In a dry sump setup, oil is held in a remote oil tank and then pumped to all the internal components of the engine which need oil. The sump is usually located higher than the parts which need oiling.

In a wet sump, oil is contained in an oil pan and only partially circulated by a pump for oiling engine internals... the remainder of the lubrication is splashed on components. The oil is always located LOWER than the parts which need oiling.

The major drawback of a wet sump system is that in sharp turns or fast cornering, it is possible for the oil in the oil pan to move to the corners of the pan from centripetal force, allowing the oil pickup tube near the bottom of the pan to be surrounded by air instead of oil. As you might guess, if your oil pickup is surrounded by air, then you are pumping air to parts of your engine which need oil and... well; can you say damage?

In a dry sump system... no matter what the forces acting on the oil tank, oil is fed via a pressure pump and can NEVER (as far as I know) be run dry (perhaps if the car is inverted)

Anyway... wet sump is what the vast majority of vehicles use, it is inferior to a dry sump system in every way that I can think of (except it costs less for the manufacturer to make).

This is a simplified explaination... but hopefully it helps.

Joe West

 

front spoiler looks hot, but that wing has got to go...

 

AWEsome!

 

mid-single exhaust is poop imo, otherwise nice.

 

a GT 3 would have to be fitted with a dry sump...... it's built for track work!!!!!

 

Agreed.

It looks like something off of an Evo or Toyota Celica... or maybe a WRX?

Porsche has done better... hopefully they kill the wing before it becomes production.

 

looking good

 

Same ole POS wet sump punched out Boxster M96 block.

In 996, only the Turbo, GT2, and GT3 has the dry sump GT1 derived M64 block, becuase it's a much more expensive engine than the regular wet sump POS engine.

I suspect that 997 will continue that PAG $$ making tradition. Such a shame. Up until 996, all 911's have dry sump engines.

 

I hope the US versions get those clear lights under the main headlamps - That would look horrid if they were amber ala US Spec Ferrari F355

 

They did with 996, I suspect the 997 GT3 will continue to get the GT1 dervied M64 dry sump block. PAG named it M96 just to make noobes think that the M96 is really worth something when it's a POS.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Great read.

 

Jeez, did the M96 have sex with your mother or something? You seem to have some built up anger against it. While it isn't the best motor Porsche has built, other than the rear main seal issues it's still pretty solid. 3.4 liter 300hp or 3.6 320hp, good torque curve, nice sound with PSE and fairly reliable (even on the track, just gotta avoid long sweeping corners). BTW, Porsche offers some sort of baffles that greatly reduce the chance of damage from running the oil pickup dry in the M96 and from what I've heard they do a great job of fixing the problem.

 

And are we not adults capable of having an intelligent conversation without getting personal?

PAG likes to capitalize on their racing heritage, when in fact, there is nothing race bred about the wet sump M96. This is the block that PAG is not itself confident enough to race it.

With regards to the "fix" you are talking about, sure, by all means, it only voids your warranty, some fix, eh?

The point being, prior to 996, the engines found in 911's actually have something race bred about them, instead of the $$ making machines that they are now. A regular ole 40K 993 C2 has a better basic engine design than the 996 M96, what does that tell you?

And I am very annoyed with PAG, because had I not done the research prior to getting my Turbo, I could have easily ended up with an M96 car, thinking that they are like the 993's, which all have dry sump engines, and don't have oil starvation issues. And yes, I do track my cars. My Turbo has 9000 miles and has seen 10 track days.

 

Didn't mean to get personal. You called it a piece of **** no less than three times in this thread though, I thought maybe you had some bad experience with it or something.

With regards to the "fix" voiding the warranty, tracking your Porsche voids the warranty as well, regardless of whether you have an M96 motor or not. Fact of the matter is, Porsche figures under normal street driving there should be no oil starvation problems (and there aren't). Like I said, the M96 motor is far from greatness compared to the dry-sump engines, but it's also not exactly a POS.