I am just curious about this, since I've never boosted a car before. Currently I have a b18c1 and it did burn oil pretty good, but I recently switched to Castrol GTX synthetic blend and it doesn't burn that much anymore. In higher rpm's it does burn a little over time. I haven't done a compression test yet but for the purpose of this thread I'm going to assume that the piston rings are going bad.

Here's the issue. In the near future I'd like to boost the motor. What disadvantage would I be at if my piston rings were in fact going bad? Is burning oil going to be my only problem just as it is now? Or could boosting the motor with "bad" piston rings be potentially damaging in some other way?

In other words, if I had a complete turbo kit ready to go, could I throw it on, have the car tuned, and be just fine? Appreciate any answers.

 

well assuming your compression test tells you that the rings are going soon,why would you want to boost it,its not going to last very long so its pretty much pointless to throw a turbo kit on there.rebuild the motor first so your not wasting your time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hotrod99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well assuming your compression test tells you that the rings are going soon,why would you want to boost it,its not going to last very long so its pretty much pointless to throw a turbo kit on there.rebuild the motor first so your not wasting your time</TD></TR></TABLE>

Appreciate it. What am I looking to spend on a typical rebuilt? And should I use gsr parts or would something else benefit me more for about the same cost?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by devney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I haven't done a compression test yet but for the purpose of this thread I'm going to assume that the piston rings are going bad.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a pretty big assumption.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by devney &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What am I looking to spend on a typical rebuilt? And should I use gsr parts or would something else benefit me more for about the same cost?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The fact that you are already looking at prices for a rebuild concerns me. You should be testing the motor thoroughly to see where the problem lies. Do a compression test to start, then do a "wet" compression test. That should tell you ring condition fairly well.

If you are mechanically inclined in any way, you should then do a leakdown test. It will tell you where, if you are losing compression, it is losing it from. Then you can fix the problem accurately.

 

Also, how do you know it is burning oil? Can you see/smell it? If you are just losing oil, maybe you actually are just leaking oil.

 

i just got done with a rebuild on a b16 with busted ringlands from putting a turbo on it and boosting 10 psi. total cost around $2,000. built for boost. went cheap on as much as possible, but put the money where it counts like pistons, rods, bearings, and what not. i also replaced things that you should replace, like water pump, upgrade to type-r oil pump, new timing belt. so in my opnion, rebuilds cost $2,000.

if your motor is hurt, and you push it and for some reason it throws metal bits out the exhaust into your new turbo, you will be buying a new turbo as well. And don't forget, although rare, you could damage your head too.

I have learned my lesson, do it right or don't do it at all. Totally sucks when our parents have been right all along huh? hahahahaha good luck man

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tippyman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, how do you know it is burning oil? Can you see/smell it? If you are just losing oil, maybe you actually are just leaking oil.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Both. I don't see it so much anymore since I've switched oils but I can still smell it at times in VTEC.

edit: Unless I'm leaking oil somewhere that I'm unaware of then I'm pretty sure it's not leaking anywhere. Never had any noticable drops on the driveway or noticable leakage from looking at the engine.