Setup Critique

[Mikey851]

Alright....I am in the process of building my 1g eclipse and all that's done so far is the engine build. What I want you guys to do if you'll be so kind is to critique my setup to be and also give me your prediction of the driving characteristics based on your own experience and knowledge. I just want to see if my thinking is inline with the majority here. Also as a quick note....I didn't list certain obvious parts like head studs and HG, so by all means ask or point it out, but just wanted you to know it's all been addressed.

Block:
2.0L stock specs
stock crank - polished
manley i beam rods
manley pistons ceramic and teflon coated
balance shaft delete

Head:
Ported
new stock valves
big bore lifters
80lb beehive valve springs
Either GSC S2 or Kelford 272s

Fuel, Ignition and Engine Management:
ID 1000cc injectors
Walbro 450
AFPR
AEM v1
Sparktech?!?!

Intake and Exhaust:
JMF or Magnus Cast?!?!
Custom rams horn equal length T3 turbo header with external WG
Intercooler - ETS Street??? Could be a bottleneck

Turbo:
6262 journal, 6062 Gen 2 or 6266 Gen 2 (I wish there was a 6262 Gen 2)

Drivetrain:
Jacks Stage 3
Sprung street clutch
Stock everything else (Will replace when/if they break)

The purpose of the build is to have a "reliable" pump gas 500whp street/strip car that isn't too torquey for the purpose of taking it easy on the drivetrain. Also, it is a goal to have some headroom with the parts I go with so I can get a little more power with certain other mods such as methanol. Any suggestions are appreciated as well. Thanks!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Bigger injectors and I'd do EcmLink anyday! See my build. It made a bench racing 500+ hp which was my goal and drove very nice. E85 if you can also as it makes a lot of power with no knock. I like my Jacks transmission also.

 

[Mikey851]

Bigger injectors and I'd do EcmLink anyday! See my build. It made a bench racing 500+ hp which was my goal and drove very nice. E85 if you can also as it makes a lot of power with no knock. I like my Jacks transmission also.

Thanks for the response! The only reason for AEM is that I already have it. I might try to sell it and go ECMlink or potentially Haltech. Agreed on the bigger injectors. I agree on E85, but it's a pain in the butt to get where I live...I may switch to E85 depending on how the tuning process goes. I'm sticking to slightly larger than necessary turbos due to my fuel constraints.

 

[miliman13]

sounds good, honestly unless you are an experienced tuner, or happen to be BFF with one , it doesn't matter how much money or high quality parts you throw at it. The missing key that will make it go from hunk a junk to a rape ape is the tune!
That should be one of your primary directives.

 

[Mikey851]

sounds good, honestly unless you are an experienced tuner, or happen to be BFF with one , it doesn't matter how much money or high quality parts you throw at it. The missing key that will make it go from hunk a junk to a rape ape is the tune!
That should be one of your primary directives.

Definitely agreed. I am not an experienced tuner...and not best friends with one, but the tune will be done at a shop in Dallas that is known for AWD imports....the shop car is an Evo and the owner has a 1g.

 

[Mikey851]

The time is finally near! The build is almost complete and ready for the dyno. I went with the 6262 journal for now. Also did decide to get the Magnus v3 cast. I am running a Jacks 2.2 trans with a carbon fiber driveshaft. I am sticking with the 1000cc injectors which will be okay with pump gas (Not going E85) for now...we will see what it does on the dyno and then dial it down to a level where we aren't overworking the injectors because they will definitely be the weakest link.

I am a bit concerned with going with a 6 puck sprung rather than a disk or a twin disk. I think it should be okay though. I am also probably going to go with a Fluidampr pulley to further try and reduce vibrations especially since I have a balance shaft delete.

What do you guys think about Fluidampr?...looks like some think it isn't good at high rpm and I know there is the ATI as an option but that thing is a bit expensive to make me pull the trigger on it.

Also going with a 4 inch ETS which flows plenty for my goals. On suspension I am going to start with Eibach Sportlines and KYBs that are on a roller I have. For brakes I am going to swap to dual pistons with slotted rotors and EBC Greenstuff probably. I'll keep the lines stock and just make sure and get some fresh fluid in there. Not exactly sure on wheels and tires...probably going to keep 16s and go with 225/50r16 (Should I go with 17s so I can go a bit wider?).

Besides the few questions above, my main concerns now are around the weak points. Given my part list and the fact this is a 91'...what are the weakest points that will probably go soon. This is what I think they are in no particular order:

- 1000cc injectors
- 3 bolt rear end
- stock axles
- transfer case
- 6 puck sprung clutch (I might be over concerned on this one)
- Bushing health all around
- Maybe fuel lines

What other serious weak points are there? Are any of the above so imminent at my power level that I just need to bite the bullet and do it? I can't wait to get this thing finished...it's going to be a lot of fun and probably a big pain in the ass at times.

Edit: One other thing...I ended up going with BC 276s and adjustable cam gears along with a kevlar timing belt.

 

[bastarddsm]

The fluidamper is a "wideband" damper, which means it works over a wide range of frequencies. The ati is a tuned narrowband. It is tuned to a specific frequency, and at that frequency it is very effective(~2x better than fluidampr), outside that frequency it is basically ineffective (might as well not even have it). The crank, oscilates at a frequency determined by the weight of thw crank/rods/pistons/oil on it/ ect. If the engine is at the right rpm where it matches up with the cranks oscillation frequency it, drives the crank oscilation amplitude waaay up. Kinda like when your on the swing in the park and you go really high. So if the ati is tuned to your cranks freqency, all is good. If it's not, your SOL. How do you know if it's tuned to the right frequency? Well you don't really. I'm sure ATI tunes it to something, but what cranks rods and pistons combo? How much oil attached to it?

The fluidampr is nice because it's always tuned, but the ATI could be better if it's right, and that's a big IF. Also, there is the thought that just the cams and timing belt acts as a damper. On blown V8's the consider the roots blower and gilmer belt drive as a damper. I read about this somewhere.

As for fluidampr being bad at high rpm, I think that came from NASCAR banning them. The long duration races can actually cook the fluid inside the damper making it ineffective. They actually had some issues with cranks snouts breaking off. That's the typical failure mode from not enough damping.

All that being said, I run a fluidamper, and turn lots of RPM. Seems to work good for me. I send my ~10yr old damper in and it was at 90% they have me a new one for like 1/2 price.

 

[bastarddsm]

Keep an open center diff, and don't launch the balls off it often and your driveline will be fine.

 

[Mikey851]

Keep an open center diff, and don't launch the balls off it often and your driveline will be fine.

Thanks for the info about the Fluidampr! Also, my Jacks 2.2 has the 4 spider center diff upgrade

I definitely won't launch it often and when/if I do it won't be 5k rpm and dump the clutch...i'll be interested to see how this 6 puck feels. I am sure it is going to bite pretty hard but hopefully i'll be able to slip it some. Once I eat through this clutch i'll go twin disc or I could potentially swap to auto if I end up wanting to go all out drag from a consistency standpoint.

 

[White flour1gawd]

I have a welded diff, ripped up alot of tar with it haha

 

[Mikey851]

What a long journey this has been, but it is actually finally finished. Just a few final odds and ends....catch can, coolant overflow etc. The car made 428whp at 19psi. I am sure we could turn it up a little more, but this is a safe amount of power for this build until I regenerate some funds. Then i'll get bigger injectors, fuel lines, meth injection and turn it up....fuel is definitely my weak point.

I will do some research, but what is commonly the next step up from stock when it comes to spark? I don't really think it's necessary to go COP and I do have an MSD DIS 4 amplifier (have read they are unreliable). I just don't see it talked about a ton.

I am so excited that we finally have it running and a solid base tune!

 

[Mikey851]

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[Vegas Smith]

A lot of people run stock coil and wires. Next step would be the Dynatek cdi that a lot people run because it's affordable. I doubt you would NEED that though. Nice car. Is this Alamo motorsports?

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

ENJOY IT !!!!!

 

[Mikey851]

A lot of people run stock coil and wires. Next step would be the Dynatek cdi that a lot people run because it's affordable. I doubt you would NEED that though. Nice car. Is this Alamo motorsports?

It is indeed Alamo Autosports

 

[Mikey851]

Alright, I have my GSX back and I love it! Of course, now the fun begins...swapping suspension from the roller, tracking down some dual piston calipers, odds and ends on the exterior, and a phantom oil leak that I need to track down. I am also having to maintain a high idle (2000 rpm) since I have no IAC with this TB I'm using...for that I am going to get the remote mount adapter from Magnus. Oh and I need to install a wideband gauge and boost gauge...until then i'll log.

The only real issue affecting driveability at this point is that it is breaking up at full boost around 5k. I am thinking plugs as one of them was a bit fouled. I have Denso IW20s in it right now. I am going to swap in some NGK BPR7ES plugs and play with the gap a little. It feels like spark to me...but idk yet.

 

[Gandalf]

Use br7es plugs gapped at .020. The non protruded plugs will help against plug blowout.

Also, you might be interested to know that I am running 37 lbs of boost on 92 pump and direct port methanol injection. So if your only at 19 lbs due to pump, you have options.

-25 blue window washer fluid from Wal-Mart

 

[Mikey851]

Use br7es plugs gapped at .020. The non protruded plugs will help against plug blowout.

Also, you might be interested to know that I am running 37 lbs of boost on 92 pump and direct port methanol injection. So if your only at 19 lbs due to pump, you have options.

-25 blue window washer fluid from Wal-Mart

I missed this reply before I made the switch. I put bpr7es gapped at .028 and so far it feels much better than the Iridiums. The reason I hesitated to put the br7es in is because I read that they require more timing because the the flame front starts slightly higher in the cylinder (I haven't really verified this). I will give it a try once I get some other things in place. I just got my wideband gauge, oil pressure, and boost. Up to this point I have just been logging the AEM v1.

It is running pretty good, but I probably should gap the plugs down just a bit. I am also running Octanium...I know I know haha, but unfortunately the gas around here sucks and we only have 91 with 10% ethanol (I add enough to make 94 equivalent). You have the real solution in methanol....I will be moving to that as soon as I can afford another batch of stuff.

My biggest concern now is clutch disengagement at high rpm shifting. I am going to check for clutch drag and then I have a little adjustment on the master cylinder. It shifts very smooth when cruising... I was pissed because a few times I have rushed the shift from 2nd to 3rd and caught the synchro. I didn't force it into gear but got a buzz...I hope they are okay. I'm going to do a drain and fill this weekend and go from Motul to Mitsu trans fluid (Jack's Trans) and I will catch the fluid and look for metal.