Tom@TPC Racing

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

We've done a few X51 conversions and have made a similar adaptor pipe for the throttle body. Although the conversions we have done used the stock airbox and stock exhaust. We made around 330whp on dynojet without any ECU tuning and 350whp after tuning. Would love to see the power gain with your custom cold air intake!

We machined the new X51 blocks in order to put the oil filter in the stock 987 location. Did you machine your block or used an oil filter relocation kit with hoses?

Cheers,
Tom

Masergss

The second issue is more involved. I've done a fair amount of research on options to eek more power out of the 3.4L stock engine. I've also driven an aftermarket TPC Turbo setup on a similar car. From my point of view, neither were going to get me where I wanted to be.

Amazing project cant wait to see the outcome...what was so bad about the TPC that pushed you over the edge and made you decide on virtually doubling your investment in the spyder?

Hoopumpers

Thanks. Well, a turbo is a turbo. Also, throttle lift off boost was horrifically jolting. Would put you into a wall on a circuit.

Doubling my investment? Heck no! As far as mods are concerned, I think this is reasonable cost and money very well spent (assuming the project is a success )

Tom@TPC Racing

While our turbo kits hands down offer more power per dollar, turbocharging is not preferred by everyone. Which is why have done the 3.8 conversions too. And a few customers did turbos after the 3.8!

Needless to say you are in very good hands with Dwain at Vision. I am sure it'll be more than successful.

Hoopumpers

Thanks Tom. And in fairness, the turbo kit I drove was, I believe, a prototype or very early release...so perhaps not indicative of the final build. Regardless, I'm a NA fan and wanted to use a more stock engine approach rather than add-ons to smaller displacement. The Spyder is quite analog in all its feedback, and so a NA motor just fits the application more IMO. No right or wrong answer.

the_vetman

Fantastic project. I've always thought about putting a 3.8 L in my Spyder. I'm sure it'll be great. Can't wait to see the dyno!

Like OP said, turbo is a turbo. There's a reason why everyone wants GT3s instead of GT2s or turbos. That said, TPC turbo is the best bang for the buck when it comes to increasing hp in Boxsters and Caymans.

ReadyKW

In this photo the OP posted, it shows the 987.2 oil guide module with the X51 intake, so I would assume they did do the machine work.

ReadyKW

However, this photo shows they didn't complete the machining for the motor mount, or just forgot to put the bolt in.

ReadyKW

I acquired a slightly used (10k miles) 3.8GTS DFI engine last year from a salvage company in the UK. I have been doing quite a bit of research and have been modifying the 3.8 engine myself in preparation for the exchange. In regards to emissions testing, this is what I think you are facing:

In CA you will have to pass 2 tests, a visual and an OBDII test. Starting in 2014, 2000 and newer vehicles will no longer have a tailpipe test (some stations are not equipped to do this yet - the process is still rolling out).

While this sounds simple and good for car junkies, it is not. OBDII provides a ton of info and the state plans to use it to see what you're up to. Here is some failure criteria I have gleaned from CARB (CA Air Resources Board)documents and presentations:

OBD system data is inappropriate for the vehicle being tested;
OBD system data does not match the original OEM or an ARB exempted software configuration;
OBD system data indicates the system has not yet been sufficiently operated to determine the presence or absence of a DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Code)

There are more of coarse, but are fairly obvious ( no comm, Check Engine light, etc.)

CARB will be downloading lots of data from your OBDII port and use it to expand their data base and compare to existing data base for your car.

They will verify the VIN in the ECU matches the window plate. They will verify your software version (Cal ID) matches the one given to them by Porsche. If Porsche issues a change and you don't go to the dealer and update, you fail. The will verify the software checksum (CVN) to see if the software has been tampered with. They will check when codes were last cleared and how many cycles have been run since last cleared.

CARB has been compiling OBDII data on vehicles for many years and probably has a good idea on the number of modified vehicles. As the new program is rolling out, individuals are still passing with software modifications but probably won't in the future.

IMHO, what this means for the 3.8 conversion is that the engine must run on the OEM 3.4 map and run quite happily, every two years. One must be able to flash the original program back in. This would seem to doom EVOMSIT and similar companies for the CA market. I like the FVD approach of supplying a device which stores your original program and allows one to swap from OEM to modified MAP at your leisure.

A432

Basically got the same info. here.

This could be an issue for those with 981's in California wanting to switch to the 991 DME with the 3.8 due to the throttle issue.

On 987.2 DFI's, (SDI3 DME) the 3.8 will run with no codes on the stock DME/flash and achieve full throttle opening,

and having the stock file, to flash back to, is smart and should remove any potential problems on the 987.2 SDI3 DME cars.

rubber_ducky

Have any of you guys that have done the conversion put the cars on dynos before the swap by chance?

Tom@TPC Racing

Here you go. Blue = 2011 Spyder. Red = 2012 Cayman R. Both 6-speed. All stock.

Hoopumpers

Yes, the block is being machined to put the oil filter in the stock location.

The boys at Vision are backed up with some other jobs, but hopefully the car will be ready shortly.

mooty

i know BGB And dwain at vision. both are great and at the forefront of cayman development. i am not so sure what that customer is talking about , seems to be going around in circles.....

just b/c he work on his car since 16... well i been working on cars since i was three, and i still blow them up.

leave it to the pros and just drive it. i found 99% of the issues are always driver related.

tcsracing1

Car is fully sorted and working fine.

I would love to try it!