Hi All-
I am a newcomer to Porsches with my recently acquired '07 CS. Prior to this I was a Mercedes AMG E55 owner and there is a lot of information that is available and known about the parts quality, selection, assembly process, etc. of the AMG engines that Mercedes implements with their engines.
Does anyone have any detailed information regarding Porsche engines? It would be interesting to know the quality/selection of the parts which are used in the engine, how much attention is paid to matching of the selected parts (weight variance between all piston/connecting rod assemblies), assembly process, testing process, etc.
It would be very interesting to understand how much difference (if any) a standard Porsche engine offering in our CSes compares to a "premium" engines that are offered in AMGs.
Thanks for any enlightenment anyone can provide.
Tracy - here's the url for the engine building section of the "virtual factory tour" on porsche.com... the text is below... one of the pictures is captioned: Image 1/6: In order to avoid subsequent imbalance, only connecting rods of identical weight are installed...
brad
http://www.porsche.com/international/aboutporsche/virtualfactorytour/porschezuffenhausen/tourofproductionoperations/engineassembly/
The mechanical manufacturing operations at plant 3 produce the components of the high-performance engines which are assembled in the engine assembly shop to form the core element of every Porsche and subsequently undergo testing on the test stand. Highly qualified personnel and premium components guarantee that every engine meets Porsche's high quality standards in terms of performance and service life.
The pre-picked components are supplied to the various work stations in picking trolleys for precision manual assembly. Crankcase, pistons, oil suction pipe, water and oil pump, cylinder head, tappets, intake system and wiring harness are assembled with great care to form a finished unit weighing 200 kg.
The following hot test is the final step in the engine production process. The engines are first of all heated up to operating temperature and then subjected to a functional test including full-throttle testing. Information in the form of up to 220 parameters is generated in this test of around five minutes' duration.
This ensures that Porsche's high quality standards are also met in the area of engine construction.
Following subsequent connection of the engine to the transmission, the engine is ready for the "marriage" ceremony (connection of the drivetrain and chassis to the body).
The engine assembly plant in Zuffenhausen is characterised by a high degree of flexibility. All engine variants for Boxster and 911 are produced according to the model mix system on continuously running assembly lines, whereby well over 30 different engine variants are possible.
The Cayenne and Carrera GT engines are also produced in Zuffenhausen, in addition to the engines for the Porsche 911 and Boxster. After production, the engines are transported to Porsche Leipzig, where they become the core of the third Porsche – the Cayenne, or the fastest Porsche – the Carrera GT.
This is a little broader topic, but if you are new to Porsche you might enjoy briefly reading about the company too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche
There there is list:
Top Ten Greatest Engines
