I started seeing smoke coming from the nipple on the valve cover today and just did a compression test on my gsr turbo and the results were not pretty. The compression on cyl 1was 90psi while the rest are at 180. My problem is I am stuck on what to do from here, I cant make my mind up on what to do next. The car is my daily driver and still drives ok (for the time being at least). I need the best bang for my buck and im a college kid on a budget. Should I A) Rebuild w/ GSR pistons B) Buy LS and do Ls/Vtec. I was told it wouldnt be worth it to rebuild the gsr bc it would involve a lot more than just slapping pistons in. Im stuck, so any opinions or previous similar experiences would we great. Thanks a lot.

- Josh

 

fix problem #1 first and that's why you cracked a ringland

my guess is:

1. too much power on the stock bottom end
2. too much timing in the tune

address that before you continue on

also, unless you used a boreascope are you sure it's a ringland? exhaust valves are another extremely common cause of this when then frag

 

Power doesnt crack ringlands, detonation does

 

that's actually a good point, if the engine is tuned right too much power will break a rod or fastener, not blow a hole in ****

 

Im pretty sure I know where the fault was; I bought the car from a guy that claimed it was already tuned and I was nieve enough to take his word for it. Everything SEEMED legit: clean motor, good compression, nice turbo setup so I figured I could at least trust the tune well enough to hit boost once or twice... Sh** was I wrong.

Dont get me wrong, im not crying over spilt milk, I just want to get the car back to full potential and get it on the dyno. Just for reference here is my current setup:

Precision sc60 .70cold/.63hot
Fullrace a/c compatible ramhorn
Tial 44mm wastegate
Tial BOV
RC 1000cc injectors
Walbro 255 lph
3" exhaust dumped under cab
VictorX I'M
3 bar map sensor
Im hoping to push ~350 to 375 horsepower with my current tuebo setup

So my budget for rebuild is roughly $1000 and like I said before, want tge most "bang for my buck".

question 1: If I were to decide to rebuild the gsr, would it be necessary to bore over the block considering the ringland cracked? I was told that it would be pointless and way beyond my budget to rebuild the gsr, is this true? How much am I looking to spend to rebuild it? (oem spec vs. forged internals?)

question 2: Would it be more affordable to buy an ls motor and build ls/vtec? Are there any tradeoffs of having an ls/vtec turbo vs. gsr turbo?

Sorry for 30,000,000 questions and thanks in advance for any help/advice.

- Josh

 

just find a whole creigslist gsr motor drop it in done.

lsvtec is not a easy build theirs alot more than meets the eye

 

and another thing with the ls vtec their is more money for the conversion kit and the bottom ends dont like the high revs and tend to spin more rod bearings. i would find another gsr shortblock or have yours rebuilt

 

x2

if you didn't damage the crank of mains it's totally do able if you do the assembly yourself

 

GThe motor is still in the car but im pretty sure its just the ringland.

Would it be a feasable task to rebuild the gsr myself WITHIN MY BUDGET if I go with an aftermarket rod/piston setup, new bearings, getting it bored over, hg and arp headstuds? I can do the assembly work myself

Is boring over necessary or will a simple re-hone suffice?

 

OK. I'm currently in your situation (broken ringlands), but with an LS motor. Here are some of the costs of my build just so you have a perspective....

Forged internals - 620 and that's with a hell of a deal on some new rods
ACL Race Bearings - 120
ARP Head Studs - 130
Boring Block if you need it - 100, probably 20 or 40 to just hone
OEM Head Gasket - 70
OEM Oil Pump (if want) - 70 or more
Fluids - 50 to 100 probably (multiple oil changes for breakin)
Tune the Car - 400

So, with that, you're looking at over $1K BEFORE the tune at a reputable shop. Yes, it will be a lot cheaper without forged internals. But you will still need to replace AT LEAST one piston, My compression check came out similar to yours where only one cylinder showed low compression, but when I got the motor apart there were 3 bad pistons. You would also need rings and have the pins pressed into the rods.

I'm not trying to turn you away from this idea, but I just wanted to put some numbers with it so you can try to decide what you want to do and what parts you want to use. If you'd like to talk more (as I could for a while about this, lol) just PM me

 

just burn ur car up and collect insurance bibb lol jk

 

so we have a general consensus that with my budget and power expectations it would be my best bet to rebuild the gsr with forged internals? im 95% sure im going the forged gsr route

and thanks big mike for the price rundown, it really help put things in perspective. be expecting a pm soon id like to get some opinions/advice on a couple things.

 

lol too bad the KBB on my hatch is $900 excellent condition, id get it hard from insurance no spit or lube haha

 

No problem. What part of TX are you in?? I'm south of Houston myself.

 

I cracked a ringland on a gsr bottom end. I had a friend replace the the piston/rings while the motor was in the car. He removed the cylinder head and oil pan but the block was still in it.

The motor ended up going back NA and has been running strong ever since.

 

Im actually a little south of dallas haha

 

Also, head lift can destroy ringlands. How? Head lift ---> HG Failure ---> Antifreeze being dumped into the cylinders ---> Pistons / cylinders get "washed out" ---> bye bye ringlands and more...

You should definately get the ARP Headstuds

Are you actually building your engine or are you giving it to a shop? This would have saved you alot of money and time too...

 

arp headstuds came in yesterday, hg is fine, and im taking it to the machine shop to get bored .20 but i am assembling everything myself.

rundown on what i plan to do:

.20 over bore
head decked
new oem headgasket
arp headstuds
new oem bearings
JE (81.5mm) 9.0:1 pistons with Eagle rods

im also considering upgrading my valvetrain to dual valve springs and retainers, would it be worth the extra money considering i have a .70 trim turbo with a victor x manifold so that i can pull more power out and not run out of rpm's?

 

Sounds like a great idea.

 

which part? lol

i just dont wanna have "too much turbo" and not enough "motor" lmao

 

That sounds like that is the best option instead of disposing of another perfectly good engine that can be rebuilt.

 

Just go forged Internals. If you do the work yourself just make sure the machine shop does give you a good piston to wall clearance and plasticguage your bearings and you'll be fine

 

You do know that this is gonna be way over your 1K limit right? Not trying to throw you off but if were you, I would take my time and do all of the above you mentioned. Thats a nice plan you have there

 

haha im already ***** deep into this thing, but yea i realize that its gonna cost some moneyzzz. I guess its better to build it right the first time than have to build it 3 more times bc i cheaped out lol.

If i get the springs and retainers, i will probably have to hold off on the tune for ~ a month-month and a half.

SO BIG QUESTION IS,

- Should i invest the extra money in dual valve springs and retainers?

 

i see in your sig that you are making some pretty good numbers, do you mind me asking what engine/turbo setup you have? i would really like to see what kind of numbers i should be expecting with my car to and would also like to see what setups have worked for others? if so, a pm from you would be nice