Engine failure option... Chevy V6? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Greetings everyone, For some time now i've been trying to come up with a good alternative for the many dreaded engine failures these cars experience. As some of you know i've gone down the V8 swap path, while pretty much everyone loves the concept, it is not a financially viable option for most people. Throughout my project i've gotten a lot of feedback and while the V8 car is badass, i'd like to come up with a better replacement option for the unfortunately failure prone motors. I'd like to put some thoughts out to the community and see what you think about it. I think a good replacement option would be the Chevy LFX engine which can be found in the 2012 and later Camaro. It is an all aluminum, 3.6 Liter direct fuel injected, DOHC motor which makes about 323HP and weighs about 50 pounds less then the Boxster S motor. Overall a pretty good combination... A bit of research will still have to be done before I commit to anything but we have a willing subject who may be interested in taking on this project, so that's a good start! Beyond that Kennedy Engineering already makes and adapter plate setup for the Boxster S Transmission, that's good too. Modifications need to be done to the gearbox but it will work. I'd really love to make this kit available for the non-S crowd as well so if anyone out there has a non-S and may be interested in this project let me know! I have a few primary goals for this project... 1. Little to no body modifications. It is a taller motor so perhaps a custom/modified engine cover, but the goal would be to have a bolt-in DIY solution. It would be an ADVANCED DIY, but that's the goal 2. Reasonable price point - $10K~ Including used engine. Since it is a smaller motor hopefully we can fit the whole thing in, modify the connections and keep the Chevy accessories on the motor. Without working through it a bit more it is hard to nail down a specific price, but once everything is designed I think a more/less Bolt-In DIY kit could come in around a $10K price point including the motor. 3. FULL KIT with DIY Instructions and Videos - In Depth. As some of you know I got pretty frustrated with the company I bought my V8 installation kit from regarding lack of completeness and complete lack of instruction. I would like to make this a FULL KIT including all the engine/transmission mounts, hoses, lines, clamps etc. so you spend less time hunting down the parts you need to install everything and can get your car back on the road ASAP. Or if you choose to have a shop install it for you, it should be an easier installation which in the end costs you less money!! So I'll add a little poll on this post and am looking forward to hearing your feedback on this idea. Thanks John

Hello John, i think this is a very interesting idea. Some additional thoughts on that (from a sales perspective). Why not an engine that is easily accessible world wide? The engine should reach the emissions of a 2004 car, so that the conversion can be made road legal everywhere in the world. The overall costs should be below a professional 986/996 engine rebuilt. Would be nice if the conversion kit could also work in a 996. Regards, Markus

Doesn't Audi make a compatible six and an eight that can be modified to fit? Would these be as good or better of an option? Price comparison to the GM?

There is a guy on the Cayman site that is well on his way completing the installation of a 4.2 Audi V8 on a Cayman, the engine cradle that he designed is pretty interesting Cayman S Audi 4.2 Liter V8 in a Cayman S

I said "maybe", because I really like the idea, but I don't have the money to do so. I'm sure you will get good interest for this project! While the die hard porsche purists will try to kill you...(don't they already, with the v8 convertion ? ^^)

Cool. In my opinion a very very interesting kit would use a very cheap and easy to find motor and not include the motor itself so people can source it and save money, 10k is a lot of money considering you can buy 2 or 3 used porsche engines with that

The Subaru flat six is a more interesting option to me.

The way I see it, the Chevy V6 has some real advantages over the others mentioned in the posts above. The Subaru gets 56 less horsepower, and is probably heavier and more expensive. The Porsche has less power, is heavier, and is fragile. As far as the Audi, I'm sure that is a lot more expensive. Of course, the really big disadvantage to the Chevy is the sound. The flat-six sound is one of the best there is, and a V6 usually doesn't sound good at all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrs0oa-XIV4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlcvgrk8H8g I've always like the sound of V6 engines over V8's ! To me, it sound quite good! Better than a 996! The subaru flat 6 is big and heavy, and not that powerful. Also, it's probably harder to source. The Audi v8 is a good option, but the engine costs a lot too. And it might be a direct fit on to the gearbox, it's not that easy to fit in the boxster.

V6 is a good idea, I have an Audi V6 in mine. It's turbo charged which makes things a lot more complicated but it's going to be a weapon when done. 500+bhp

How about a Ford Duratec? Originally designed by Porsche. $500 bucks at the scrapper, double overhead cam, all aluminum. Have one in my Escape. Runs forever.

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Does also have an IMS..??? LOL

I think this would be an interesting project but as a goto replacement for a blown engine, used Porsche engine replacement is only 4K and a complete low miles car is between 8-$12k so at 10K there are more options still rather than putting in a completely different engine, exhaust, intake mods, rewiring harnesses and its electronics modules, programming, pollution controls, DMV hassles etc. Seems like more hassle than its worth rather than just spending 4K and being back on the road again quickly with little fuss. Not really seeing enough benefits over a used Porsche engine to make the extra effort worthwhile IMO. I do think its great though that you have the talents and resources to be able to accomplish such a feat, and more power to you!