To 3.8 or not to 3.8?
12-02-2011, 10:30 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
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To 3.8 or not to 3.8?
Found out this week that what I thought was a leaky exhaust is actually a snapped head stud...
Very upset because I bought the car from a well known North London specialist who did an engine rebuild and I have done only 10k miles since... I didn't expect to be forking out for open heart surgery 2 years later. I haven't even done any track days!
So now I'm faced with having to split the engine apart and replace the head studs that were not changed on the original build and spending £££ just to get the car back as it was, which I hate...
Should I stump up the extra for 3.8 barrels and pistons so I at least get something back for heartache. It seems like a lot more money for the barrels and pistons, FVD have a Mahle kit for €3500 and I saw Pelican do a JE and LN Engineering kit for about $4500 (not much difference in cost once imported.
My garage (Jaz Porsche in London - which is not where the car was bought from) say I won't get much power from 3.8 conversion but more torque. Anyone done it who rates it / regrets it? Any other sources for the components if I do it??
Annoyed of London
Very upset because I bought the car from a well known North London specialist who did an engine rebuild and I have done only 10k miles since... I didn't expect to be forking out for open heart surgery 2 years later. I haven't even done any track days!
So now I'm faced with having to split the engine apart and replace the head studs that were not changed on the original build and spending £££ just to get the car back as it was, which I hate...
Should I stump up the extra for 3.8 barrels and pistons so I at least get something back for heartache. It seems like a lot more money for the barrels and pistons, FVD have a Mahle kit for €3500 and I saw Pelican do a JE and LN Engineering kit for about $4500 (not much difference in cost once imported.
My garage (Jaz Porsche in London - which is not where the car was bought from) say I won't get much power from 3.8 conversion but more torque. Anyone done it who rates it / regrets it? Any other sources for the components if I do it??
Annoyed of London
12-03-2011, 12:05 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
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One... Exhaust side stud on LH bank, can't remember which cylinder.
Sorry - just been reading old posts on 3.8's. Quite a lot of info out there. Consensus seems to be it's expensive for a relatively small gain and you need to add cams as well to make the most of it...
Sorry - just been reading old posts on 3.8's. Quite a lot of info out there. Consensus seems to be it's expensive for a relatively small gain and you need to add cams as well to make the most of it...
12-03-2011, 12:56 AM
#5
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Most of what I have read agrees that 3.8 is not worth the money.
Get some 9M heads/cams or a TPC supercharger instead if you want more grunt.
Marc
Get some 9M heads/cams or a TPC supercharger instead if you want more grunt.
Marc
12-03-2011, 09:54 AM
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Given everything I've read about 911 head studs, one bad stud isn't really enough of a concern to warrant a rebuild unless there's other evidence that things are coming unglued.
On the rebuilding forum at PP I came across an anecdote of someone discovering he had 5 (!) broken studs (an SC, iirc...) and no loss of performance.
My car has a busted stud; lower driver side. I'm driving it; it's not uncommon.
On the rebuilding forum at PP I came across an anecdote of someone discovering he had 5 (!) broken studs (an SC, iirc...) and no loss of performance.
My car has a busted stud; lower driver side. I'm driving it; it's not uncommon.
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12-03-2011, 03:24 PM
#9
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There's a tick that could be valves, but that's all. It does feel flat to me but I'm convinced that a large part of that is that the engine isn't as responsive (light, really) as what I'm used to. It's great at wot, esp over 6k, but off-idle is sluggish.
12-03-2011, 04:44 PM
#12
Racer
they are priced to be competetive with mahle head but with much better performance
12-04-2011, 12:35 AM
#14
get back behind the wheel
Bite the bullit and have the head studs replaced. If you can do it yourself its not that costly, its mostly gasket sets, seals, and plenty of time. Good studs cost coin, but your are back driving for around the cost of buying the 3.8 pistons & cylinders. Adding grunt is costly to a 3.6.
Its a slippery slope. As you move away from stock, it increases maintenance costs, and when things go bad, they usually go bad worse. My PCA homies, have some nasty Motec 3.8, and a more toned down 3.6 (Big HP), but they are 40 and 80 hour motors respectively, and the 3.6 is currently down due to a broken GT3 crankshaft.
Its a slippery slope. As you move away from stock, it increases maintenance costs, and when things go bad, they usually go bad worse. My PCA homies, have some nasty Motec 3.8, and a more toned down 3.6 (Big HP), but they are 40 and 80 hour motors respectively, and the 3.6 is currently down due to a broken GT3 crankshaft.
Found out this week that what I thought was a leaky exhaust is actually a snapped head stud...
Very upset because I bought the car from a well known North London specialist who did an engine rebuild and I have done only 10k miles since... I didn't expect to be forking out for open heart surgery 2 years later. I haven't even done any track days!
So now I'm faced with having to split the engine apart and replace the head studs that were not changed on the original build and spending £££ just to get the car back as it was, which I hate...
Should I stump up the extra for 3.8 barrels and pistons so I at least get something back for heartache. It seems like a lot more money for the barrels and pistons, FVD have a Mahle kit for €3500 and I saw Pelican do a JE and LN Engineering kit for about $4500 (not much difference in cost once imported.
My garage (Jaz Porsche in London - which is not where the car was bought from) say I won't get much power from 3.8 conversion but more torque. Anyone done it who rates it / regrets it? Any other sources for the components if I do it??
Annoyed of London
Very upset because I bought the car from a well known North London specialist who did an engine rebuild and I have done only 10k miles since... I didn't expect to be forking out for open heart surgery 2 years later. I haven't even done any track days!
So now I'm faced with having to split the engine apart and replace the head studs that were not changed on the original build and spending £££ just to get the car back as it was, which I hate...
Should I stump up the extra for 3.8 barrels and pistons so I at least get something back for heartache. It seems like a lot more money for the barrels and pistons, FVD have a Mahle kit for €3500 and I saw Pelican do a JE and LN Engineering kit for about $4500 (not much difference in cost once imported.
My garage (Jaz Porsche in London - which is not where the car was bought from) say I won't get much power from 3.8 conversion but more torque. Anyone done it who rates it / regrets it? Any other sources for the components if I do it??
Annoyed of London
12-04-2011, 06:35 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
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Thanks for the input guys. I've been reading and I think I am not going to do 3.8. The cost just seems prohibitive. I am considering some warmer cams and maybe get my heads ported and polished with new valve springs and retainers with an RS flywheel. Think I will call 9M on Monday to enquire about their cams/heads (doubt I can afford their billet heads) as I would like to do stuff now that will work well with a future MoTeC upgrade with a view to getting close to 350hp on an engine that doesn't need to go over 7000rpm...