Hey everyone, I'm very new to the modding world I've done a few random (easy) things like intakes, exhausts, and manifolds but recently I bought myself another Del Sol. Its and si but the kid before me put a 1.5 in it and took the 1.6 out and i currently have the 1.6 in my basement. I want to rebuild it but I'm not the most mechanically inclined but would like to give the rebuild a shot. I have the haynes manual so I should be able to figure it out as well as a few friends that know what they are doing. Well to get to the point, I plan on putting in a turbo and i'm being told to upgrade the rods for forged rods opposed to stock. Well is there anything else i should i dont want to go crazy with this but just keep it so i can run 8-10psi safely. should i just keep the stock size bearings and everything else. I've never done a rebuild so I'm completly in the dark should i take it to a machine shop to have anything done? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

8-10 psi is achievable with the stock bottom end as long as ur running a small turbo. 200hp is ur limit stock, thats because the rods r super weak. Eagle rods and vitara pistons r reliable to 400hp+ and will set u back 5-600 bucks, if u go this route obviously ul need new bearings and rings plus a hone on the cylinder. If ur block is in decent condition (ie. not smoking, good ring seal, regular oil change intervals, etc..) it can handle 200hp with a good tune.

If all u want to do is a rebuild, I dont think itd b stupid to run ur stock bearings as long as they r n good shape but new rings and hone is a must. Check ur clearances and they should b a little on the loose side which is fine as long as its not to extreme. If u decide to run new bearings, again ul have to check clearances to make sure there in spec. Do ur research on everything because there is a certain way to do things. Such as installing rings, filing rings, piston to valve clearance checks, clearance on piston to bore, clearance on all bearings, thurst bearing instal, etc and so on. Just do ur research and ul b fine and get on tune on good engine management.

 

I was told to run a t3/t4 turbo, i was looking for mid 200's if possible 5-600 isn't too bad i was expecting almost double that.... Not a lot of tuning happens here in maine Heh. How do i decide what rings and bearings? will the rods/pistons tell what size's ill need? and about how much should i expect to pay to have the cylinders honed?

 

u could hone it urself with a hone tool u put on the end of a drill, or u could just strip the block and take it to a machine shop and have them install everything, hone the cylinder, and check clearances for fairly cheap, id say around 2-300. Ur block may need to be honed down .5mm if its scarred, then u would need .5mm oversized pistons along with the rings. U dont want a milled crank so u SHOULD use honda bearings that correspond by color coding with ur block, or u can go with the one size fits all acl or kings bearings which should still have clearances within spec. If ur crank needs to be milled (shaved down, kinda like a hone but around the crank) u would obviously need larger bearings. A lot of people say u should not use a honda crank thats been milled, I dunno

 

If I honed it myself what are the chances of something going wrong or is it pretty straight forward? Thank you very much this information is a huge help now I know what i need to be looking for to get the build started and start to look at pricing and how much i need to budget.

 

Its pretty simple but Im sure a machine shop could do a much better job which would include cross hatching. U just put the tool on the drill, stick it in the cylinder, hit the trigger, go up and down the bore a couple times, and ur done. Now this is only if u stick with standred size pistons, because ur not going to b able to take out much material. Obviously everything will need to be super clean and u need to b meticuloues on everything, and do research! Dont ever skimp on the tune and enginemanagement. That will make or break ur motor!

 

This is the research step now I'm running the 1.5 for a while i dont plan to start the build till around november. I keep hearing a lot about "notching" if i go with eagle rods. some say its nessicary and others say its optional? Yeah I'm a perfectionist so being meticulous won't be difficult. Maybe it is best for me to try and find a machine shop around that knows what they are doing. Anything else i might need to know before this whole operation starts. Anything i might wanna look out for or i could possibly run into. I know there are lots of things that could happen but i mean something that happens more often than not?

 

A valve and spring upgrade wouldn't hurt either...

 

Is that something I may run into a problem if i dont replace and I'm only looking for mid 200's with the d16z6?

 

Im pretty sure they have a eagle rod design now where u dont need to notch the block but yes notching is needed for eagle rods to clear, not a big deal if u got a die grinder or the shop could do it cheap enough. Valvesprings are only needed if u plan on running a bigger cam and revin a lil higher, i dont believe it will b needed unless u plan on going over 3-350hp. With a built block u can always just add more boost to get the hp level u are after, that is of course that u have everything else to support it along with proper octane ratings. I hope u have about 3-4 grand to do this properly.

 

I'm looking closer to a 2500 range, I already have the d16z6 in great running condition I plan on doing a lot of the work myself. I'm doing to for more or less the experience i've never done anything like it before. You really think for the rods, pistons, bearings, seals, and everything for a turbo I'm going to be looking over 3000 by a decent margin? I was also told for a cheaper upgrade alternative to the eagle rods was ZC or 1986-87 Integra connecting rods not a big upgrade but should handle up to 250 hp?

 

^He was adding in a shop's labor costs.

 

Hmmm well is the shop nessicary if i can hone it myself and notch it myself? If its probably a lot better idea i still will but like i said I'm from maine and the tuning doesn't really happen around here so i dont know of a lot of shops would do it anyway : / a lot of hicks just replacing parts calling themselves mechanics, don't know if i wanna risk it myself or risk it by letting someone who doesn't do it often play with it.

 

Like he said, it won't be nearly as good as a legit shop could do it but you could probably do a serviceable job.

 

alright, once i get it going depending on funds and how confident I'm feeling i might just go for it and if im still a bit nervous about it I'll start looking for a reliable shop.

 

Im talking about minimal shop work and u doing everything else will b 3-4k easy. U can not skimp on enigne management and a tune at these kind of power levels. U need a lot more than a built block and a turbo. Ul need fuel pump, clutch, injectors, ecu, map sensor, wideband, arp head studs, tune, hell all that is going to b 1500 right there. Then ul need the built block, count on spending a g in that, then the turbo kit if its decent is going to b at least 1200.

 

Ha alright then, I may have to put the build off a bit longer than expected when you break it down like that it fits a bit better than looking at it wide spray. Maybe ill just start buying a part or two here and there and when it comes closer to november go all out and try and get it finished. If im looking for around 250 hp whats a good turbo to go with where i wont get too much lag if i go with a bov or should i just go with the recirculation valve idea (another form mentioned, Like i said im in the research stage trying to map everything out before i start anything)

 

^Go normal and stick with a BOV and Wastegate combo.

And if you trust it, you can do an ebay turbo/ oil restricter combo. I'm a believer in this combo and heard ebay has gotten better on their turbos. Also, if it blows, it was what? Around $250?

 

Alright, well I forgot to mention this is my daily so I'm going to be aiming for reliability before i go for power. the 1.6 is just sitting in the basement for now so I'm just trying to play with that before i really go for the swap and trying to get everything up and running before work or classes start back up, might take my vacation to try and get it going again...

 

To reach 250, ul have to do a built block anyways so might as well shot for 300-350 on pump gas and size ur turbo, exhaust, and injectors accordingly. A cheaper route would do stock block at 200 or maybe even 225 if u could run e-85 and get a tune. If u did it this way, u wouldnt need to even open up the block and everything b pretty much a bolt on affair...besides exhaust

Oh yeah, telling u from experiance dont run a ebay turbo or stainless steel manifold...there wastegates suck too!!

 

^Only thing I'd ever use from Ebay would be the turbo. And that's only cuz I've heard better reviews if you take the necessary precautions.

Their wastegates will almost undoubtedly cause boost creep.

 

Well see I'm doing this for the experience I've never done any real engine work and would like to see how it all goes together and I figured while I was doing it why not try and build it for 250 hp or so. I ran into another question, should i buy a rebuild kit for gaskets and such and if so what brand would be a safe bet, I'm trying to price everything together and I'm still not 100% sure on what part's ill be needing to replace and sizes on things.

 

OEM gasket set

 

alright thanks, also should i go with the 75mm pistons or the 75.5?

 

With a hone, 75mm may end with piston slap. It won't be terrible but they'll probably slap. Once agin, if you're doing the hone though, you probably won't hone .5mm...

Tough call.