I still need to read all this but it sounds interesting…. It’s been done. I’m curious on the weight. Good luck!
Should be fun to watch the build
Should be fun to watch the build
2006 Cayman S - EV conversion build thread
Hi Folks,
Been awhile since I've posted because I haven't had a p-car in a few years. Thought I'd start this thread to document at least some of my newest project - converting a 2006 Porsche Cayman S to full electric. Sorry for the long post but figured I'd get this all down in one spot.
Backstory
Been wanting to do this since my wife and I test drove and bought a Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor car last year. Accelerates as fast as my old 996 turbo, but carries 5 people in comfort and silence. Truly impressive both from a performance as well as user experience standpoint.
Based on living the EV lifestyle, I started re-evaluating what my priorities were in having a "fun" 2nd car. At the time I had a 2014 BMW M235i RWD which was tons of fun, but I didn't drive it very often, and not on very long distances. I started to realize that having a "sports" car with EV power and efficiency and not needing a long range is something that might be easily attainable.
I started looking at numerous chassis/platforms to convert and options came up as the following that were reasonably inexpensive, good handling and could reasonably take the EV conversion without too much trouble:
The Car
Given the ease and cost of the 986/987 chassis, as well as the fact that the motor and batteries would go where the motor/transmission is currently mounted in the chassis (and it's protected from impacts), I decided to go with the 987 Cayman.
With all the bore-scoring going on in colder climates on the M97 engine (at least 3.4 and up), I knew it was only a matter of time before one came up for sale with scoring issues. I just picked up this car (yesterday!):
![]()
The Plan
I'm thinking this may actually take a year to finish, given I'm planning to do all the work myself, picking up skills on the way (welding, 3D printing, CAN debugging and programming, and on and on). I plan on using the following components:
Obviously there's alot more to work out, but it's started.
First order of business is to do a bore-scope on the engine to confirm that's what it is. For convenience, I'm going in from the spark plug holes initially to see if I can see anything obvious.
Next is to drop the engine and tranny (engine is spoken for, but tranny is for sale, if anyone is interested).
I might start a youtube channel/insta, etc to document each step (starting with the bore-scope) as alot of people have been asking me where they can follow my progress. I'll see how that part goes.
Wish me luck. All comments, questions and feedback is welcome!
Been awhile since I've posted because I haven't had a p-car in a few years. Thought I'd start this thread to document at least some of my newest project - converting a 2006 Porsche Cayman S to full electric. Sorry for the long post but figured I'd get this all down in one spot.
Backstory
Been wanting to do this since my wife and I test drove and bought a Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor car last year. Accelerates as fast as my old 996 turbo, but carries 5 people in comfort and silence. Truly impressive both from a performance as well as user experience standpoint.
Based on living the EV lifestyle, I started re-evaluating what my priorities were in having a "fun" 2nd car. At the time I had a 2014 BMW M235i RWD which was tons of fun, but I didn't drive it very often, and not on very long distances. I started to realize that having a "sports" car with EV power and efficiency and not needing a long range is something that might be easily attainable.
I started looking at numerous chassis/platforms to convert and options came up as the following that were reasonably inexpensive, good handling and could reasonably take the EV conversion without too much trouble:
- 996: plenty around, significantly depreciated, but no room in the chassis without cutting up the frame (may compromise structural integrity)
- Lotus Elise: Older pre-'07 can me found cheaper in the States and imported, but not as cheap as I'd like, but has been done.
- BMW E9X/E8X: plenty around, REALLY cheap and the Tesla Model 3 rear drive subframe is actually pretty close to the BMW subframe. But the clearancing issues may again affect integrity and I'd have to come up with an alternative for the rear swaybar as it's in the way. But this was highly considered and I nearly pulled the trigger on a 135i with a blown engine to convert to a Tesla-powered 1M clone.
- 987/986: Several people have already done this conversion using both a Tesla Model S Large and Small Drive Unit. The LDU is capable of 450hp and "drops in" with pre-fabbed subframes making it a bolt-in affair.
The Car
Given the ease and cost of the 986/987 chassis, as well as the fact that the motor and batteries would go where the motor/transmission is currently mounted in the chassis (and it's protected from impacts), I decided to go with the 987 Cayman.
With all the bore-scoring going on in colder climates on the M97 engine (at least 3.4 and up), I knew it was only a matter of time before one came up for sale with scoring issues. I just picked up this car (yesterday!):
- 2006 Cayman S, tiptronic
- 67,000 kms - I'm in Toronto, Canada
- Sport seats, 19" wheels, rear wiper, not many other options
- Initial signs of scoring (smoking, tick, high oil consumption), but not yet confirmed with a borescope
- Mint condition, but history is somewhat unknown. I bought it from the person that imported it directly from Japan (it does have the steering wheel on the left) with all the original records and documentation, but in Japanese, including owners manual and service stamps!
- Other than the scoring symptoms, the car looks cosmetically like it's in great shape and drives like it's almost brand new (no shakes, rattles, issues of any kind).
The Plan
I'm thinking this may actually take a year to finish, given I'm planning to do all the work myself, picking up skills on the way (welding, 3D printing, CAN debugging and programming, and on and on). I plan on using the following components:
- Tesla Large Drive Unit from a Model S good for 450 hp with a custom-designed and built subframe. I won't get that much as it's limited by the battery, but hopefully it will be at least 400
- Chevy Volt Gen 2 battery pack. Liquid cooled, designed for high discharge rates, lightweight, built-in cooling and cheap/readily available from junkyards
- Tesla V2 HV Charge Controller with open-source controller board
- Open-source Tesla LDU inverter and software
- DC-DC converter TBD
- Battery Management System (BMS) TBD
- Existing Cayman cooling system with inline pump to cool batteries and motor
- Aftermarket AC and heating TBD
Obviously there's alot more to work out, but it's started.
First order of business is to do a bore-scope on the engine to confirm that's what it is. For convenience, I'm going in from the spark plug holes initially to see if I can see anything obvious.
Next is to drop the engine and tranny (engine is spoken for, but tranny is for sale, if anyone is interested).
I might start a youtube channel/insta, etc to document each step (starting with the bore-scope) as alot of people have been asking me where they can follow my progress. I'll see how that part goes.
Wish me luck. All comments, questions and feedback is welcome!
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
Would love to see this. Gotta do that YouTube channel.Hi Folks,
Been awhile since I've posted because I haven't had a p-car in a few years. Thought I'd start this thread to document at least some of my newest project - converting a 2006 Porsche Cayman S to full electric. Sorry for the long post but figured I'd get this all down in one spot.
Backstory
Been wanting to do this since my wife and I test drove and bought a Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor car last year. Accelerates as fast as my old 996 turbo, but carries 5 people in comfort and silence. Truly impressive both from a performance as well as user experience standpoint.
Based on living the EV lifestyle, I started re-evaluating what my priorities were in having a "fun" 2nd car. At the time I had a 2014 BMW M235i RWD which was tons of fun, but I didn't drive it very often, and not on very long distances. I started to realize that having a "sports" car with EV power and efficiency and not needing a long range is something that might be easily attainable.
I started looking at numerous chassis/platforms to convert and options came up as the following that were reasonably inexpensive, good handling and could reasonably take the EV conversion without too much trouble:
- 996: plenty around, significantly depreciated, but no room in the chassis without cutting up the frame (may compromise structural integrity)
- Lotus Elise: Older pre-'07 can me found cheaper in the States and imported, but not as cheap as I'd like, but has been done.
- BMW E9X/E8X: plenty around, REALLY cheap and the Tesla Model 3 rear drive subframe is actually pretty close to the BMW subframe. But the clearancing issues may again affect integrity and I'd have to come up with an alternative for the rear swaybar as it's in the way. But this was highly considered and I nearly pulled the trigger on a 135i with a blown engine to convert to a Tesla-powered 1M clone.
- 987/986: Several people have already done this conversion using both a Tesla Model S Large and Small Drive Unit. The LDU is capable of 450hp and "drops in" with pre-fabbed subframes making it a bolt-in affair.
The Car
Given the ease and cost of the 986/987 chassis, as well as the fact that the motor and batteries would go where the motor/transmission is currently mounted in the chassis (and it's protected from impacts), I decided to go with the 987 Cayman.
With all the bore-scoring going on in colder climates on the M97 engine (at least 3.4 and up), I knew it was only a matter of time before one came up for sale with scoring issues. I just picked up this car (yesterday!):
- 2006 Cayman S, tiptronic
- 67,000 kms - I'm in Toronto, Canada
- Sport seats, 19" wheels, rear wiper, not many other options
- Initial signs of scoring (smoking, tick, high oil consumption), but not yet confirmed with a borescope
- Mint condition, but history is somewhat unknown. I bought it from the person that imported it directly from Japan (it does have the steering wheel on the left) with all the original records and documentation, but in Japanese, including owners manual and service stamps!
- Other than the scoring symptoms, the car looks cosmetically like it's in great shape and drives like it's almost brand new (no shakes, rattles, issues of any kind).
![]()
The Plan
I'm thinking this may actually take a year to finish, given I'm planning to do all the work myself, picking up skills on the way (welding, 3D printing, CAN debugging and programming, and on and on). I plan on using the following components:
- Tesla Large Drive Unit from a Model S good for 450 hp with a custom-designed and built subframe. I won't get that much as it's limited by the battery, but hopefully it will be at least 400
- Chevy Volt Gen 2 battery pack. Liquid cooled, designed for high discharge rates, lightweight, built-in cooling and cheap/readily available from junkyards
- Tesla V2 HV Charge Controller with open-source controller board
- Open-source Tesla LDU inverter and software
- DC-DC converter TBD
- Battery Management System (BMS) TBD
- Existing Cayman cooling system with inline pump to cool batteries and motor
- Aftermarket AC and heating TBD
Obviously there's alot more to work out, but it's started.
First order of business is to do a bore-scope on the engine to confirm that's what it is. For convenience, I'm going in from the spark plug holes initially to see if I can see anything obvious.
Next is to drop the engine and tranny (engine is spoken for, but tranny is for sale, if anyone is interested).
I might start a youtube channel/insta, etc to document each step (starting with the bore-scope) as alot of people have been asking me where they can follow my progress. I'll see how that part goes.
Wish me luck. All comments, questions and feedback is welcome!
Sorry for the delay. Things have been busy trying to clear space and wait for the weather to get nice to start on the project. First thing was to confirm whether the car I bought actually did have bore scoring. It'd be a shame to pull it apart if the engine wasn't bad....
This was cylinder #6 (driver's side, rear most cylinder) taken through the spark plug hole. I think it's safe to say we've got some scoring.....
![Water Liquid Wood Ingredient Recipe]()
So on to prepare for engine removal. Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be building some wheel cribs to lift the car up, get the AC refrigerant removed, drain all fluids, and then drop the engine and tranny!
I've been keeping busy with another mod. Check out my other thread which I'll update here shortly.....
This was cylinder #6 (driver's side, rear most cylinder) taken through the spark plug hole. I think it's safe to say we've got some scoring.....
So on to prepare for engine removal. Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be building some wheel cribs to lift the car up, get the AC refrigerant removed, drain all fluids, and then drop the engine and tranny!
I've been keeping busy with another mod. Check out my other thread which I'll update here shortly.....
I started converting my 2006 987 Boxster S in 2021 during the pandemic. Also a tiptronic, so I figure I'm saving this car and Porsche's namesake. The 3.2L has 85K miles and runs strong. I can send you a video I took just before removal if anyone is interested. I have to admit that I'll miss the sound a bit, but not the overall tiptronic experience. I much preferred my 2005 Boxster S with 6 spd manual. But this vehicle was purpose bought for a conversion. Having 400+ hp will help ease the loss of the intake breathing behind your head.
Specs:
![Tire Automotive tire Vehicle Hood Motor vehicle]()
![Automotive tire Bicycle part Rim Automotive exterior Automotive design]()
![Wheel Tire Automotive parking light Car Vehicle]()
Looking forward to following your progress.
Specs:
- Tesla performance LDU (2015)
- Quaife Limited Slip diff (Zero EV)
- Likely a Chevy Bolt battery (being sized for fitment)
- F1moto sub-frame. Bolted right in! Very happy with the build quality.
- Tesla brake vacuum booster
- Tesla water heater
- A/C undecided
- Polykup VCU (ended up bringing it to them to finish up the conversion...don't have the time and want to drive it)
Looking forward to following your progress.
Slow progress, but finally started preparing for the engine/tranny drop. Following the guide on Pelican Parts for the 986 but a few things different that I'll try to capture as I go. I have a lift table and an engine hoist that I'll use.
So far, I've followed the prep and removed/disconnected everything in the engine compartment and rear trunk. Put the car up on these wheel cribs that I made and now about to start removing/disconnecting/draining stuff from underneath. I'll also remove the rear bumper to provide better access. Wish me luck!
![Automotive parking light Car Tire Vehicle Wheel]()
So far, I've followed the prep and removed/disconnected everything in the engine compartment and rear trunk. Put the car up on these wheel cribs that I made and now about to start removing/disconnecting/draining stuff from underneath. I'll also remove the rear bumper to provide better access. Wish me luck!
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
