I guess my past experince with a turbo kit wasn't anything to write home to mom about. Keeping stock like items helps maintain the balance between why the Evo is good in stock form, but with a tad bit more power. Who knows, maybe I will decide to drag race it and then warrant the need of a larger, more powerful, and more laggier turbo.

Installs are indeed eating up a lot of the cost. I would rather make sure its done right and I can hold a company responsible. I installed my kit on the 8 and had AMS reinstall when I had a small coolant leak. I just dont feel like busting knuckles and swearing all weekend anymore!

For those mentioning getting a different vehicle. Find a different thread/forum that your comments would apply.

 

I'm moving on to my third set of injectors. Still playing catch-up?

Now that we've started seeing results from the Precision turbos, the ETS kits have gotten rather exciting. For those of us wrapping up our builds, it's too late to change paths now.

Strapping on a bigger turbo is only a half-day job...best to focus on getting all of the supporting mods right.

 

Seeing yet another engine failure has made me modify my upgrade path. I am now considering a built AMS 2.2 engine. It adds another $7K (block and labor w/ core exchange) to the upgrade, but I will have more piece of mind. I considered the 2.0, but figured the low end gained would be worth the added expense. With this much invested, I would be forced to keep the car opposed to my usual "every couple years different car. Thoughts on this???? Murlo26, mlomker, tephra and others please chime in.

 

^^ as long as you're putting down less than 450 to the wheels on a full weight X, you should be fine. Even that is a conservative estimate to keep you on the safe side. We're not driving STI's you know !!

If you notice, most of those engine failures are from people pushing the limits or bad mod/tune combos. If you do everything right, unless you're gonna go above that HP level, I think your money would be better spent elsewhere. Enjoy the car at the new power level and save money till you get tired of it. Then you can spend towards Engine mods etc.

 

Well honestly, i would say just stick with the 2.0L built motor.

I would go a buschur stage 3 one, its more economical. Or if you really want, get the sleeved one from AMS.

The 2.2L really isn't necessary unless you want to run at least a t3 turbo. Any stock frame it will not be worth it and will just put extra strain on your drivetrain...especially diff pins.

So if you truly want to go a built motor, and for that matter a crate one, stick with a 2.0L one.

 

yeah the buschur block is very very well priced...

and yes the trouble with more power is other things break...

diff's/trans/gearbox/tyres... the list is endless

 

I am a little confused. Why the Buschur over AMS? The AMS 2.0 built engine with core is 2800. AMS is local to me. Not sure how I would be able save money with Buschur? Secondly, what kind of gains can be expected just by swapping a 2.0 with a 2.2 on a stock frame Turbo? The bbx is going to spool in the high 3's/low 4's, wouldnt the 2.2 save a few hundred RPMs as well as gain torque? This is all trying to maximize power on pump. How would the 2.2 put extra strain? Any help is appreciated. I have only a couple days to decide if I stay with current configuration or go to new block.

 

The AMS 2.0L would be a good choice, I thought the AMS one was more expensive but if not, by all means. Both are awesome companies.

Yes the 2.2L will make the stock frame turbo spool sooner, but that is the problem. Your diffs/tranny will see a ton of torque. Honestly with Mivec the lag isn't bad at all. And personally i wouldn't want the 2.2L on a stock frame since it will gain you nothing up top either since the 2.0L can max out all the stock frames.

I would say keep the extra 4 grand or whatever and save it or put it else where.

If you plan to go with a bigger t3 turbo later, then by all means get the 2.2.

 

There haven't been enough (any?) reviews of any of the shortblocks to say "AMS over Buschur" or vice versa. From the 4G63 market, they both make great shortblocks, full stop.

If you were going to go the cost and trouble of a shortblock swap, the 2.2L would appeal to me. You'll be able to spool faster, you'll be able to get more torque; which, to me, makes for a more enjoyable car.

Yes, there would be extra strain, both in torque and in just what a stroker does to the physics inside the motor itself, especially at a higher RPM.

You're kind of alone in reviews, though; there aren't enough people out there running built short blocks to give you much insight.

I would suggest reading up on stroker builds on the Evo 8/9/DSMs though, as a lot of the rules will still apply. Especially stroker builds on stock turbos, to see the spool.

 

It's not a stroker motor, the AMS is an overbore motor with ERL sleeves. So you will be able to retain the awesome high revs. It is a great motor, don't get me wrong, i just think if you are staying stock frame its overkill.

But hey, if you have the money, it's not a dumb idea, just be ready for your drivetrain to have problems.

 

If you haven't done a clutch upgrade yet then it'd be an easy decision to me--pull the motor and do a 2.2 overbore (and upgrade your clutch/center diff pins at the same time). The only reason I took the $5k approach (built head, drop-ins on 2ltr) is because I didn't want to pay another $1k+ in labor to pull the tranny again.

My baby was doing vacuum pulls on the dyno last night. I should get to drive it soon.
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/a498d9bf1016e8c12c

If you're near AMS then having them provide the motor and labor would give you some peace of mind. This is the kind of project you'd line up for November...right now is a terrible time as far as shop workload is concerned.

 

I guess I still don't understand the drivetrain stress. What's the difference between the 2.2 and a 2.0 on e85? If its all about torque, that's what I need most to enjoy the car. What would need to be done with the drivetrain to support more stress? My whole redirection is in regards to keeping the car from breaking. If I am at risk of causing more damage, I haven't solved anything. I was trying to avoid the extra cost of new parts in the event something broke. I doubt I'll use the car hard or long enough to cause issues. Just nervous now that a recent engine failure has occurred. What's the consensus on the likelihood of failure with my current pump gas plans?

 

pshh power is overrated. Just get some nice wheels, sticky tires, a body kit, and the ARC exhaust and there goes $15,000.

 

Pump gas should be safe, assuming the tune is right, but since you are using AMS it should be solid. You won't be hitting high enough boost on pump to cause problems.

Well put it this way, with a 2.2L expect at least 400rpm's of spool to be gained, so now you are talking about the ability to spool at stock frame turbo like the red extremely fast. Now your drivetrain stock is meant to handle 300 flywheel torque, obviously it can handle more since it's an evo etc etc. But when you start spooling that soon you will have an immense torque shock to your system and with AWD you won't spin tires as much and your drivetrain will take a beating. You will just spool so fast that the torque will really put a strain on your system. You can build your tranny, have shep proof it for this with some new center diff pins at a minimum and then you should be alright, but the drivetrain is something that not too many have seen failures so we are not sure what the weakpoints are.

No one has really done a 2.2L either on a stock frame so we don't know if you will be alright.

The safest thing for higher power is a built motor with a laggier turbo.

 

$15K? I'd buy my girl the engagement ring she always wanted, put some away for a rainy day and put the rest on the car to pay it off quicker:-)