boxster conversion to 3.4

[goldnogard]

hello, does any one know how much would it cost for labor and time to do the conversion from a "1998" 2.5 boxster to a "1999" 3.4 996 motor ,tiptronic trans. and if any one know of a good mechanic in losangeles?

thanks in advance

Ali :)

Edited August 21, 2007 by goldnogard

[qikqbn]

hello, does any one know how much would it cost for labor and time to do the conversion from a "1998" 2.5 boxster to a "1999" 3.4 996 motor ,tiptronic trans. and if any one know of a good mechanic in losangeles?

thanks in advance

Ali :)

Hi Ali,

I just had this conversion done a few months ago in Los Angeles. I have owned my arctic silver 1998 2.5 liter Boxster for over 7 years now.

It is "the other woman" according to my lovely wife. Needless to say I love it and it is a hobby of mine

to work on it and change out interior parts as well as exterior with stuff with more updated parts or go fast goodies.

I currently have the 1999 tequipment aero kit on with 18 inch carrera lightweight wheels, 7 mm spacers and RoW M030

suspension upgrade from sunset Porsche as well as Gahh glass convertable top.

Misc hacks done for a bit of minor speed upgrades were:

--desnorkel air intake -- k&n air filter--power chip. I had the car dyno'd and it made a respectable 220 hp at crank.

BUT... as you know, this car can handle so much more power... and I always dreamed of Ruf's 3400 power and reliability.

So I went through a lot of research for a 3.4 conversion mechanic. I spoke with several shops and had several recommendations,

including Ruf technicians.. Well with 93,000 miles on the 2.5 liter, it was time to buy a Cayman or upgrade my motor...

There was something I love about my car and I could not part with it since I have made it my unique hobby.

I finally wanted to give it the power it deserves. Plus... at weighing in at 2755 pounds and potential 320 hp.... it was a no brainer for me.

First step:

I got the 2000 3.4 motor from a good friend "Todd", owner of Los Angeles Porsche Dismantler. (818)-Porsche

I was fortunate and we found one with only 18,000 miles on it. Todd was such a great resource of information and very professional,

but very busy as well, so patience is key. I also got a boxster S front center radiator as well as Carrera 996 front brake calipers with rotors

from Todd as well. He has hundreds of cars that have been totalled in crashes, but yet still have great parts left on them.

A porsche enthusiasts buffet table!

I later had the steel braided lines installed and system blead while motor was being installed..

The Carrera front brake calipers and rotors are same identical size that Boxter S uses...except painted black.

I highly recommend upgrading the front brakes this way. The added hp power justifies the need for stopping power.

Super easy installation... Hardest part was just bleeding the brake fluid.... and that is not that hard.

2nd step... Finding the right mechanic with a solid reputation and know how for 3.4 conversions.

I finally ended up contacting Claudio Szyszkowski's shop... Foreign Sport Technicians in Santa Monica.

310-394-0369.

I First read an article about Claudio in "Excellence Porsche Mag" June 2000 edition. He is Gemballa's

go to man for Los Angeles. In the article he performed one of his first 3.4 conversions on a black 1999

boxster owned by Dale Launer. The article mentioned how reliable and "factory installed" the final product

looked and drove. So I was already impressed with Claudio. Now, almost 7 years after the article was

written, Todd from Porsche dismantler recommended Claudio as one of the mechanics he trusted

and that I should contact and see about doing the install.

I was pleasantly surprised and happy because I was really familiar with the article and Claudio's name.

So I went to Claudio's shop and what do ya know, but the black 1999 boxster that Claudio did his first

3.4 conversion was there at his shop having maintenance and oil changed. He gave me a ride in it and

I was hooked. It had lots of power and torque. The torque is not like a big V8 motor... but impressive

none the less. Where this motor loves to be is above 3000 rpm. It just hauls *** and screams

all the way to 7200 rpm.

Claudio admitted that this car was like his prototype and he has learned a lot about the conversion

process and what works best since then. He mentioned my car would likely be a bit stronger and faster.

Mostly due to updated headers, powerchip upgrade, and I used a 2004 boxter S exhaust where dale still had the original 2.5

liter muffler.

So the installation takes 3-4 weeks to be safe and take the right amount of care, preparation, and shake down.

Claudio was very professional and allowed me to stop by any time to get quick updates or take photos.

He makes fun of me now at how many photos I took. He called me when ever he found a part that needed

replacing or just looked "tired" and was ready for replacement.

Long story short.... The installation went great. I have had the car dyno'd again and it is making

about 310-320 hp at the crank and 270 lbs of torque. Dyno's are a weird science...It is my daily driver and feels

like I bought it from the factory with this motor in it.

I recently got a Gtech Pro RR Gforce meter that measures time to speed and cornering performance

here are my results:

60 foot time for launch on start.. 1.9 sec

0-60 mph 4.4 seconds.

0-100 mph 10.6 seconds...

0-130 mph 17.3 seconds

1/4 mile 12.8@110 mph.

I love it!

as far as price...??? really depends... but motor + install..... expect to pay $10-12k depending on parts, upgrades, and

other stuff...

Edited April 18, 2008 by qikqbn

[White987S]

Qikqbn, great write-up. Thanks!

[humara]

indeed, very nice write up.

claudio and crew did my pre-purchase inspection. very thorough and they are perfectionists for sure.

i'm thinking i may need to sell my 17000 mile 3.2 and come up with some cash to do this. although, the hp gains are not as dramatic going from a 3.2 to a 3.4. but still...

[joe19812]

hello, does any one know how much would it cost for labor and time to do the conversion from a "1998" 2.5 boxster to a "1999" 3.4 996 motor ,tiptronic trans. and if any one know of a good mechanic in losangeles?

thanks in advance

Ali :)

Hi Ali,

I just had this conversion done a few months ago in Los Angeles. I have owned my arctic silver 1998 2.5 liter Boxster for over 7 years now.

It is "the other woman" according to my lovely wife. Needless to say I love it and it is a hobby of mine

to work on it and change out interior parts as well as exterior with stuff with more updated parts or go fast goodies.

I currently have the 1999 tequipment aero kit on with 18 inch carrera lightweight wheels, 7 mm spacers and RoW M030

suspension upgrade from sunset Porsche as well as Gahh glass convertable top.

Misc hacks done for a bit of minor speed upgrades were:

--desnorkel air intake -- k&n air filter--power chip. I had the car dyno'd and it made a respectable 220 hp at crank.

BUT... as you know, this car can handle so much more power... and I always dreamed of Ruf's 3400 power and reliability.

So I went through a lot of research for a 3.4 conversion mechanic. I spoke with several shops and had several recommendations,

including Ruf technicians.. Well with 93,000 miles on the 2.5 liter, it was time to buy a Cayman or upgrade my motor...

There was something I love about my car and I could not part with it since I have made it my unique hobby.

I finally wanted to give it the power it deserves. Plus... at weighing in at 2755 pounds and potential 320 hp.... it was a no brainer for me.

First step:

I got the 2000 3.4 motor from a good friend "Todd", owner of Los Angeles Porsche Dismantler. (818)-Porsche

I was fortunate and we found one with only 18,000 miles on it. Todd was such a great resource of information and very professional,

but very busy as well, so patience is key. I also got a boxster S front center radiator as well as Carrera 996 front brake calipers with rotors

from Todd as well. He has hundreds of cars that have been totalled in crashes, but yet still have great parts left on them.

A porsche enthusiasts buffet table!

I later had the steel braided lines installed and system blead while motor was being installed..

The Carrera front brake calipers and rotors are same identical size that Boxter S uses...except painted black.

I highly recommend upgrading the front brakes this way. The added hp power justifies the need for stopping power.

Super easy installation... Hardest part was just bleeding the brake fluid.... and that is not that hard.

2nd step... Finding the right mechanic with a solid reputation and know how for 3.4 conversions.

I finally ended up contacting Claudio Szyszkowski's shop... Foreign Sport Technicians in Santa Monica.

310-394-0369.

I First read an article about Claudio in "Excellence Porsche Mag" June 2000 edition. He is Gemballa's

go to man for Los Angeles. In the article he performed one of his first 3.4 conversions on a black 1999

boxster owned by Dale Launer. The article mentioned how reliable and "factory installed" the final product

looked and drove. So I was already impressed with Claudio. Now, almost 7 years after the article was

written, Todd from Porsche dismantler recommended Claudio as one of the mechanics he trusted

and that I should contact and see about doing the install.

I was pleasantly surprised and happy because I was really familiar with the article and Claudio's name.

So I went to Claudio's shop and what do ya know, but the black 1999 boxster that Claudio did his first

3.4 conversion was there at his shop having maintenance and oil changed. He gave me a ride in it and

I was hooked. It had lots of power and torque. The torque is not like a big V8 motor... but impressive

none the less. Where this motor loves to be is above 3000 rpm. It just hauls *** and screams

all the way to 7200 rpm.

Claudio admitted that this car was like his prototype and he has learned a lot about the conversion

process and what works best since then. He mentioned my car would likely be a bit stronger and faster.

Mostly due to updated headers, powerchip upgrade, and I used a 2004 boxter S exhaust where dale still had the original 2.5

liter muffler.

So the installation takes 3-4 weeks to be safe and take the right amount of care, preparation, and shake down.

Claudio was very professional and allowed me to stop by any time to get quick updates or take photos.

He makes fun of me now at how many photos I took. He called me when ever he found a part that needed

replacing or just looked "tired" and was ready for replacement.

Long story short.... The installation went great. I have had the car dyno'd again and it is making

about 315-320 hp at the crank and 270 lbs of torque. It is my daily driver and feels

like I bought it from the factory with this motor in it.

I did some stop watch runs... not super accurate, but you will get the idea...

0-60 mph 4.4 seconds.

0-100 mph 11.0 seconds...

I love it!

as far as price...??? really depends... but motor + install..... expect to pay $12K-16k depending on parts, upgrades, and

other stuff...

great info! I don't yet own a Boxster but down the road I hope to purchase an older one that I can mod for added hp.

What are the pros/cons to more hp doing a 3.4L swap vs a turbo or sc setup?

[efahl]

What are the pros/cons to more hp doing a 3.4L swap vs a turbo or sc setup?

Joe,

My opinions: the NA 3.4 is "pure Porsche" which is the big one for most people. You can take it to any dealership and they should know how to deal with everything they see, there're no hacked-in parts. A NA motor is lighter, no additional hardware is added to the car. The driveability is excellent, too, it's very tractable and just feels right.

Cost of the 3.4 is far less than a proper force induction installation. In order to build a motor for use with either a turbo- or a supercharger, you should drop the compression ratio quite a bit below our NA motor's 11:1, lower the top ring on the piston and put in stouter rods. Adding piston sprayers is always a good idea, too, and this all costs money. A Boxster has limited room for charge coolers, so a good deal of fabrication will be necessary to get either air into the back for an air-air intercooler, or water up front for an air-water cooler.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of forced induction (http://www.not2fast.com/audi/maxq/), as the HP potential is truly amazing, but if done on a car that never had a boosted model, then you are definitely going to do a lot of work to design and implement a robust and driveable system.

I've gone through a thought-experiment version of a Boxster TT and here's what I would do:

1) Get a low mileage 3.6 or 3.8.

2) Tear it down, blueprint the block, install piston squirters on the main oil galleys.

3) Knife edge and balance the crank.

4) Get new forged pistons with top ring at 10 mm below the deck. This probably drops the compression height, so...

5) New shorter, forged rods to accommodate the lower CH.

6) Clean up the ports, no need to port them out, just make sure everything is as designed.

7) Ditch the VarioCam and use fixed timing to simplify tuning.

8) Get some turbo-specific cams ground by a friend who specializes in such things.

9) A couple of GT32 (71 mm cold-side) turbos should work out about right. Hotside will be tricky to avoid lots of lag...

10) Fab some EMs out of 316 or Inconel.

11) Cut out the rear trunk and use the space for air-air intercoolers.

12) Get rid of the Bosch DME, use my own engine controls to run MAF or maybe speed-density, depends how I feel at that point...

At 21 psig boost, such a setup would be good for about 550 HP.

Eric

[mikefocke]

Haven's seen any Tiptronic 3.4 upgrades.

Is 36% more HP really worth spending $16k for in a 8-10 year old car? All those old suspension parts and wires and hoses....

Or is buying a new one the better way to go?

Or even better a slightly used year old one?

[qikqbn]

Haven's seen any Tiptronic 3.4 upgrades.

Is 36% more HP really worth spending $16k for in a 8-10 year old car? All those old suspension parts and wires and hoses....

Or is buying a new one the better way to go?

Or even better a slightly used year old one?

Hey Mike,

I went through the same thought process... I guess you would have to think more about it if you did not already own a boxster....

Now I mentioned that the cost could be $12-16 based on what you wanted to add, replace, or upgrade. I have met some that

have had the work done for closer to $10k. $5000-6000 for motor and $5-6 k for labor...

I spent a little extra on having some of those "tired parts" replaced new flywheel, engine mounts, suspension bits etc...etc..

That way I can feel that I have a great car in good condition for the next 5 years....

Now, if I were thinking of purchasing a boxster for the first time... then that's a different story. I would definitely go

with the latest model I could afford and lean for the "S" model..... A 2002 Boxster S with an 3.6 conversian will net you

a 2855 lbs Porsche with 325-340 hp for about $40,000 ...... The 2007 3.4 Boxster S or Cayman will be in for a surprise

and You can get your wife a used Cayenne S with the money you saved.... that's kind of what I did :D

So my 1998 3.4 Boxster has the performance and a bit quicker than new Cayman S and Boxster S... Still looks like new too...

and is payed off! wooo hooo...

another note... I agree the 3.4 liter conversion is more "pure porsche" compared to supercharge or turbos...

[Peer]

I just had this conversion done a few months ago in Los Angeles.

So how much was the labor?

-- peer

[JFP in PA]

 

I just had this conversion done a few months ago in Los Angeles.

So how much was the labor?

-- peer

 

 

I hope you realize that you are responding to a nine year old post................

[Peer]

I hope you realize that you are responding to a nine year old post................

Yes, and now, nine years later, I'm still curious to know how much the labor ran for Mr. Qikqbn's engine swap.

-- peer

[qikqbn]

Sorry for late reply ;^)    

 

prices for used porsche engines has gone way up since I did my conversion 10 years ago.  they are now averaging 9-12k for an engine. When I did my conversion I got the engine for closer to 6-7k  with my old engine and a core exchange. ..   The Labor took about 40 hours.  So multiply that by the hourly rate of your favorite mechanic, but figure about 4k for labor...

 

Now... I would not necessarily do this conversion at today's prices and with the prices of 2007 987 Boxster S /Cayman S  3.4  liter cars selling for 20-25k.... I would just buy a 2007 boxster S  now instead.     10 years ago it was a different story for the 70k price 3.4 liter Boxsters and caymans were going for.   My conversion seemed like a reasonable project at that time.  Not so sure now.  all depends on what you can get the car and engine for now. hope that helps.