996 LS V8 Conversion

[LvSteveH]

It's been a long time coming, but it LIVES! I'll attach some pictures and a video, but suffice it to say it's pretty amazing.

What you can't fully appreciate from the pictures is the level of refinement the LS brings to the table. This isn't some funky marriage between the prom queen and Larry the cable guy.

Drivability is excellent and the power is very smooth and linear. In fact outside of a 996 owner who's potentially very tuned into the specific sound and character of the stock motor, very few people would pick up on it being modified.

In terms of performance, it's a lot like a new turbo, but no turbo lag of course, which makes it amazing on the street. Thanks to the wide, flat torque curve of a 6.2L engine the power is there off idle to over 6k rpms. Rather than coming on hard at 3000 to 4000 RPMS like a turbo or even many N/A porsche motors it's just smooth and seamless all the way through the powerband. That's also nice on the track when you are balancing the car with your right foot.

The final kit isn't quite ready to retail, so no pricing yet; but the bang for the buck is off the charts. Compare a porsche factory replacement motor that still has some inherent design flaws to a $9k brand new 430hp LS3 engine package. That doesn't include conversion parts or installation, but from a reliability, performance, and value standpoint it's an excellent alternative.

Current updates can be found at www.RenegadeHybrids.com

Scott, the owner of Renegade did the video:

996 LS V8 Video

[wildcat077]

Pretty impressive but it will never have the true spirit of a Porsche !
Sure it will look like a Porsche but it will sound like every other American made cloned musclecar !
Might as well buy a Mustang,a Camaro or a Challenger, at least you will be able to say you have something real ...

I've had 70's big block musclecars but i wouldn't trade the sound of my dual out Fabspeed 3.2
for any of them

Just sayin ...

Cheers !
Phil

[jackb911]

IMO, the LS conversion is by far the best solution for the M96/M97 RMS/IMS issues on these cars.

Based on what I can see in the photos, that is a super neat installation.

I know that the purists hate these conversions but if I still had my 996 and it had a leaky RMS, I'd be doing this without hesitation.

Kudos!!

[LvSteveH]

You couldn't be more wrong about the exhaust note. It doesn't sound anything at all like a typical muscle car. I know the audio isn't great, but listen to the interior portions of the video when the car's driving. It's very quiet, running through the porsche exhaust actually. It does have a bit of a performance note when you are driving it hard, but nothing that seems out of character.

I've got more Porsche powered cars than 99.9% of the people on Pelican, so I like them all, but in no way is it an abomination. Unless of course you think that the stock 996 is the best thing Porsche ever made. In that case you'd be in a pretty small club

[petevb]

You're working on one for the boxster too I assume...?

[not_hans_stuck]

Steve,

Awesome looking conversion.

Hal

[Joe Bob]

The way the economy is, I'm surprised that more GM conversions aren't done. Cheaper and still a reliable powerplant for a ride that lost it's engine for some reason.

Does it still run a 12 quart dry sump?

I met Scott many years ago and have always been impressed with his work. He does a quallity conversion that puts the others to shame.

I've seen some cruddy conversions in my day. The fit and finish look factory. You could do a lot worse.

I'd sure like to see the numbers on the conversion and compare it to a stock 996 factory replacement.

[JonT]

Looks like a really fun car thanks for sharing. I met Scott at a PCA instructor training session in Hastings, NE. He's a great guy.

[AOW162435]

Originally Posted by not_hans_stuck

Awesome looking conversion.

+1.


Andreas

[DW SD]

Steve,
cool video. Do the 996 radiators keep the chevy engine cool?

Doug

[LvSteveH]

Yep, the Boxsters are coming. It's in progress. Lots of neat stuff going on.

Cooling works great so far. We started with just the two stock radiators which were fine on the street. On the track after a hard session it started to get warm, so we added a 3d radiator. We're using an emissions legal engine that's tuned fairly lean so it's going to run a bit warmer than something really optimized for performance.

[Rodsrsr]

Chevy engine or not, thats an incredibly well done, classy looking conversion. Agreed on the 996 power plant also....Its really nothing special and doesn't sound that "Porsche" to me at all compared to an air cooled motor, but thats just my opinion.

[rouxroux]

Very nice! Wonderfully clean conversion.

[DW SD]

what's it look like from under the engine?
nice job. how much different is a 997? 996s are just kind of ugly :-(
I'm sure 997s are too expensive at this stage.

Doug

[not_hans_stuck]

Originally Posted by DW SD

what's it look like from under the engine?
nice job. how much different is a 997? 996s are just kind of ugly :-(
I'm sure 997s are too expensive at this stage.

Doug

+1 I'd love to see a 997 GT3 RS converted. It'd be like a RUF. You could also use this Chevy Engine:

Chevy 2002 GEN II IRL 700 HP Spec Sheet

[IanTBoyd]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

The way the economy is, I'm surprised that more GM conversions aren't done. Cheaper and still a reliable powerplant for a ride that lost it's engine for some reason.

Does it still run a 12 quart dry sump?

I met Scott many years ago and have always been impressed with his work. He does a quallity conversion that puts the others to shame.

I've seen some cruddy conversions in my day. The fit and finish look factory. You could do a lot worse.

I'd sure like to see the numbers on the conversion and compare it to a stock 996 factory replacement.

I was wondering the same thing about the dry sump, I know thr grand sport corvette has a dry sump 6.2L LS3.

[Jeff Alton]

Hey Steve,

That is a great conversion, nicely done!!

[maxnine11]

The problem with stuffing a small block Chevy in a 911 is that you have to go through all of the time, trouble, complexity, and weight of adding radiators, fans and associated lines.

Edit: Just did a quick google search. Apparently the new 911s have radiators and what not !

[Joe Bob]

Yeah sometime in the late 90s, Porsche stopped making air cooled engines.....

[sc_rufctr]

You'll sell a few of these kits.

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if a 996 converted like this becomes more valuable than a standard 996.

I've been thinking about a 996 as my next daily. My kids are grown so I don't need the room of a four door anymore.
The only thing holding me back was the reputation of the engine.

Porsche has always maintained that only a small percentage had the problem.
Well if this is true why didn't they recall that small percentage and fix the problem?

There are lots of people all over the planet making a living repairing this "small" percentage.
(A small percentage to me means less than 5% of cars are affected)

I'm not sure this conversion is for me but at least people with ailing 996s have another option now.

Meanwhile... I bet a new 997 would have trouble keeping pace with this car.