USMC_DS1

FWIW, the venerable 993 engines have an IMS. Every design has some gains along with the associated compromises. Only time will tell what the latest design changes will yield but it looks like we're starting to see some of the issues potentially associated with the newer 997.2 engines now.

Re warm up... I believe that even warmer climate engines need to be warmed up. Here in TX I take an extra 3 miles/5 minute loop around the neighborhood keeping RPM's under 3K until the oil temp reaches near 200*F. Then increase RPMs up to 4-5K in a controlled manner before jumping onto our nearby HWY. No sense hammering the engine until everything is warmed up and running smoothly. Not sure if this really helps but it doesn't seem to hurt. My '08 C2S currently has 66K+ miles and doesn't burn any oil between the 3k oil change intervals. I have a few friends with 911's. Makes me cringe every time they goose the car from a cold start.

Jake, thanks for sharing the root cause analysis... makes complete sense re cold weather.

Fahrer

That's how I get my car up to temp as well. Mine uses oil at about the rate of 1 qt/ 6000 miles. No need to add oil as well ( 3-4K miles per year) between changes.

GermanCarSpecialists

very good approach.

Trod

It is hard not to read this post and think, where does my 09 C4S stand. I have driven in cold weather a few times. I change oil at 6k or 7k. I take it to a Porsche dealer for all maintenance. I do not track this car. Yet the evidence presented shows the capacity for these engines to develop premature wear early perhaps leading to a catastrophic failure. Nice thoughts. I had a 05 for a few years but the IMS issue was too much. Now all this. The C7 corvette is interesting

beden1

My '09 Corvette C6 Z06 had valve problems and nearly grenaded at 6,200 pampered miles (many Z06 owners have had the same problem in their '06-'12 models). Performance engines all have their issues.

Redline911

I'd like to learn about the factors behind the high cost to replace a M97 engine. Cars lose engines, it happens. But I don't think it would be $25k to replace a Corvette engine or a M3 engine, correct?

Take my 2005 C2 with 53k miles for instance. If my motor died for whatever reason it could be almost as much to replace the motor as the car is worth wholesale. Flash forward 4 to 5 more years when the 997.1's bottom out on depreciation and you're looking at a new engine exceeding the value of the car. What happens then?

Robocop305

It would be nice to get advice from someone in the know, regarding what can we do to minimize these issues. Thank you

nabenson

The S65 v8 in the e9x M3 (the generation ending in 2013) is between 20-25k new. It is very expensive to replace one of those engines.

KNS

Not including race engines, many modern performance motors are built with very fine margins getting maximum power out of the unit. In decades past engines were overbuilt with much wider tolerances. Today it saves the manufacturer money as long as it gets through the warranty period.

Philster

Read the advice already posted about cold running. Move up oil changes in all circumstances. If you listen to some, then get off Mobil 1.

What engine do you have? Are you concerned with IMS/B issues?

Those ''in the know'' disagree anyway, which lends little direct, concise and conclusive evidence to you. This means YOU have to read, digest and determine what makes most sense to you, because opinions differ GREATLY between experts (between experts, they disagree) and non-experts... and that, my friend, is an understatement.

.

Sniff

It's easy to get caught up in a thread like this and start second-guessing your car. But then you have to step back, take the emotion out of it, and look at the facts. Despite what happened to the OP, these types of failures are still very rare. Remember we are talking about a used car with 74K miles with an ECU re-mapped at an aftermarket tuner. Did the guys who did that job ever receive training at Stuttgart? What kind of extensive research and testing did they do to determine the second and third-order effects of their modifications? I think you all know the answer.

Also, the owner previous to the OP isn't providing any input into how the car was treated. Yes, according to the slips of paper that came with the car, the minimum services were completed. But anyone with a history of working on cars would most likely tell you 20K mile oil change intervals are a bit excessive, even more so given the tight manufacturing tolerances of our engines and the way our cars tend to be driven. The revised 12K mile interval is still too much IMO.

I bet if you go back and look at some of the early 996 threads regarding the IMS bearing, it all started with threads like this. They served their purpose, but they also started a panic that many well qualified Porsche mechanics that I've spoken with think is overblown and unwarranted. Unfortunately the damage was done, and we all know what subsequently happened to 996 values. IMO, the 996 owners themselves must accept a good bit of the blame. Also, considering the factory Porsche technicians and engineers from Stuttgart don't appear to frequent these forums, everything I read here is taken with a grain of salt.

That said, these are the big take-aways I've gleaned from this thread so far:
1) Perform frequent oil changes.
2) Make sure your engine and gearbox are fully up to temp before getting on it.
3) Be smart about your mods (what kind of testing was done?) I'll leave it at that.

Sean

Bruce In Philly

I went through this exact thought process. My 2000 Boxster S with 197K miles on the chassis blew its 2nd engine with 150K miles on it. What is this car worth with a good engine? $7-10K (chassis, leather was pristine and hyper-maintained)?? A new Porsche engine, installed was around $23K.

I could have purchase 2 or 3 cars of the same year for the price of a new engine.

I contacted Jake Raby and for about the same money, a little less if I remember correctly, he would re-build the engine and put around 50 HP more into it and upgrade the known failure modes with improved parts. Would have taken around 5-6 months..... carnage out there is real. A 2900 LB mid-engined car with 300HP was mighty appealing to me. I called around and talked to a few folks knowledgeable about his work and got stellar recommendations.

I decided to just buy a new-used 911, a 2009 C2S with 26K miles I found in Jan of 2013 for $53K from a Volvo dealer in MN. Had a bad CarFax that said "hit a wild animal". I had it checked out by the P-Club member there and then inspected by a P-speed shop for around $150. No overrevs... the shop owner said "If this was in an accident, we see no evidence of it". BANG SOLD! Sold the Boxster for $3300 to a great guy who put a used engine in it and now tracks it.

I still miss that Boxster and found it a way better handler and more fun than my 2009 C2S.... put 300HP in it.... Hmmmmmm......

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Fahrer

You might want to check this out first......

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...-update-review

Robocop305

They are blaming the damaged engine to some pieces that came off the oil filter.

Fahrer

I guess that's their story for now. When I had a 2008 BMW 535 with many problems with the high pressure fuel pump and injectors, they blamed the car owners for buying bad gas until the real story came out. Corvette engines have been failing over the last years for a number of reasons ( e.g. lighter valve springs).