Built engine. How hard is it?

[86 South Africa]

Originally Posted by steve99

Post here from moto mike (mote east tuning)


fuel in south Africa (petrol ) will be an issue 95 ron is best you have ?? , your probably best sticking to E85 if available with boost


http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=98839&page=21

Thanks Steve.

After reading posts on e85 from you and some others + a few decent research articles/papers I’m convinced of the benefits of ethanol and will definitely be running e%% when I can.

Just wondering if it was worth it to get stronger rods (& maybe pistons) from a reliability/longevity point of view.

[steve99]

Always going to be better to strengthen those components if running boost, especially if your going to run more than 7psi or so.

[Drakiv]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

Replace:
Pistons
Rods
Crank
Cams
Valve Springs/Retainers
All bearings
Sleeve Block
New Custom Filed Piston Rings
Dry Sump
ARP Hardware

Start with those.

You don't need a crank, the OEM crank is forged

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by 86 South Africa

Just thinking about it... and learning in the process...

Could I simply change the rods?
Those are widely considered to be the weakest part of the engine and my thinking is with a modest FI setup I don’t need a huge amount of extras.
I’m just wondering about say a 300hp car (give or take).

Like x808drifter pointed out, the root cause of the rods failing could be from something else. In the case he presented, heat causing ring expansion could lead to piston stress which could lead to rod failure.

I am not sure what is included in an engine rebuild. Maybe ring gaping would be standard. Maybe ARP head studs would too. I have seen some builder's website, and they will have engine build progressions in cost, and I assume each level also adds more protection with a correlated hp max, not just more stuff, or the stage progressions may add more hp potential like through porting the heads. It is not like you need to pay for a closed deck if you are just going with moderate hp gains, so I can understand you wanting to add some security, but not wanting to go overkill or brake the bank.

If you are going to just do a short block then do your rods, but maybe consider ARP head studs, or maybe talk to your tuner if a thicker headgasket is advised to lower compression (I don't even know if that is possible on a flat engine). Depending on your needs or goals, you might want to consider other things. Like if you are going to be tracking the car then heat management might play more into your build, or maybe you want to have them throw in a baffled oil pan to avoid oil scavenging issues during long corners. If you have money for a stage 2 or stage 3 shortblock build, but feel it is overkill then consider a longblock build to open up the heads and get some titanium springs and valves, so you can rev freely. Lots of options to consider.

There is a lot of good information here and experienced members to ask, but there is something to be said about getting advice straight from the pros when you have a detailed idea about your power goals, your performance requirements and budget range. You might be best off writing down your goals and calling a builder.