Our Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge Near-Winner Spits Our 867 Horses. Here's How:
Ahh, the perks of working at a car magazine: getting paid to do what we love, right? If that means sitting in front of a computer 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for half the month trying to meet deadline - whilst filtering through email barrages of "fantasy rod" pill offers (hint: not an engine part) or queries from kids in Alabama named Toby regarding H22-to-Tercel swaps... then yes, this is a job to die for. And by "die", we mean spending the remaining two weeks of the month wrenching into the nights on cars that aren't yours, driving seven hours across the desert, to stand in the sun for 13 hours because the plane ticket you were promised "fell through". But at least there're plenty of models to kick it with, right? Sure - for the freelancers; we're too busy rolling around on the ground, shooting feature cars to snap them. Remember that hot desert sun? Chances are we were lugging around a camera and/or loads of equipment in it. Don't think you'd be getting and hottie's number after 13 hours of that.
So, please, take our word for it when we say that anyone who breaks our daily routine quickly becomes a good friend. And for the last six months, the Castrol Syntec guys have straight-up been our homies, because the monster SR20DET laid out on the pages in front of you is resultant of their Top Shop Challenge - a competition inviting yours truly, along with six other automotive publications, to try our hand at commissioning the build of the best streetable engine ever built. Complimentary parts, full access to the best engine building and tuning shops in the industry, and a genuine budget of both time and money to use toward building something that could break records, and garner fame, fortune ($25,000 plus bonuses to the winning team) and maybe a few hotties all at once? We'd do it twice, if we could.
Joining forces with renowned speed shop G-Dimension, of City of Industry, Calif., Nissan's SR20DET was designated our weapon of choice, honed into the monster you see, and sent into battle against six of the world's most powerful RB-, VG-, F-, 4G-, 7A-, and, um..."small block"-stamped contenders, to fight for the ultimate title. This, madams and sirs, is how legends are made... Hotties, take a number.
Strong Foundation
It's often stated that air, fuel, and spark are all that's needed for an engine to produce energy. But to produce any significant amount of it, two additional variables must be considered: the ability to manage the proportions of each, and the ability to hold and transfer the energy released. We knew that if this SR had any chance against the competition, it would need to be able to produce and transfer about five times more power than its factory design was meant to handle; meaning that drastic reinforcement would be needed in all areas, beginning with its power-holding faculties. And to kill two birds with one stone whenever possible, read on to learn of some interesting side benefits of the parts we chose.
CP Pistons
90mm 8.5:1 Compression Forged Aluminum Pistons
Switching to a 90mm piston increased our SR's bore 4mm for each cylinder, bringing total displacement from 2.0L to more than 2.1L without affecting its stroke and rev-ability. CP Pistons also allow for tighter-than-normal cylinder-to-piston tolerance, due to their high-silicone aluminum alloy that expands less at operating temperatures than their competitors'.
www.cppistons.com
Pauter
X-Beam Connecting Rods
In addition to increased strength, our Pauter "X-Beam" rods free up power by decreasing windage, compared to the conventional "I-beam" design of other rods that have two broad, flat faces on their forward-moving sides.
stores.ebay.com/erics-performance-parts