ered1

Hello all.

I am currently in the process of rebuilding my 1.8 for boost. I have done research and order a few parts. I am in need of some help from people who have done this before. Keep in mind I am in college and living on my own, so I am on a slight budget, but I am trying to keep that open. I have never built an engine before or boosted a car, so I am new to all of this. I want high 200's possibly 300 horsepower at the wheels on high boost, but I will keep it at lower boost most times, and am looking to sit at around 250 horsepower to just drive around on.

Here is a list of parts I currently have:
Manly rods
ARP Head Stud kit
Engine rebuild kit which came with all the gaskets and such that I will need.
FM clutch/flywheel happy meal
Megasquirt Ecu
There might be more I just can't remember at the moment.

The engine rebuild kit came with oem pistons, but I am looking to buy forged pistons since the engine is already open. The two I am looking at are the Supertech and the Wiseco. Which one would you recommend for the power I am looking for? Also what compression. I want the engine to last, so I was looking at boring out the block to just 84.5 and having compression be 8.8:1. As I have stated I am new to this so that I what I have come to based on while talking to my friends.

As for piston rings, which rings should I get, the Supertech or the Wiseco? As for the piston ring gap, I have read that Supertech recommends different specs than the OEM ones. I plan on building the engine and breaking it in like 250 miles or so then going and putting the turbo kit on. I know if I go ahead and put the piston ring gap larger I will burn oil till I boost. What would you guys say I do on that front?

Are there any other parts I should look into purchasing? For example, I plan on running the OEM oil pump that came with my engine rebuild kit and switching it to a stronger one later this year. Are there any parts I should upgrade down the road?

If you have any more questions just let me know. I will be willing to answer to the best of my knowledge.

Thank you in advance.

c3hutson

iTrader: (2)

you realize the oil pan has to be dropped to change the pump right?

you should probably add arp main studs.

what engine rebuild kit comes with pistons? Probably not an OEM one so I’d be sketched out on quality of gaskets in that kit unless you like pulling engines

ered1

Now that you mention that, I do remember having to drop the oil pan after dropping the oil pan. It's been a couple weeks since I took the engine apart.

I have ordered those and am waiting for them to get here.

I'll look into all the gaskets and such and see. Do you have any recommendations on which pistons I should get?

Dirtsmith

Im happy with my 8.5:1 weiscos. It doesn't really matter too much at the end of the day, just needs to be forged.

JakZe

iTrader: (1)

You don't need to run forged pistons to achieve reliable 250-300+ hp. Stock ones are fine. Its the rods that are the weak link when trying to achieve those power numbers.

Although if you want to be on the safe side, you could get forged pistons with a lower compression ratio such as 8 ~ 9:1, just to give your self a more a little more wiggle room to avoid detonation. But even forged pistons won't completely save you from det.

As for the rings, I've heard that supertech rings aren't the best compared to others. Wiseco is usually the choice for our engines. The usual combo I've seen and personally went with would be supertech pistons w/ wiseco rings.

I wouldn't run the stock pump when trying to shoot for 300hp. I'd just get a boundary pump from the get go for peace of mind. But if you're set on running a OEM pump. At least invest in a harmonic damper crank pulley. Or vise versa. Boundary pump w/ stock crank pulley. Or for the best insurance. boundary w/ damper. It would be easier for you in the future to invest into a stronger pump now, then damper later.

If you do get these, you have two options. Torque these less then what ARP recommends (This is what I did), or close to stock torque specs . Or you'll have too get the main journals/caps honed out for these so they don't destroy your bearings. Although the stock ones should be fine for your power goals. As long as you're not trying to rev to the moon.

c3hutson

iTrader: (2)

only “... needs to be forged” if tune sucks.

ered1

Thanks for letting me know this! I will torque them to oem spec.

Are you running oem piston gap or did you go a little larger? I plan on breaking the engine in about 250ish miles or more N/A. I know I will burn some oil till it has the turbo on it.

I'll look into getting an oil pump from FM. That way I won't need the balancer as well.

JakZe

iTrader: (1)

Honestly I don't remember what my gap sizes were. But definitely not OEM spec. I think I went a tad bit larger.

My compression sits around 165~ in all 4 cylinders cold. Running 84mm pistons.
So if you could figure out the math, that's what my gaps would be haha.

Edit:
Found it

Top ring is around 0.0167"

bottom ring is around 0.0181"

They should have provided you with a sheet of paper on what type of gap you should run depending on what the car will be used for. That's what I based mine off of.

ered1

I haven't ordered the rings or anything yet I was planning on waiting till later this week to purchase them. I will be looking at doing the Supertech pistons with Wisco rings. I was planning on running 84mm for the piston size too. Thanks for those gap numbers. I will be sure to look into that some more too before I throw them in.