so heres my dilemma, some of you know im having a smoking/OC issue with my 04 @ 67k. i have a 05 nonrevup motor with 15k with OC issues to build on. i WANT to do a mild build on the motor, but should i? lol my goals with this car in the long run will be a s/c and 350-400 rwhp, and id be drivin NA for a while until funds are there to boost. now,,,,,,should i just freshen the motor up and throw it in or build it up like i was planning?? i know a stock motor can do 400rwhp but i want a long lasting reliable motor with that kinda power. so,,,,,,my 2 options are:

-cp 11:1 stock bore pistons
-manley rods
-acl bearings
-revup oil pump
-HR headgasket mod and HR head bolts
-undecided on cams and springs
-port work

or

-fresh basic rebuild with fresh rings (performance brands?) and acl bearings
-HR headgasket mod and HR headbolts
-port work
-mayyyybe cams and springs?

idk, kinda at a stand still right now. picking up the motor in the next couple days for teardown tho. im happy with my brembos and my suspension (need sways) so i dont care to do more to those as i dont do any crazy racing or driving....just spirited DD opinions are welcome! thankee

 

just do stock compression if youre going sc later. I am fighting the same thing right now, in reality I will probably just do the stage 1 short block from IPP and call it a day.

 

yeah i wouldnt do low compression as it could be maybe a year until i boost it. i could easily freshen the motor up for around $500 or so or spend atleast $1500 doin the baby build. decisions decisions

 

Its really up to u.. Do u have the money to do a build and how many times do u want to pull your motor.. id go one and done!!

 

If you do decide to go 11:1 I've got a brand new set of cosworth pistons and rings I'll let you have for deals-

 

if your gonna have a motor taken apart and freshened up i think the re n re and the machining is pretty expensive its listed as like 35 hours or something rediculous so if your gonna pay for that you might as well step it up while your inside there. if your only looking for 400whp you dont need to go crazy but atleast to pistons n rods. the oil pump and bearings are cheap as well and if you are gonna put cams in ever now is a good time to do it because once its back in the car its listed as a 20 hour job to do em later.

 

labor isnt an issue as i will be doing everything myself, so i wont have a problem putting cams and springs in at a later date...although id like to do it while the motor will all be apart, we will see how the budget goes. the only thing i wont be able to do is any machining or balancing. i figure cams and springs will be atleast $1200 if i buy it all new.

 

If you are serious about building a reliable long lasting engine you should have it bored 0.020 over to remove imperfections from the bore and also have it honed so the new rings seat. If you throw stock bore pistons in a used block and hone it you are asking for issues, the tolerance may end up very loose this not an ideal situation for running boost you won't find any professional shops that do it that way. Also with new pistons and rods you should have it balanced as well. If you cut coners don't have it bored or balanced there is a good chance you will run into issues. I know lots of people that have done it all right with out cutting corners and still run into issues from my experience cutting corners will only cost you in the long run.

If you don't want to do it right save your money and just throw new rings and bearings in maybe do the cams that way if it goes bad you won't be out a bunch of money just some time.

Also port work with a supercharger is a waste of time/money the stock heads easily flow over 600whp. Stock cams have also made over 600whp but it is done alot easier with aftermarket cams. So i would do a mild cam like a JWT S1 and they are alot easier to do when the engine is out of the car and torn apart. They are a b1tch to do in the car I did it once never again. JWT S1 Cams and springs will be close to $1500 if i recall right.

 

thanks sylvan....i'll keep that into consideration as far as the bore size. the motor im building on has 15k miles so im hoping it should be wear-free. and i wasnt trying to say i am cutting any corners, aftermarket rods/pistons will be balanced with the crank. i'll tear the motor apart before i order anything, use a bore gauge to get those measurements. its not the matter of doing it the "right" way because the rebuild would be all done by the book.....my main Q was IF i should build the motor or just refresh it to stock spec considering the hp goals i want AND how long the motor would last with that kinda boost/power.....

edit....i saw this after i posted. i didnt say i WONT be doing machining/balancing cuz i dont have the stuff to do it. i meant that I would send the stuff to be balanced/machined as intended since im not equipped to do so. there is a guy up the road that has everything to do what i need done and hes a good, reputable machinist as he has built numerous engines even such as nitro drag engines. he has helped with my old 87 crx si turbo build by boring my block and machining/balacing the rods when i fitted some vitara pistons on them.

 

Ok i got you now , if i were tearing it apart i would build it with aftermarket parts. Even if they are more "affordable" forged rods and pistons if you are going through the trouble of building it I would put forged parts in it. I am not sure what Manely rods cost but Eagles are "affordable". Also I would cinsider a Boosted Performance single turbo if you put forged internals in, boost and power are like crack you start with 400whp and soon 500whp is not enough. With the BP single you will have room to grow with the SC you will be limited. The BP single is fairly "affordable" comparable to a SC kit and uses high quality parts.

Here is a couple pictures of my car when I swapped cams with the engine in the car. To get at the timing chain you have to remove all of the accessories and it is a PITA with a SC kit in the way it would be even worse....do the cams now if possible!!

 

yeah i know its not exactly the funnest. but if i built it without cams, im sure they'd get upgraded before the s/c. im just wanting to go the s/c route as i've always owned turbo'd cars and i want to keep this thing at a certain limit power-wise and still be reliable and look good. if i want turbo and high power id pick up a car that isnt worth $20k lol.
as far as rods and pistons....the cheapest ive found is eagle and wiseco/je for around $1100 shipped online. cool thing is i can get manley rods and cp pistons for just under that. this is for bnib stuff too.

 

i would get them then, $1100 is darn good. Fair enough on the SC vs Turbo thing, i have had SC cars and ended up disappointed so i always mention it to save guys from being disappointed and buying a bunch of stuff twice like I did but it sounds like you know what you are after. i also now think that if I did it all again i would stay at the 400-450whp range after that things get real expensive and less reliable

 

yeah i just want to keep this a nice and RELIABLE DD, and i still wanna keep the luxury concept of it so if i went turbo i know i'd be dishin out tons more money of which i dont have to feed my obsession. the crx project went downhill after wastegate failure :/ few unknown drives at 20psi on a 57 trim didnt work well even with the mls headgasket and arp headbolts. lol.
i just want to do the s/c thing this time around, the car has plenty of stock power as is, i just want some boost and a s/c can help limit me (^_^)
even if i didnt boost it and i did the high cr build, i could tune it and still not hit 300rwhp but be way ahead of the 235rwhp im doing now on a dynojet. lol



so build it is! this wad of cash i have stored for this will diminish rapidly......erghhhhhh

 

its starting, almost like a rash. got the motor on the stand at the shop. will begin teardown tomorrow. and just placed an order for BC stage2 cams with springs and Ti retainers for $1150 shipped. yumm yumm i've already come to the conclusion that i KNOW i will be past my pre-determined "budget" by atleast 1k lol

 

Yeah it always happens.. lol At least you are prepared for it..