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Review of Flat6 innovations Jake Raby M96/97 Engine rebuild class 102
Warning - long post with some pics at the end.
I’ve never seen a review on Rennlist so I think maybe I could put together one. It really deserves a review. I just completed the 4-day engine rebuild class held by Flat 6 Innovations, Jake Raby's R&D facility in Atlanta (http://www.flat6innovations.com/inde...rebuild-school), co-instructed by Tony Callas from Callas Rennsport (http://www.callasrennsport.com). I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun at the same time! About a dozen attendees from all over the US and South Africa. Two mechanics in the group and a few from Rennlist.
Overall
Just let me start by saying I'm very impressed at several levels and I must tell you I have high standards and don’t get easily impressed I highly recommend this class if you plan to rebuild your engine or just want to learn the details and design of this engine. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny! I’ve learned a ton that I couldn’t have learned from other sources. Jake and Tony shared all the tricks that make the whole rebuilding process more manageable, less intimidating and most importantly less prone to mistakes. They also explained the reasons behind the tricks. Starting from core selection, component replacement, then all the way to engine break-in. They explained everything.
Nothing beats watching demos from Jake and Tony and also practicing in person afterwards e.g., everyone was required to install the wrist pin, one of most challenging and unforgiving procedures when building this engine. No one will be left behind. You’ll learn to use the special tools and feel the engine parts at every step of the rebuild e.g., how smoothly the crank should feel. What’s considered normal force to turn something. The class gives a person all the info he needs to rebuild an M96/97 engine (and more) with confidence.
Jake and Tony are world class instructors with great personalities. Extremely knowledgeable, engaging, eager to share, and fun. They answered all the questions we threw at them. It's a very intense 4-day hands-on class but if you pay attention and immerse yourself, I guarantee you will learn a ton regardless of your skill level. Jake and Tony have been working on and around these engines/Porsche for decades and both are super Porsche experts. Throw any questions to them and you'll see how little you know
If you don’t know the 4 strokes of an internal combustion engine, this class may be a bit advanced for you but if you have some basic understanding of engine, you should have no problem following. If you have some engine disassembly/rebuild experience, that would be even better. You can really learn a lot.
The R&D Facility
It's about 45 min drive from Athens through beautiful and peaceful country roads (just watch out for deers though) with acres and acres of pasture, cotton fields, swamps, cows and horses. Barns and tractors everywhere. It's very relaxing every morning just commuting from the hotel to the facility. You don't really need morning coffee with Tony behind the wheel (j/k, really nice driving, Tony. You kept us safe). The facility is surgically clean with very cool/rare cars on display. Really envy Jake can work (or enjoy???) everyday in a shop like this.
Jake's and Tony’s crews are also top-notch. From preparing tools/parts, answering our questions, to taking care of our breakfasts and lunches and transportations. Since it was catering, I wasn’t expecting much but it turned out the foods were awesome. Everything was really well thought out. You kinda feel like hanging out in a really cooI big car shop with a bunch of car buffs with a lot of Jake’s hospitality thrown in. Love the Friday bonfire!
The Attendees
This is what can make a big difference and it depends on your luck. I’m grateful I met a bunch of awesome people with great personalities. Everyone was so helpful. When you worked on the engine, 3 people were there handing you tools, grease, and parts. The mechanics in the group were very knowledgeable and they were patient with the rest of us amateurs. They provided tips, shared their experience, and corrected some mistakes when they saw some. They didn’t dominate the group at all and they always gave the chance to us amateurs when practicing.
Day 1
Went over clearance, ring tensions, ring gaps, etc., which are critical info. Jake prepared two engines he had bought and left them untouched. No one including Jake knew what’s wrong with the engines. The group got to discover the failures along the way as we tore down the engine bit by bit. Everyone had a chance to disassemble something and all got to see what actually failed. At the end we found one engine had a broken rod. It destroyed the crankshaft and the piston (compressed all the ring lands so the rings were seized and no longer rotatable). The other engine had an oil/coolant intermix.
Day 2
We started building a 3-chain engine with new and remanufactured components. Assembled crank, crank cradle, IMS, timing chains and dropped the cradle/IMS assembly into bank 1 case. Then installed bank 1 pistons. Here you can feel how smooth the crank should rotate. You also learn the techniques of aligning piston rings and piston insertion into the block.
Day 3
Tony taught us all the tricks to time the 3-chain engine and the 5-chain engine with the timing tools. Went over all the components and differences between the two engines, how to check the components, etc. Jake taught us how to use the special tool to install piston pins and wrist pins. There are lots of tricks here and everyone is required to install piston #6 and wrist pin and clip with no failure.
Day 4
Install the heads and cams, lifters, and timed the engine. Installed the front console, RMS, IMSB flange, scavenge pumps, swirl pots, oil sump, etc. to finish the long block.
Final Thoughts
One of the best features of this 4-day class is you get to ask Jake and Tony any relevant technical questions that they would probably not answer on forums A lot of good practice and attitude Jake and Tony taught also apply to other cars in general.
Jake and Tony are really very nice people and their passion on Porsche really shows. They also shared a lot of fun and interesting stories. I think the class teaching material, organization, hand-on time, and logistics were very well thought out in details.
I took a lot more photos but most have other people in them so don't want to post them unless I have their permission. Feel free to PM me for any questions you have on the class.
First of all thanks for the great write up Duncan, I second your review of this class, the program was top notch and definitely exceeded my expectations. What a beautiful training facility and one of a kind for sure. I can’t wait for the next class.
As Duncan and Chamilka accurately describe- It was fantastic 4 day man cave experience with a great group! A tremendous amount of information and fun was provided in a first class environment.
I hope to be back for another class, and to keep in contact with some fantastic fellow enthusiasts!
This class was THE BEST hands on Engine Rebuild School that I have ever had, dating back to 2007! Thats no exaggeration!
This class, and the attendees of mostly enthusiasts (two pros in the class, but one was a shop owner, and the other a service advisor, neither are techs) changed my way of thinking about these engines, and the future of them being the base for DIY engine rebuild projects.
The attendees actually paid attention, had great questions and truly appreciated what was being conveyed. These attendees took more notes, took more photos, and wanted to spend time practicing certain things on their own during breaks, as well as before, and after class, each day.
I always worry about bringing a group of people into my world, where things are done only my way, in the middle of a 50 acre field. The hustle of regular business is not found here, as all of that occurs at my main facility almost two hours away. In the middle of no where the phone doesn't ring, no one visits, and we are able to focus only on the topic at hand. If every class was like this one, I'd have a class every month!
We will be having the one, and only 4 day enthusiast class in 2016 will occur November 9-14. We keep this class very small, with 1/2 the number of attendees of a technician class, so seats fill fast. We already have two of the 12 seats for this class filled. The Knowledge Gruppe website will be updated with 2016 classes later this week, and you can sign up with them. Not sure if the pricing will be the same, or not for 2016, though.
You guys were great, and I can't believe that you guys said I was a nice guy! I told you not to blow my cover! :-)
Also did you guys get to dyno any of the engines that you built?
The engine that was built is one of my test mules. It will see dyno time in my lab in the next couple of weeks, but it didn't during the class. No time for that, it takes me two days to get the engine set up on the engine dyno for testing.
Everything we do in the class is real, if a mistake is made, it is corrected before moving on. If someone drops something into the engine, we disassemble and fetch it. Its not about formalities or complications; I simplify all of the material thats presented and we spend a ton of time on the items that make the M96 engine difficult when compared to all others.
Most people who attend this class (tech, and enthusiast alike) have ZERO engine building experience with any engine. I prefer it that way, as bad habits do not exist, and we don't have attendees that use experiences from other applications, trying to apply these to the M96.
All of the material that Tony and I have compiled has been arranged for the person who has zero experience with engines. Thats how we can take an English Professor, a Pediatric Cardio- thoracic Surgeon, and even a Poet, and have them build their first engine successfully.
In 2016 we will have fewer hands on classes, and more online classes. These include:
-Engine Management(diagnostics and OBDII)
- M96- 103 Hi Performance Engine School
- 9a1 Engine Rebuild (DFI Engine)
- Cayenne Engine Rebuild
- IMS Retrofit Academy
Last edited by Flat6 Innovations; 12-15-2015 at 02:34 PM.
I had a blast and met a lot of great guys. Luckily I had the strongest accent in the class so it was not Chamilka this time. Thanks for no pics Duncan. Me being in that Secret Squirrel Porsche group and all. I would encourage anyone that has any interest in 996/997 water cooled engines to take this class. It will further your knowledge of your vehicle whether you ever rebuild the motor or not. Tony was a great instructor. Jake was a bit of an ***..........always has been......always will be. As I say "If you don't think Jake is an *******, You've not know him long enough!"
I was one of the few professionals in attendance. I have 20+ years of BMW experience as both a dealer technician/shop foreman and shop owner/shop foreman. I have recently begun working in a shop that services Porsche as well as BMW. As a BMW specialist, this was the first Porsche technical class I have attended. I have to say that this was without a doubt the most professional, informative, and enjoyable technical class I have attended including both factory BMW training as well as aftermarket sponsored classes. Too many classes focus on reading technical manuals as opposed to learning by performing procedures hands on. The class was structured in such a way as to allow a significant amount of time assembling an engine that is expected to run. As opposed to assembling a mock up this adds a level of stress that you will likely experience when building an engine at home. I believe this kept everyone focused as no one wanted to be responsible for making a critical mistake. Nearly anyone can read and comprehend a technical repair manual, but there is no substitute for actually getting your hands on the a parts and tooling required to successfully build an engine. I have built many BMW engines in my career including Motorsport V10's etcetera and could have easily talked myself into saving my money and not taking the class. With all of the talk regarding the complexities of this engine as well as the camshaft timing procedures being easy to misinterpret, I thought it would be wise to attend prior to working on a customers vehicle. In the end I am glad that I did. The instruction was first class as was the facility. Jake and Tony have differing backgrounds and we were able to take away valuable insights from their years of experience. Jake was excellent keeping the class focused and on track. Tony's demonstration of Camshaft timing was excellent and cleared up many of the questions we had. I had a great time with all of the Porsche enthusiasts and learned a great many things from them as well. They were a really sharp group of guys. The price of attendance may be expensive, but in my opinion it was worth every penny. Not only did I gain knowledge and confidence from the experience, but I also left having many new friends and no one can put a price on that.
12-14-2015, 11:42 PM
Review of Flat6 innovations Jake Raby M96/97 Engine rebuild class 102
I highly recommend this class if you plan to rebuild your engine or just want to learn the details and design of this engine. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny! I’ve learned a ton that I couldn’t have learned from other sources. Jake and Tony shared all the tricks that make the whole rebuilding process more manageable, less intimidating and most importantly less prone to mistakes. They also explained the reasons behind the tricks. Starting from core selection, component replacement, then all the way to engine break-in. They explained everything.
