I’ve been searching all over this forum, but my computer at work is on semi-lockdown.. so I don’t quite get the same research most people do LOL. Anyway, I won’t be near my own laptop any time soon, so wanted to put this out there to get some direction.
I can’t find a thread where anyone has run a 2.3L on a road course. I’m concerned of the reliability because, well, it’s not stock. I know the piston speed is higher. I figure there will different side loading of them as well? While I’m not looking to get another 125k miles out of the engine, I’d like to not have to rebuild every season either. I do some autox, a few GTA events, and HPDE. I don’t drag race, never launch the car, and rarely daily it.
Anyone have experience beating up on a 2.3L for 20mins at a time?

i'm really, really sure this has been covered, i just need help finding the info, please. sorry for the (probable) repost and thanks in advance.

 

A lot guys track the 2.3. Just don't expect it to last as long as a 2.2LR (94mm crank, 153mm rod 4g63) or 2.0L. Keep the revs reasonable (8k ish), and it will live. Around 20k-30k miles they usually need a refresh when beaten on.

 

i don't expect to need the revs. i just want that torque out of the turns! 7800-8000 rpm is all i am really needing out of it.

20-30k would be awesome. that's YEARS of track time.

 

Here you go: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/pr...-viii-gsr.html

 

Should be good then. If its a dedicated track car, I would refresh it after a year (keep track of mileage) to check on things, then determine your next tear down mileage based on your findings. Refresh on a good motor can typically be just new bearings, new rings, and a light hone. It depends on how the pistons and cylinders measure out.

 

that would work. i have 125k on the block before doing this build. i was gonna toss in new rings/hone but a set of pistons fell in my lap... so....



but those were 2.0 pistons.. that i just ceramic coated so now i gotta sell that stuff for the 2.3


from what i can tell even people with forged 2.0s seem to open the motor up each year? so why not go 2.3?

 

X2


Its easy to believe what the people behind their keyboards have to say, even though they typically have zero first hand experience.


With 3 hard trackdays and hours upon hours of tuning my 2.3 is as strong as it ever was new.


Here's some advice if you go that route.


-TUNER, find a good one with many reviews and a good reputation. Don't be scared of remote tuners. puredriveperformance.com has taken car of my car through thick and thin, better than the local dyno tuners ever could.


-Don't get a massive turbo, a green, BBK Full, BBK B are about as big as you'd ever need to be competitive in road racing. Since the power is made down low you don't need to rev it to the moon. My limiter was set at 8K.


- Get some nice rods, Manley I beams or similar, H beams are a waste of money.


- People blame the 2.3 for blowing because of being unreliable when it was really oil starvation. If your going to road race I'd recommend a Buschur baffled Pan or AMS/MOROSO, Kiggly HLA and Tomei crank scraper along with filling a half quart high. After logging oil pressure I had zero issues with R comps. Next step is adding an Accusump.


- Get an efficient oil cooler, 20 rows or larger.


- After every trackday drain your oil and replace the filter, the $40-50 dollars is cheaper than a spun bearing. (I have oil analysis to prove that your oil should be changed after every trackday.)


- On the cylinder head on the EVO 9 and more so on the 8 there are drainbacks. These are all clogged up with extra casting flash than can easily be ported with a carbide rotary bit or file. (head off ofcourse)




I know 3 people personally who run 2.3 Liters road racing and Auto X. Failures were due to oil starvation and a **** tuner. Follow these simple guidelines and you'll be good!


A 2.2 is another great option, due to the somewhat rare crank it is more expensive and unless your planning to make 700+ and need the revs I don't think the loss in torque is worth it.


Good luck and PM me with any questions

 

*I’ve been using the same email tuner for years. Great results. I have full faith in him.


I run a MAP ef2.5. I’m not after big HP numbers.

Interesting. Currently have Eagle H-beams.

already had BR do my pan, already have the HLA, already have a crank scraper.

will do. Oil temps were surprisingly good on the stock stuff/2.0L. I don’t expect it to work as well with the 2.3

I do before track days. After works too (for times I decide to daily).

Currently doing porting and polishing. I’ll have to look for these areas.


I’m trying to keep things relatively simple. I don’t see the advantage outweighing the cost. I will never be over 500whp (I doubt even 450) and won’t be revving over 8000rpm

Thanks. Will do.

 

I second xXonchomox feedback.

#1 is oil starvation to address exactly per his recipe, and #1 is oil change after each track day.

If you run big piston to wall clearance you will wear engine sooner, but if you use Mahle pistons with ~stock piston to wall clearance (~0.002") you will run 200K and still have more left, as long as you leave below redline limit.

Safe track tune is a must, another #1 priority. That makes it 3, and that is because the whole project is as strong as weakest link, and the oiling and tune are crucial enablers.
You have good tuner, so you should be set.


There is no reason to doubt reliability of 2.3, it should and will last exactly as long as 2.0: the occasional 20-25min session on track is not going to have major impact on its performance over time.

As far as 125K miles and re-ringing your pistons after honing: I sincerely doubt that your engine will be in such an excellent condition, but everything is theoretically possible.
in order to evaluate the the cylinders, a block-plate has to be bolted to simulate the head, and torqued. Only than you can measure and to measure you need accurate tools used by experienced professional.
I would continue using it as is if its not using excessive oil, rather than expect to spend on rings only. I would open it up to build when ready to build, and building a 4G63 is not cheap: i.e. you get what you pay for, so be careful. Few machine shops understand engines, boring, honing. Achieving Mitsubishi OEM quality is very challenging, so research and inspect before you pursue.

Best of luck.
Enjoy

 

Thanks for the well wishes! The block was checked, honed, tested, and cleaned. No boring needed. It's good to go. I pulled it apart because compression had been low in a cylinder for two years. Turned out to be tired rings.
I'm not sure what the clearances of my pistons will be. I planned in using Wiseco.
I mostly plan to do time attack. Even if I do HPDE, the tires don't last 20mins anyway, so I'd probably still be doing a warm up & 2-3 hot-lap format. I'm hoping that will add to the longevity.

 

This guy is a realist, I like it! Very well said sir