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 Renegade Hybrids

Scott, the owner of Renegade did the video:

996 LS V8 Video

[Joe Bob]

I hear crickets chirping over here, Steve....

[Rrrockhound]

Nice to know there's a somewhat cost-effective solution for when/if my IMS bearing goes...

I wonder how well that V8 plays with the instrument cluster?

That naked engine lid really needs something to dress it up...

[LvSteveH]

There's a lot more traffic on the main board:

996 LS V8 Thread


The instruments worked out really well. After a little electronic wizardry it's reading half porsche, half GM. It looks totally stock.

As for the engine lid, I've always been fond of the ducktail

[jwetering]

Totally agree on the ducktail, but one thing I kind of liked about your car when I saw it in the other thread was was the gutted tail.

Light is right...