VTEC Just Kicked In, Yo.

[sweet victory]

Spark plugs must be a bitch...

[32wildbilly]

Vtec crew checking in!

I see absolutely see nothing wrong with K swap or J32a2 swap in 996. Motor in my acura is worlds ahead of m96 in reliability aspect, and it sounds amazing at full tilt, factual statement..... Look up how many j32s are in 300k mile range with zero work. J32a2 with headers and Cai makes 300 crank hp(yeah, headers are that restrictive from the factory) , which is about what m96 motors make per liter. For those unfamiliar with J32a2 motor, you can Google it and learn more. Motor has dual stage intake manifold and very aggressive Vtec crossover at 5k rpm. In stock manual cl-s cars, 0-60 under 6 and quarter in low 14 is 100% doable. Mind you, it is a fwd car that's 500lb heavier than 996.

Pretty quick. Choice of music is questionable though. More appropriate would have been theme from Top Gun...

"Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go

Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone"

[Kalashnikov]

Bill, that's my car if you haven't figured, six years ago with just cold air intake. It had, 160k miles or so when that video was made.

I still own the same car, and believe me when. I say that car guys are still shocked when they ride in the car. Today it is almost at 230k miles car pulls to the red line like a raped ape, multiple times per day...... Courtesy of my driving. Whatever Honda did with their 90s, and early 2000s motors, they did it right.

[32wildbilly]

Kalsh: Yes, I knew that was your car. That's why I poked at you about the music. I've owned three Honda products and found all to be bullet proof and relatively quick. Prelude, Accord and an 1998 Accord LXI which was really quick-just ask the kid who bought it. He had it for two weeks before his first speeding ticket! I warned him and his Dad.

[Dr_Strangelove]

I get it - I was just surprised to see it. The 2.0 K is 405 pounds.. so after some bolt-on's it will weigh the same or a bit less than the M96 and most likely put down a bit more power. But for the gain in power, as someone who loves the flat six sound, I would always feel like something's missing. The base of that K that is in that car I posted starts at 200ish hp.. so you're already pushing it pretty hard to get it back to the baseline you started at. I know you can really push these things, but at the end of that day it's a gimmick.

My DD is a 09 TSX I get the Acura love. It's slow as molasses with the K24A2, though... And no, I don't have the manual one.

[Cuda911]

Don't quote me on this, but I was at Porsche having my car checked out and keys made. The guy at Porsche said that the 996 is officially in "classic status" and will start to receive special treatment. I'm not sure what "special" means... hopefully not like mental disabilities or something. But I see you can get M96 short blocks for as low as $6,000. (core charge applies) Complete engines are still in the $23,000 range. I guess it depends how you want it dressed out. I'm no expert on this, but this may be some good news for 996 owners.

Will the replacement short block fit in my car? Pretty sure I have the long block version.

[Black-Out]

With a basic turbo kit and a Garrett GT30R that thing would haul balls.... But even still I just don't think I could do it- I don't even go for the Porsche 914 Renegade Customs LS engine swap kits. I'd do a Subaru EJ257 Sti engine swap before I would do anything else.... at least the engine is still flat lol..

[SealGrauWailer]

Will the replacement short block fit in my car? Pretty sure I have the long block version.

I read the thread on rennlist & it sounds like they have new factory shortblocks pitched as 'reman' that cover the span of m96s (2.5, 2.9, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8). Costs are variable depending on displacement, but I think they're all under 10k. From what I read, you can't just sub in a short block after a cylinder fails (as an example). You need some top end rework too, and the bill is about 12-13k for a new short block & refreshed top end. The drawback is that m96 weak points remain, so Hartech has been working on spreading the word about their resleeving/rebuild that can take a viable core & shore up the cylinders beyond OEM strength for similar money.

[Kalashnikov]

I get it - I was just surprised to see it. The 2.0 K is 405 pounds.. so after some bolt-on's it will weigh the same or a bit less than the M96 and most likely put down a bit more power. But for the gain in power, as someone who loves the flat six sound, I would always feel like something's missing. The base of that K that is in that car I posted starts at 200ish hp.. so you're already pushing it pretty hard to get it back to the baseline you started at. I know you can really push these things, but at the end of that day it's a gimmick.

My DD is a 09 TSX I get the Acura love. It's slow as molasses with the K24A2, though... And no, I don't have the manual one.

[Dr_Strangelove]

Never said it was a BAD engine! Just slow...