weak motor

Not to long ago I read a post on this board that stated Porsche didn't build the motor in the 996 as strong as they have in the past�sans not strong enough for tracking. I tried to search but can�t find the post. Does anyone really know this as fact? I can�t believe Porsche would do this but not being an owner yet I listen to and read all I can. Reading it here, in my opinion does have some creditability. Was I having a bad dream?

Mike, I was surprised to see a number of warnings in the owner's manual about putting the car on a track with slicks/race tires. The manual states that these tires can generate cornering forces that are too high and can therefore starve the engine from oil. I never saw this kind of warning before in other Porsche owner's manuals. Not sure if this is due to fear of ligitation or the design of the 996 engine. Geert

The current 996 motor is not the same as that used in the turbo, GT2, and GT3. That said, it is still a strong motor and can survive the track. You'll find that there are many Rennlist members that regularly take their 996 to the track without any problems. A well driven and prepared 996 is hard to beat on the race track. The oil starvation issue (or non-issue) has been discussed at length on this board so you should perform a search to read more about it. The bottom line is that the 996 is a great car and has been the most successful 911 variant that Porsche has made. It is one of a few cars that you drive to work daily and to the track without any modifications.

No dream, it's a cold slap in the face. The m96 engine is prone to oil starvation in high G situatons as it is not a traditional dry sump as 911 engines of the past. Due to the design of the M96 there is inadequate oil scavenging. There is an oil kit from Porsche motorsports that is part of the X 51 package as well, additionally Brae-Krause also makes a kit. The common complaint of blowing smoke on startup after a hard run on many 996/986 cars may indicate oil starvation that leads to buildup of oil in some cylinders that is not scavenged properly. The crankcase is also not as strong as the TT/GT3/993/964 series as it utilizes main bearings (size and number) and uses the Lokasil instead of the more expensive Nikasil (sp) casting process. For 95% of 911 drivers the M96 is just fine, but for those who track their cars or run them hard it's probably not up to the task. Having said that there are a lot of 996s at the track and few seem to have problems.

[For 95% of 911 drivers the M96 is just fine, but for those who track their cars or run them hard it's probably not up to the task. Having said that there are a lot of 996s at the track and few seem to have problems.] This is in no way intended as a flame, but the above statement is a bit self-contradictory. I am aware of the change in sump design, but I wonder how many 996s have actually experienced any problems with oil starvation or crankcase failure. Also, I seem to remember Porsche making some improvement in the sump design (although not a return to true dry sump). Does anyone have any information on this? Aside from the technical advantages of dry sump, I always got a kick out of people's confusion when I would check the oil with the engine running.

Not taken as a flame, oil starvation probably happens a lot more than you would think but when is it a significant problem? Of all my track days in this car over the last 5 years I only know of one engine failure in a 996, that is the contradiction. I don't know if you track your car but I have noted fluctuations in my oil pressure on certain sustained high G turns at TWS. For example on old turn 1 when running clockwise I will sometimes see the oil pressure go from 5 to 3 back to 5 Bar. So far on street tires this doesn't seem to be a problem, but I wouldn't want to run slicks without at least the oiling kit. This is a function of the design of the M96 with scavenging pumps on one side of the head as the layout is a mirror image from side to side. There was an updated oil baffle added in late '99 according to Loren, so our '00 should have that change. The oil seperator was changed in 2003 as well. There is a good discussion of this in the newest Excellence Tech Notes pp 38-56.

"Thanks for all the replies they have made me feel a lot better about the 996. �There is a good discussion of this in the newest Excellence Tech Notes pp 38-56." DJ 996..... thanks for that info also. If I could stop flip flopping between the 993 and 996 I could get on with making a purchase and have my own copy of Excellence.

Doug: With the oil pressure falling when the engine is under stress may not cause a catastrophic engine failure, but couldn't it affect the engine's longevity? A neighbor of mine has a 993 with over 100K miles and his engine has never been rebuilt. I wonder if 996s that are raced will have the same kind of durability.

Doug, I'm heading to TWS this weekend. You going? I'll be poppin' my cherry in this here Pcar. Seeing if I can run down my old M3 laptimes. (well, not the first weekend out)

Frost, who knows . I would think as long as you maintain a minimum acceptable pressure the engine should be ok in the long run. But, if it's constantly bottoming out to less than 1 Bar then I doubt it will see 100K let alone 50K miles. As to the comparision with a 993, they have their own set of problems which may affect the longevity. I don't think either the 993 or the 996 will have the high milage as is common on the older 911SCs , they all seem to be over 100K and loving it . I hope I'm wrong. Jeff, I'l be at TWS for the PCA event on the 28-29.

Doug, I'll have to give the PCA events a try again. Anyway, your statement above I don't fully understand: " The common complaint of blowing smoke on startup after a hard run on many 996/986 cars may indicate oil starvation that leads to buildup of oil in some cylinders that is not scavenged properly." From my limited experience, smoke on startup is indepedent of cornering forces. That is, I get it after parking the car after some WOT runs. In addition, your description of scavenging is not how I understand the term from oil starvations issues in BMWs. That is, scavenging relates to the oil pump not being able to pick up oil from the oil pan under high g loading. . . not scavenging from a cylinder. Could you clarify? Thanks.

Jeff, I'm no mechanic but from what I have read this is one possible cause of smoke at startup , particularly after high G runs. The scavenging pumps on these "integrated dry sump" flat 6 engines are on the ends of the cylinder heads and sucks or scavenges oil and sends it back to the sump. This is the reason Porsche uses the the dual stage scavenging pump on the Motorsports kits and the X51 kits, the modification avoids the buildup of oil at one end of the head in high Gs. Somehow this excessive oil can find its way into the cumbustion chamber of the involved cylinder and you get the billowing puff of oil smoke at the next startup. The dealer mechnics will tell you that it's normal on a flat 6 platform to see puffs of smoke at startup so who knows. Anyways that's my undestanding of the problem, I hope I clarified things a little. Of course having said all that I have never noticed any smoke on my car, but I have seen it frequently on other 996s, of course maybe I don't drive mine hard enough .

In Excellence a few months ago, Bruce Anderson stated the M96 oil starvation issue is a myth. Everyone talks about it, but no one seems to know anyone who's actually experienced the problem. I suspect the factory manual warnings are the product of Porsche attorneys. That said, it's true the GT3, GT2, and Turbo use a different engine block. I wonder if the factory manuals for these cars include the same legalese?