Is a V10 swap doable?

Hello everyone. Just a curiosity. And first off, I realize with time and money, pretty much anything is possible...


I own two 944's (87' and 88') I'd like to keep one all original and the other do a fun engine swap. Like most, it'll most likely be an LS based swap. However, just spit-balling, i'm curious if anyone has ever tried to swap a V10. The 5.2L V10 out of an Audi S8 comes to mind. I don't know how wide the engine is or how deep it is (aside from many other measurement factors: engine mounts, bell housing, exhaust manifolds etc) And i'm curious if anyone has found out how crammed a V10 would be in the engine bay. I've tried to search online for engine dimensions but havn't been successful. Debating to just find one in person at a dealership or junk yard and measure it. Aslo curious how much modification would need to be done. I've tried searching and haven't found anything where anyone has tried. Perhaps that's my answer in how doable it is (or isn't). I just like the idea of a grunty european V8 or V10 over an american V8. Would sound more appropriate for a German car. And be a more unique swap over the typical LS.


Again, I realize throwing money and time to the right people or myself can make things work. Rebuilding the entire front end (tube chasis and so on) can make things happen. Just curious if it can be done reasonably or if it's just a complete no go unless I reaaaally hate having money and want to get rid of all of it


One side of me wants the challenge, the other side says to get an LS and be on the road faster. But then again... I have two 944's. A slower build wouldn't be a horrible thing.


Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

its the same sort of issues with any uncommon engine swap, the biggest being adapting the engine to the torque tube and sorting out what combination of clutch parts to make it work, and sorting out an oil pan that will work. building the motor mount brackets, sorting out exhaust/headers, rad hoses, fuel lines, converting to manual brakes or hydroboost (if there is enough room), thats all the easy stuff. engine management is another big thing, its best on an odd engine to just go with an aftermarket ecu and build your own harness. the feasibility really depends on your fabrication skills and the tools you have to do the job.

thats all providing the engine will fit between the strut towers.

Sharkey,


Thanks for the input. Yeah, I'm curious what the bell housing, bolt patterns, measurements and everything looks like and if it's the same as other Audi patterns. I know other people have put the smaller turbo engines in the 944, but not sure if Audi kept the engineering of that area the same across the board to include V8's and V10's

I figured the first big hurdle to figure out is if the engine will even fit in the engine bay. I don't want to have to be cutting up strut towers and adjusting geometry with the suspension/track width. Guess I gotta keep searching for engine measurements and compare with measurements on the 944.

I think regardless of which swap I do (LS or any other engine) I'd prefer to do a stand alone engine management. I feel it may cost a bit more, but is the route to the least amount of wiring headaches.

If everything fits, then I can focus on the next steps in how it connects to the TT, clutch etc. Then ultimately beefing up the supporting parts like tranny, axles, suspension, brakes etc to be as reliable as possible. Even though things will eventually break. Just the nature of the hobby.

Ideally I'd be doing as much of this as possible with being humble and having the right people doing the things i'm unable to do or lack enough experience to do it properly ensuring safety. I have OCD when it comes to engineering and design details (I'm a product designer for a living) and I like things to be done cleanly and done with sound engineering behind it. The end goal would be for it to look clean and as if it came from factory that way, or as close to that as possible.

Having had my hands on a V10 Audi engine, I can tell you it is considerably wider than the LS engine. It would require a lot of extensive chassis modifying to make it fit. Plus it is a couple inches longer as well. The LS just barely fits length wise.
While I know it would be fun to do a one off unique swap, monetarily and time wise, the LS is by far the best way to go. There are many options for standalone engine harnesses for the LS engine that utilize the factory ecu, which is extremely tune-able.
As long as you have a good mechanical skill-set and some decent tools, the LS swap is fairly straight forward. Very little actual fab work is needed. Mostly just fabbing an exhaust system.
The 944 is an absolute blast with the LS. It's what Porsche should have done when the cars were new.

Thanks for the input. Looks like this idea will have to sit on the back burner or find a different chassis for that engine idea. I'll just go the route of an LS engine for now. I'm curious if there's room to put 180 degree headers that can help change the tone of the LS to something slightly more European sounding.  


Thank ya'll again for the input!