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Anyone here running a 997 3.8L engine in their Cayman?

12K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  Cayman787 
#1 ·
My Cayman has a transplanted 3.8L engine from a 997.1 C2S. Is there anyone else here who has done the same thing? If so, what AOS are you using and if you track the car, what is your experience with it in terms of engine smoke at the track?
 
#3 ·
I had my 3.4L rebuilt into a 3.8L. I installed the Motorsport AOS. My car is tracked heavily with Hoosier Slicks. No smoke.
 
#5 ·
Yes, I really enjoy the extra torque from the 3.8L in my Cayman. It does make it quick.
 
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#6 ·
The 3.8L 997S engine in my Cayman does smoke a lot at some tracks, but not so much at others. It seems that high-G left hand corners make things worse. As far as I can determine, there is no Motorsport AOS available for this particular engine. The architecture of the OEM Cayman 3.4L is different and there is a Motorsport AOS for it. The other thing that's different about the 3.8L 997S engine in the Cayman vs. the original 997 installation is that the engine is turned around 180 degrees in the longitudinal direction because of the mid-engine vs. rear-engine placement.
 
#7 ·
My car has a 997.1 3.8 X51 engine installed by Farnbacher Loles in 2008. I bought it that way in 2012 and it now has 6 1/2 track seasons on it, lately w/ slicks. It smokes more than I'd like. Always on startup after a run and now and then on the track, usually on the next turn after a hard left. E.g. after the left hand hairpin at Barber I will brake for the next turn and when I get back on the throttle there is often a disturbing plume of smoke. I replaced the OEM 987.1 AOS early this season and it made no difference. I love having a sleeper car - passing GT3s, race cars, etc. But I don't know how much longer it is going to last.
 
#11 ·
No, Peter. I bought mine from a brand management exec outside of Boston. The seller represented that it had never been tracked or anything like that. It was not the full bore GTR as some were (see videos online of a red one doing donuts), very much a sleeper. It had a Revo tune that was subpar; I've since flashed it w/ the Softronic X51 conversion file and gained almost 40 rwhp. As a pioneering 3.8 swap, they did make some mistakes. Maybe it wouldn't fit w/ the bigger engine but it would have been better to retain the stock airbox than draw intake air from the engine bay. Still, one of the better purchases I've made in my life. I paid only $12,000 more than the cost of the mods alone, and it had only 22,500 miles on it and was pristine.
 
#12 ·
The M97.01 3.8 l has already better AOS (3 pieces) than the original cayman 987.1.
The problem is left corners, the oil ends up in the right side cyl.head in the front part where there is no scavenger oil pump. On the left side head there is a scavenger pump, therefore no problem there.
Installl the TTP scavenger pump on the right side and you should be fine.
Andreas
 
#13 ·
FWIW - I have a 3.6 bored to 4.0L built by vision with all the necessary oiling mods. My car has crazy aero, run full slicks, blah blah blah. Even with all this, the motorsport AOS also gets overwhelmed as time goes on. Replace it, very little smoke. Time goes on, smokes more and more. Repeat. These motors are flattly prone to smoke and the AOS can't keep up as you push the limits.

There's a dry sump system by a company in Colorado that I'll try when I rebuild the motor, but it requires the engine to be dropped (it was posted somewhere in this section.)
 
#14 ·
This is both interesting AND frustrating to read that its a problem that cant really be contained...

Staying OFF of slicks seems to be the best solution. Dont let the car reach its full potential... bummer.

Does the Motorsport AOS work on a 997 3.6 Motor?
 
#15 ·
Requires fab skills but can do. My tech did it and took +10 hrs.
 
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