Izzone

Rumor has it one of teh torque settings in the RS3.8 was wrong during a period of production......cars built during that time go boom. Rad is correct, the low mile garage queens are russian roulette when they come out of warranty. If a car has this porblem, after afew weekends atthe track they detonate

Mine must be outside of it, at 23,000 miles it hasnt went boom

P_collector

Bonjour Irfuel,

Your question/concern is correct. However, one should not overestimate it. Knowing quite a few GT2, GT3RS etc owners..and owning myself a 3.8 and a GT2 997 - and having owned also a 3.6 GT3..I can tell you from my experience..

1) 3.6 997 are very solid engines..no real problem..even with tracking. However, HP seems to be just at 410 max however..

2) 3.8 997 had also no real issues..even when tracking, but some had variocam issues (sensors goen nuts) that the 3.6 didnt have. Its also said that pistons and "cylinder" are better/stronger in the 3.8 than in the 3.6 as in the 3.8 these are running in a steel hose. However, I have heard from tuners that every 3.8 at least develops 440HP..so this is good news - like that it runs 100rpm more before redline.

3) The problems were - if - on the 3.8RS. What happened here is that sometimes a screw from the air intake valve unit, got loose and got sucked into the engine. This part came from Bosch if I remember correctly. Furthermore, 3.8RS had some issues with the light weight battery..(sometimes exploding)..and exhausts. But again, these case are limited..and as NJ-GT said already..they only seem to affect 3.8RS. 3.6 and 3.8 seem to be rock solid. Speaking therefore of "time bomb" when it comes to any 997 GT3 is too much guys. Any 996 or standard 997 are much more a time bomb then GT3 or GT2. There are 996 turbos out there-..with 500HP and 200,000km (with track use) and they are still running perfectly. I doubt you could find this anywhere else.

For me the 996,997 GT2/GT3 engines are the best engines build -EVER - because their failure rate despite a few cases is so ridicoulously low. Around 70% of these cars are tracked..dont forget that. That rate is probably somewhere close to 20% for ferrari..and even less for Lamborghini..and their failure rate of brake issues - or any other little gremlins is much higher. My GT2 will beat any 458 on the race track,..even if I turn 10 seconds slower per lap..after 40min the Maranello horse will have to stop anyway..

Ah, write me a PM..I live where you live..we could go for one of these Belgian..

David A

On a cup the 3.6 recommended rebuilt is 120 hours, on a 3.8 it's half. Does that say anything?

911rox

My understanding speaking to guys that own both is rebuilds every 40 hours regardless of model.... Not sure this is right...

cbweaver1

Hey Joris,

I wouldn't want to hard track either motor outside of warranty coverage. Which one is more reliable? I don't know but what I do know is they are both too expensive to fix. CPO or buying the extended warranty coverage is the only way to look at it IMO. How is the Cup search going?

ir_fuel

Well, it's just because I hear this story coming from a Porsche dealer with a lot of clients that track. Then again the mechanics in another dealership say it is not true. The reason I ask is because I sold my 3.8 and the guy who bought it is also selling it (don't ask me why) and he had a potential buyer that in the end didn't buy the car because he checked around and he found out that the 3.8 is a lot less reliable than the 3.6 when used on the race track.

My opinion on this is that if it were the case I would have read about it on rennlist, considering the amount of trackdays some of you guys do + you also know lots of people running GT3 cars on track so word would spread quickly.

Will do

ir_fuel

28.000 euros for a new engine, if I recall correctly.

It's finished

cbweaver1

^ +1 Congrats !

I'm not far behind you ....

PM Sent

WSH

Really ?
How many street driven 3.8RS have gone kaboom ?

wsh

AGO

about how much?

P_collector

Hi irfuel,

well, I dont believe this either - the 3.8 has no problems. There are 30-40 3.8s running in the Porshe sports cup series..just check the results..and you will see how many are 3.8s. I even know people driving there with 3.8..no issue at all.

Here is the link to the Porsche series Im talking about:
http://www.porsche.com/porschesports...currentseason/

P_collector

This is the first time I´m hearing this..do you have a written proof of that? Im just asking...- as I have never heard it before..and I thought about GT3CUP also..

sharkster

The 3.8s that get tracked and with aggressive downshifts/gearing down have a very nasty issue with cam adjusters coming apart. Bad design

TRAKCAR

What about 4.0?
Anything more delicate or more robust?

I see same temps on engine sofar, feels a bit less coarse then the 3.8..

deputydog95

4.0 is even more unreliable....