Relegate

I am sharing my experience with my 99 996C2 I use for HPDE and some backroads driving. This might be a long post, and I've distilled it on 996Rennlisters group on FB.

A few years ago i bought a 996C2 with 92k and a good service history. Mostly a commuter car from the previous owners, I was looking for a new track toy as my Subaru WRX had gone up in flames just driving along from a leak at the oil cooler fitting sending a steady stream of oil onto the wrapped headers and igniting the car. Literally just driving along... faulty workman ship or parts I blame, but thats a different story.

I took a lot of time to understand the many achilles heels of the M96. In fact, I didn't track the car until last september once I was satisfied I had done as much preventative bolt-on maintenance as possible. (I'll put the impossibly long list of parts below.) I switched to the good oil (5w40 Gibbs) and XP9 for track events. Bought a Boxster S and cut down on my road miles. Changed the oil religiously and would check and add oil at the track.

I put a lot of money into new suspension, new arms, alignment, corner balance, seats, bolt-in cage, SSK, etc... since last year this little 996 has been treated to a host of new upgrades. My very reputable local porsche shops commented on how it was the best running 996 either worked on, and it was just a blast! I always joked it needed another 100HP and I'm sorry to my car if it sounded like I was unappreciative of every ounce of ponies it could muster.

So, I have a 996, really good compression and leak down. It consumed a bit of oil but I drive it hard, not redline a lot, but I like to take it out, warm it up and give it a GO!

Cooling Issues:
Since I started tracking the car in September of 2016, I was noticing it ran hot- really hot. I addressed this in many ways, first being a center radiator, then taking Jake Raby's free advice of putting ducts the mated the GT2 aftermarket front bumper to the 996 rads. We cleaned the rads (again), an even put in exit holes into the fender liner and scoops from a 997 to redirect that to the brakes (inner fender liner, not like the stock ones which I also have). I also put in a brand new factory water pump as the old one was replaced at 60k (7 years prior). At this point, track temps were better and I moved on to other stuff like brakes, tires, etc.

I had ALWAYS planned on setting the car up and then rebuilding the engine. I was told by one PCA instructor that I was really past the end of the engine's life for track work. He has one of the fastest Spec 996 cars and said I should think about a rebuild or a lower mileage engine, although it seemed to run well.

The end of the 2016 track season my trans was making some awful noises and we replaced the diff, I was certain it was the wheel bearings but the shops were thinking it was the pinion bearings in the trans. We ended up both being right! I replaced the trans this summer with a Getrag factory rebuilt unit from The Racing Line with an OS Giken LSD, Spec R Stage 2 clutch and light weight flywheel and I replaced the IMS replacement that was done at 60k with the IMS Solution. I ran it, still felt some vibrations I didn't like when cornering and we did the rear hub bearings... now it felt like a new car. It's mid-summer, 2017 at this point.

So, I give the trans and clutch some break-in time, then take the car to the track. It's fantastic. Could always use more power, but it runs well, likes tighter tracks and I pay special attention to oil level after every session and add when I need to. Redline 40w race oil for those oil fanatics. Car felt great, it's now corner balanced and seems happy. Change the oil, get ready for a 2-day event at NJMP Thunderbolt (Grand Am configuration with Turn 3 chicane).

Fresh oil, awesome tires, FVD Baffled Oil Pan, IMS solution, 40w race oil, Castrol SRF fluid, ST60 Stoptech BBK in the front and Giro Disc in the rear with race pads and R888R's- 255 front and 295 rear on GT3 fitment wheels. Other than realizing I have too much front camber, I go about my day on Saturday running with some good drivers and have a blast. I checked the oil and surprisingly it was 1/2 way down on the dipstick (not bad I think) so I top it up to full and have a beer and get ready for Sunday.

Sunday comes around- it's VERY HOT for September (mid 90's in NJ). I focus on smooth lines, running turns in 4th instead of 3-4-3 redline shifting, not pushing the high-G corners and picking up time in Turn 12. All works, I'm running 1:41's which is my best so far this weekend (fastest is 1:39 from 2 weeks prior when it was 74 and sunny) and getting a lot of point-bys... then the 4th session came.

4th session- Tires were greasy, these have 5 days on them now plus some street driving. I'm chasing my best friend in his 997.2 S and he's about 10+HP over stock (395hp). Everything is great, water temp is up to 228-235 so I back off and run the last lap slow. Its not an organized cool down lap, so I give it some gas to get to a good place to point 2 cars by and then:::

:::ca-chug, ca-chag - Nothing:::

75mph mid-corner and the engine dies, I hit the clutch and start looking for an exit, I see some smoke in my mirror and stay way off line, it's a very short straight and I b-line for the infield knowing I've had a failure. I coast it out as far as I can towards an flag stand and access road and that's it. Smoke billowing out of the engine compartment, I realized I never did install that extinguisher and the track is 'hot' so I'm stuck in the car unless I see flames. Coincidentally I stopped at an unoccupied corner worker station. S&*%!!! First thought is the car is going to burn up. This is 5-10 seconds after the failure.

Well, in the smoke that's wafting into the car I smell oil... but I smell coolant. The temp gauge it pinned to the red, I feel that there won't be fire if there is coolant too... but why is there coolant?! WHAT HAPPENED?!

The safety crew is on the scene in a minute, fire bottles ready to deploy, trunk it opened and they say "No Fire, No fire!" But it's a MESS!! I am cleared to get out, they begin lifting the car to tow off the track... I'm bummed and thankful it wasn't a crash (a big one happened in the 3rd session).


Here's what I know:
Oil filler tube broke in half. The dipstick was also blown out. The drain plug is magnetic and a literal bush of metal that Jake Raby thinks "whats left of your crank bearings". When I drained the oil (We don't know how much it lost) into my 12qt pan (it runs a deeper sump oil pan and total oil capacity is 9-10qts) it came out in a FURY of coolant so fast I scrambled to find something else, filled that 12 quarts, spilled all over and put 2 more quarts into a plastic mini-tub. Water, metal, oil, 14-15qts total.

::This area reserved for later findings::

Despite my best efforts for longevity, I was told very frankly by Mike Bavarro of Body Motion "You have done all of the right things, but you are living on borrowed time. Your engine will blow... there is no way around that". This was in June when I was calling about the transmission. (they are close to me and the most focused race shop that will actually return my emails!) He was right, and no one, except for the internet, has ever told me different. Mike pushed me to get an oil analysis done, and I have the kit sitting here... was going to send today.

In closing, what I want others to know is that YMMV (your mileage may vary) with the M96 and how you use it. I did everything right according to everyone... but I still suffered the failure. I want to share this story with anyone who might find it useful. I wasn't budgeting a rebuild this year, but I knew it was next on the list.

Here are the list of "preventative" parts I added:
FVD Baffled Oil Pan
IMS Solution
40w race oil (either XP9 or Redline)
Spin On Filter (prior to the Solution)
Filter Magnet
Magnetic Drain Plug
New Water pump (plastic impeller)
Center Radiator
New Radiator Ducting and service.

Mods bolt-on engine:
Fabspeed full exhaust, no cats.
FVD Throttle body (99 cable bored out to 77,8)
IPD Plenum
EVOMS Intake (I clean the filter regularly)
Porsche Motorsports AOS Custom installed by TPS in Philly
Underdrive pulley

Other Mods:
Elephant Racing Contol arms, tie rod arms
GMG links
Tarrett Sways
Ohlins R&T suspension
Stoptech Trophy Front BBK
Giro Disc rear 328mm rotors
Hawk DTC-60 Pads

OZ 18x8.5 18x11 GT3 Allegritta wheels
Toyo R888R Tires

New Getrag Trans, OS Giken LSD, etc...
RSS 930 roll bar, Recaro seats, B&M SSK, etc etc etc...

Now comes the "what's next" and my bank account says "fun money is all dried up this year". I need to mow the lawn and I have a dead 996 blocking the mower. Maybe my neighbor's lawns need cutting too.. or UBER? I could uber at night when the kids are asleep... ok, that's silly talk.

Paul Waterloo

Sorry to hear, don't really have any advice but to wish you the best of luck. Will be interested in seeing the pictures of the engine when the pan is dropped/or disassembled.

Billup

Oooof that's rough to hear. Have you considered selling your soul by chance? Not sure how much one fetches these days, but it's gotta be worth at LEAST an M96.

dporto

Ehhhhh...where to start! I guess first I should say, I feel bad about your engine blowing up, nice Novella! Next I'd have to say what did you expect? I don't see any real internal engine work done - The Solution is nice, but it's only part of the equation - it does nothing for the chains, crank, main bearings etc... The M96 is NOT a (good) race motor in it's stock form - this fact has been beaten to death on this board and others for many years. It sounds like you knew this in your gut, but decided to put a bunch of $$ into the suspension and a bunch of other bolt on's , yet did nothing to strengthen the engine! Now you've got a very expensive yet "well sprung/handling roller" on your hands...bummer! I wish I could say something brilliant and encouraging, but I'm coming up empty. Good luck with however you decide resolve the situation...

Relegate

I've had whatever could be inspected, inspected, and I did know I would be rebuilding the motor "soon" but hoped to be doing so on my terms and timeline maybe? Maybe to last into next season?

Quadcammer

same here. my boxster m96 pooped a cylinder after 3 easy track days. had deep sump, low temp thermostat, third rad, new water pump, fresh oil, blah blah. Its a junk motor for track work. Luckily I can find 3.2 motors for cheap enough that if one poops the bed every 2 years or so its not the end of the world. I just put a 3.2 in my car with a fat tune for track work. We'll see how long it holds up.

Good luck.

lsx swap???

AWDGuy

****ty news! There was a failure at our local track a few weeks ago. Lots of smoke...lots of coolant.

cracked block, I've never seen anything like this. I've seen holes through the block but that was after doubling the boost psi and torque of the stock engine. Never seen this happen on stock motor....



turds.

dporto

This should be a warning to all that want to track these motors! "Soon" is never soon enough... If you want to track an M96, it needs to be "bullet proofed" (by a COMPETENT race motor builder with credentials - not a self proclaimed "Porsche expert"...). "Inspecting" can't be done without tearing the engine down... It's expensive and it will probably turn up more problems than you thought you had. **In addition - well built race motors blow up all the time too...It sucks, but it is what it is...

AWDGuy

Ok, I think he gets it.

gnarbowski

Sorry to hear about your loss, I know your pain.

I think the best way to go about tracking a Porsche is having a dedicated Boxster, This way you can drop a used engine into it every couple of years, when it inevitably goes kaput.

Quadcammer

kinda sad you need a full blown race motor, with race oil, etc just to do a few DEs

Noz1974

I think you got so much invested in the chassis set up it makes sense for you to get another motor into her! Even if it's just a used motor without the massive cost of a full on rebuild!

IkoIko911

but my 996.2 C4S keeps telling me to take her back to the track.... she's bossy!

AWDGuy

if it was as bad as some imply, my home track would be full of broken pcars. We have a good 10-15 different pcars running these engines and they go home every night. I know of a 997 and cayman who go every weekend. Other than bigger sumps, their engines are 100% OE.

Silk

Something to do with the lightweight flywheel?
The lack of harmonic dampening of the dual-mass flywheel and an unbalanced crankshaft is known as Russian roulette. It can go perfectly fine on some cars for many many miles. But If your crankshaft has some metallurgisch manufacturing imperfections then it goes kaboom. Typical case of fatigue fracture as microcracks grow.