Engine Build
 

Hi Guys,

Hope you're all well :)

Just wanted to get your opinion on an engine build.

So the story is I finally took the first leap forward, the car is a GC8 WRX 1999 with EJ205 currently sitting at 218,000km.

I'm currently getting the following done at ASG:

- Upgraded Garret GT3071R
- X-Force Unequal Length Header
- Process West CAI
- Link G4 Ecu Tune with Boost and Launch Control
- 1000cc Injectors
- 6 Speed STI Conversion
- Lightened Flywheel
- CCI Stage 2 Heavy Duty Organic Clutch

On top of this prior to ASG, the car has had:

- X-Force TBE
- GD STI Intercooler

Just got the Dyno today and the car is sitting at 190kw atw, 325nm Torque and 20 PSI Boost.

Next I am looking at an engine build which will hopefully come in the next few months.

What I'm wanting to know is how to go about getting this done in the most efficient and cost effective way.

Target Goal:

250kw atw / 450nm Torque / 25 PSI Boost


After doing copious amount of research, I've come across the following:


[url=http://m.risingsunsubaru.com.au/index.html#pricing]Rising Sun Subaru (RSS) - JDM OEM STI Subaru vehicle and part imports. Half cut distributor and wholesaler[/url]
Option 2 with all the extra bit which would set me back about $6500



[url=http://www.subisolution.com.au/ej20-turbo/]EJ 20 Turbo Engine - Custom Subaru Engines[/url]
Option C2 Engine at $6230



A quote from All Drive Subaru as below

Stage 1: Cosworth Street Standard Stroke
This option can support up to 280kw
Short block
Machined STI EJ257 semi-closed deck engine block
Machined and balanced STI EJ257 cross-drilled crankshaft
New Cosworth forged billet 2618 pistons with ADS L.O.C design
New improved ADS low friction L.O.C piston ring set
New genuine Manley forged H-Beam connecting rod set
New revised race engine bearings
Subaru genuine block bolt set
Measure combustion chamber volume to calculate actual compression

Head Work
Inspected and tested cylinder heads with pressure and vacuum test (not reconditioned)
Surface grind cylinder heads using diamond tool
Cam shaft and journal polish
Set all valve clearances to strict ADS specifications
AVCS cam pulley overhaul and adjustment

Accessories
New ARP 2000 11mm SDF head stud kit
New Cosworth pre coated die cut stainless steel multi-layer head gaskets
New genuine Subaru seals, O-rings and sealing compounds
New genuine Subaru cast water pump (model suited)
New genuine Subaru timing belt and idler bearing kit with tensioners
Overhauled engine standard oil pump
New genuine Subaru water bi pass coolant hoses
Tested and checked genuine Subaru engine oil sump and pick up
Checked and cleaned timing covers set

Engine Assembly $8950 + GST



I'm sure there are other options that I didn't think of or another place I should perhaps consider? Budget wise trying to get away with it all no more than $10k so maybe the 3rd option from All Drive Subaru might be out of the equation but if you guys think it's worth while, might consider stretching the budget a bit.


Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks guys, hope to hear from you soon :)

I just recently did a similar build myself, but stayed a DOM 1.5 XTR stock location turbo.

I think you will make more than 250kw, considering I made 263awkw with a 2.1L stroker, 272 cams and and a dom 1.5. Pretty sure a 3071 should pump out more.

My knowledge is limited but i definitly wouldnt skimp out on head bolts. I wouldnt go any less than ARP 625 head bolts.

It will go like a shower of shit in a GC8, thats for sure

Get your engine built here in Perth.

Thanks guys for the input so far.

Okay so where abouts in Perth? get ASG to do it as well?

I heard that they are no longer doing Tuning Service after end of June? I presume a re-tune would of course be required after the engine build?

Neil at Engine Shop. Maximum Motorsports. Racetorque. Galloways.

Anyone of those but not ASG!!!

Mate. I got Neil and Juan to build mine at The engine shop. Car has not missed a beat, made more power than expected and burns no oil.
Their attention to detail was fantastic

I also had mine tuned by Lane at Racetorque.

Also i feel interstate companies dont look after interstate customers as well as local customers. Just what i have experienced.

When my oem block started letting go I wanted to get a closed deck block but no one in Perth at the time seemed interested ( or capable of doing it ) I believe there are a couple of places in Perth who will now do cdb to a good standard.

When my short motor arrived from interstate, the box it was in looked like it had been kicked all the way round the block and back. I was unimpressed to say the least.

The motor is chattery (because of big clearances I am told) but seems to be holding up ok for now. It uses no oil except at the track where it will push a bit into the catch can.

Long story short is when I ring the engine builder he is says it will be fine mate, just enjoy it.

But if it goes tits up after a couple more thousand kms what am I going to do? Ship it back to Queensland... Not likely

Anyway each to their own, but I would never do it that way again.

Sean is no longer at AHG ? Some one said this was his last day today he is now running a ARB store in wannaroo ?

Talk to Neil H at the engine shop. Justin to tune it

Who'll provide customer service and quality at ASG if Sean isn't there?

+1 for Neil at the engine shop.

Good to know I'm not the only one who has had trouble with RSS.

Thanks guys,

Yeah it does make sense to get them locally, I just didn't find any during my research.

Will definitely check out The Engine Shop

Thanks again for your inputs :)

Any suggestions on the specs I needed to look at to achieve what I wanted to achieve?

[QUOTE=deejw;847592]Good to know I'm not the only one who has had trouble with RSS.[/QUOTE]

I had issues too. Sub-par machining but in their defence they did offer to pay the remachining and the rest was good service.

[QUOTE=deejw;847592]Good to know I'm not the only one who has had trouble with RSS.[/QUOTE]

I bought my block and parts from Diversion Garage who are a direct competitor to RSS. DG machining is far better than RSS.

Hi Guys,

hope everyone is well :)

rather than creating a new thread, I though I'd just resurrect this one coz it's not that old and it's pretty much the same topic.

So I'm ready for the next step which is engine build as mention on the introduction of the thread, I've got the funds ready etc.

At first I was thinking of doing in the next few months towards the end of the year kinda thing but I've come across someone who wants to sell a full complete assembled engine ready to go.

I know him from the person who I bought my turbo from and I will be meeting him on Saturday to have a look at the engine and discuss things but thought before that wouldn't hurt to ask for a second opinions :)

So the specs as he mention are:

Complete EJ207 not yet run brand new short motor, Full reconditioned V6 STI heads, full sets of OE gaskets inc STI Multi-Layered Head Gaskets, inc new OE 11mm Oil Pump, New OE Water Pump, New Complete OE Timing Belt Kit inc all tensioners, ARP Head Stud

Asking price is $5500 and he said he has a guy that does all his engine works, very knowledgeable about Subaru and is happy to do the installation for $1100.

He said it's all ready to go and will bolt into everything I have done so far.

What I'm wanting to know or concern about is:

1. ASG did my Tune but Sean is no longer there so I can't get a retune after the new engine is dropped in, ASG and most people recommended Lane from Race Torque but I called Race Torque and spoke to Ashley and he said Lane doesn't tune Link G4, only Autronics and Motecs - I just need to be sure the money I'm about to spend can be tuned by a good tuner.... as everyone says the car only runs as good as a tuning that's done by the tuner.

2. Do you think the engine is a good price? what are my options if I go for something else? I know a lot of you mention to get the engine build here instead of going eastern states and a lot of you recommended The Engine Shop, I tried calling 2 times and no one seems to pick up every time.

3. The other concern is warranty and tax invoice, I need proof that all this work has been done should I ever sell the car in the future.


Any thoughts guys?

Thanks again for your help :)

Justin at Bye performance can tune Link with his eyes shut and I would say is the man to go to for that. there are others that can do it...Garage 101 for one......
But my go too person would be Justin

+1 for Justin.
Justin knows his shit, you'll be stoked when you drive away with his tune.
Wouldn't bother going anywhere else when it comes to links/vipecs

Engine build anyone but ASG

Tuning wise I would only recommend Justin from BYE.
He did both a 98 and E85 tune on mine. 500+hp on 98 and 600+hp on E85 and still going strong a year, 15000 miles, and several 10 second drag runs later.

There is no better testament to someone's tuning than that.

[QUOTE=Ben628;847798]Hi Guys,

hope everyone is well :)

rather than creating a new thread, I though I'd just resurrect this one coz it's not that old and it's pretty much the same topic.

So I'm ready for the next step which is engine build as mention on the introduction of the thread, I've got the funds ready etc.

At first I was thinking of doing in the next few months towards the end of the year kinda thing but I've come across someone who wants to sell a full complete assembled engine ready to go.

I know him from the person who I bought my turbo from and I will be meeting him on Saturday to have a look at the engine and discuss things but thought before that wouldn't hurt to ask for a second opinions :)

So the specs as he mention are:

Complete EJ207 not yet run brand new short motor, Full reconditioned V6 STI heads, full sets of OE gaskets inc STI Multi-Layered Head Gaskets, inc new OE 11mm Oil Pump, New OE Water Pump, New Complete OE Timing Belt Kit inc all tensioners, ARP Head Stud

Asking price is $5500 and he said he has a guy that does all his engine works, very knowledgeable about Subaru and is happy to do the installation for $1100.

He said it's all ready to go and will bolt into everything I have done so far.

What I'm wanting to know or concern about is:

1. ASG did my Tune but Sean is no longer there so I can't get a retune after the new engine is dropped in, ASG and most people recommended Lane from Race Torque but I called Race Torque and spoke to Ashley and he said Lane doesn't tune Link G4, only Autronics and Motecs - I just need to be sure the money I'm about to spend can be tuned by a good tuner.... as everyone says the car only runs as good as a tuning that's done by the tuner.

2. Do you think the engine is a good price? what are my options if I go for something else? I know a lot of you mention to get the engine build here instead of going eastern states and a lot of you recommended The Engine Shop, I tried calling 2 times and no one seems to pick up every time.

3. The other concern is warranty and tax invoice, I need proof that all this work has been done should I ever sell the car in the future.


Any thoughts guys?

Thanks again for your help :)[/QUOTE]

$5500 for a complete 207 plus gaskets etc is a decent price if all the work is legit. $1100 for install is also fair in my opinion if they include fluids etc.

For tuning as well as the above mentioned Jamie at Tokyo Motorsports can supply/install/tune Link and plenty of other ecu's.

Good luck & keep us posted with your results.

Thanks guys for all the inputs.

Will go and see the engine tomorrow, if all goes well will go ahead with the engine and yes will get Justin @ BYEto do the final tuning.

Will keep you guys posted.

Thanks again for all your help and advice :)

Hi Guys,

Hope you're all well :)

Just an update, I am going ahead with the engine build. I went to have a look on Saturday and was definitely impressed with it.

The guy is definitely very knowledgeable about Subaru and GC8 in particular, everything was like he said Brand New and the heads are a Version 6 STI fully reconditioned so I think it's definitely a good buy for the money comparing to what's on offer out there.

Everything has been organised and once done, the car will be towed to Justin for Tune.

So excited and can't wait :)

I thought I would slap a new oil cooler at the same time being a new engine and all, would you guys know where I can source one out locally at a good price?

also the guys who I bought the engine from reckons it might be worth while replacing my GD STI TMIC at the same time and go Process West because they are better especially on a hot summer day with the aircon ON.... Any thoughts on this guys? I know it's another $1000 to spend but at the same time I've come this far and don't wanna sort of put everything in place, tune and find that Process West is the way to go and end up spending more on labour and re-tune.... Are there any big difference to be gain from going the STI TMIC to the Process West TMIC?

Another question I needed to know as well is, I'm looking for a quieter exhaust that doesn't restrict performance, I know it's sort of wishful thinking but only because of the neighbours in my area, so if I change muffler later on down the track, would this mess up the tune again? any suggestions on brands I should look at?

Thanks again guys for all your help and advice :)

If you wanting more intercooler but not sure you want to spend $1k on a PW TMIC, you could look a getting a FMIC. I think you can get a complete HDI GTspec2 FMIC kit including pipework for about $650 or something. More intercoller for less moneys. But more hassles aswell. And way more pipework aswell. If you want to wind up the turbo this will be better than a top mount.

[url]http://www.hybrid-power.com/_p/prd1/2896919161/product/hdi-gt2-intercooler-kit-for-subaru-wrx-gc8[/url]

Intercooler- ProcessWest are good, it is a bit bigger than the STI one.
Think carefully before going to FMIC as it changes the character of the car.
Quiet exhaust- The Varex is well spoken of on this forum. It gives a power loud
setting and a quiet setting. General opinion is that you need to tune after any exhaust change.

Hybrid/HDI GT Spec 2 FMIC kit is very very good and excellent value for money.

Given temps and heat soak over there I'd advocate going FMIC everytime.

You'll notice a slight drop in throttle response but not much and the gains up top far outweigh that.

Had I not bought my car with the process West PMIC kit on mine it would have had the Hybrid/HDI Kit on.

Hi guys,

Hope you're all well...

I'm just confused and in need of help please....

So as I mention before I went ahead with the engine build.... did everything properly including getting a few new things while they're at it:

New NGK leads
New Spark Plugs (Iridium Laser)
New Mishimoto Performance Aluminium Radiator
New Genuine Subaru Oil Cooler
New Timing Belt Guide
I decided to swap the Turbo with VF35 as I find the GT3071R a bit laggy

Put everything on and they took it for a drive and said it went really good, then comes the time for tuning, took it to Justin at BYE as suggested by everyone.

Now Justin is saying that the car misfires when driving under normal condition, when it's revved up 4,000 and over it's fine... they said one of the cylinder is not firing properly and reckon it could be either injectors, coil pack or leads.

They are getting the injectors flow tested tomorrow as they suspect that is the culprit.

What do you guys reckon? I just don't understand how it was fine before when ASG had it tuned with the old engine and when they tested the car fine after the engine swap.

The engine is EJ207 brand new with reconditioned Version 6 STI heads.
The injectors is JECS 1,000cc bought from EBay as advised by ASG that it's fine... it was only a month old.

Where did I go wrong guys?

The other thing is Justin said it was tuned at 248hp atw which I thought was a bit low and not what I expected... what do you guys reckon with this too?

Thanks guys, hope to hear from you soon

[QUOTE=Ben628;848186]
Where did I go wrong guys?
[/QUOTE]

Choosing a VF35...

^^ Most I ever got from a VF35 was somewhere around the 250hp mark too.

248 ATW is on the money for a VF35 on 98.
I've seen lots of examples of where people have changed out the stock leads for New aftermarket ones and ended up having issues. It happened to me with some magnecor ones when I had a V5 GC8 many years ago. Have you tried the putting the old leads back on? My money is them or the injectors.

If it's not then it could be a timing issue.

Who built the engine, please don't say it was ASG?

Hi guys,

Thanks for the response, the engine was built by a friend of a friend who's gone on different directions hence why he's selling but it is brand new and when I went to his workshop honestly the guy knows what he's doing... fixed up a lot of issue from ASG as well.

Justin is today testing it with the standard injectors... I've got the Yellow Top ones, I think they are 565cc from memory and the same as STI ones, apparently he reckons I don't need anymore than that for VF35?

But speaking to Justin last night he also reckons EJ207 with VF35 should be around 270-280hp mark...

Hopefully we'll know soon enough... will keep you guys updated.

Thanks again guys for the input

As a guide, I seem to remember that my MY02 STi (VF35 standard)with just CAI and TBE made about 205 KW ATW on ECUTek....that translates to about 270 HP (for those of you who like to be American).

GC8 Side feed yellow tops are 440CC

I have 565cc injectors from a 2010sti you can have them for $50.

Hi guys,

Just to update, yes it turns out that the injector was the culprit... one of them wasn't flowing properly.... so Justin ended up using the STI ones, they are a yellow top though so not sure if it's 440 or 565.

It's now been retuned to 278hp atw and running 20 psi boost at a safe tune... Justin said the Turbo is maxed out and injector is running at 97%... not sure whether or not a bigger injector is needed or not but I presume Justin would advise that if needed.

I'm due to pick up the car tomorrow... so excited and can't wait :)

@nick73 I actually wouldn't mind buying the STI injectors from you for that price, I'll just keep them in case I need them or if I ever get a slightly bigger Turbo, but would it fit a 99 model?

Thanks again guys for the inputs :)

I'm not sure about fitment in your engine mate? But if you're already at 97% injector duty you should have bigger ones for more headroom in my opinion.

The injectors I'm selling made 220kw on the Racetorque roller dyno on 98ron. They idle perfectly as you would expect from Denso oem units. The id1000s I have now idle rough...

Aren't yours top feeds Nick? Being that era STI? MY99 runs side feed standard.

Okay thanks Nick, I'll try and do a bit of research and let you know...