Water Cooled Engine Conversion

(M96 & M97)

What is engine conversion?

Let us explain. Engine conversion is the alternative to engine revision. Instead of doing a revision with the OEM parts, you can turn your engine into a higher performance and higher durability engine. With conversions such as 3.2L to 3.8L engines. Interested in how we do this? Read more!

The first step is to drop the engine and disassemble it. The engine block would then be shipped to us for our Nickies sleeving process. To make this easy, We offer a pre-paid block shipping option where we ship you a custom box with molded inserts to ensure your case halves don't get damaged in transit.

Conversions

We machine every block for Nickies sleeves which replaces the cast-in Lokasil liner with a billet aluminum nickel silicon carbide plated bores. At the same time, we increase the bore size which allow for an increase in displacement and performance. We include matching JE, CP, or Mahle Motorsports pistons. Here's what we can do:

Our aluminum Nickies sleeves keep the engine running cooler and the NSC-plated bores, like those coated with Nikasil, reduce friction, all resulting in more horsepower through increased efficiency.

 
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What do I need to do about the IMS bearing while rebuilding my engine?

While the engine is separate, the IMS issue is also an addressing must† We offer an intermediate shaft reconditioning service. This allows us to inspect the bearing housing bore for runout and also to pin the main drive sprocket, which can slip and cause a failure. We will also fit an IMS Retrofit or IMS Solution depending on what replacement ims bearing you want to go with. If your engine has suffered scored bores and was already fitted with an IMS Retrofit, the bearing should be replaced at time of rebuild. However, if your engine was fitted with an IMS Solution, you should be able to reuse it during the reassembly process.

What upgrades are available for my Porsche engine?

For a street engine, we would also recommend a 160F low temperature thermostat to help keep the engine cool and ARP rod bolts to replace the weak factory rod bolts. This provides a solid and reliable foundation for a reliable engine for your Porsche Boxster, Cayman, or 911.

If you ever plan on autocrossing or tracking your Porsche, additional upgrades need to be made to address other weaknesses inherent to the M96/M97 engine. These upgrades include:

By replacing the above components during your engine rebuild, you are addressing the known issues associated with the Porsche M96 and M97 engine used in 1997-2008 Porsche Boxster, Cayman, and 911 models and will have a track ready engine that should give you years of reliable service with proper maintenance. 

Is an engine rebuild kit available for my watercooled Porsche engine?

Yes! To simplify the reassembly process, We offer engine rebuild kits for Porsche M96 and M97 engines including M96.01, M96.02, M96.04, M96.03, M96.05, M97.01, and M97.21 engine designations with everything we recommend replacing. 

Nickies Sleeving for Cylinder Bore Scoring, D-Chunk, and Cracked Cylinder Failures

Porsche Cylinder Bore Scoring Explained

Available for:

Nickies for M96 M97 1997-2008 Boxster, Cayman, and 911 Models

Nickies for 9A1/9A2 MA1/MA2 2009+ Boxster, Cayman, and 911 Models

Techno-Classica Essen

We will be at the Techno-Classica in Essen from April 3 to 7, 2024. 

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