This was several 911's ago but while going down a rabbit hole I thought I would inquire to people that seem much more learned than I regarding 911's.

Here goes: I used to have a 2011 911 Turbo Cab. and I blew the "bullet proof" engine up with approx 40K miles on it. I am writing because I still to this day do not know what happened.

The Scenario: I had aTune put in the car around 2014. Car ran fine for a year or two but check engine light kept turning on and it bugged the crap out of me. After several tries with a shop that specialized in track Porsches and whom put the tune in without being able to sove the check engine light issue (it would be off when I picked it up and back on before I got home) I then began to use a new mechanic. (Tampa, FL).

It was their conclusion that I needed a new and more modern tune to make the light issue go away. The added bonus with this new one would be adjustable in the car. They sent the car to a shop that is generally considered by many to be one of the 2 best tuners in FL. This is the one on the West Coast. Tune was installed and car initially ran great when tested on the dyno. In the third run up on the dyno the car started blowing white smoke. Engine blown.

Car was put on flat bed and sent from tuner back to mechanic shop. Mechanics said they did not know exactly what happened and they could tear down engine to find out but would be allot of labor. We where able to conclude the rods where not bent.

Contacted a few builders in my part of the world and as far as Chicago but they where minimally a year out (must be good to be a Porsche engine builder). Bought a rebuilt engine from LA Porsche, had it shipped to Tampa and installed. Put about 1000 miles on it without issue but decided to get rid of it and went to a newer 911 Cab S. Did I really need a turbo, not especially, however at the time I had an Aston with the V12 and I swear that Turbo with a tune was faster. BTW the Aston was a real POS but like a girlfriend after the first wife, gorgeous and sounded unbelievable. Currently have a 2023 Targa so I continue with my 911 obsession.

Question: Any ideas based on the above what could have caused that relatively low mileage engine to blow??? Car was never tracked, did not drive it that often but when I did, I drove it like I stole it.

Thank you all in advance for your consideration

 

Just was checking 6Speed out after a long hiatus and saw your post.

First, I am very sorry to hear of your Turbo's demise.

A few things stand out:

1. You never mention what your CEL's were and whether they were coming on immediately after the first tune or whether they showed up after a while. That would be interesting to know since what I would have suggested is that you go back to stock, then see what the ECU was reporting, if anything. Having a baseline is the most logical approach to dealing with any tuned engine issues. Selling you on another tune to solve an existing tune's issues makes me question your second tuner's diagnostic approach and whether they just wanted to "sell" you something.

2. A tuner with a good rep installed a tune they told you to install and on the third dyno run, they blew up your engine with their tune. They did not accept any responsibility for blowing up your car? That seems to be absurd to me.

3. Then you have mechanics who say they can't tell you what happened to your engine without a tear down. Have the ever heard of compression tests? Leak down tests? You can get a lot of information (and should) before ripping an engine apart.

Tuners can control a variety of inputs to an engine. Whenever anything goes wrong in my vehicles, I always ask "What changed?". In your case, it was this supposedly reputable tuner, who rather than take the correct diagnostic steps, installed a tune that changed some parameter or took whatever CEL you had, and destroyed your engine in the process. I can only imagine their reaction, "uh... well... OK here's your dead car back, see you..."

What happened to your engine:

1. The proper diagnostic steps were not followed
2. You had a tuner who had no idea what they were doing
3. You had mechanics who have no diagnostic skills

In short, your got some very bad advice from either some very incompetent or lazy people. In the same vein where I never "throw parts" at a problem, diagnosing faults is ABSOLUTELY the first thing that happens anytime any car's ECU reports problems. Ignoring this basic, most fundamental principle in automotive maintenance is either inviting disaster or entering you into a long slog until you find the true problem.

Now if this was a MT vehicle and your were constantly missing shifts, overrevving, running it hard when cold and doing any number of other user induced faults, you may have had a hand in this, but based on your description of events, you were steered in the wrong direction and professionals missed opportunities to properly deal with your problems.

Ed

 

Sorry to hear about you car. I know about blown engines, transmissions, destroyed clutches and the list goes on. None of this was on a Porsche but the message translates.

FLAME SUIT ON-This won't be popular but it is factual

I had an RX7, and 30ZX Turbo and a Supra x 2. All of these cars were tuned and souped up and used as intended not abused. They were not up to the added horsepower and eventually each one died a tragic death. I deluded myself into thinking I need a better starting car to work on. So I purchased a E30 BMW M3. After not to long I added performance products and it began to suffer. I stopped before it got too bad, fixed it and put it back to stock. That was at 35K, I drove it to178K trouble free and sold it for some $. Should have kept it but at the time I need a car for my wife and traded this in on a family car.

Bottom line is, when I could afford it- I purchased the performance car I wanted a 911 Turbo S and its fast enough and drop deal reliable. I will not molest it ever. If I want something faster, I will buy it.

Even the best tuners and aftermarket higher performance products built for these cars take the cars past limits and safety zones the original build was not intended to operate at. That's with a good builder / tuner. And if you get a bad tuner = problems X a Billion. I learned this over and over and after pushing the cars I modified more than i drove them I stopped. and guess what-so did my problems. I got smart in my 40s and my kids are the beneficiary of my experience. They are forbiden to modify any car I pay for. I now buy them how I want them. Nothing work with better brakes , filters, tires or oil. Just nothing that stresses the systems out- that ALWAYS BIT ME IN THE BUTT.. I lost my appetite for dealing with severely broken (expensive to fix) down cars and I am not going back !

Hope you get your stuff sorted and running.