914v8porjekt

Who here has done successfully a 3.6 swap into the boxster? What all is needed? I have a 1997 Boxster 2.5 with a bad engine and I came across a good price on a 3.6. I did some research on the 3.4 swap and I understand what is needed for that. But what about the 3.6? I have about a $3,000 decrease in price by going with the 3.6 rather than the 3.4 because of the deal I found. Any inputs or help would be greatly appreciated. I live in orlando, fl.
thanks

insite

tholyoak did this swap. the car will not pass emissions. the issue lies with the fact that the newer motor runs on CAN bus architecture and is incompatible with the older DME's. to pass emissions, the car would have to be rewired.

Todd Holyoak

Let me clarify that. The car passes emissions just fine, it runs cats and all the sensors. The issue lies in those states with a visual inspection I doubt it would pass due to the method I am using to control the variocam plus. That said, I should have the 7.8DME integrated into my car shortly so it would be acceptable in all states.

Todd

914v8porjekt

Todd,
I sent you a couple of emails through renntech. I see that you did the swap. Can you send me an email describing everything I need in order to do the swap? I spoke with FVD in South Florida and they have the 7.8 DME program. They even said that they can program my existing 1997 porsche boxster dme. When doing the conversion, will I need the wiring harness from the 3.6 motor and the dme from the 3.6 engine? What else do I need to do in regards to the egas? Please tell me everything there is to know in order to place that engine in my 1997 2.5 boxster! Thanks

fast951

There is a way to use the 2.5 DME, use the cable linkage and add external control to the VariocamP.
I did this on a BoxsterS with a 3.8L 997S engine. If you can get someone to flash the DME with 996 maps (fuel & ignition) the job will be even easier. Just control VaricamP externally.

914v8porjekt

Thanks John, I was actually in the process of emailing you. Do you have this control. I found this tip http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=220072312930 from a fellow renntech member. He will be utilizing this type of control for the second solenoid with starts at 3k rpms I believe.
My plans are to reprogram my existing 1997 2.5 dme with the 7.8 software @ FVD in south florida. Connect the first solenoid for the variocam like in the 3.4 swap. And hook up an external controller for the variocam plus. Do you know the specifics on when the actual second solenoid should activate at and at what voltage? Another questinon, since I am keeping my original 2.5 dme, will all of my gauges work or do I need to upgrade to another gauge cluster? Or is this the reason why people just ad an external controller for the variocam plus, so they dont have to use the 996 wiring harness and change alot of other things?
Thanks in advance
Joel

fast951

Joel, I replied to your email.

The RPM switch in the link is a ON/OFF switch. Switching the VCP On/Off is very disruptive, the car will not be enjoyable to drive. Going from 0% to 100% is very diruptive. The system I came up with gives full control over when to activate the VCP and by how much? Not a simple setup, I spent a few weeks perfecting it Jan/Feb last year. You have to deal with the various engine loads, RPMs (TPS angle can be factored in as well)

As far as the regular Variocam, the car I used for development was a BoxsterS, which did not require the VarioCam modification.

The VCP has 2 solenoids, one on each side of the engine.

insite

i think this is a very interesting thread. can you guys keep it updated with your progress? i think a lot of people would like to learn about this. thanks.

Todd Holyoak

As John states, simply using an RPM activated switch is going to result in a car that is not fun to drive. It would be quite easy to integrate the variocam+ with an RPM switch but at part throttle where you spend 90% of your time, the car would be a dog. Either integrating the factory DME, or using a setup as John has developed (which I believe is similar to the system I came up with) are the two options to having a car that not only makes good hp at full throttle, but also has drive-ability on the street.

If you look at Paul Frere's 911 book he has a nice diagram of the factory maps for both the cam timing switching and the valve lift switching (each of which use a pair of solenoids for actuation).

I am confused by your statement that FVD will program your 5.2.2 DME with the 7.8 program. I assume you mean they will simply program the fuel and timing maps with the 3.6 maps (probably a compressed version since the later DME has much more map data than can be accommadated by the 5.2.2 DME) since if they really could put the 7.8 program in a 5.2.2 DME there would be no need for an aftermarket controller of the variocam+.

Todd

fast951

Starting in MY2000, the DME is totally different than earlier ones. If I recall correctly, the early DME has the single connector (55-pin?) the later ones have a totally different modular connector. The Motronic Version is very different as well. Copying the fuel & ignition maps are part of the solution, the OBD2 related code must be handled as well..

914v8porjekt

He guys I found a great pdf article on this subject matter but I cant attach it pdf style so I took a snapshot of it and attached them as a picture. Also I have FVD contacting Germany tomorow to find out some specifics on the 1997 dme computer and its possiblilities to control variocam+ or too see what they are doing in order to overcome this problem for earlier cars. I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the articles

fast951

That's funny. I developed the Valve Lift control initially for Roock USA. They had a MSD shift light actuator controlling the solenoids. With the shift light actuator the car behaved badly and was not easy to drive (bad surging), not to mention all of the check engine lights.

I removed the system, for reasons unrelated to its performance.

Todd Holyoak

Yeah there are several things I have a problem with as outlined in the article. For instance, one issue is the connection of the second plenum valve directly to vacuum. This is silly as it can be connected just as it is in the 996 and function properly. Also the variocam timing solenoid is not simply turned on at a particular RPM, it is disengaged at high rpm to allow the car to make hp.
Also the manifold does not need to be drilled for the brake booster hose, it is simply relocated. Finally the shift cables can still run over the intake and do not need to be relocated. All minor points, it is an interesting article though.

Todd

Son of Mad Dog

just a thought, the original poster asked for what parts were needed etc...

no one has enlightened us with this.

for the 3.4 conversion i was told that one could use the 964 engine mounts to drop the motor down enough. As well, how hard is the transplant, does one need a wheel barrow full of money and a professional machinist shop in his garage?. aka is this something only a "tuner" can do?. Or is this actually a rather simple transplant where if one has a boxster post my2000, one just gets the dme updated, wires in the variocam plus, either uses a 3.4 tb and wire setup, or updates to egas, buys new exhaust that fits new setup, and somehow modifys the fuel rails to work (not sure of why/how).

Todd Holyoak

The installation of the 3.6 is basically the same as the 3.4 mechanically. Been covered a lot. See my pdf file on how to do it on Renntech http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...howtopic=13527

Since I have done 3 in my garage it is not something only a tuner can do. Especially the 3.4 in the early cars or the 3.6 in the post 2002 cars, it is basically plug and play. Fuel rail issue is that if using the boxster fuel rails, the mounting tabs are too low to bolt to the taller 996 injection stacks so they need to be modified to bolt up. You can get around this by using the 996 fuel rails and modifying the fuel lines instead. I have done both.

Todd