Re: Thanks for the background

Hello everyone!

We have just completed the development of our direct oil injection for the IMS bearings. We have adapted a pressure fed oil line from the engine oil pressure sender directly to an opening in the Intermediate Shaft Flange. This feeds fresh oil directly to the open end of the IMS bearing (after removing the seal to expose the ball bearings).

Check our website for more information and video of how this new process works:

[blog.tunersmall.com]


- Mike
TuneRS Motorsports

Can you do this to the 2006+ (large) IMS bearing without tearing down the engne?

I'd like to know who you are, what your expertise is and what amount of testing you have done on your solution.

... since he has a Porsche-specific performance and race shop in South Florida (TuneRS).
I have partially collaborated with him on some of his projects, such as his Boxster Spec Racers, 986 Spyder conversion, etc.
He called me last week to ask if he could post his new IMS development on PB.
He developed it and installed it on his Boxster Spec Racers which he brought to the 48 Hours at Sebring event this year.
I'll ask him to monitor this thread so that he can speak for himself about his announcement.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Let me start off by formally introducing myself and my company. I am Mike Potolicchio, owner of TuneRS Motorsports. We are a Porsche performance, repair and restoration shop located in Coral Springs, Florida (Broward County). I have personally been in this business for close to 30 years, having shops not only here but in Europe and South America, specifically catering to Porsche’s and other European brands. I have been involved in Porsche racing since the late 80s up to now.

Some of you may know my brother as well, Enzo Potolicchio, who won the WEC FIA LMP2 championship last year (including 24 Hours of LeMans, 12 Hours of Sebring and 6 Hours of Sao Palo). I have worked with him as well in collaboration on race projects with his former team Starworks Motorsport and his newly formed team 8 Star Motorsports, running Grand-AM in both a 302R Mustang and Ford Riley Daytona Prototypes. We also helped start the 993 Super Cup series in South America and prepped several 993 cups for this series (including two of our own that we competed with).

Now let me get to TuneRS. In the past 5 years since we started, we have rebuilt over one hundred water cooled and air cooled engines. On the water cooled side, 98% of the engines we take apart, the IMS bearing has been FINE. Most of the IMS bearing replacements we have done using the ceramic bearing have been for “peace of mind” for the customer due to the fear they have in their mind that their engine could fail unexpectedly. I’m not saying we haven’t seen bearings fail causing catastrophic results, but in most cases it has been other components failing.

This new oil pressure fed system we developed still uses the original bearing (or you can use the upgraded ceramic bearing) and modifying the flange housing with a line from the oil sender or from the pressure sender on our oil cooler delete system. We used this new kit on our #93 Spec Boxster at the 48 Hours at Sebring a couple of weeks ago as our first major test before announcing it, and we had great results.

[blog.tunersmall.com]

None of the components on the kit had any issue (leaking, fraying, and clearance). We dropped the transmission out of the car as soon as it arrived back at the shop, removed the flange housing to inspect the bearing after 320 miles of HARD driving (RACING) around Sebring, and found it to have negligible wear on it, and the ball bearings covered in oil from proper lubrication now.

External oil pressure feed lines have been used since the 70s, if not before, to provide proper lubrication to internal components (oil pressure feed system on air cooled Carrera tensioners? Same idea, different application), so it’s not something we came up with out of nowhere, we just adapted old technology into modern use.

I don’t like to preach fear into the minds of Porsche owners, just preventative measures. The internal components these vehicles came manufactured with are fine but of course can always be upgraded for preventative purposes. We like to see Porsche owners happy, using their car and not being afraid to drive them because of some things that have happened here and there.

I will monitor this thread and answer any questions as they come.

Regards,
Mike Potolicchio

Can your new oil pressure fed system be used on the most recent (2006+) IMS bearing, without tearing down the engine?

You wrote:

"in most cases it has been other components failing"

Without shifting the focus of this thread, what are the other components that fail?

Thanks

Hi Roger,

Thanks for your questions. Yes, we can adapt the new oil fed system onto the 06+ vehicles that have the larger bearing WITHOUT tearing down the engine. Simply gaining access to the IMS flange is sufficient.

When I mentioned other components failing, we have seen oil starvation (cars used on HPDE's), crank and connecting rod bearings getting destroyed because of this oil starvation, and other failures from over revving (driver error). Most of our engine rebuilds come from those typical problems (the 98% i mentioned).

Regards,
Mike Potolicchio

Mike,

Can you tell us more about how this approach that you have used on your race car might apply to one of our cars?
Will you sell any of the tougher parts to make for use in replicating your lubrication approach?
Will you market a kit?
Provide Instructions?
Only install at your shop?
Qualify installers?
Provide warranty?
Pricing?
How soon?
Can you tell us how complex it is to install?

I've also been skeptical and asked the same sort of questions of everyone who has marketed/claimed to have the fix with particular emphasis in the area of testing...how long, how many cars, what results. As one who used to have the responsibility for saying when a product was ready to go for a customer, these are the sorts of questions/answers I sought to understand.

Welcome

Hi Mike,

After we tested it at Sebring on our 986 Spec Racer, we had great results using it. We are still in the final stage of putting a full kit together with pricing and will market it yes. We are currently installing one onto a street vehicle to create a step by step video and installation guide for those who purchase it and are interested. We should have everything finalized this week. As for qualifying installers, yes we will provide the kits to other shops that are interested and provide them guidelines on installation to ensure it is done properly. It is not an extremely complex kit to install but I will recommend a professional to do the job as it requires dropping the transmission to access the IMS bearing like any other typical bearing replacement. Once that is done, you run the oil line to either the original oil pressure sender or our external oil cooler delete from our modified flange housing. Warranty is the one thing we will be discussing and working on before placing the kit online for sale, I know this is a major concern among-st the Porsche community and will be discussed thoroughly.

Regards,
Mike Potolicchio

Mike:

Thanks for supplying some of the specifics about your new product. There are lots of us, some with ageing Boxsters, who are looking for a practical, cost-effective preventative measure to this nagging issue of the IMS. One of the problems is that a lot of paranoia has been created by less magnanimous suppliers over the past few years.

"I don’t like to preach fear into the minds of Porsche owners, just preventative measures. The internal components these vehicles came manufactured with are fine but of course can always be upgraded for preventative purposes. We like to see Porsche owners happy, using their car and not being afraid to drive them because of some things that have happened here and there."

What a refreshing approach!

I look forward to learning more about your kit.

Regards, Maurice.

... these types of solutions can restore the value of our beloved M96/M97 engine'd cars to a more reasonable level.
They also allow those of us who regularly track our cars (and those who don't) to feel more confident about the engine's longevity.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

on what testing shows (and one car 320 miles isn't enough testing IMNSHO), what is in the kit, what the documentation is, what the price is, what the warranty is, what the user experience is, etc.

Taking something from engineering prototype to volume product isn't a trivial task. And being successful at a low price makes it even harder.

Time and use in the real world most Boxsters experience will tell us more.

Given that many 986s have now depreciated to low values and have achieved high miles for the rest of the components, a low-cost DIY approach that works would be very welcome. OTOH, a probable-50k ceramic bearing may be judged good enough at its cost point and the add-on oiling thus would face the cost challenge of being seen by some as overkill. This is already happening with folks choosing the Pelican bearing over the LN ceramic on the basis of cost. And is the limiting factor in sales of "The Solution" too. How many people are going to project the life of their Boxsters to 250k?

would be the 987.1 owners.
If it works as advertised, you-- the people that think the 987.1 IMS assy. is suspect-- dodge the big $'s associated with an expensive, preemptive replacement of the IMSB, required by splitting the case.

... for owners and potential owners to believe that their engines have a 95+% probability of longevity and that when a clutch service is required there are solutions that will help extend the life of the engine at a reasonable cost.
If that happens people will value their cars higher and will probably keep them (and enjoy them) longer.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna