I am looking at building a 2.0L long rod motor and having the full drive train built up to the max level.

I have read here or there people joke about how and when the motor would go at those levels and even built cars are non reliable. Wondering if this is the right platform for me to invest in and have a major build if its gonna pop often.


I am coming from a built 996 turbo with 1,100whp.......thanks guys for any help

 

As long as you stay below 2000 hp you should be fine.

 

The stock drive-train can handle high power to a point, but if you track it or drag it you will need to build the tranny, transfer case & rear diff

If youre building a weekend road warrior, the stock drivetrain w/a HP clutch will work to a point (no launching & no burnouts)

Of course 900 WHP is way up there. If you have the funds to build that type of motor, spend some bucks on the supporting system

 

I know those 996 turbo engines are super solid up to like 650whp. But they're crazy expensive to build. Really reliability at that level largely depends on how well it's built and how it's used. Just remember that's alot of power from only 4 cylinders and very low displacement. That means alot of stress from power adders. But with the right parts and a good builder I wouldnt worry too much. Might go through bearings pretty quickly, but I think that's high hp on any platform.

 

Any time you go past 150hp per cylinder, things get far less reliable. Depending on what you use it for it can last you a while, as long as you keep up with maintaining it.

 

this. From what i've seen from fellow members local & otherwise, anytime you go past north of 600BHP **** can go south very fast(yes with a built motor), especially if you're revving past 8k consistently.
I've unfortunately experience this first hand with a built 700hp motor. Everything was meticulously taken care of, built by a reputable shop, low miles, but all it took was a few runs in quick succession revving past 9k to send the block to kingdom come.


Consider compensating for power by stripping out some weight. Less stress on all drivetrain components while potentially having the same power/weight ratio as a higher HP build.

 

It depends on how you drive it. It only makes 900whp when it's in boost. Cruising around, not in boost, its like cruising around in a stock Evo (to an extent). But just like with anything, reliability goes down as power goes up. Along with the motor build and supporting stuff for the engine needed at that power level, a built trans/tcase/rear diff would be a good idea. You're talking about a big money build.

 

Find a great shop and have them build you 2 motors. One for in the car, the other as a spare lol

 

Was just thinking this same thing. How many times do you want to make 900hp?


Either way, no matter what you do I wouldn't put my faith in its reliability to get me to work everyday.

 

That sounds like a very laggy setup? 900hp won't see life until 5-6k rpm?

 

Definitely not. At those levels all it takes is the tiniest issue to pop the head gasket or spin a bearing doing a pull getting on the freeway.

 

Well IMHO reliability at those levels of power is out the window, but that also depends on what you consider to be reliable. Most people think 100k miles between rebuilds is reliable, well that's not gonna happen with those power levels. That being said I have heard of some guys saying they only got 7-10 pulls on the motor before bearing failures, that's not reliable IMO. That's an oil starvation issue/tuning issue. Do your homework on your build and you should be able to get 900hp reliably. Reliably meaning dropping the pan and checking bearings once a year. Also that's the point where hardblocking starts to pay off so it's on the edge ya know

 

Preventive maintenance is also a must at those levels. Oil changes after every 20-25 runs, transmission/rear diff fluid changes once a year, maybe more. Transfer case oil changes twice a year maybe more. Checking turbo end play every oil change, cutting open oil filters every oil change, checking u-joints and cv-joints for backlash every oil change, ect. These are all things I do to insure the reliability of my car. If your not willing to spend the time don't complain when you break $h1t. It's not 4 everyone. On top of this, stuff is still gonna fail that's something you have to be ok with. Heck even bone stock cars have issues. I love reading about guys who have all this money to spend on a level 5 transfer case, then ***** it failed in 2 years. Well did you change the fluid even once? Crickets......

 

yup, I learned this the hard way. I spoke with a very experienced shop once stuff went south and only then was I made aware of all the consistent monitoring/maintenance that needed to be done. My fault was lack of research. I've since decided to drastically drop the boost lol

 

So basically a horrible platform for big power lol.........