waltersafety

Is anyone doing this ? Keep your numbers matching car . Kits recommended or builders?

Tom R.

A friend had a motor with an IMS that was about to go. He went to 3.6 with all the right upgrades. When I asked how the extra .2 felt his look was disappointed. Another friend went up .4 in his 911 Cab. Both spent over 25k on their motors and both were not as impressed as I thought the would be. If it aint broke, leave it alone. Send the money on something more useful like hookers and booze.

waltersafety

I'm a little afraid of that . For an engine to "work good" a lot has to come together . Performance engine builders talk about the many things that must be done and must work together to give us the things we expect - power, rate of RPM ramp up, a power band that leverages other mechanical advantages, Plus performance engine builders have proven packages .

So I'm quoted 360 hp out of this 3.8 upgrade . Seems like its built to be a reliable driver . 12 percent more displacement . I want to be impressed .

NAMR6MT

You can submit a request with Flat 6 Innovations if you don't mind waiting over a year due to backlog. They're the most comprehensive engine constructors around and I've heard of no one who was disappointed with their new 3.8L.

waltersafety

I agree from what I’ve read , but I don’t recall anyone raving about any extra grunt.
Maybe that’s too much to expect from a N/A engine.

NAMR6MT

I'll be able to give firsthand experience next May when my engine is complete. Until then, I can only tell you what Jake (and my tech who will be installing the engine) has told me. Bear in mind, each engine varies a bit given various factors involved. Basically speaking, the stage II 3.8L will yield ~400 peak BHP. That's with the engine only. Since I'm running a full exhaust and will add on the IPD comp plenum with GT3 TB, Flat6 will create a custom tune file and maximize power/TQ while retaining daily driveability.

Out cars are light compared to the pigs car manufacturers are churning out these days. 400+ HP in a sub 3000 lb car sounds good to me. Since my car will be 100% street driven, midrange torque is emphasized in the build so it should pull like a freight train from 2-6k rpm. If you occasionally track, the power curve can be set higher. Again, each build is car/driver specific.

waltersafety

What I’m looking at is a fresh rebuild with break in miles only.
I expect to drive it next week .
For me the car will be for the track with light DD use. As I said I want to be impressed or I’ll have to reconsider.
400 hp is so easily attainable on anything with a turbo and is impressive even in a heavier car.
There is a case for lower weight , yielding lower operating costs, and having the majority of the value of the car in the engine in the event of a on track incident.

85Gold

BGB has been doing 3.8 swaps for years and has the costs outlined on their website. I wouldn’t do it if/until I trash the 3.4 in the car now. I have seen some of his builds come on the resale market and like all swaps like that the original owner looses his shirt.

Peter

waltersafety

OP here. So I had the test drive. 3.8 and 3000lbs is a compelling package . The torque band was from about 3500- 6300 . I was wanting to see how it felt with the tall 1st and 2nd gears and I would say while this was just a street drive that gearing issue is gone with this package . I was able to drive and accelerate comfortably below 2500 rpm .

However the engine was tuned for standard power delivery with no power mods so I did feel the power fall off over 6500 . It is plenty strong . I don't think anyone that did this would be sorry if they could rationalize the cost .

bazhart

More info available with different graphs.This graph corrected to compare with Porsche book figures - makes a mighty impressive car because whereas the 3.4's grew out of an original design for a 2.5 Boxster - the 3.4 Cayman S resulted from a new head and camshaft system already designed to suit a 3.8 (and therefore capable of better air flow).

Report available describing the whole process with photos etc.

Baz

PushingTin007

i recently purchased a 987.1 with a rebuilt to 3.8L factory engine. the owner who built it spent about 30k with parts and labor. the car has the gt3 tb and larger intake plenum, catless headers to stock ( for now, exhaust on order) and a custom tune. I have never driven a stock Cayman but recently drove many 997.1 c2's before purchasing this car and i can tell you the power is very impressive. from about 3500-7000 rpm its fantastic! lots of mid range torque and top end. the car is definitely fast being sub 3000 lbs. If it were my money though i think i would of gone with a ls swap because of the cost difference but this package is very impressive. the previous owner said it will hang with gt3's on the track and i believe him! i think you should go for it!

NAMR6MT

Do you know who reconstructed the engine?

bldn10

I can't believe we are even having having this discussion! My '06 has a 997.1 X51 3.8 that was done by Farnbacher Loles back in 2008. It has a Softronic tune and custom M&M catted exhaust and runs w/ GT3s up to 991, stock and typically modded GT4s, most other 911s, etc. Making around 375 rwhp. Sounds fantastic. The swap is fully understood now and shops like BGB can produce a trouble-free car.

9eight7

Did you need to upgrade your brakes and go with wider tires to run with the GT cars?

PushingTin007

RS Enterspise's in Ventura Ca built the engine to Vision auto 3.8L spec