Dm914

So i have a lsvtec stock b18b1 block with a ITR head its been running great for almost a year now. Ive been looking on what to do to make it faster but im kind of stuck. By no means am I looking for some sfwd monster power just something to have some serious fun with. I was looking at all out ls vtec all motor builds and ive seen they make good power but is it really worth the money? The other day some guy stopped by my mechanics shop, my mechanic did the work amd its only arp rod bolts acl bearings cometic head gasket, golden eagle block guard. With a very good tuner here in ny the guy made 350hp on pump gas on 14psi and has been his daily for the last 3 years. Every turbo build i see on HT is either bone stock block or fully built, has anybody ever ran with a similar setup on a turbo? Just trying to see what I can experiment with next.

Chance EG

With a good tune a stock B should be able to live quite happily at 300WHP. 100% stock.

Little things that would be nice to upgrade anyway - Cometic MLS head gasket, ARP headstuds, new ACL bearings, Rod bolts... None of that is necessary, but just "little things" that would make a big difference if installed correctly.

Don't use a block guard. They don't help at all and lead to other issues.

Invest in a good Go-Autoworks tuning kit (like the street kit) and get a proper tune, and you should be good to go.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

A Cometic MLS won't make things any better or safer than an OEM headgasket. Neither will new bearings. But don't use the block guard, by any means.

Dm914

Yea the block guard was by customer request. Anyways I thought rod bolts were recommended for stock lsv so wouldnt it be stupid to not run them for a lsv with turbo? Ive been running perfectly fine without them but i dont know if itll hold up well with boost. Also wouldnt the cometic mls lower the compression a bit? What i had originally planned to do was arp rod bolts, arp head studs, cometic head gasket, good turbo manifold, turbo, and intercooler. Any suggestions are open. Ive never done a turbo build so any help is appreciated.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Not necessarily. If you're driving the stock limits of the car (about 300-350whp) then you can, but you don't have to. That's more of a preference. We've done it quite well with stock ones. Tuning is what's more important for the power used. Not PSI of boost pressure.

Your static compression is fine. Don't fall for that lower compression=better for boost nonsense that has been preached since 1998. If anything, keep it higher than 9.2:1-10.0:1 , and concentrate on the right turbocharger, intercooler, and exhaust manifold, and most importantly, tuning. For 300-340whp, you don't need the ARPs in any way shape or fashion, unless you plan to put another OEM headgasket on there. No parts are going to save you for any insurance if you don't get this tuned properly, and using a pre-programmed "chipped" ECU is just going to cause disaster.

No eBay parts of any kind for any of this. Don't rely on bullsh!t bandaids to get you through. OEM is best in 90% of the cases of what you're doing when it comes to the engine itself. By the time you need ARP studs, rod bolts and all that, you're going to have to get aftermarket pistons/rods anyway.

If this is for your customer, and not yourself. YOU have to do better research and thinking more than the customer. The customer that is asking for a block guard is generally-speaking an idiot, who only thinks they know what they want, but doesn't actually know. You have to be 2-3 steps ahead of that customer.
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid..)

Dm914

Oh the car is mine not for a customer lol, just using the customers details and trying to see how it would do, whats necessary whats not. Car will be tuned on s300, will be tuned by a very reputable tuner here in NY. Guess ill just keep it as simple as possible