With the following that the WRX has, there are MANY very reputable engine builders throughout the U.S. (and beyond) that are happy to use parts of equal quality at half the price. JE, Weisco, CP, Carillo and many other manufacturers make excellent pistons, rods, cams, valves/valve springs for these cars.
There's no need to shell out the $15k for a motor build when a reputable engine builder can make one just as good if not better to YOUR specifications for about half the price
However, if you have the money, and are going to be doing a LOT of track days, I think it'd be worth it.
IMO not worth it. You can go to many good engine builders who will make a better engine for cheaper. You are paying more for a name then for quality parts.
Also not worth it for the sake of having a controllabe car. Big engine with big numbers means big turbo. I have a 570HP s2k that is pretty much untrackable. It's just too light for its power that comes out of nowhere. That's even with 265 tires in the rear, there's just no way to keep it under control in the turns under power. At least if it was more linear power delivery it could be manageble but it doesn't have it.
Also must bring up the other factors of price. So you got a big beefy 15k long block. Now you're gonna need an exhaust manifold that can use a big enough turbo. Then there's the turbo and intercooler. Now you're fuel system needs a massive upgrade from rails, lines, injectors, fuel pumps. Alright now you got that bad boy purring, but there's no way a factory 5 speed or factory clutch is gonna handle 600hp, so now you gatta either pony up for a very expensive mulitdisc clutch to have smooth engagements or go cheap and have a nightmare driving it. Also the big money it would cost to put new big beefy gears/diff. Let's not forget that now you're gonna need massive wheels/tires cause the car weighs so little yet makes so much power that there's literally no way to keep the rears from spinning.
Point being, once you make the engine big and beefy- you now have to make everything else big and beefy. It gets expensive FAST. Trust me, been there done that.
Agreed, I know of many builders locally that have used all the above mentioned companies and they all work very well without going the Cosworth route. The thing with the 818 is you don't have to build it beyond factory specs. 300-400 whp is plenty of power for the track, and insane for the street in a 818kg ride. With proper traction and a good Lsd 300-400whp will get you low 11's with a top speed of 140-170 mph depending of transmission and motor used. It is a good pipe dream, but I thought this car was supposed to be affordable. A built engine is cool, but not needed, even if you got the money.
Agreed, I know of many builders locally that have used all the above mentioned companies and they all work very well without going the Cosworth route. The thing with the 818 is you don't have to build it beyond factory specs. 300-400 whp is plenty of power for the track, and insane for the street in a 818kg ride. With proper traction and a good Lsd 300-400whp will get you low 11's with a top speed of 140-170 mph depending of transmission and motor used. It is a good pipe dream, but I thought this car was supposed to be affordable. A built engine is cool, but not needed, even if you got the money.
Yeah, at that point a GTM build might make more sense. Hard to say, they should be very different cars in the end, if the 818 is done right.
What's affordable varies with each person. Just because the kit is on the low end of the price spectrum doesn't mean every build has to be bare bones. If anything, the fact that the kit is cheap means there is more money to spend on other stuff.
Agreed, I know of many builders locally that have used all the above mentioned companies and they all work very well without going the Cosworth route. The thing with the 818 is you don't have to build it beyond factory specs. 300-400 whp is plenty of power for the track, and insane for the street in a 818kg ride. With proper traction and a good Lsd 300-400whp will get you low 11's with a top speed of 140-170 mph depending of transmission and motor used. It is a good pipe dream, but I thought this car was supposed to be affordable. A built engine is cool, but not needed, even if you got the money.
Isn't it true the street version of the corvette zr1 has less horsepower than than the track version?
Isn't it true the street version of the corvette zr1 has less horsepower than than the track version?
Yeah but of coarse the street version has less power.... My point was why would you want anymore than 400whp in this very light car. Also if you build a motor, you don't have to spend more than 7k to get a awesome combo. Example a ej207 version 8 spec c heads with jun 264 cams and a stock bottom end and stock vf37 turbo with a good tune can get you over 400whp for like 5,500 and last you a long time. Why I say bottom end "stock" you wonder. Forged pistons are great for 400 plus hp, but they wear the rings out at about 60k or sooner. They are great for an engine you take apart a lot and build over and over, but not good for a car you drive daily and want to last. If your out to make insane power and like taking the engine apart, get a legacy 2.2 closed deck block and build it to the hills. Most tunes can get 500-700 reliable whp with a gt30 turbo kit and good fuel system etc etc. Shops have gotten over 1,000hp with them.
Yeah but of coarse the street version has less power.... My point was why would you want anymore than 400whp in this very light car. Also if you build a motor, you don't have to spend more than 7k to get a awesome combo. Example a ej207 version 8 spec c heads with jun 264 cams and a stock bottom end and stock vf37 turbo with a good tune can get you over 400whp for like 5,500 and last you a long time. Why I say bottom end "stock" you wonder. Forged pistons are great for 400 plus hp, but they wear the rings out at about 60k or sooner. They are great for an engine you take apart a lot and build over and over, but not good for a car you drive daily and want to last. If your out to make insane power and like taking the engine apart, get a legacy 2.2 closed deck block and build it to the hills. Most tunes can get 500-700 reliable whp with a gt30 turbo kit and good fuel system etc etc. Shops have gotten over 1,000hp with them.
Lots of misinformation there. There has never been a VF37 to ever come close to 400WHP. And even if that was the case, you'd still need a much better fueling system from injectors to fuel pumps. You would still need to beef up the trans to handle 400WHP as well. Forged pistons don't wear out rings, dropping in a set of pistons without measuring anything wears things out. Also never heard of a GT30 ever getting to 500WHP in a subaru, yet alone even 700. Very few shops have EVER gotten to 1000hp with a subaru block and those that do are so outright built it's not even funny the money that went into the engine yet the rest of the car to be able to support 1000hp.
And an example of the parts needed to get 535WHP: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2415860 That's with a 35r, 272 cams, 1mm oversized valves, built block, exhaust, intake, meth injection and a $2600 ECU. It's not even funny how many people I spoke with who think it takes very little money to hit 500whp in a subaru cause some EVO was able to do it. EVOs are easy to make big power, subarus are not.
Actually, the ZR1 has more hp than any of the road racing Corvettes that I know of.
I thought I remembered reading that the ALMS Corvettes had to dial back power to allow others to be competitive or something like that.
All this talk about big power makes me wonder if anyone thinks about the safety ramifications. This car will not have the aerodynamic limitations that are present in the FFR Challenge cars. 350 horsepower might mean a car that's capable of hitting 160 at the end of a straight vs. 140. I don't know how significant a difference 20 mph makes when you run out of talent. But I think you have to take that into consideration with respect to the safety structure.
Your mistaken , but i am not hear to point fingers blah blah Dsm blah.my info comes only from facts. I will be loading dyno sheets from wicked innovations in ri. Not only have they gotten 375 whp out of a stock ej207 but 565whp out of a 2.2 legacy built block, complete fuel system and built heads mated to a built Tranny for some coin but not even 20k. And it is not completely true that it cost more to get serious power, there have been numerous current comparisons that it is cheaper to get moderate power out of a subaru than a Dsm. It is true to get to 1000hp in any motor cost retarded money. And it is true that forged pistons wear out rings faster than hyperkinetic pistons no matter how good the engine build is. There are countless articles on this , and honestly not even worth taking about. Here we go another Dsm junky, jk I have owned one once. You can get very similar power out of both with around the same amount of coin put in. I also never said how long the engine would stay together on a tune to get around 400whp out of a stock ej207 with a vf37, just saying it has been done. My original point was to say that you don't need crazy power in the 818. Also I could care less about a zr1's track vs street power, I am a Subaru,Ford and Honda guy, not into vettes.
Last edited by metalmaker12; 10-07-2012 at 12:59 PM.
I don't see a vf37 making 400 rwhp on anything, lol. I had a V7 STI motor in my WRX, and the turbo was similarly sized, just not a twin scroll. You need a 20G at a minimum to hit a true 400 RWHP. I've seen some guys make 350ish on E85 with the vf37.
I think that would probably be one of the best routes to take - JDM STI (I like the V7 since it has forged pistons vs cast in the V8), 16 or 20G on E85 - that would be LOADs of fun and have gobs of torque (relatively speaking - the 207 motor doesn't make torque like the 2.5 at all, lol).
Your mistaken , but i am not hear to point fingers blah blah Dsm blah.my info comes only from facts. I will be loading dyno sheets from wicked innovations in ri. Not only have they gotten 375 whp out of a stock ej207 but 565whp out of a 2.2 legacy built block, complete fuel system and built heads mated to a built Tranny for some coin but not even 20k. And it is not completely true that it cost more to get serious power, there have been numerous current comparisons that it is cheaper to get moderate power out of a subaru than a Dsm. It is true to get to 1000hp in any motor cost retarded money. And it is true that forged pistons wear out rings faster than hyperkinetic pistons no matter how good the engine build is. There are countless articles on this , and honestly not even worth taking about. Here we go another Dsm junky, jk I have owned one once. You can get very similar power out of both with around the same amount of coin put in. I also never said how long the engine would stay together on a tune to get around 400whp out of a stock ej207 with a vf37, just saying it has been done. My original point was to say that you don't need crazy power in the 818. Also I could care less about a zr1's track vs street power, I am a Subaru,Ford and Honda guy, not into vettes.
Ok, I'll agree that a razor edge tune can make the dyno sing high numbers. But I assumed we weren't comparing completely balls to the walls I don't care if I break my thousands of dollars worth of stuff tunes to safe and reliable tunes that will keep everything lasting very well. You sure as hell never made that distinction that you were not talking about safe tunes. Honestly that is IMO a horrible thing to do. It's leading people on to believe they can attain something they clearly can't without major risks.
For instance a completely from the factory 257 long block can make 600HP, it's been done. No one should ever expect it to hold that kind of power for even 100 boosted miles. That is essentially what you told people. Go ahead and take some risks it's ok, don't worry about spending money on something that will not break, you'll have a blast before that happens!
Ok, I'll agree that a razor edge tune can make the dyno sing high numbers. But I assumed we weren't comparing completely balls to the walls I don't care if I break my thousands of dollars worth of stuff tunes to safe and reliable tunes that will keep everything lasting very well. You sure as hell never made that distinction that you were not talking about safe tunes. Honestly that is IMO a horrible thing to do. It's leading people on to believe they can attain something they clearly can't without major risks.
For instance a completely from the factory 257 long block can make 600HP, it's been done. No one should ever expect it to hold that kind of power for even 100 boosted miles. That is essentially what you told people. Go ahead and take some risks it's ok, don't worry about spending money on something that will not break, you'll have a blast before that happens!
Your right, my mistake for being misleading everyone, i was just getting suby excited.
But you can all get 300whp with a stock sti with a good safe tune that will last and last for like 4k-6k. My major point is a stock engine with a safe tune is all you need in the 818. I have own ej257's and ej207, if I were to choose one for the 818 It would be the ej207 due to the higher rev capabilities. This is just personal taste, both are great, even a usdm wrx engine is great with a nice tune. I have Avery low mileage ej207 sitting in my garage matted to a 02wrx rebuilt 5spd with a cusco LSD and act clutch kit. The engine will get an open source tune to make 300-325whp with the 818 setup. I will send a pic, going to take it
Ok, I'll agree that a razor edge tune can make the dyno sing high numbers. But I assumed we weren't comparing completely balls to the walls I don't care if I break my thousands of dollars worth of stuff tunes to safe and reliable tunes that will keep everything lasting very well. You sure as hell never made that distinction that you were not talking about safe tunes. Honestly that is IMO a horrible thing to do. It's leading people on to believe they can attain something they clearly can't without major risks.
For instance a completely from the factory 257 long block can make 600HP, it's been done. No one should ever expect it to hold that kind of power for even 100 boosted miles. That is essentially what you told people. Go ahead and take some risks it's ok, don't worry about spending money on something that will not break, you'll have a blast before that happens!
Your right, my mistake for being misleading everyone, i was just getting suby excited.
But you can all get 300whp with a stock sti with a good safe tune that will last and last for like 4k-6k. My major point is a stock engine with a safe tune is all you need in the 818. I have own ej257's and ej207, if I were to choose one for the 818 It would be the ej207 due to the higher rev capabilities. This is just personal taste, both are great, even a usdm wrx engine is great with a nice tune. I have Avery low mileage ej207 sitting in my garage matted to a 02wrx rebuilt 5spd with a cusco LSD and act clutch kit. The engine will get an open source tune to make 300-325whp with the 818 setup. I will send a pic, going to take it
Heres two pics of the ej207 and wrx 5speed securedownload-18.jpegsecuredownload-17.jpeg
I got a set of BBS 5x100 wheels with minor curb rash from my donor for 650 plus shipping if anyone is interested. 1,100 plus shipping if I clean them up, blast and repaint them a color of your choice. securedownload-3.jpeg
Last edited by metalmaker12; 10-07-2012 at 07:46 PM.
I don't believe you can go too small on the engine as far as any well running EJ engine for the 818. There's a very fun feeling about keeping that gas pedal pegged. To even get a p/w ratio of the STi(about 14 pounds per HP) you just need 130hp, much lower then any EJ there is. Even 300hp(which is not hard to get at all) is like having a 550hp STi. At 450hp, that's like having a 850hp STi. This car is going to be the epitome of low cost high performance for a long time.
agree totally, with 300-450hp this car is going to be insane, i am getting build jitters, I hope it happens soon, I need a new project, just finished my shed and fence around my yard, got all my parts almost 100% ready and money to get the kit asap. I can't wait to peg it down and rev it up to speed very quickly.
This thread was good for a Monday morning LOL. ESX built a 1000hp sti with a GT72... now they have a bigger turbo pushing 1400hp with a HUGE nitrous shot.
They have millions invested in their development program.
So yes anything is possible, it just costs a fortune.
Last edited by longislandwrx; 10-08-2012 at 06:57 AM.
Considering the whole point of the kit, and the initial reason Shelby American got started - simple power train in an undersized car = performance.
Cobra - 289 iron block iron head OHV motor.
Loser? Ferrrari with DOHC aluminum motor.
Frankly, if the 818 with Subaru motor can't get it done, spending 3X the kit price for exotic power won't either. The car should be considered as a whole. Look at the history of SA - they didn't need to push engine development much over the years, what changed much more drastically was the chassis and appointments. Coolers, pumps, brakes, wheels, etc etc. It was a transverse leaf front end from the '50s that beat Ferrari's double A arms, in the Coupe, with 289. Not some wild motor.
If you allow perspective to remain focused only on the power plant, then the rest of the car becomes a liability. It's never developed to match, and the exotic, expensive horsepower is wasted with poor handling and horrible traction issues. The fastest 818 will have a fully developed suspension, shock valving, optimized spring rates, great brakes, adjustable sway bar links, etc etc. You can't get that dumping cubic dollars down the throttle body throat trying to gain a few more hp. Use the ones you have, and the car goes faster, sometimes quite a bit cheaper. Compare the cost of a 65 Ferrari to a 65 Cobra, new in the day.
If you can't get the horsepower to the ground and control the vehicle at speed, then the motor has taken up too much of the budget.
I'd be willing to bet that the highest performing 818s on a track will be well under 400hp. Having a really robust torque curve and useful power for the gearing, with a quick spooling turbo will all help track performance. A drag car might be more interested in just straight power, but it's pretty difficult to have a reliable 500 hp 2.5L that has instant power across the rev range. Plus as was said above when you start getting into those kinds of power levels, the ability to control the car comes into serious question... 300 whp on a car like this will be pretty impressive.
Im curious/ excited to see how the new subie FA series engines will integrate with the 818 in the future. Obviously we'll have to wait for a new wrx for the proper transaxle, but an updated engine design with DI, should be interesting. The FA20 in the brz/fr-s has been quieting all the naysayers with a few examples putting out over 400 wheel, one over 500 on stock blocks. I also believe that you dont need a huge hp number to have fun, but this is an engine thread after all.
Ouch, I post a link to an engine I thought was cool, come back three days later and I've been fried to crisp! Jeez guys, I know it's completely unnecessary and overkill, but I still think Cosworth engines are sweet.
and for what it's worth I never said or implied that I thought you needed 500+ HP in these cars. I was thinking in terms of you could build that engine for 350ish HP and have it last forever with lots of track sessions.
Ouch, I post a link to an engine I thought was cool, come back three days later and I've been fried to crisp! Jeez guys, I know it's completely unnecessary and overkill, but I still think Cosworth engines are sweet.
and for what it's worth I never said or implied that I thought you needed 500+ HP in these cars. I was thinking in terms of you could build that engine for 350ish HP and have it last forever with lots of track sessions.
Don't take it too personally. Just some people having a little fun. And some guys WILL opt to build their cars with monster horsepower!
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Originally Posted by DOHC46
