Remember a few months back, when we asked for your most random questions? Well, we've got a few good ones, and Eric Hsu will be answering them next month. Until then, check out his answers to more insightful inquiries.
Let Eric know what's on your mind/jack stands/engine hoist, via:
questionit@importtuner.com.
Shark Bite
First off, let me swing from yall's nuts and say what a great magazine this is. I own an '04 Hyundai Tiburon GT 2.7L V-6. With the car stock, I was spanking B16 swapped Civics all day, but now that I have an AEM cold air intake, ARK headers with a "racing cat", and a Borla exhaust, I've got my sights on the K-swapped guys. My problem is I want to keep it all-motor, but the only next-level mod I can find for the car is a completely built long block for $7K that's intended for forced induction. And I don't have that kind of cheddar. Is there anything I can do to make a natural 300-350 whp for under $7K?
William Brown,
FT. Jackson, SC
Have you considered a supercharger? From memory, there was a Ripp Modifications kit made for your car/engine, as well as one made by a company called Alpine, both retailing for way less than your budget cap. I haven't used either, but have seen the Ripp Mods kit make over 310 stock-block whp on a dyno-that sounds right up your alley.
RDX-Over
I have been into the tuning scene for a little over a year now, and have been mostly into Nissans. Lately, some friends and I have been building an '00 Civic Si coupe, that we were planning to install a turbo'd K20 into it, but my cousin thinks we should install a factory turbocharged K23 from an RDX instead. Is it possible, and what would be some downsides to the swap?
Anonymous,
via importtuner.com
The K23A1 is designed for a 4WD SUV, has a different bell housing bolt pattern, and different mount locations. You would have to fabricate your own mounts and somehow get a Honda V-6 transmission to fit. And even then, the factory turbo and intercooler will limit power output and you'll end up putting on a bigger turbo and intercooler anyway. I would stick to the K20-plus-turbo method.
4B11 Limits
If I want to push my EVO X GSR to 500 whp, is it necessary for me to replace the pistons, rods or cams? I use this car as a daily driver and want to make sure it will be reliable before I begin anything major. Fuel and engine management are already sorted out, I'm just unsure of the strength of the 4B11 engine.
-Shen Zheng
somewhere in China
At the moment, I don't think anyone knows for sure if a stock-block 500 hp 4B11 engine will live very long. Having studied its internals in detail, my first impression is that it would. Oil and piston clearances are probably not optimized for 500 hp, seeing as how they were designed for 300. Either way, we designed new pistons, rods, and a stroker kit at Cosworth that would easily hold up, while retaining reliability. Check out
www.cosworthusa.com.
Mazda Speed
I have an '04 Mazda RX-8 with around 48K miles and I want to turbo it to make between 300-350 whp. Where should I start? I haven't seen very many turbocharged RX-8s, but tons of 400+ whp FD RX-7s. Are the RENESIS twin rotary engines really that different from the old 13B?
-William Bauguess
Fredericksburg, VA
The RENESIS engines suck ass when compared to the previous RX-7 13B-REW engine. While the RENESIS is a cleaner, more "green" engine, it doesn't offer any advantages for horsepower and reliability. There have been RX-8s successfully turbocharged, though. GReddy makes a bolt-on turbo system. Used in conjunction with the COBB Tuning Accessport engine control software that gives COBB authorized professional tuners full control over the stock computer, it has potential to be a pretty decent setup. 300whp is easily a reality.