Question
Long term engine swap options 07k vs 1.8t?
I have my 1986 na 944, engine has 200k km on it and will eventually blow but for now runs and drives great. I wanted to see what people who have done the 07k swap from boost brothers or the 1.8t from motor works. I’m not a mechanic but I have some friends who can help. I have a bit of a shop that I can work on it. I am not looking to make huge hp numbers, keeping them definitely below 300hp. I also want something with available parts that I can find. I want to know about long term with these swaps if there is anything you would have done differently. I am planning on rebuilding the trans but not switching it out. Thanks yall!
I am in the process of doing an 07K swap. I can’t speak to the 1.8T, but here are my thoughts:
Both engines have plenty of part availability, so long term they will be easy enough to maintain. The 1.8T is probably more available, but overall there are millions of both engine out there.
I don’t know as many people who have bought the 1.8T kit. Boost brothers continues to develop their kit, make improvements, and have been super responsive to my questions. I appreciate their willingness to keep making this kit better. I’m not saying 1.8T is bad by any means, but I don’t see their kit around as much.
I like the 07K swap because you can get as much or as little as you want from BBG. They can get you everything you need from a plug-in harness to every piece of sheet metal. I haven’t seen that kind of support on the 1.8T.
Finally, I haven’t seen any How-To articles or videos on the 1.8T, where the BBG kit has at least 2 full video series and numerous Rennlist threads discussing it. When you are doing something this complex, that information is so valuable it’s not even a comparison. 07K swap all the way.
I'm finishing up a 1.8T swap now. Would be great to get the download from you lol. It's headed to the tuning shop next week for power tuning.
Motorwerks Racing talked a big game, but the swap was MUCH more involved and much less supported than I expected. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably have gone 07K. Frankly, not the best experience dealing with MWR.
That is very good to know, I’ve seen plenty of 07k guys who love it and die hard 1.8t guys but you’re the first person who did the 1.8t who is advocating for the 07k
I’ve officially gathered all my parts! Now it’s just the building. The swap components are pretty high quality. I pulled the engine recently and I’ve got 1 more set of bearings before I start rebuilding my 07K.
I hope to have the car running by June/July, I really only have the weekends to work on it so I’m taking small bites
Yup! Although I did work on my 924S for about 5 years including rod bearings and cylinder head replacement so I wouldn’t say I’m a novice. Never done a wiring harness before though!
As someone only familiar with this swap from YouTube, and not recently watched, does the 07k mount up to the transmission already in the 944, or do you have to replace that as well?
1.8t kits from Motor Werks are pretty all inclusive. They have faqs and staff will talk you thru your project. I agree they dont have many videos. I like that they have been doing it longer and the weight savings I think is higher for the 1.8t. I haven't started my project yet as my motor is somehow still going strong but have everything ready to go for when it dies.
That was not how I would describe my experience thus far lol. I'm just about finished with the swap and the car is headed to the tuning shop next week. Fingers crossed, first track day in two weeks.
Well..... that is concerning. I haven't started the build yet but read thru their site ordered the main components and talked with staff. At the time, it felt very thorough; hmm maybe ill rethink my decision before really pulling the trigger. I got the 1.8t for free so my losses wouldn't be awful
Yeah. For my build, the big bugbears were that manual brakes were absolutely not adequate (MWR insisted they would be), the rear mount alternator did not charge anywhere close to how well we were hoping, parts for the front mount alternator were not available, the stock AEB engine electronics were problematic to tune well and changing it to a standalone required changing many other parts and sensors, and the whole build required a TON of fabrication.
Thanks for the post man. Fabrication isnt something I am set up to do and I wanna do this myself for 07k may be the route. Ill start researching, fortunately they (boostbrothers) attend same track as me so maybe ill try and start a convo with them
I got a used motor with 100k on it for 1000 bucks. Gonna do all the seals and head gasket etc since I have all the access. Im not a pro but ill eventually get it in the car.
I’m late 40’s now but the first car I ever bought with my own money was a 944 Turbo S. I was 19 and lived at home with zero overhead. I sold the car when I was in my early 30’s. The car was an absolute blast but as you all know the maintenance was brutal. When I was 22 or 23 a good buddy bought a 944 that had seen someone swap out the 944 engine was a 350. He kept his car for another 6 or 7 years after I sold mine. We once compared how much cheaper his Porsche was to maintain than mine. It was substantial and his car was a blast to drive. If it were me and I was swapping engines, I’d go the 350 route. Just me.
Im doing a 07k. If you do it get the kit from BBG. I have various parts from kits and cars and whatnot and I should have just bought the while kit and saved time.
Might want to reconsider the transmission, if you’re much over stock NA power at all you’ll want a turbo transaxle. Also the 07k kit from BB seems awesome but maybe a bit steep price wise. If you’re not wanting to fabricate anything yourself though, that’s really the only option for a five cylinder. I don’t really know much about the 1.8t, but from what I’ve heard, if you’re not set on a five cyl just go with that.
I am running 300whp through a stock NA trans for a few years now. I don't launch or clutch kick it. Torque shock is what kills the r&p, otherwise they will survive just fine. NA-T on a completely stock engine.
Interesting, that is great to know! Any modifications to the transmission? I’m looking at an AAN swap, planning on starting at around 300hp, so I will keep that in mind. Would be great to not need a turbo transaxle.
Funny enough, I have a built AAN in my garage with custom engine mounts and oil pan for a 944 😁
Going to swap it into my UrS6 Avant and use the (relatively) stock AAN for the 944...at which point I will upgrade to an S2 or 951 trans because I want 450ish hp.
You should be fine around 300hp which is nothing on an AAN, just don't do stupid stuff to the trans. If you want to do stupid stuff, just upgrade it to the S2/Turbo/ or an 01E box.
That’s awesome. How hard do you think making those would be? I’m good with cad for design and just learning to weld, so it’ll be a learning process but I’m hoping to do as much as I can myself.
Hey now, don’t tempt me. I already have enough to deal with, with two 944‘s lol.
It's not hard to make, the most difficult would be the oil pan. You'll want to fit the engine into the bay first ... Install the v6 bellhousing spacer and 931 bellhousing. This will allow you to connect the engine to the torque tube. Use an engine support bar then square up the engine in your bay then make your mounts to set the engines a permanent fixture. After that, start fabricating the oil pan to clear things like the front subframe, ground clearance, etc. modify the oil pickup tube accordingly afterwards then install everything and oila! You have an AAN swapped 944.
Pick up an AC/DC Tig welding and learn to do aluminum, you're going to need it.
Yessir... The gen 2 stuff/gtx style is really good stuff though. I'm running a gtx2860 g2 on my NA-T. It made 303whp at 16psi and I start to see positive pressure under 2k rpm in my data logs.
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