I'm debating if I should leave well enough alone or build my X. It currently has an MHI and all supporting mods as well as Ohlins RT's with other suspension/tire upgrades. It is a really fun car at the moment. It is not a DD, I store it through the winter and drive it for fun during good weather. I don't track it, but I'm not against it and would consider it. All of my power work has been done at Boostin Performance.

I'm on the fence about building a 2.2 with a 8374 EFR turbo on E85. It is a considerable investment. My concerns are that even with my minimal driving it would be in the shop every month as that much power will continuously break things and or it may need tuning tweaks and more frequent maintenance to avoid failure. I'm ok with a complete maintenance service every spring if it will run smooth the rest of the summer - seeing ~3k miles or so at most.

It has crossed my mind to sell the evo (paid off 2012 GSR, 20k miles) and use the trade in plus the money that it would cost to build to buy a used GTR, Z06, etc. with some minor mods and be near the same power level with more reliability. That said, I do like Evos a lot and also like the underdog vibe of rolling from those higher end cars with a small four door.

Thoughts?

 

You are doing it wrong. Only bring it out when there is at least a foot of snow on the ground!

 

Depends on I assume you're shooting for ~650whp? If so, ti should be plenty reliable if built properly. At that power level you should have the trans and tcase gone through as well.

 

I plan on replacing my DD with an STi for winter in a couple of years - waiting to see what motor they will replace the EJ257 with.

Yeah, 600-700 whp would be ideal with potential for more depending on the lag/hp trade off.

 

Performance characteristics are something to discuss with someone who as experience with the turbo you're thinking about. But a mid 600whp X is an expensive build. Headwork becomes an important consideration when shooting for that kind of power on the X if you want it to be reliable, and sleeving the block becomes a good idea as well.

 

Yeah, I don't mind spending the money on sleeving, headwork, best in class rods/pistons, etc. I plan on using Boostin's stage 3 short block and heads and any upgrades that can go with it. I just don't want to do that and then be in the shop every month for minor (or major) tweaks, maintenance, etc. Again, I don't plan on driving it much, so the mileage should help.

As an example, I had an aftermarket turbo on an STi back in 2004 with APS parts, when STi's were new to the US. I spent ~$10k and it constantly had throttle delays/stumbling and other minor, but extremely annoying and frustrating issues. Still drivable and fast, but no way near factory drivability. It soured the whole experience.

 

Your story is from way back in the day when open source tuning was no where near what it is today. So the drive ability issues that were very likely tuning related will be non-existent with a good tuner like the guys at Boostin'. And other than oil changes, the motor should be fairly maintenance free if you're not doing a track day every weekend. Even if you are, turning the boost down to the 450-500whp level would be a good idea and probably more fun. 600whp+ track cars are better left to professional teams with professional budgets...lol

 

Just want to point out that its more fun driving in the winter!!
More power, no knocking, driving sideways, winter driving ftw!!

 

I currently have a sleeved 2.2 10:1CR with a 8374 EFR turbo on E85. I have not dyno it yet correctly but Virtual dyno says im making around 586hp and 478tq mind you this is at 6600 above sea level. Turbo hits 32 psi around 4500rpm and drops off to 28psi by 8k. the only issues I have had in the last 2000 miles have been fueling issues. Its been a blast driving this beast. If you have questions of my set up I more than likely tell you what I have done.

 

Thanks SDR. It sounds like you've gone the direction I would like to. What kind of fuel issues? If I go that route I'd like to address up front.

Any reason on the CR you chose? Anything else you'd do different - i.e. rods, pistons, supports?

 

10:1 is good medium between keeping the head gasket happy, and power on E85..


Fueling issues are likely starvation under high g loads seen when running on a track. Solved by running a surge tank.

 

I didn't read any of this, just wanted to lol @ "Invensting in...". Aint nothing about modding an evo an investment.

 

It is an investment, it's just a really poor one. Since you know going into it that your going to lose 99.9% of your "investment"...lol

 

Exactly, spending money on anything is an investment in that 'thing'...expecting a return is a whole different story....

 

Much Lols. Id say if you don't need a built motor then don't build one. OEM short blocks are far more reliable. OEMs just have far better tools and environments for making engines than even great builders.


Ive been pretty lucky on my built motors but stock motor was always the better choice on a DD.