2.3 7 bolt build $1700 budget

[Cooper-97gst]

whats up fellas, i have a 7 bolt 4g63t long block with a spun rod bearing that i would like to make into a 2.3 stroker. Currently the car is 97 spyder with a 3'' cat back exhaust & test pipe,injen intake pipe, hks ssqv bov (recirc),tubular exhaust manifold, eibach pro-kit and monroe shocks. Even tho the car is fwd my future plans are to either switch to a gsx or do awd swap hense the 2.3 build. So my question is, how do i realisticly go about building a reliable road race, DD, that will never see over 500whp and get track time about twice a year? i have $1700 budget for parts, labor, and machining cost.a friend and I will be building the short block.

Wish list is:
ross 9:1 pistons (.020)???
eagle rods???
crank???
acl trimetal rod and main bearing
arp hardware

am i able to achive this on my budget or is it just wishfull thinking? feel free to revise my list and chime in with your opinions. obviously the more money im able to save and spend towards other mods the better. im only focused on the engine at the moment, not the awd swap.

Thanks in advance.

 

[96' Eclipse GS]

2.3L & "streetable" should not be the in same sentence with over 350hp. The extra displacement would be nice but really its unnecessary until you start trying to spool something really big, Just my $.02.

 

[nitrouskris]

I would use arias pistons...alittle cheaper and hold up better then Ross from what i have seen and used. and are you just bulding the bottom end ??

 

[marineeagle28]

i think 96'eclipsegs, should read over his own post again. A 2.3 or a 2.4 for that matter will both be just fine on the street. No replacement for displacement, and I am sure you will enjoy the extra power coming off of idle.
$1700 should get your short block up and running just fine. Check craigslist and such for a crank from a 4g64 (i picked my 4g64 block and crank both fresh from the machine shop for $200) If your head is still in good shape that's just a little more money that you dont HAVE to spend, just get it, and your block decked.
The devil is in the details though, so be mindful of all the other components, such as crank dampener, water pump, oil pump, will you be doing BSE, new belts, etc etc.
good luck on your build

 

[96' Eclipse GS]

i think 96'eclipsegs, should read over his own post again. A 2.3 or a 2.4 for that matter will both be just fine on the street. No replacement for displacement, and I am sure you will enjoy the extra power coming off of idle.
$1700 should get your short block up and running just fine. Check craigslist and such for a crank from a 4g64 (i picked my 4g64 block and crank both fresh from the machine shop for $200) If your head is still in good shape that's just a little more money that you dont HAVE to spend, just get it, and your block decked.
The devil is in the details though, so be mindful of all the other components, such as crank dampener, water pump, oil pump, will you be doing BSE, new belts, etc etc.
good luck on your build

Respectfully, I will not try to argue, but sometimes, it can get out of hand and not properly planned, tune, and right supporting mods can hurt one's final hopes & dreams of they wanted to get out of it. Yes, it is great, but it is tricky from start to finish as you mention with the small details. Never the less, Good luck on the build and keep us updated as new as possible. Does that sound better?!

 

[NHerron]

I built my stroker fully with forged internals just because I wasn't sure what I wanted with it in a few years. The idea was the make a solid foundation and if I wanted to slap on a bigass blower, I would need minimum money and modification. But if you know you're staying below 400 just stick with OEM rods and OEM 2.4L crank. Obviously you would end up with forged pistons since they don't make stroker pistons otherwise

And a 2.3L is very streetable IMO along with my extensive research to back that up.

9.0:1 CR is a good combination with 2.3L, I wish I had gone that route. I have 8.8:1 and am sure I could get better off boost performance

Eagle H beams are rated up to 900/1000HP and cranks are 1500HP
Eagle Specialty Products, Inc.

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

2.3L & "streetable" should not be the in same sentence with over 350hp. The extra displacement would be nice but really its unnecessary until you start trying to spool something really big, Just my $.02.

I completely disagree with you. A stroker is really fun in the streets specially with a small turbo.

Op, Go to your local junk yard and you can get a 4g64 crank off of 94+ galants 92+ expos and mightly max pick up trucks.

What gas will you be using? Pump or e85?

For my 2.3 build, im going with

Weisco 10:1
manly rods
6 bolt 4g64 crank

My budget is under a grand so you got more room to play in.

 

[Cooper-97gst]

I would use arias pistons...alittle cheaper and hold up better then Ross from what i have seen and used. and are you just bulding the bottom end ??

no i plan on refreshing up my head as well. not thing seriouse for now im just wondering what others think the best route is. and im trying to plan and budget so i dont get stuck half way threw the build.

I completely disagree with you. A stroker is really fun in the streets specially with a small turbo.

Op, Go to your local junk yard and you can get a 4g64 crank off of 94+ galants 92+ expos and mightly max pick up trucks.

What gas will you be using? Pump or e85?

For my 2.3 build, im going with

Weisco 10:1
manly rods
6 bolt 4g64 crank

My budget is under a grand so you got more room to play in.

Im stuck with 91oct thats all we could get out here socal, which brings me to another thing i was thinking about. will i be able to run this set up with my stock tune? considering i will be running 91 pump gas? i will still be running my t25 for a while.

 

[NHerron]

Also look around on the classifieds here for that crank if your local yards are stupid with prices. My local yards are horrible

What are your power goals / turbo you'd be using

 

[Cooper-97gst]

Also look around on the classifieds here for that crank if your local yards are stupid with prices. My local yards are horrible

What are your power goals / turbo you'd be using

Ok I'll keep an eye out. Power goals are between 400 and 500hp. Haven't set anything on a turbo yet. But something quick spooling for road racing and canyon runs.

Also, what kind of hg should I go for my set up and goals? Lms?

 

[NHerron]

If you're stock bore, to save money look on the classifieds for guys that changed their minds on their setup and selling a rod/piston combo. That could save ya money but not sure how often that sale comes up. But I've seen it.

No idea on the turbo. If rebuilding with stroker pistons I would get rods too but then again I like a guaranteed foundation... if assembled right anyway

Search composite vs MLS headgasket for your goals

 

[Cooper-97gst]

can you safely run a 2.3l set up with 9:1 cr and no tune?

 

[Cooper-97gst]

also i got some Manley i beams and im going to get a manley 100mm crank (mabe eagle). havent decided on the pistons yet but do i have to get this balanced? i would like to think they come pre balanced since theyre aftermarket high perfomance parts. thanks

 

[NHerron]

I would call them up. I know Eagle balances their RODS to .5grams of eachother
And Weisco PISTONS are 2 grams of eachother. Balancing a 4 cylinder engine is cake, anyone with a 2000g scale and a Dremel can do it. Of course, you can't balance a crank that way but at least it's the only thing you gotta pay someone to balance with expensive equipment.

Not sure on the cranks, I have a Hyundai 2.4L crank and got it balanced anyway. I'm happy to say I have no vibrations felt inside the car throughout the RPM range.

I hope something in there helped

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

How are you getting a Manley crank and staying under your budget since the crank itself is more than your total budget.

Also I just wanted to add 2.3/2.4 with a little turbo is a blast on the streets. I see 29 psi at 3k on my 2.4 evo3 combo. The low end torque this combo produces is v-8 like.

 

[NHerron]

Damn 29psi Evo3? Is that pump gas and meth? I'm just about to tune my setup and was thinking 23-25psi tops pump gas

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

E-85

 

[NHerron]

No e85 around here. Oh well.

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

Yeah it's all over by me but my car was still a blast on 93 pump and 23psi before I fills the tank with corn.

 

[NHerron]

Did you ever get dynoed at the 29psi?

 

[Cooper-97gst]

How are you getting a Manley crank and staying under your budget since the crank itself is more than your total budget.

Also I just wanted to add 2.3/2.4 with a little turbo is a blast on the streets. I see 29 psi at 3k on my 2.4 evo3 combo. The low end torque this combo produces is v-8 like.

i figuer if im going to do it, i might as well do it right! ill come into more cash in the next couple weeks

Also i got the I beams new for $300. so that helps a bit.... can anyone chime in if its possible to safely run this with no tune? atleast in till i could get dsm link.

 

[bryanwheat]

Why are you wanting to spend all this money to build a 2.3 without a way to tune it, and run it on stock injectors. What is the point. You are better off with a stock 2.0 at this point. Any time that you increase compression you are going to want to either increase fuel octane or remove some timing. You are wanting to run higher compression, and a lower octane of fuel than what the car is made to run from the factory. You are really asking for detonation problems there.

 

[rx7ttlm]

After doing the 2.0, 2.3 and 2.4 routes I would suggest your first build should be a 2.0. My buddy built a 2.4 liter because he didn't feel he had enough grunt off the corner in his roadrace car with a 3076. I went through his timing map and fuel map on his 2.0 with leaking rings and suddenly he saw no reason to run the 2.4. At 500 hp level (where I am at with my 2.3 with Garrett 3076 HTA (Forced Performance DSM 76 HTA) I am at the point where gears are becoming the weak point (meaning I break gears) and clutches slip (single disc including ACT 2600).

I would suggest building the 2.0 because it will be plenty fast if tuned properly. 95% of the people I have seen struggle to just maintain the car as needed to perform at 100% excluding exotic additions) Most of the people I see don't even make sure they have no boost leaks, fresh plugs and the tune is right let alone being able to use everything when it's working right. It's less expensive and the parts total for shit you break will be cheaper. Even at 430 hp/ 380 torque you will be taxing the shit out of most clutches. Also the other annoying part of running 2.3 is the oil control ring extends into the wrist pin hole which allows more oil entry into the combustion chamber adding to oil consumption which is kinda annoying.

Also, you will find your 1700 bucks gets burnt up WAY faster than you think it will. New oil pump (oem only unless you hate your engine), new water pump unless yours is less than 20k, new tensioner pulley, new idler pulley, new timing belt, new head gasket, new hydrolic tensioner, new pistons, new rods, balancing the rods, crank, pistons. Block machining(line hone, bore/ hone cylinders, deck block, 5 angle valve job). I build race cars for a living and I sorely underestimated the build cost of these damn things too. "Keep it simple stupid."

 

[NHerron]

^Good point rx7ttlm

I spent 1K+ on machining, 3K+ in parts. And a lot of stuff came with the car already. FMIC+piping, BOV, EMS, crank, rods, cams, cam gears, sheptrans stage 3. But I didn't skimp on anything, everything was done A to Z for a solid foundation

 

[bryanwheat]

A good freshened stock 6 bolt would be more than enough for what the op is wanting.