Ok. Lemme give some background here.

Here was my setup...

99 Si, 35,000 miles.
Greddy kit @ 8psi
non intercooled
stock fuel pump
Turbo XS BOV
Apexi AVC-R set to 7psi
Thermal 3" Exhaust
Test Pipe

The test pipe seemed to make the boost a little less predictable. It was doing .55bar so I considered it good to go. I was out one COLD night rolling with my friend in his NSX.. We dropped it @ 70mph and I was pulling some, then it all of sudden was even. We ran it up to 120mph (no one was around) and then letoff. I checked the boost controller and saw boost had shot up to 9.3psi! A little high for me, but I noticed no trouble. Anyways, I got home, it ran like ****, I did a compression test next day, 30psi on cylinder 3. Its blown.

Here is where I sit right now. I am thinking JE pistons, 9:1, Eagle rods, Greddy LARGE intercooler, Hondata Stage2b and o course new rings/bearings. My ring lands were cracked all to hell and the piston was CLEAN as hell, indicating a lean burn. Odd thing to me was that the #1 cylinder had a WHITE plug, but was the dirtiest of the 4? Things just don't really make sense to me @ this point. I am guessing that @ 9.3psi the stock pump couldn't keep up with the demand and the car leaned out. Seen as how it was a sustained run it got hot and detonated, thus killing the ring lands. Sound good?

Anyways. I wanted to know a few things from the experts here. First, how much boost can I SAFELY run on a stock block? I have heard 15psi before the sleeves/cylinders crack. Some say its all dependent on the tunning. I was planning on running the built motor @ 14.5psi (1 bar) daily. Obviously the car WILL be on the dyno and tuned before I see any serious boost (5-6psi). In the end I seek a 100k+ mile setup with low 13's to high 12's. I want something fast, but I don't want to cut corners and have it blow again.

Can you please give me your input on my current plans?
Does my build setup sound sufficient?
Am I missing something here?
Am I asking too much from the B16?

Help me out so I can make sure if I do this, I do it right. Thanks.


[Modified by SiCivic99, 9:21 AM 11/19/2001]

 

JE pistons, eagle rods, intercooler, fuel pump, bigger injectors, safc, fmu
and get rid of the blue box.

for your case, you don't really need a stand alone and
about the greddy turbo and high psi
the greddy turbo makes power up to 15psi
after that its effiency is low and creates to much heat.
on the stock sleeves 15psi is a safe number.
since its high compression engine i wouldn't go up to 15, more
like 10-12 on racing fuel.'

one word - FUEL

 

You blew it on that 1 run? That's odd.. I've had my AVC-R set to .55 and had spikes as far as .63, at .60 i've had a spike of .73 or 10.5psi! No damage whatsoever, the AVC-R spikes are usually within the blink of an eye, I'm surrpised it did so mauch damage to your motor like that!

 

his compression is a little higher, therefore has a little bit higher chance of detonation
and also "no luck" to him....

 

True... plus I just noticed the whole "stock fuel pump and no IC", now I can surley see where 9psi would blow up a B16A2 running dry!

 

Maybe I mis-worded what I mean to say. I do not plan to run this on stock internals, but on a STOCK BLOCK.. Meaning no block gaurd, no special sleeves. Just the upgraded internals. I am kind of set on doing the Hondata because I found a killer deal.

 

Even w/o a block guard or sleeves, you should be fine at 15psi w/ a well tuned standalone. Though if you're gonna go through the work of replacing your internals, why not weld a blockguard in there whilre you're at it for insurace?

 

Yeah with no IC and high comoression that is more likely. Sorry to hear that dude.

 

Well, I don't like the idea of a block gaurd. It covers the top of the cylinder walls and doesn't allow for sufficient cooling. I don't like the idea for street/daily driver use. I am not looking to run more then 15psi. I think that would be more then enough.

 

Isn't the turbo on the Si Greddy kit bigger than a regular Civic's Greddy kit? Isn't the one for the Civic like 15g and the Si like 18g? I might be confused.. but if i'm right, then that's why VTC can run higher boost than SiCivic.

 

Actually I just did some research and yes, the Si kit is an 18g and the regular Civic kit is a 15g. This is the reason he can blow a motor at 8psi.. plus it's non-intercooled.

Some people will say that it's only psi that determines how much an engine will handle.. and then they'll pull out some physics about force.. and that force is the determining factor. Well that is only partially true. The amount of air (CFM) that the turbo puts out has alot to do with what the engine can handle. Let me give you a scenerio:

Car A has a 15g turbo (which is smaller than a T3-60.)
Car B has a 18g turbo (slightly larger than T3-Super60.)

Car A can boost up to 9psi safely but only puts out 210CFM @ 7000rpms.
Car B tries to boost up to 9psi but finds out that at that boost level, he's pushing 300CFM @ 8000rpms. His fuel/timing probably cannot handle that extra air that the turbo is forcing.. so detonation occurs.