'99 996 Engine oiling upgrade question

[x5rap]

I was told by a knowledgable person that some early 996's, when run on the track encountered an engine oiling problem and kabooom. I don't know if it was an engine oil pick-up problem encountered under sustained hard cornering or just what. As I understand it, when the car is subjected only to the stresses of the street, it's not an issue. There was either a TSB issued or it was a Porsche Motorsports recommendation for early 996's being run on the track. I have just started running my early-build 996 in an occassional autocross. In my limited autocross experience, there are periods of sustained cornering. RPM's are generally elevated. The g's are there and, in the future I will upgrade the suspension to something like the ROW M030 option. Better handling is a plus, but not at the expense of engine longevity.

:lightbulb: I am seeking more information about an engine oiling system upgrade that was recommended for early 996's being run on the track. Can anyone corroberate this and provide more information on this engine oiling system upgrade? Name or part # or TSB #? What's involved?

Thanks to the board in advance for your help.

____________________________________________

'99 US 996 coupe tip, (Feb-98)

[dj996]

Yes there is a motorsports oiling upgrade for the 3.4 996 engine. The M96 motor is subject to potential oil starvation during certain high G left sweepers, the problem occurs on the 4-6 side. It was enough of a problem that Porsche made a kit. It was sold by PMNA and voided the warranty. The kit included a new oil pan with aluminum baffles instead of plastic, dual stage scavenge pump for the 4-6 side and a suction pipe which has to be mounted on the cam cover. The cam cover must be machined slightly to accept the oil pipe. As I said the kit was available, PMNA no longer stocks or sells the kit. However......I have checked into this, as the kit is part of the X51 package the parts are available separately. The parts can be special ordered from Germany. The kit is expensive, PMNA wanted $1360, but you can buy the needed parts for about $1K piece-meal. Brey-Krause also sells a sump modification to alleviate the problem, the BK kit is a lot cheaper and legal for PCA racing too.

Here are the part numbers:

Pump: 996.107.980.00

Suction Pipe: 99610798402

Oil Pan: 996.107.310.8R (not available), must use the X51 street part (996 107 243 40 ). :drive:

Edited July 18, 2005 by dj996

[nova996]

I don't know, "Kaboom" may be overstating it. What kind of tires do you run?

I was able to see a slight drop in pressure on my C2 with MPSCs tracking out of Turn 1 at VIR *if* I didn't use the whole track on exit. I didn't see that effect with Corsas on that track. And other than some increased noise later, the engine seemed to be unaffected. If you are running slicks, it may be a bigger issue. I did notice that in Grand Am Cup they allow 996s to make mods to the oiling system, presumably because someone thought it was important at that level.

But for the rest of us, I'm not sure that oil starvation is that serious an issue on the 996s. It was disconcerting when I first noticed it, but at the end of the day it wasn't a big issue.

[x5rap]

dj,

Thanks a bunch! I really appreciate the info and posting pics on the install would be perfect. :notworthy:

In the meantime, I'll see what else I can dig up on the modification from Brey-Krause.

Thanks again!

Ray