Reputable Engine Builders

[Zilli]

Guys,

Been out of the scene a little bit over the last few years but i'm looking at coming back into it now and looking for some advice.

Some of you may know i've had my DC2r since new and have done very little other than suspension and bracing work to make it more fun on the track.

i don't drive it much, really it hasn't been driven in about 6 months now but i feel i want to start having a play again and want to do some engine work.

I'm not sure which path i am going to take yet but i wanted some opinions on who is the best out there now to speak too for a quality opinion and ideas around and engine/drivetrain build.

Any thoughts or recommendations from anyone out there that may have done a big NA/turbo build or even just some simple bolt-ons and tuning?

Cheers guys

[Fallenangel]

My boosted forged b series was built by JDMYard. I'd talk to them in regards to building it.

Thing is when you're going down a big build. You need to firstly decide what you want out of the car. I was stuck on this for ages but i got my answer once i fully decided what i wanted it to do. For me it was a daily driven street car to work and back and that i can thrash around at the track then drive home. Of course its gonna have its drawbacks, no AC, stiff ride, but its something i decided before the build and i dont regret it.

Thats my advice, is to decide on that question first before you talk about building it.

[tinkerbell]

what's your budget?

what's your goals?

[Zilli]

It is hard to get over that first decision making hurdle - ultimately my decision making will be driven by the return on the $ spent - budget up to 10k but it can creep a bit pending the difference in return.

The car is purely a toy it's lucky to get driven once a quarter - it is currently getting a full respray so i don't see it getting too much heavy track time anymore. I'm torn between huge turbo power and a full NA build or just bolt-ons and cams with some $$ to spend elsewhere

Fallenangel when you say built by JDMYard, do they employ mechanic and are licensed or do they get someone to do the work?

[tinkerbell]

it cost me a bit over 15k to fully build my engine from the crank up (myself) and it makes lots of fantastic, reliable power. various changes (cams) since the initial build and subsequent dyno time added about 5k to that...

to get a 'reputable builder' to do it would have added a fair bit to this (maybe 5k) and probably would not have been as good as if i had done it myself.

if your not going to do motorsport (the only reason i would personally ever spend so much money) then maybe you need to be more clear as to your goals?

dollar for dollar a turbo engine would be able to produce more power, with less complications, but less rewarding if you are 'building for buildings sake'.

a full NA build requires lots of homework and thinking, but to me this has very special rewards when you are setting records and beating turbo AWD cars at state hillclimb events...

[Zilli]

unfortunately due to family and work commitments as well as a lack of knowledge, doing it myself isn't an option - but i could only imagine the satisfaction that would bring mate....

Reasoning for the spend as far as i am concerned is because a mans gotta have toys - i've had it for 14 years so i thought i'd actually start playing with the power side of the equation - so my goal is when i do get to go for a drive in it i want to have a bit more smile factor, and when it does see a track id like to break my circuit and 1/4 mile pb's to get even more specific. Spending 10 or 25 or 5k will help me achieve those goals it's just a matter of how far i want to go. But if i can gain 50hp spending XXK and 300hp spending XXK x 2 then the spend factor is influenced - not sure if that makes sense. So you can see i cant get very specific with the goals unfortunately and i don't have the time knowledge or expertise to get to the spec myself which is why i'm looking for someone who can help me make the decisions.

So Dave for the 15k +5 for the "reputable builder" how much power are you making and what is your setup? That might help me get perspective

I've always wanted to do a full blown NA build but i know the intricacies and dangers of building a motor that highly strung - and if i cant do it myself i want someone who i can rely on...

[tinkerbell]

it makes 90kW from 4500rpm and stops revving at around 8600 where power is over 160kW...

parts include: <sent via PM>

[tinkerbell]

hmm, cant send via PM right now, here is the list:

Engine bottomend
Blueprinted B20B bottomend (C&B engines)
Balanced crank, rods & pistons
ACL race bearings
Fluidampr fluid dampener pulley
Moroso baffled sump
Modified ITR crank girdle
Eagle forged H-beam rods
CP 84.5mm 12.5:1 forged pistons (moly skirts and ceramic coated domes)
GE heavy duty main studs
TODA racing oil pump gear
TODA racing timing belt

Engine head & intake
B16A head by Portflow USA with full race porting and welded race chambers
Injen RD cold air intake & air filter
Supertech valve springs and titanium retainers
TODA Spec C exhaust camshaft
Skunk2 Pro2+ intake camshaft
UGR adjustable vernier cam gears
ENDYN ported ITR intake manifold (port matched)
Edelbrock 65mm throttle bodyARP head studs

Fuel system & control
Aeromotive adjustable FPR
Earls 350 Prolite hose & ends
Fuellab 10 micron fuel filter
Walbro 255 fuel pump
Custom in-bay 750ml surge tank
Injector Dynamics matched and balanced 725cc injectors
Hondata S300 ECU
Innovate LC-1 wideband AFR controller and gauge
MSD coil, cap, rotor and leads
Iriway8 sparkplugs

Exhaust
Bisimoto custom made 4-1 header
SMSP 3in cat converter
Skunk2 MegapowerR 70mm cat back & muffler

Cooling system
Koyo alloy racing radiator
Samco silicon radiator hoses
OEM thermostat
Flexalite 12in fan
Integra Type R OEM oil cooler
Earls 19 row oil cooler & lines

some parts like the head (1300) were purchased used - new head would have been over 4000

dyno plot is here: http://forum.clubitr.com.au/showthre...l=1#post258318

[Zilli]

wow - it really is the sum of the parts and it seems each part decision you made was thought out and planned... thank you for sharing mate

What could be the drive ability and ultimate gain roughly from doing the toda c/d cams (as you've recommended in other threads) with the appropriate valvetrain upgrades (don't mind spending for reliability) cam gears, ecu and the boltons? i don't really mind it being a peaky motor - again it's a toy

With the above mods is it worthwhile going quad throttles?

[tinkerbell]

yes, worth quads - probably push 180kW with them on the my set-up... but easily adds $5k again...

for a 'non-built' build: top end + IHE + fuel + tuning = great improvement over stock drivability, but you are limited by the compression ratio...but still quads will work, and will get you closer to 150kW with loads of 'grunt'...

in terms of 'spend factor' for NA it is diminishing returns... so +50hp = $x and +75hp = $x+x

[Zilli]

i get the diminishing returns bit - it's really an all or nothing exercise when it comes to N/A

so does anyone have any views on some good engine builders out there - other than JDMYARD - again interested to hear if they do the work themselves or outsource...

[sleepingperformance]

Good power can be made n/a without quads.

With the B series, you need to think about if you want RPM or bucket loads of torque.

[tinkerbell]

since OP only wants feedback on engine builders - i might move this to general automotive?

[hello]

sas ?

[Zilli]

sleeping performance - i want revs - its not a daily so i don't mind it being peaky