to get some. I generally never put things on special, or discount it, because it draws the wrong crowd. In this instance we've only had ONE engine build in the past 14 months thats been preemptive and the failures really slow us down- especially when we can't find cores.

[BruceH]

Jake, does the Stage I and Stage II engines include the IMS Solution or just he IMS upgrade? I looked on your site but didn't see the answer. Thank you.
Performance Street

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by BruceH

Jake, does the Stage I and Stage II engines include the IMS Solution or just he IMS upgrade? I looked on your site but didn't see the answer. Thank you.
Performance Street

The IMS Solution is now standard on all of my elective engine builds. The reason I invented and developed the IMS Solution was for my engine program. I had to be convinced to release the technology to the public.

[BruceH]

Good to know, thanks Jake.