Quote:
Originally posted by catca
Ralph, can you describe in words the power difference now that you have driven the car a little?!?
Thanks again, Jeff
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Jeff, night and day difference. Those who read my long-winded rebuild threads know that my complaint with the 3.2L was the lack of low and mid-range torque. Nothing much happened below 3,500-4,000 even with Steve W's chip and some minor exhaust mods. The extra displacement makes a huge difference. Nail the throttle at 2,000 rpm in 2-5 and the motor pulls much, much harder all the way to the mid 6's. EXACTLY what I wanted and expected, it makes the car that much more enjoyable to drive.
But I also don't want to give the illusion that the car is blindingly fast. I wouldn't consider it scary fast, but maybe because it is a heavy Carrera and not something lighter. My car weighs about 2,800 lbs with a full tank of gas. I have no interest in lightening the car any more then I have done with removing the heat exchangers and heater blower assembly. The car is heavy mind you (for an impact bumper model), but the extra power this motor makes will at least help compensate some against some of the lighter, less powerful 911's. A mildly modified (i.e. bolt-on upgrades) SC or Carrera doesn't stand a chance, that I can tell you. My buddy Steve used to leave me in his wake with his 3.4L twin-plug motor. Now it should be a bit more even!
With the mild cam selection, the motor does seem to run out of breath at 6,500 or so, high rpm is not this motor's specialty nor was it the intent. The ARP rod bolts and AASCO valve springs were designed more as reliabilty upgrades then as performance upgrades. Even with a smooth G50, you just never know when you might miss a shift.
Yes, I am limited in what I could do horsepower wise due to MY PERSONAL constraints of being easily smog compliant (headers/heat exchangers swap in about 2 hours) and running on 91 octane. As it turned out, the octane really didn't matter much as I could only get to 9.5:1 CR anyway.
As far I'm concerned, mission accomplished. The motor is light years better then it was before in my opinion and should run strong for well over 100,000 miles.
Rapidly approaching 1,000 miles and did a 320 mile 2-day round trip to San Diego last week. Only used half a tank of gas at 80-85 mph. Motor is bone dry underneath and I swear has not used a drop of oil thus far. The dipstick measurement has barely moved. I guess I did a good job of seating the rings, eh?
Even in smog trim, a larger motor is nice to drive. The three of you guys (and any others lurking) are going to have some fun with your builds.
Ralph
P.S. - Once again, sorry for being long-winded.