Optionman1

I had an issue, not FSI's fault at all, yet they stood tall and all is good. You get what you pay for and in the case of FSI you get top quality and top customer serviced with no BS.

CarreraSFan

Stage II, 4.0 2005 997S - Unable to respond to your 100k mile question as I have less than 4000 miles on my FSI build but I can tell you that I maintain a perpetual smile on my face when driving the car since the completed FSI build. Also, I do sleep very well at night, unlike when the motor was stock and developed bore score at less than 45k miles. The car is special and it's hard to envision ever selling it. The motor is now amazingly refined and provides a level of power, torque, and smoothness that frankly should embarrass Porsche for releasing the production version. I see no reason to be concerned with engine life as long as the car is driven correctly, including on-track, and the maintenance protocols are followed. Is is not easy to get your hands on an FSI engine, including the long lead times and costs that may not be the least expensive when compared to other builders. However, once you have the opportunity to drive the completed project, you realize the wait is worth it and the cost is justified. I'm not aware of nor have I heard of dissatisfied FSI customers nor have I heard of any FSI engine failures. I'm sure that if issues did develop with an FSI engine that were attributed to the builder, FSI would step up and correct. Working with FSI was straight forward and drama free. With my background as supply chain director of a large aerospace manufacturer, I am familiar with the challenges of running a quality on-time manufacturing organization. I can tell you I was impressed with the focus, the pre-emptive planning, and the communications to ensure my car was completed on-time, especially during some of the worst of Covid. As a final comment, the original question should really be opened up to include not just FSI but all the rebuilders of these motors. There are many companies in this space providing this service but how many really understand these motors?

168Sierra

I have two FSI motors, a 3.8 Stage 1 with 12k Miles and a 4.0 Stage II with 4k miles. I am in the process of working to get another 4.0 Stage II. Never had any issue with either. Do the recommended maintenance and they should last for years.
I see a lot of people questioning the value of FSI motors. The most telling thing about a FSI motor to me is that you NEVER hear a FSI engine owner complain that they are dissatisfied with their engine.
A lot of people say they are not worth the cost. If you don’t lIke the cost, don’t purchase one, but don’t begrudge people who want one. It is our money to spend.

Optionman1

@168Sierra Not fair that you have 3 and the wife only has 2! Time for #6!

Chris(MA)

If you look at what LN addresses these things are completely fixed:

Bores going oval
Bore coating scoring pistons
Bore cracking/D chunk
IMS coming loose from sprocket
oil pump drive hex
IMS bearing

These things are replaced but not different from stock:
Chain guide material (nylon)
Chains
Gaskets orings etc
Wet sump system

So in terms of reliability the motor is much improved but chains and guides will still wear and stretch and taking the car to the track is risky due to it not having a real dry sump system.
If not tracking the car an LN engine if properly maintained will last a looooooonngggg time

TT Oversteer

Looks like Sneaky Pete is leading the pack so far with 50K+ miles

Agree things we enjoy are worth paying for. The problem is there are so many things I enjoy!

TT Oversteer

Care to share what the issue was?

bgoetz

FWIW Jake did indicate that he addresses oiling inadequacies in his build. He isn’t specific about what he does as I think it is one of the proprietary aspects of his builds. The build does include a blueprinted oil pump, so IDK if that has a bit to do with it. But I was going to do a deep sump and talking with Jake he indicated that if it wouldn’t be necessary with his build if I was just doing HPDE events. 100% pure race might be different. I think the earlier example of the pure track car with 7yrs and still going strong supports these builds can handle the track just fine.

TexSquirrel

My car, with a Flat6Innovations Track Performer Stage 2 4.0 elective rebuild, has been back just over 1 week now and I only have 300 miles on it.
I too had checked online for any negative comments from Flat6Innovation owners.
There were lots of happy owners and no unhappy ones, which was actually shocking.
After dealing with Jud and Jake, I know why so many owners are happy.
Jake and Jud go beyond what is typical these days as far as communication and time schedules.
They complete projects on-time or ahead of schedule and keep you informed often.
I have talked to F6I owners with older builds with a lot of miles, some of them with lots of track miles too, and none have expressed any engine-related issues.
Hopefully some more will pop in here and share their experiences.

My original 3.6 had ~85K miles and no evidence of scoring when I bore scoped from the sump in November 2018.
When Jud sent me the link to my engine's disassembly photos, it was obvious to me that the skirt coating on 3 of the pistons was worn through and that soon bore scoring was going to start.

My 996.2 is now even more very enjoyable to drive.
I just wish that work and bad weather didn't get in the way so much this last week.

monsoon725

I bought the car in August of 2021. The car had 28k on it and was completely asymptomatic. On a whim, I reached out to Jake. He sent me a very detailed email with pricing AND let me know the next available slot was 1Q of 2023. Well, I jumped on board as I didn't want a paperweight if something were to go wrong. I like the others, scoured the internet for reviews. I couldn't find any bad ones. There were a couple folks where things went wrong but were righted. My car is currently in Georgia and I can tell you, it has been super painful to read these reviews. The anticipation is absolutely killing me. Too bad it's still winter here.

I haven't missed one nod of sleep.

Oh, also, piston 6s skirt was in trouble. I was headed that way, even at low mileage.

Scalp_em

Hang in there…..the wait is a tough road and if you think it’s hard now wait until they tell you they have the engine installed and running it through its paces….the anticipation grows 10 fold.

The wait is like a right of passage lol…we have all been through it. With the new program it will be a whole different type of wait and anticipation of when the next motor will be released.

pdxmotorhead

I'm in the break-in phase, I've run a lot of high performance motors in various race venues
So all I have is immediate driving perspective, remembering I'm in the 1500 mile no 5K+ zone..

Engine is gorgeously smooth for a boxer engine. Power is linear and comes on well starting barely off idle.
super pleased and trying to get the miles on.. Got slammed with ice and snow and couldn't drive for over a month.

Started it yesterday and just turns on Auto-grin...

jobyt

Completely satisfied FSI Stage II 3.8 (cable throttle) owner here. I bought my 02/98 build with the specific intention to send to FSI shortly thereafter to do their process to the block. Like @ochristofferson, I had planned to pull the engine and rebuild, but like him after "Looked at doing a Nickies and rebuild myself but when adding up the cost of components, outside services, special tool rentals, etc. and considering Jake's 1 year warranty and my odds of screwing something up, it was cheaper (total cost) to have FSI do it all." It was a no-brainer...all the upgrades to the block along with someone who knows has learned about and continues to learn the failure points of the M96 while applying philosophy of a former Marine helo mechanic (if you know how critical systems work in a helicopter and the importance of getting it right before the bird lifts, you get it), the cost of the labor was worth much, MUCH more than the time I would take to do it myself and what the goals were/are for my 996.

I understand those who think it is *too expensive* or pursue other avenues. I'm probably the most broke-*** customer Jake has ever had and I don't regret spending the coin to get the rebuild right. As a seasoned mechanic, I appreciate the fastidiousness and pursuit of excellence FSI has applied to their craft. It is mechanical art as much as anything else, and it's like paying for a work...if you get intrinsic value, the price is not an issue. If you know, you know.

golock911

And just when you think you are happy with your FSI engine, you put an X-pipe on it, and you become ecstatic!


@TT Oversteer , what are you trying to get out of this trolling? Are you trying to assemble a list of the next generation of problems so that you can get a head start on fixing them? Are you trying to figure out a lower cost option to FSI(given your other thread about the short block) that might claim to be as good? Maybe if you ask directly, you will get a better response as to what people think rather than inferring what people think by the wording in their accolades to FSI.

Charles Navarro

I'll just add to this discussion that LN Engineering has been putting our Nickies sleeves into M96 engines for almost 20 years and we do about 250 blocks a year, many for Rennlisters tackling their own DIY rebuilds over the years. Of these, very few have actually been at stock bore sizes as we've been doing displacement increases from day one- why build it back to stock? It's been my experience that when there are problems, the forums are the first place people go to air their grievances and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I'm not going to say that every outcome is perfect - even professionals from time to time make mistakes, sometimes big ones. I'd venture to say that no one on the planet has more experience with doing big bore conversions on M96 and M97 engines than LN Engineering and that hands down no other builder has built more engines using our Nickies than Flat 6 Innovations, especially since Jake has been instrumental in development of all our products and processes since day one which pre-dates LN Engineering founding.

To the original poster's goal of seeking out owners with mileage over 100,000mi on their LN/FSI builds, you'll be hard pressed to find many examples. For most owners, their Porsche isn't their primary vehicle. That's why we see so many low mileage cars our there for sale and why so many stock engines fail from IMS bearing failures or bore scoring at very low miles. I'd venture to say most drive less than 5k miles a year based on my discussions with owners and from UOAs that cross my inbox.