Porsche 997 AWD V8 Turbo
Discussion
matrignano said:
How's the balance, handling and traction affected by the engine swap?
Having a lighter but taller engine sitting on top of the rear wheels would throw the balance forward and
upwards I guess, which means poorer traction but potentially more "benign" handling (less pendulum effect)?
I have a vanilla engine'd 1998 996 c2 3.4 and an LS1 engine'd E46 built by Craig. The LS1 engine in my E46 has some form of hot cam and a few mods. It has lots of torque but doesnt like to rev. It is slightly flawed in the BMW as it runs the LS engine's gearbox and therefore the gearing is a little low really when joined to the e46 m3 diff. The engine lacks some finesse as you would probably expect. The throttle can feel a little on off too. The good news is to rebuild an LS engine costs peanuts. A full gasket set is less than £100. Mine has a standard LS7 clutch which feels very OEM and easy to use. These clutches again are not expensive and can handle 500+ bhp. Having a lighter but taller engine sitting on top of the rear wheels would throw the balance forward and
upwards I guess, which means poorer traction but potentially more "benign" handling (less pendulum effect)?
So I'm waffling a bit but basically what am I saying is the engine in a car has some character of its own. I would guess that an LS engine may be a little less refined than a porsche engine. Bear that in mind when you're thinking about cost and bhp.
The americans have been putting these engines in Porsche cars for years. They can even squeeze one into a 986 Boxster.
Finally people have started talking about resale value. This is going to cost you 10 - 20 grand to do. Obviously you will get nowhere near that back if you decide to sell. I've had people offering me £5000 for my e46 and they think they are doing me a favour.
ATM said:
I have a vanilla engine'd 1998 996 c2 3.4 and an LS1 engine'd E46 built by Craig. The LS1 engine in my E46 has some form of hot cam and a few mods. It has lots of torque but doesnt like to rev. It is slightly flawed in the BMW as it runs the LS engine's gearbox and therefore the gearing is a little low really when joined to the e46 m3 diff. The engine lacks some finesse as you would probably expect. The throttle can feel a little on off too. The good news is to rebuild an LS engine costs peanuts. A full gasket set is less than £100. Mine has a standard LS7 clutch which feels very OEM and easy to use. These clutches again are not expensive and can handle 500+ bhp.
So I'm waffling a bit but basically what am I saying is the engine in a car has some character of its own. I would guess that an LS engine may be a little less refined than a porsche engine. Bear that in mind when you're thinking about cost and bhp.
The americans have been putting these engines in Porsche cars for years. They can even squeeze one into a 986 Boxster.
Finally people have started talking about resale value. This is going to cost you 10 - 20 grand to do. Obviously you will get nowhere near that back if you decide to sell. I've had people offering me £5000 for my e46 and they think they are doing me a favour.
ATM thanks so much for you comments I would have to agree with some of your comments regarding the LS. However that raw less refined power is what I love about the 997 V8T its so cool. So I'm waffling a bit but basically what am I saying is the engine in a car has some character of its own. I would guess that an LS engine may be a little less refined than a porsche engine. Bear that in mind when you're thinking about cost and bhp.
The americans have been putting these engines in Porsche cars for years. They can even squeeze one into a 986 Boxster.
Finally people have started talking about resale value. This is going to cost you 10 - 20 grand to do. Obviously you will get nowhere near that back if you decide to sell. I've had people offering me £5000 for my e46 and they think they are doing me a favour.
Would disagree on value as I have already had two offers well over cars value and build to part with it. This project was never about cost but about enjoying something different. I have also converted a number of cars over the years and made a good return on every single car. However every car I have sold has gone to a good owner that appreciated the cars they purchased. I have also been asked if I would build a Cayman for a customer. You can build a car for under 15K and that nothing compared to a Porsche with a similar power plant. When you consider 997 Turbo and GT3 a 997/996 LS V8 will be very cheap and so prices will be driven by what people will won't to pay. You will always get people that just don't get it and thats not a problem but lots of people will get it and will love driving them for the same reason I love driving mine.
Edited by DT8R on Friday 12th May 18:26
bodgerben said:
It's a great car OP and the LS is an absolute work of art, the two go together.
The Mrs has a 996T with a built engine and box that suits her down to the ground, lots of grunt and used everyday
Be wary of that front diff when putting serious power through it.
We should have put a LS into the Scimitar - TBH honest I couldn't afford one at the time so we put a 1UZFE in, so now I'm looking at a LS1 (carb'd) into the Dolly
It's great to see something a bit different and your car is just that
LS1 in a dolly awesome I had to Sprints as a younger man and wow would love to see a dolly with an LSThe Mrs has a 996T with a built engine and box that suits her down to the ground, lots of grunt and used everyday
Be wary of that front diff when putting serious power through it.
We should have put a LS into the Scimitar - TBH honest I couldn't afford one at the time so we put a 1UZFE in, so now I'm looking at a LS1 (carb'd) into the Dolly
It's great to see something a bit different and your car is just that
DT8R said:
Dr G said:
What a great project!
How 'OE' is it in terms of electronics and ancillaries? Aircon retained? ABS/Stability? ECU/s?
We have retained everything ABS,Stability and ECU all managed through Cambus. When we first got the car before doing anything we rain it up to Emerald so they could understand how everything worked very similar to VW. We have for the moment switch Stability off but that may change in time.How 'OE' is it in terms of electronics and ancillaries? Aircon retained? ABS/Stability? ECU/s?
Rib said:
OMG an ls dolly would be amazing! I own one of Angus' previous projects and been following this build closely, be a completely different animal to the tvr but can't wait to see it finished, maybe even a cheeky drive eh goose? ????
Jony you are more than welcome to have a drive as long as I can drive the newer and improved Tamora LS7 blade7 said:
Amazing, How easy is it to find a knackered 997 and what would one cost typically ?
I always keep an eye on Ebay but also talk to the used Porsche specialist that's how I got mine. Mine was unloved but had such I high spec and was a lovely car just had not been looked after. The engine would have cost me 10k to rebuild back to standard spec and had other small problems that would have taken it to over 12K. But after spending under 15k on the LS3 turbo I have a lot more power and everything is brand new including air con unit.Here another financial benefit, if you needed one to build this car. If the engine in your project car isn't broken it has a real value some times 4 to 6k if healthy and if repairable £1500 to £2000. You can also sell all the ancillaries as you will not need them. This really help the bottom line of your project so keep that in mind.
Edited by DT8R on Saturday 13th May 11:34
What a cracking build. Reminds me a little of the Fast n Loud two episodes where Arron put an LS in a shot 996 and raced Richard in (I think) a brand new 991 Turbo S. Clip below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZyzIdQsj_A
Great job OP!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZyzIdQsj_A
Great job OP!
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