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Is there emissions inspection in that area? Assuming this is a street car, I’m curious about your plan to comply without the Porsche ECU. I don’t know the details of your state’s test, but several attempts in my state were abandoned after failing to make the car compliant. Not saying it’s impossible, just would like to hear the details of someone that has successfully accomplished it.
Is there emissions inspection in that area? Assuming this is a street car, I’m curious about your plan to comply without the Porsche ECU. I don’t know the details of your state’s test, but several attempts in my state were abandoned after failing to make the car compliant. Not saying it’s impossible, just would like to hear the details of someone that has successfully accomplished it.
good question. Most of IL is OB2 emissions plug in testing but some has no emissions at all. Right now, the car would fail due to mismatching vins and no mileage reading so the plan is to figure out how to register the car in a zero emissions county.
Most of the aftermarket ls harnesses have obd2 plugs built into them. U just have to extend them so u can mount it in the factory spot. On my friends ls miata he sent the computer out and they burned the cars vin into it. His car passes nc emisions and inspection. I can get the shop name if u need it. The guys tune also unfu*ked the crappy efi-live tune that original vendor put on it.
Most of the aftermarket ls harnesses have obd2 plugs built into them. U just have to extend them so u can mount it in the factory spot. On my friends ls miata he sent the computer out and they burned the cars vin into it. His car passes nc emisions and inspection. I can get the shop name if u need it. The guys tune also unfu*ked the crappy efi-live tune that original vendor put on it.
interesting, but wouldnt it still show 2008 Corvette, or whatever car the e38 ECU came out of? I think in IL, it has to match year make and model along with the VIN. Still interested in pursuing this though...
We've been making some progress at the shop. Most of the loose ends have been tied up so car is now running and driving. Cooling system was surprisingly easy to bleed. On the street, I'm seeing temps between 176* and 185*. With the GM ecu controlling the fans, temps go from 194* (when the ecu turns them on) to 190 in a matter of seconds. I'm pretty happy with that. Right now, I have a front mounted oil cooler that sits in front of the driver radiator and it manages oil temp for street driving fairly well. Grant it, it was 45 degrees out so it didnt have a very difficult job. My guess, I'll have to add another cooler in order to properly regulate oil temps. But this will do for now.
It's not all smooth sailing, however. We've been battling Map codes, bank1,2 rich codes and at least one trip to limp mode. We had to try 3 different map sensors before being able to drive for any extended period without low map sensor voltage codes (p0107), car still felt lively with plenty of power. Adam (shop owner) seems to think were out of the woods for the MAP issue, I however remain skeptical. Intake fabrication is also complete (a potential change may also be required in the future). IAT's seem to hover around 10* over ambient but once the car stops moving, those temps climb sky high. The rich codes will unfortunately require a tune. I'm lost when it comes to HP Tuners so I'll a local pro handle that part of it.
Last piece that went on was power steering. I've read mixed reviews for how people like the car with manual vs assisted steering and let me tell you, power steering is infinitely better. We drove the car with unassisted steering all of saturday. While it felt ok/manageable (much lighter than a traditional 3000lbs car with a front engine), I definitely struggled negotiating tight turns at low speeds. Even at speed, you notice more bump steer and really have to have decent effort to control the car. The MR2 pump is perfect. The feel now is less then it was with the porsche mechanical pump, but in my opinion, its perfect. We wired the controls to a switch so power steering can be turned off at anytime.
I've been taking my car to Adam at Midwest Auto for years. He's worked on every project I've ever had. To say he wasn't a fan of the 996 from the beginning is an understatement. We've talked about doing this swap since early 2015 and now, since he's had the chance to really understand the dynamics behind doing this sort of project, hes changed his view (perhaps more than somewhat). So much so, that the new shop project was delivered last week with a fresh ls3
instead of using the 110 degree elbow that places the intake right at the edge of the pumper/deck lid, we used this tight radius to offset the TB. just enough clearance to fit all the intake piping and keep things cool-ish
steering pump mounted nice and low. I lost a little trunk space but gained functionality. I can live with that trade off.
A dyno tune is scheduled for Thursday morning. We have roughly 30-40 miles on the set up now and nothing has broken yet so I'm somewhat confident the dyno will go smoothly. I'll report back with the conclusion.
Seems like it's getting pretty toasty just driving around town but looking forward to seeing how it cools on track.
Thanks for the update keep em coming
not at all actually, the 194 temp I was referring to was while sitting still. Thats the highest I've seen the temps climb. While cruising, it hovers between 176 and 182.
How is the balance of the car compared to having the Porsche engine in there?
hard to answer that for now. Around town, no change. I have noticed that it lost some weight so it brakes better, but I havent thrown it around a corner yet so cant tell how it really behaves. I'll have it corner balanced before I take it to the track in a few weeks but I suspect a bit more understeer early corner entry and a bit more oversteer on throttle corner exit...just a guess for now.
I should add that the real winner for now is drive-ability. The M96 always had a smooth power delivery but was completely gutless under 4K RPM. Cruising around in low RPM's was somewhat of a chore. The Ls2 is just as smooth, if not even smoother and the power delivery makes this car do everything at an exponentially lower effort. 4th gear at 40mph, just tap the gas slightly and you're at 60. You have acceleration in any gear, no bogging, no more lugging the engine at 2000 RPM. it just pulls right through. This is obviously to be expected with an engine that produces 400ft/lbs but the feeling is something you have to experience to truly appreciate. I think this is the biggest reward for completing this swap. The car feels the same. The connection to the road is still porsche, but its just that much more alive now. Having driven a modified 996 turbo, I prefer this set up.
I should add that the real winner for now is drive-ability. The M96 always had a smooth power delivery but was completely gutless under 4K RPM. Cruising around in low RPM's was somewhat of a chore. The Ls2 is just as smooth, if not even smoother and the power delivery makes this car do everything at an exponentially lower effort. 4th gear at 40mph, just tap the gas slightly and you're at 60. You have acceleration in any gear, no bogging, no more lugging the engine at 2000 RPM. it just pulls right through. This is obviously to be expected with an engine that produces 400ft/lbs but the feeling is something you have to experience to truly appreciate. I think this is the biggest reward for completing this swap. The car feels the same. The connection to the road is still porsche, but its just that much more alive now. Having driven a modified 996 turbo, I prefer this set up.
No question that a 996.1 3.4 has to be rev’d to the max to be fast and it doesn’t have much of a torque feel. A 996.2 3.6 makes some noticeable improvement there. So I can imagine the LS is way better.
03-12-2018, 09:10 AM
