Mjalaly

Sea level safe at 300whp would only be 250whp at altitude correct (assuming somewhere between a 47whp and 52whp loss)? I have also seen people go way higher with stock LS blocks.

LightningTeg

I dont see why the altitude matters with regards to the power train being stressed. 300whp is 300whp no matter where you are, just a matter of how much boost it takes.

2kdrift

always go for the tuner that is "better" at what they do, which usually means asking around and hearing opinions from other people local to your area

Mjalaly

yep did that and that is why i am on my 3rd different tuner.

Mjalaly

ok so I am still working out some things to get the car drive-able... lame but I did speak to another shop about tuning. Pretty much they don't want to increase the boost pressure either. Tuning from them is $600! and that's for one map. The reason I bring that up is they suggested I switch to E85 to increase the power which I really cannot do since my tank isn't very big and it isn't very available out here. Yes running E85 would be fine for track days but all of the other time it would be more of a headache. I know I can install a fuel sensor on the return line to detect the fuel change but this wont remind me to switch the HI/Low switch on the boost controller.

either way i am going to take the car up to them to do a base line on Saturday (weather permitting, snowy rain crap here today) and see what she does on their dyno. Then I can determine if paying money for another tune is even worth it.

The last thing on my list is to determine if building up that B16 is worth it. The only reason I am considering it is because all I need are new rods and bearings. However, if the B18 is way better then why bother?? LS/Vtec maybe the way to go but I don't know how much is involved in making one reliable. Still researching that one. Vtec head, ARP studs and go? or should more be done...

2kdrift

IMO b18 > B16 in every way for your purpose
what is your power goal? do you have any dyno numbers for the way it is right now?

what is the reason for doing another tune and not changing anything to your setup?....waste of time/$$$ if you plan to change things around again you will need another tune

I would recommend throwing pistons and rods in a GSR/LS bottom....not that you need them (still waiting on your power goal) but even if you dont its just nice to have for peace of mind and turning up the boost when you feel like it

Mjalaly

Power goals (based on the turbo is around 350-400whp if it will do that) for a race setup and 250whp for a street setup.

If I am to do a tune (right now I am just going to do some baseline pulls to test the scoop etc, they are also sitting on a deposit from a while ago) it would be to increase the power from where it is now at 225hp @ 9psi.

its winter too so i have time.

2kdrift

for 350+ I would definetly upgrade pistons / rods. any tuner should have no problem turning up the boost with that setup...do that first then get your retune IMO

Mjalaly

we will see. I have a lot to juggle here and plan for

LightningTeg

Whats not drivable about it? I feel like you could send some logs to Drob or another tuner on here that is good at Etuning and you'd be 90% of the way without touching a dyno. Like I said, 300whp stock LS builds are a dime a dozen.

Mjalaly

fuel leak, wiring issues, but mainly i had to make a new toe link mounting bracket since when attempting to wire tire the bolts, on of the heads broke off. I figured i would fix that permanently. So I am in the process of dialing out the bump steer and making a scoop. Its also snowing right now.

Mjalaly

So here is an update since I was actually able to drive the car today....

shake down drive went fine, there was an electrical ground that wasn't perfect (I pretty much shook and pulled until something showed up which is pretty much how I fine "ok" wiring issues).

did a highway drive with a buddy and boom! something flew out of the engine threw oIl everywhere and started a fire since It sprayed all over the turbo. good thing I take safety very seriously. it all stayed contained to the engine bay and none of the oil entered the passenger area. I pooped off the steering wheel off, turned the cam lock and jumped out. Only damage was to the turbo blanket (and block of course) since we were able to get the fire out quickly.

I am just numb to all of this now... just another day I suppose. ​​​​​​​

2kdrift

damn dude you have the worst luck, get a laskey block or something seems like the people you are dealing with dont know how to build/boost an engine. hope your car gets well soon

LightningTeg

god damn man. Who the hell is tuning your car?

Mjalaly

yeah i guess i will be purchasing new rods and bearings for the b16. any suggestions?

I really didn't like the rev limit on the LS with this transmission. It really need more.

the_unknown

Brother, we all want to see you enjoy your amazing vehicle, and you seem to be quite handy and a decent person. Take a breath, step back and assess the situation. Why do these things keep happening? Who or what is the common denominator between all these events? Is it the tuner or whoever is building the motor? The shop you took the car to? You aren't setting any records or breaking new ground here, you should have a complete cookie cutter type of setup, with the most basic of necessities and you should see big potential. You have the weight advantage over all of us running actual Honda vehicles, so there shouldn't be any reason to use anything but Honda parts. You are stressing them less because your car is so light and that also means you dont need much power. An LS motor putting out 300whp or less should last pretty much forever, same with a B16, just maybe need to be a bit more careful with the tuning. Get a good running motor in there, and have someone LEGITIMATE tune it for you. There should be no reason for you to be having so many problems. I for one want to see you succeed, good luck brother..

LightningTeg

I agree with this. I think I am getting more frustrated then OP lol

Mjalaly

Ok so I just need bearings for the b16. I plan on dropping the block off at the machine shop to be sonic cleaned and honed. They will check the rods to make sure they are all good and then I will assemble her. The two good machine shops here that were suggested to me wont assemble an engine with customer supplied parts (which i understand) so i will be on that. Does the rotating assembly need to be balanced? Anything else i should tackle before assembling?

also i am getting a b18 block and pistons to install. I just need a vtec conversion kit, arp head studs, rods and bearings. I will also have the block cleaned / honed and have crank work done.

Mjalaly

I was just going to order a set of King or ACL bearings, plastigage them to see if any were out of spec. if so order the correct sizes from Honda for the ones that are off. Seem reasonable?

Where can I buy the colored oem bearings online?

2kdrift

Majestic Honda - The Internet's #1 Honda Automotive Parts Store

Mjalaly

looking at some datalogs and i am seeing map readings of 1170, 1172, 1173. How do those correlate to psi?

LightningTeg

If those units are milibars (or mbars). 1 psi = 68.95 mbars, so you are looking at 17ish psi.

Mjalaly

whoa ****... that was a huge spike in the boost pressure then. This was from the previous engine blow not the last one.

Mjalaly

Starting on the engine rebuild and it looks like the block may be junk because of a ridge lower down in the cylinder. I will have the shop look at it though. There is scuffing on the skirts, probably from contaminates in the oil. I will scotch bright them and remeasure the skirt. Maybe have the machine shop look at them too. you can see the burning on the rods. I might need to trash those too. New ones are on the way anywhoo but i would rather not toss them if i don't have too. I'm also measuring 44.72mm on all of the rod crank journals. Bearings may also be a pain to fit as standard ones wont.

also these pistons have a ptw of .004" so i am not sure how much further we can go on the cylinder clean up before the ptw is way too big.

LightningTeg

Wow. Oil contamination blocking oil passages I bet.