Kris Murphy

It seems like it comes down to what day the motor was built on. My original motor had zero issues, had been tracked for 10 years and had 117K on it. It would still be fine if I did not money shift it. I run with people who did European Delivery on their cars, have over 40,000 track miles and still have original everything on the car.

Other people take all of the precautions in the world, and the motor blows up for no reason at all. I'm sure it is the same with every manufacturer. I tracked E36 M3s before i got the 911. Both of my M3s were high mileage cars, one that had been tracked since day 1. I never had a motor issue. BUT, I part out M3s as a side business and I have sold 5 S52s motors to people who blew them up on the track. The big difference is a used S52 is $2500, and used 911 motor is $10K.

Slakker

I've come to the conclusion that if you can't bring yourself to drive a Miata, then the E36 is by far the best bang for the buck in a track car. They are a whole lot of fun and insanely cheap to run.

Kris Murphy

LOL. My first track car was a 94 Miata. The E36 is fun, but not as much fun as the 911. Right now, the cost of entry can be about the same for the E36 M3 as the 911. It's after the initial cost it can become an issue. I'm fortunate that my side business of parting out cars pays for it all. Even more fortunate that when I blew my motor, I ended up making money after it was all said and done with the parts car I purchased to yank the motor from.

spruden

There's some wisdom buried in here. If you spend enough time at the track, you will see mechanical failures of all kinds with all makes/models/engines. This is a reality.

The major issue with the M96 on track is the relative replacement/rebuild cost vs the cost of entry (price of the car). I say relative because compared to an E30, E36 or even E46 - the M96 motor is going to cost you more to replace or rebuild than one of the more pedestrian BMW engines. Same goes for most of the Miata, Chevy, Toyota, Honda, etc... engines you'll find slogging it out with your 996 on any given track day.

Whether your replacement/rebuild is a result of failure, wear items, mis-shift, or incident - your cost will be relatively higher than most non-Porsche cars that you share the track with. If that reality is too much - then find another car to beat up on track.

If you could find a used 996 motor for ~$1500 like you can for a spec E46 then all of this talk of crappy M96 motors would be moot.

Slakker

The M3 I took in trade weighs 2800# and has a nice track suspension. I've got a buddy that already wants to buy it. But it that doesn't go through I've figured out how I can drop 200# and go with Delrin/solid bushings all the way around for about $1500. The little sucker should tighten up and fly quite nicely then.

I take it you sell your parts on eBay? If so, what name do you sell under?

Kris Murphy

YellowShirtAuctions on eBay or www.shantytownsalvage.com

What is listed there is a small fraction of the parts that I have available.

mark.jorgensen

^^^^ This, we have used the Accusump for a lot of the Viper track cars over the years and they work seamlessly when used with electric solenoid valve.

NYoutftr

Are those figures showing the differences in oil pressure by brand, is that based on all three brands on fresh oil change or some prior use before those readings?
Thanks
David

Quadcammer

Spec boxster guys seem to also have spare motors at the ready. My 2.5 died with a loss of compression in cylinder three.

Having to run a $16/quart race oil just to go round the track in blue/white is kind of ridiculous. Not to mention the oil pan being baffled to timbuktu, AOS failures threatening a hydrolock, the illustrious IMS, the cracked heads, cracked cylinders, bore scoring, rear rod/main bearings, etc etc.

For street use its an acceptable motor...on the track, my opinion is that those that haven't blown an engine have just been lucky.

Nickshu

Each time was a fresh oil change with the only pre-track mileage on it was driving to the track about 100 miles.

These are my anecdotal observations using the dash gauge, which as pointed out has its shortcomings.

The argument for XP9 is that it maintains viscosity at the high oil temps produced when tracking the M96 engine especially on a hot day. The other two tend to get "watery" at high temps which leads to more drop in oil pressure...at least that's the theory.

kondata17

My experience with Xp line of oils has been in a honda. Built b series endurance motor that runs for 10-16 hours at a time. The biggest benefit from Joe Gibbs is its ability to handle heat. we run XP1, so it is way thinner, but it still burns and runs out of steam at around 5-600 miles (unlike the advertised 1000). We typically do oil changes every 500 miles max.

That being said, Xp oil will not prevent an engine from starving if the oil is being sloshed around. Its good insurance for a track day, but unfortunately I can see spending an extra $2-300 in oil (2 oil changes) just so I can kind of track this car.

As some have stated, if you can afford to blow up this motor at any random time...take it to HPDE. I cannot. Looks like the 996 will remain a street car for now.

Martin S.

You will have big warning light if the OP drops to a dangerous level. The AiM MXL-2, a mere $1,999, its display turns red, you can't miss it when any of the fluids you are monitoring such as oil pressure, oil temperature and water temp reach preset critical levels.

With the later model 996 cars, much data can be pulled off the OBD II port, reducing/eliminating the need to add sensors. Couple the warning feature with a programmable shift might and data logging, it's one hell of a fine system.

I had one on my 993, sold it...going to get one for my 6GT3. Couple this with a Smarty Cam, Hog Heaven!!!!

Noz1974

Did you install 997 style oil return pipes, I've heard they reduce foaming over the 996 type and some deep sump kits come with them, also the power kit engine has upgraded scavenge pumps to improve oil return to the sump from the cam box but they expensive !!

Quadcammer

I don't think the 997 return tubes reduce foaming at oil. The 996 swirl pot design would seem to work better, but at the expense of quick drainback.

Who knows.

Noz1974

Be interesting to see if the 997 tubes draining back quicker helps, easy job to swap out and a cheap part just take off sump plate and each one held in by two bolts, wonder if op interested in swapping then doing a comparison ?