Porsche Boxster 986 - engine swap project
Discussion
gf15 said:
Of the two differenty engine pictures, I think that the Audi engine looks more OEM and the more professional installation IMHO.
Superb work.
+1 If I knew nothing about the engines which Porsches come with and someone showed me those 2 pictures, I'd be guessing that the Audi one was the one that was meant to be there. Looking forward to the first drive Superb work.
Brilliant ! And he is doing this in a cold.damp garage . True dedication.
Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
Rooftree said:
Brilliant ! And he is doing this in a cold.damp garage . True dedication.
Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
I think the most interesting part would be once the owner(ecsy) finish this project and experience the driving in comparison to "flat 6". The arguably primary reason to choose a flat-6 was always handling and driving joy, so would be interesting to see if Audi's V6 -mid positioned- can also provide a better prospect on this car than standard m96 engines.Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
Thank you for the positive comments guys. Always nice to read them
I'm not sure i'll be able to draw any handling comparisons to be honest. I didn't really put many miles on it before I started the build and it's been a year since I drove it last. During the build i've changed things non engine related that'll change the handling. It's now got the Quaife ATB, YSR coilovers and wider more grippy tyres. I'm confident it'll outhandle a standard Boxster despite it's iron heart.
I'm not sure i'll be able to draw any handling comparisons to be honest. I didn't really put many miles on it before I started the build and it's been a year since I drove it last. During the build i've changed things non engine related that'll change the handling. It's now got the Quaife ATB, YSR coilovers and wider more grippy tyres. I'm confident it'll outhandle a standard Boxster despite it's iron heart.
Edited by Escy on Saturday 5th November 13:13
Thanks. I posted a photo on the last page showing the gap between the firewall and engine, I've not measured but would say it's about 4" gap although that closes as the firewall curves in, hopefully enough space to do the cambelt in-situ.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the Quaife performs, it wasn't my 1st option but I was sick of getting messed about trying to buy a diff. The good thing is they are fit and forget, don't require any special running in, servicing or oils unlike a plated diff.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the Quaife performs, it wasn't my 1st option but I was sick of getting messed about trying to buy a diff. The good thing is they are fit and forget, don't require any special running in, servicing or oils unlike a plated diff.
Rooftree said:
Brilliant ! And he is doing this in a cold.damp garage . True dedication.
Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
I applaud the OP for making the car he wants to make, and doing a damn fine job of it.Imagine if Porsche had used this engine from the start ? A reliable,powerful,inexpensive(compared to the M96) engine.
It would have been better as an Audi than it is as a Porsche (the 924.944.968 argument).
And it takes a dedicated enthusiast to show the fools what they should have done .
I am in awe.
At the same time, I'm glad Porsche didn't put a 4 banger of any description into the Boxster. I'm glad they kept the CofG as low as they could with the flat 6.
I know a lot of people with Lotii, and have a lot of experience of caterham 7's. Shoving a Duratec in either makes them really fast, but steals a lot of the handling that made them so good in the first place..
The Boxster isn't a precision tool like a Caterham or an Elise, they weigh 1300kg which is twice the weight of an Elise so any extra weight will have less of an effect. Like I said before, I don't think it would even be noticeable. Even with extra weight it's going to be lighter than other mid engine convertibles that are >500bhp. The Audi R8 V10 for example is 1700kg, even a Porsche Carrera GT is 1427kg.
I think more than the overall weight, it would be really interesting to test driving dynamics of V engine rather than Flat 6 on 986. The reason Porsche always argued about using flat 6 engines were cancelling out vibrations of "V" configuration and helps with handling/cornering in terms of lower gravity advantage of flat 6.
I think Flat 6 are fantastic engines, the problem Porsche produced these engines (m96/97) in mostly with very bad quality, and sometimes seriously bad assembly. Not to mention, extremely insufficient maintenance schedules on drivers manual (2 years of intervals for oil change? lifetime coolant? No IMS check or replacement after 4 years? please
)
On my only 5 years of experience,I think 986 design (as body work and chasis) would already provide a great deal of handling so OP's engine swap is a fantastic research to be congratulated.
I think Flat 6 are fantastic engines, the problem Porsche produced these engines (m96/97) in mostly with very bad quality, and sometimes seriously bad assembly. Not to mention, extremely insufficient maintenance schedules on drivers manual (2 years of intervals for oil change? lifetime coolant? No IMS check or replacement after 4 years? please
)On my only 5 years of experience,I think 986 design (as body work and chasis) would already provide a great deal of handling so OP's engine swap is a fantastic research to be congratulated.
te =)I've been slacking on this build, not touched it for a few weeks, all the rain has washed my motivation away. The MOT I thought I was being clever getting just before the start of the build has run out now. It'll be interesting to see what they make of it when the get it in the air
Finally a dry day today so I made a start. I decided I wasn't happy with the charge cooler pre-radiators so i've swapped them. Finding a suitable sized radiator has been a problem. I was talking to Rob from 9apart, a Porsche parts supplier and he said he'd have a look on the shelves. He took loads of photos of various radiators placed over the standard Boxster radiators which was a massive help. An auxiliary radiator from a Cayenne hybrid was what I went with. They only had one radiator which I got for a great price. I got my pants pulled down buying the other one, there are not many hybrid Cayennes being broken, one prat wanted more than they cost new from Porsche.
Fitted them, they are a really tight fit, not much space top or bottom for the hoses and the ducting required a lot of trimming. There is much more surface area and capacity with these radiators, going to be worth the effort I think.
Rob very kindly included some 997 GT3 brake ducts with the radiator. The Boxster with an Audi 2.7t club is very small, consisting of me and Rob This is his car. http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=11070 Our builds share nothing in common apart from the engine choice but he's been really helpful during my build.
Finally a dry day today so I made a start. I decided I wasn't happy with the charge cooler pre-radiators so i've swapped them. Finding a suitable sized radiator has been a problem. I was talking to Rob from 9apart, a Porsche parts supplier and he said he'd have a look on the shelves. He took loads of photos of various radiators placed over the standard Boxster radiators which was a massive help. An auxiliary radiator from a Cayenne hybrid was what I went with. They only had one radiator which I got for a great price. I got my pants pulled down buying the other one, there are not many hybrid Cayennes being broken, one prat wanted more than they cost new from Porsche.
Fitted them, they are a really tight fit, not much space top or bottom for the hoses and the ducting required a lot of trimming. There is much more surface area and capacity with these radiators, going to be worth the effort I think.
Rob very kindly included some 997 GT3 brake ducts with the radiator. The Boxster with an Audi 2.7t club is very small, consisting of me and Rob
This is his car. http://www.engineswapdepot.com/?p=11070 Our builds share nothing in common apart from the engine choice but he's been really helpful during my build. Ozzie Osmond said:
Cooling - its surprising how much bigger the side air intakes are on 718 compared with 981. With turbos it's clearly vital to get some air moving about at the back of the car.
That's more likely to meet the intercooling requirements. The rads look really good in ther e now! Should provide tones of cooking far the chargecooler system.
I hope they aren't cooking the charge cooler system, that's the opposite of what I want to achieve 
Going by technical drawings of the 718, it looks like all the air drawn in by the side intakes is directed to the air filter on one side and charge cooler radiator on the other side so although the intakes are larger than the 986 there isn't actually airflow in the engine bay. I've got nothing behind my side vents so hopefully they'll draw air into the bay and help keep things cool.
A few upskirt shots, showing where the magic happens. I noticed i've been taking photos of little bits and pieces but not really got any showing the whole lot together. When I take it in for an MOT i'll try and get some better pictures.
Going by technical drawings of the 718, it looks like all the air drawn in by the side intakes is directed to the air filter on one side and charge cooler radiator on the other side so although the intakes are larger than the 986 there isn't actually airflow in the engine bay. I've got nothing behind my side vents so hopefully they'll draw air into the bay and help keep things cool.
A few upskirt shots, showing where the magic happens. I noticed i've been taking photos of little bits and pieces but not really got any showing the whole lot together. When I take it in for an MOT i'll try and get some better pictures.
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