[tloof]

Badberry68,



What model LS1 do you have, is it a bone stock 325 HP Camaro version? Does the 968's 6 speed tranny seem to handle the high torque of that engine, or do you suspect it will crater it in about 50K miles or so?



Also, did you go with Renegade's custom headers for the exhaust or a set of the older tubular exhaust manifolds that came on the Camaro versions (I would guess that if so they needed some modifications to fit?). What about the brake power booster, did you finally go with the expensive aftermarket electro/hydraulic booster type?



Just curious, as I will probably do a stock 325 HP LS1 conversion myself in the future!!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[badberry68]

Yes,



Stock 325 HP from a 2001 Trans Am--custom hedders. So far the Trans is holding up well. When I first got the car back after the conversion, I was dumping the clutch all the time, doing burnouts, powershifting, racing anything... basically being very abusive! Nothing has ever broken but I now know this car can be babied and still outrun almost anything on the road.



I have also started doing track days on a regular basis, again you can baby this car and still have lots of fun. You can short-shift and "chug" out of corners and still have great acceleration. I don't know of any converted car with 50K on it, but I will find out!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='tloof' post='40275' date='Aug 22 2007, 07:48 PM']Cloud9...68,

You are mistaken about the Nissan VQ35DE being a 90 degree V6, it is actually a 60 degree V6 which is why it is narrow enough to fit in the 968 chassis even though it has 4 valve/cyl twin cam heads on it which tend to make ANY 90 degree V6 or V8 engine fairly wide and thus tough to clear the chassis. Also, you are comepletely ridiculous on your thought that a VQ35De swap would cost $15K...there is no way that it would cost more than about $7K unless you are completely non-mechanically inclined and go out and pay a shop to milk you to death to do such a swap. All engine swaps should be done by the vehicle owner in order to control the costs, or the swap will NOT be worth it!!![/quote]



tloof,



You are correct, the VQ35 is indeed a 60 degree V6, not 90 degree as I had thought. I must have been thinking of the older generation Nissan V6 (with a cast iron block, I believe), which I thought I had read somewhere was a 90 degree engine. But suddenly I'm not sure about this, either. So, with its 60 degree bank angle, the VQ35 will have even firing intervals, which is a very good thing. But I'm wondering about something else - Does anyone know the angle to which the 968 engine is slanted? I couldn't find it anywhere. It looks like it's about 45 degrees from vertical. If so, wouldn't it be next to impossible to get a 60 degree engine (30 degrees from vertical) to fit not so much under the hood, but below the all-but-indespensible strut tower brace, which the stock engine barely clears?



Please don't misunderstand - I'm not trying to knock the idea of this swap; in fact, I find the Nissan V6 to be a great engine, having test driven an Infiniti G35 coupe. And who knows, if heaven forbid my engine were to blow up, it may end up being a more economical alternative to rebuilding it.



Speaking of economics, OK, my estimate of $15K might be a little high, but when I start thinking of all the custom fabrication that would be required for things like mating the Nissan engine to the bell housing, adapting the flywheel to the new engine, dealing with the engine mounts, adapting the throttle cable, fabricating a custom exhaust, which, likely being a dual exhaust, would entail the purchase of two catalytic converters, modifying the rear panel to accomodate the twin exhaust tips, etc., it sure sounds like an expensive undertaking. Somewhere in the thread on the LS1 968 swap, the owner stated the total cost, and I thought it was well north of $10K (don't feel like digging through that very long thread to find it...). I know if I tried something like this, it would come to closer to $30K! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> But you sound like you know what you're doing, and if you have access to custom fabrication equipment, maybe you could pull it off for a reasonable price. I for one hope you have the opportunity to go for it, because it sounds like it could lead to a very nice result. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Bruckner]

I'm glad to read about this initiative, I can vouch for the quality of the VQ engine, I have the 3.0L version in my 00 Maxima and it's a beautifully engineered motor, very charismatic, responsive, torquey, refined, reliable, vocal, etc. I'm sorry to say it but whether the VQ is under the hood of an Altima or a 968, it remains the better engine in every measurable way except for the absence of a Porsche badge on its cam covers, whatever that's worth, bragging rights aren't every Porsche owner's fetiches, thankfully.



I always wanted to combine the 968 with a VQ, I think it's a more balanced and sensible match than a V8. The VQ's quality is worthy of Porsche engineering. Plus, didn't Porsche initially consider developing a V6 for the 968? The VQ has been the world benchmark V6 (bar perhaps the NSX) for years, whether Porsche would have done this well must be in great doubts.



The Euro M3 engine (S50 and S54) is a good idea but I made measurements years ago when the subject popped up on 968.net and it is definitely too long to fit without awkward front end modifications and vehicule balance problems.



All this said, I think it is unrealistic to think any kind of engine swap can be done well on the cheap, the number of custom fabricated parts, precision welding, parts development, electronics work and all add up very quickly, all of which are difficult to anticipate until someone's done it from A to Z. I will be delighted if someone makes it to a polished finished product. The issue raised here about engine height is a very real one, overhead cam engines are much taller than pushrod V8s.



To the members who successfully undertook the V8 swap, congrats! These are fantastic machines, you may have to justify why you got a Chevy engine under the hood, but you no longer have to justify why you got only 4 cylinders like the rest of us!



Regards,

Bruckner

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Bruckner' post='40836' date='Sep 5 2007, 08:21 PM']The issue raised here about engine height is a very real one, overhead cam engines are much taller than pushrod V8s.



Regards,

Bruckner[/quote]



It's not so much the height of the OHC engine that concerns me, since the stock 4-banger is also an OHC. It's that it looks to me that the stock engine sits in the engine bay at a 45 degree slant, and if that's correct (anybody know?), I don't see how a 60-degree engine like the VQ35 could make it under the hood, much less under the strut brace. I hope I'm wrong, because the more I think about it, the more I agree this would be a very good swap.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Renalicious]

Actually I think our engine is on a 60* slant, so putting in a 60* V6 shouldn't be a problem when it comes to angles.



Personally I wouldn't mind either a V6 or a V8, since they both have a great sound. But at the same time I wouldn't mind a 300HP NA 4-banger either (talk about bragging right) <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Ive always liked to get the most out of what I have. If I was to do an engine swap, I think I would end up getting a 2nd 968 just so I can have both a I4 and a V6 / V8. But that's just me <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



And lastly I've come to enjoy the sound of a 4-banger a bit more too. As long as it sounds mean and powerful, I'll be happy! Idealy I would like to have the exhaust of a V6, but the intake of an air box moded I4, if that makes any sense lol

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[tloof]

The overall height of the Nissan VQ35 V6 is close to the same as the LS V8, though it is slighly higher (keep in mind that the 350Z has a low hoodline similar to the 968 which forced Nissan to make a faily low sitting intake manifold for the 350Z installation). The thing is though, the VQ35 V6 is much shorter than the LS V8 and thus can be set back slightly farther in the 968's chassis where there is more hood clearance (not to mention more rearward weight bias in comparison to the LS V8). I don't think there will be any problem fitting it into the 968, but who knows for sure until someone actually attemps to do such a swap!



In the end it will still be very tough to beat the low cost of using a bone stock 325 HP LS1 from out of a wrecked late model Camaro/Firebird for conversion in the 968!! Possibly in another 3-4 years the VQ35 engines will be as cheap as the Camaro LS's, but not right now. Also, there is already a $2K kit from Renegade available for installing an LS V8 into the 968 which makes it that much easier than the VQ35 V6 swap (the Renegade kit includes the conversion motor mounts, torque tube adapter with custom clutch disk to fit the Porsche input spline to GM LS pressure plate & flywheel, and custom 4 into 1 exhaust headers to fit in the 968 chassis + a few other odds & ends to complete the conversion).



I think both engines would make for a much nicer 968 than the stock 968 4 cyl engine!!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Renalicious' post='40841' date='Sep 5 2007, 10:44 PM']Personally I wouldn't mind either a V6 or a V8, since they both have a great sound. But at the same time I wouldn't mind a 300HP NA 4-banger either (talk about bragging right) <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> Ive always liked to get the most out of what I have.[/quote]



I'm completely with you on this. It sounds like several people have had good results with swaps, so this is certainly a viable way to go. But if rich Uncle Olaf died and left me with a check with too many zero's to count without moving to my toes, I'd go with what the kids nowadays (never thought I'd catch myself saying that <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ) call an "all motor." Meaning, I'd go all out with a fully balanced, buleprinted rebuild, knife-edge crank, windage tray, titanium connecting rods (I saw an ad for some in the Porsche Club magazine awhile back - I won't even mention the price), RS Barn stage 3 head mod, RS Barn cams, RS Barn headers and cat back, custom LHP-designed ITB (future emissions laws be damned), dyno-tuned custom engine control, backed by an RS Barn single-mass flywheel.



I think the 968 motor would be an ideal candidate for this type of treatment, because unlike the vast majority of engines going the "all-motor" route, which tend to be barely over 2 liters, the large displacement 968 4-banger should retain a fair amoung of low-end torque, even with all the deep-breathing-oriented mods. The feeling and sound of going WOT with somethng like this coming out of a fast sweeper on my favorite track would be a slice of pure automotive heaven. Yes, it would cost more than a new Miata, but fantasies shouldn't have price tags, now should they?

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[SpeedForceRacing]

Since we are familiar with all the engines that have been mentioned, I thought I would chime in here.I had already thought about this swap for my 944 turbo about a year ago.I have spare VQ engines and transmission here.I was going to do a full drivetrain swap instead of trying to deal with the transaxle(and the plus for me is go from a five speed to a six speed tranny with easy clutch changes).The VQ35 engine can easily make 275WHP with simple bolt-ons and my 350Z makes 480WHP with a pair of turbos on the completely stock engine.The 2JZ and RB26 engines(we have three of these mtoors in our shop getting built right now) are way too heavy and way to long as well as to tall to fit in the 968.The LS motors are great engines and makes tons of power but there cost is quite high and all the parts needed for the conversion would definitely be alot more then doing the VQ35 6 cylinder swap.Plus you wont mess with the balance of the car.





Tim

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rxter]

Somehow I missed this one.



Ferdinand must be rolling over in his grave.



I wonder if after making my Porsche a Nizzan I could shove the 968 engine in my RX-8. Now that would be a kick.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.