Very Good Q&A About Engine Upgrade

I wanted to share this very good Q&A about engine upgrades from the PCA Tech site:


"Question:

Each time I look up possible HP upgrades for my 2000 boxster S 3.2L you mention upgrading to a 996 motor. How much are we talking about and from where? What about adding more performance to the larger engine?


Answer:

The prices vary depending on which engine you want to install and in which year it goes into. This is do to the technical difficulties of adapting different Motronic systems to work together. A 3.4 996 engine could be installed with less difficulty in a 2002 and earlier Boxster than a 3.6 into the same. The difference is that a 3.6 engine utilizes Motronic 7.8 while a 2002 and pre manufactured Boxster uses 7.2 or 5.2.2 Motronic. The 3.6 engine added VarioCam to its design and was controlled by the Motronic 7.8. To control the 3.6 engine in a pre Motronic 7.8 car requires new programming and wiring to the car. The same would apply to install a 3.8S or 3.8 X51 engine in the 986 (Boxster) . The installation of a 3.8S or 3.8 X51 engine in a 987 (Boxster,Cayman) would actually be easier. These later production cars already use Motronic 7.8 however they require adaptations to the PASM and PSM systems in programming. The more advanced the engines get, so does the software that runs it. A typical MAP in a Motronic 5.2.2 DME was 16k. A MAP in a 3.8 X51 engine is now about 500k in size. This increase in size shows a vast amount of added programming data that has to be deciphered correctly. Inaccuracies in this part of the programming can reduce HP and or the stability to the vehicle. Stability you say? Yes, the PSM and PASM system along with other CAN systems operate with the DME for torque loads and the stability management of the car.

This can only be done correctly by a small amount of individuals worldwide. Most companies that do these types of conversions are using the creative skills and technology of the few. How can I say this? Well I'm one of those few individuals that have been doing these set ups for them since 1999. I will not mention any company names other than most are well known. Whenever I do a engine conversion or other technologies for an individual or company I do not rely on speculation or bolt on parts but pure facts.

More than often most or all parts that are used are Porsche. You could say the end product is the Porsche that Porsche could have built and not a bolt on of aftermarket parts. I do not intend on cutting down any particular exhaust system or cold air kit. These products from years of testing as a majority show either no gains or a loss in performance. Very few actually do help, these cases are usually when required for racing and when no other part is available for such said function. One could get any Dyno to show a gain as whished on a product if so desired, in fact many companies use them for just this purpose. As an example simply removing the O2 sensor from a tail pipe of a tested car will show a gain of 10 to 15 HP instantly! Other scenarios would be doing runs on a hot engine compared to a cold one, changing barometric pressure readings etc. The list is about as long as the inacuraces between Dyno's, some will typically show high numbers while others show inconsistant readings. In any case every Dyno owner would insist that theirs is correct yet they would all show a different value for the same test.

The engines should be obtained from Porsche to guaranty a quality part that will have a 2 year warranty on it. Engines are available used however a warranty would usually not accompany it and the true mileage can often be misinterpreted. These conversions to a 987 can run for a 3.8S or 3.8X51 from 20k to 45k depending on how many so, "required " extra parts are added to the price. The earlier Boxsters run 15k to 30k for much of the same reasons. These conversions should include everything , some will let you keep your engine while others will not.

Scott Slauson - PCA WebSite - 8/27/2006"

[oliverg]

Great little bit of information

[z12358]

Funny thing. I was just reading the very same article on Sat. Don't even know why. Maybe I'm just preparing for that twin turbo engine swap 7-8 years down the road. (Unless Porsche smartens up and drops the twin turbo into the Boxster before that)
Z.

[Raybox]

Wayne Dempsey of Pelican Parts is going to be doing an engine upgrade in a Boxster soon. I imagine a book about it will be forth coming.

Pelican Parts Discussion Link