I’m curious to see what people with the AMS 2.2L shortblock/ engine have to say about it? durability/ reliability (yes I know with power increase comes less reliability), customer service, is the price worth it? Or is MAP or ER a better bet?

 

I bought my car with the previous owner having AMS install the 2.2 stage 3.
It has about 10k miles on it now. I talked to AMS about it and they assured me that nothing is going to kill it, but they don't suggest E85, even though Kozmic does. Bit of conflicting info there.

If it's the stage 3 you're looking at, it's got an pretty impressive build list, and that RPM limit, mmm MMmm! That's more power, without more torque, (which your drivetrain will appreciate.)

I have the car in Iowa now, where it's outside. I've had some COLD 0F starts with no issues. AMS suggests 10w-40 for application under 200 hp per cylinder. For my climate, I used 5w-40 rotella T6 synthetic.
The only problem I had was a catch can freezing, and backing up oil in the turbo from the crankcase pressure.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been looking into the stage 2. But it’s still a long ways off. And I mean a long ways off. For now, I’m going to be the newb that I am and bolt some **** on, and have a good time. It seems like AMS has the most quality engine build/ rebuild. But on some of the older forums, people were saying that they sort of half *** do their jobs for the EVOs and put all their time in effort into the GTRs because there’s more money put into it. Their engines seem really good. The goal is to push anywhere in the range from 550-600 WHP (I know it’s a significant gap). But I’m curious how much reliability would be decreased with that power. I feel like getting one of their blocks could really save me from serious damage in the long run, when compared to the stock block. But I see that there are still people with that kind of power with built heads and a stock block.

 

I'm not an expert by experience, I've only had my car for two months.
However, I've done a TON of searching here and on the web for common issues and problems, I've had 3 weeks to myself with nothing to do but my laptop, and my interest in the car.

The engine does not seem to be one of them under 350wtq. It depends a lot on the tune too, keeping the torque smooth and controlled. When it comes to reliability, keep torque under control. The stage 3 won't care, but the transmission and drivetrain will.

Honestly if I were you, I would go stage 3 so it's not something you have to worry about ever. You're already spending a bunch for the stage 2, may as well finish it off with the best.
After I upgrade my clutches to a 12 disc, I'll have Kozmic give my car a E85 flex tune.