A buddy is thinking of boosting his ls teg.
the engine is 100% stock, and he is buying a setup off a guy with the same type of car. my buddy insists that his engine will not blow up at 8psi, and that he does NOT need to do any work what so ever to the engine before boosting it.
i told him he may wanna new thicker head gasket as well as some ARP head studs(bolts). but he said nope.

heres the run down on it:
engine has around 210 000km or 125 000miles
head gasket is toast
burns a little oil(enough to notice)
maintenace required light is on

-this is a daily drivin car, and i dont mean he drives it to work at 9 and drive home at 5. this car, is a delivery car that puts on alot of miles in one night.

he is doing a compresion check tommrow
-what numbers should he be looking for across the block?

any other suggestion's i could tell him to do
-also i will get the setup infor from him and post it up.

thanks for any input
-sean

 

Here are the specs
T3 turbo, .63/.60 from a 300zx, internally gated
custom manifold
2.5" downpipe
Intercooler from a Drag kit, 2.25 in and 2.5 out. 26x6.5x2.5
1g dsm bov
450cc dsm injectors, cleaned and tested before installed. Incl. clips and resistor box
p06 chiped ecu, Uberdata, tuned for 8psi
Tapp auto mbc
Autometer phantom EGT with probe and boost/vac, both 2".
Tapped oil pan, with all oil fittings and lines

 

well if the headgasket is toast ..
he MIGHT want to think about fixing that first..

don't quote me on that though!!

 

Fix the headgasket and then boost it. My bone stock motor has 103,000 miles on it now, and im on 10 psi. No problems so far

 

i was running 9 psi with 125000 on a stock internal engine. ran it for almost a year before i sold it all. the way i see it, fuel management will pretty much make or break you. perform some basic maintenance and get tuned after boosting and he should be alright.

 

If you tune it at Tapp. Chris will give you a good conservative tune. Once you swap that headgasket. Better safe than sorry.

 

The first step is getting the engine running smoothly...

So, if the head gasket is blown, fix it first... also, take care of the check engine light

The compression numbers should be consistent accross the board. If they are more than 20 psi apart then the engine may have other issues.

P.S. My engine has 106K on it and has been boosted for the last 8 months, I still have 190-200 psi accross the board. It's all in the tune!

 

yup, its ALL in the tune.

if the headgasket is actually blown, he shouldnt be driving it. if you think its bad because there is oil on the block seeping from it or something, well, its probably still doing its job (sealing the cylinders)

if you guys pull the head to do a headgasket, make him get some ARP studs first, and install them then, its just money in the bank IMO.

you can boost REALLY old honda engines if they are in perfect running condition. nothing wrong with an old engine if its good. my buddy recently made 224 whp on a 200,000 mile bottom end (d16z6) with arp head studs, new HG, and a jdmd15b head (same as z6, but bigger cam). on a well tuned APexi' turbo kit.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by redzcstandardhatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yup, its ALL in the tune.

if the headgasket is actually blown, he shouldnt be driving it. if you think its bad because there is oil on the block seeping from it or something, well, its probably still doing its job (sealing the cylinders)

if you guys pull the head to do a headgasket, make him get some ARP studs first, and install them then, its just money in the bank IMO.

you can boost REALLY old honda engines if they are in perfect running condition. nothing wrong with an old engine if its good. my buddy recently made 224 whp on a 200,000 mile bottom end (d16z6) with arp head studs, new HG, and a jdmd15b head (same as z6, but bigger cam). on a well tuned APexi' turbo kit.</TD></TR></TABLE>

How hard is it to replace head gasket?
What brand do you recommend for boost applications?
Do I have to remove the block to replace head studs? or I just need to remove the head?

Sorry for the noob questions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by elpiar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How hard is it to replace head gasket?
What brand do you recommend for boost applications?
Do I have to remove the block to replace head studs? or I just need to remove the head?

Sorry for the noob questions.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not too hard, I replaced mine by myself for the first time a few months ago.

You just have to take the head off, install the studs and new gasket, and throw it back together. I also had my head machined to make sure it was flat.

You don't have to remove the block or anything like that, just leave the engine in the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EJ1 wilcox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not too hard, I replaced mine by myself for the first time a few months ago.

You just have to take the head off, install the studs and new gasket, and throw it back together. I also had my head machined to make sure it was flat.

You don't have to remove the block or anything like that, just leave the engine in the car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a relieve, I thought I have to have an engine crane to do this. Maybe I'll try to do it when I change my timing belt sometime this summer.

Since the studs are stronger, do I increase the torque in tightening the studs?
Any recommendations on the brands?

 

arp would be the way to go, torque specs are similar, its just that they wont stretch

 

thanks alot for all the comments, my next question would be:

once its in and everything, he said the kit was tuned on a similar engine/car (2000 RS) will he still need to get it tuned at a shop?? i said yes but only because its a different engine and his has more miles on it. what are your thoughts on this??
-and what is he looking at to get it tuned money wise??????

thanks
-sean

 

Every engine is different get it tuned for that one...

 

alright thanks alot