engine weak points/ placement

Hello all.
Im going to start a build on a gtir motor soon, and figured it would be a wise choice to ask those of you that have built/driven them, what key areas of the engine need to be addressed to safely put down power.
I.e I've read that bearings need to be replaced with ACLs almost immediately.
The build plan for this engine (as of now) is

Head
5 angle valve job intake side
3 angle exhaust
gasket matched port on intake, throttle bodies, and head
BC dual valve springs and titanium retainers (250 lbs)
BC stage 2 cams
Supertech +1mm valves
ARP head bolts

Block
ACL main and rod bearings
New oem piston rings
new OEM water pump
new OEM oil pump
new OEM timing chain kit
Forged rods
Forged pistons
sleeved block oem bore
(Please chime in with hp rating of oem rods and pistons, block)
Forge motorsports lightweight pulleys
Oem micropolished/knife edged crank

Arp rod bolts

I plan on running a garret gt35r turbo, fmic, bigger injectors, Apexi PFC.



Also, if anyone would be kind enough to take a picture of all stock mount locations (not sure If I have them all) and the front suspension setup (lca, knuckle, tie rod end subframe/cross member) it would be greatly appreciated

Ive read uhh p about tbe gearbox failure as well, going with a gearset from PAR

Up*
jesus where's the edit button lol

I don't know a huge amount about builds but do know that the arp head studs are not recommended, something about not being threaded enough to bottom out and causing head lift. Stick with oem head studs.

What are your power goals?

Yes as grim says the best head bolts are stock ones .... stock rods can also handle so good power ...

Grim_d, thanks for the tip.
From whay I managed to google search, its seems like mkst people were getting around 400-450hp with basic upgrades to the turbo setup (injectors, turbo, manifold, etc)
wotj that number in mind, id be disappointed to make less than 500.
Id like to make 600, but id me happy in mid to high 500s

here you go fella
http://www.gtir-motorsport-club.com/t65-engine-build-info

to build engine to 5-600hp needs a bit more work than whats written but the principles of it are still the same
good mapping and cooling is the key, if those aren't up to scratch it will fail simple!

For that kind of power standalone management is required too I think, which goes hand in hand with a good mapper.

For that kind of power goal you will need serious amount of money as well as experienced people dealing with the build.
Likes of PAR gearbox & decent diffs to make most of that power would eat hole in 10K new

yeah forgot to add about transmission/clutch even a quaife semi helical box will struggle at that power
ppg gearkit and diffs as above will set you back 15k

big power does not come cheap if you take short cuts itll bite you as so many have previously found

trouble is also a 500+hp gtir is next to useless to most people & if not done to the best standard is an undriveable money pit death machine.
400 to 500 built well can be reliable & good all fun track, drag, trip to tescos car :-)

So then 400-500 is a much better power goal to aim for?
Gtir-us, could you point out the biggest omissions not listed (miscellaneous like wastegate etc weren't listed to clutter post)

Well the spec you have there looks pretty good tbh with exception of the arp head studs

I'm building my engine up at the mo which will be running anything from 500-650
In addition to what you have done I would smooth the rough cast on inside of block to aid in oil flow back to the sump
Plastigage the acl bearings to correct clearance
End gap the piston rings and go to max end gap of  piston spec to allow for extra expansion due to higher charge temps
Open waterways by around 1mm in head and match to block
Deck block and skim head fitting either 1.8 or 2mm head gasket which will make engine more reliable at higher boost levels
Port and flow head
Fit washer in oil pump to preload spring which will raise oil pressure slightly which helps when running a large oil cooler as you'll see a pressure drop
Use rocker stoppers, don't raise rev limit beyond 8k rpm
Make sure your shim clearances are spot on and bring them down to 0.10mm cold not 0.17mm as Nissan specify

I would also in addition use a charge cooler as opposed to air to air cooler
Use externally gated turbo to avoid waste gate chatter which can be bad with larger turbos
You'll need a damned good clutch and as said previously a strong gearbox with diffs, aftermarket management and a damned good mapper
Blocked generic maps will render the engines life to be very short

That's it in a nutshell


What pistons have you bought and what rods are you using?

f**k,You need a lottery win to fund that lot!

I haven't bought the pistons and rods yet. My initial goal was to be at 400 , but annoyingly the best of me.
Leaning towards Eagle h beam rods, not sure on pistons. From what I've read, you need to buy regular de or ve pistons and modify to fit gtir crank (17mm to 19mm) I apologize in advance for the vast amount of inexperience in my posts. What piston/rod combo would . You recommend

Yeh a proper high 500 to 600 build will blow 30K from scratch & if you not very hands on yourself a lot more.
Most of the reason Bob stripped so many was owners went cheap on build so 6 months down the road it's broke & then chucked in storage & ailing enthusiasm & funds seals its fate.
IMO most people are far better off sticking to 400-450hp tops unless you really got purpose for a 600hp car & some experience in mechanical engineering.
Just about everyone who built big power cars wanted sell them  virtually as soon as finished & that goes for Danny & the Itallian too! (had them for sale but no buyers) .
Number 1 rule is be realistic in what you want/need & capable of funding.
Reward for that is a cracking usable car & good reliable fun.

Thats not correct mate with regards to pistons ...

Standard rods are fine for good 500hp & standard rev range. just get um fully checked & peened.
CP pistons are very good for the price & well tested in gtir builds.

I dont expect to drive the car much.
Mostly drag
occasional autocross
Minimal normal driving.
I buy and sell cars to fund my projects, so spans of a few grand are still feasible (30 k build, not so much.)

It soon escalates with big power builds .... so its probably best to plan ahead with a parts list plus machine costs that way you will know exactly where your heading and not get stuck half way through with empty pockets ...

I would go for cp pistons for fast road use
If track then either use wossner or je

I personally would not bother with rods as stock are very strong and I've never seen one bend in 10 years of doing these cars, just uprate the rod bolts as that's the weak point
If you do want to buy rods then pauter or crower are very good, steer clear of eagle as they need to be machined to take 19mm bearings

With a gearbox and everything else needed to handle that kind of power I reckon 25k and that's being tight

Gudino_21 wrote:I dont expect to drive the car much.
Mostly drag
occasional autocross
Minimal normal driving.
I buy and sell cars to fund my projects, so spans of a few grand are still feasible (30 k build, not so much.)

for that sort of use & your power goal transmission will be between 8-15K pending on whether PAR PPG used or new.
You soon spend 20K on high power build &  it won't be finished for that.
Engine is relatively cheap but transmission to handle & make the most of 600hp on a gtir ain't cheap & options of other vehicle boxes ain't cheap either unless do the graft yourself.
most of the 400+ builds trundle round on half dead standard boxes as the outlay for a Quaife is more than they paid for whole car.
seems easy 600hp when high 400s can be achieved quite afordably but that extra 100hp costs a fortune.

So, obviously 600 was a gross overestimation. .
Would the trans still grenade at 450ish

I have mostly everything priced out right now, and I'm just a tad uhh beer 10k, but thats with only a par 1-4 gearset.

400+ would be more than enough, as the body I'm using already weighs about 800 lbs less than a pulsar gtir.

Gtir us (name?) Wpuld the block be good at the under 500 mark? Or would I still need to sleeve it?

Blocks are fine on standard liners as long as don't over bore too much.
87mm over bore is considered limit to keep safe margin of liner strength but the standard liners are thicker & stronger than generally credited.