Evo X upgrades

[scheides]

Dang, was hoping to see what a BBX would do on stock cams & E85 :D Oh well, doing it 'right' is never a bad thing! Valvesprings can be done w/o pulling the head, but its a bit tricky. The cams on an X are so mild I would think that even the stock springs might be able to deal with an elevated rev-limit, even on aftermarket cams. I know Gates runs his stock cams to like 8200 regularly w/o issue.

Seems as though ~420whp on shane's dyno is the accepted safe limit of the evo8/9 7-bolt bottom-end. Even then I know one person that saw stretched rod bolts but those may be due to extenuating circumstances (meth fail). Evo X's 4b11 on the other hand seem to be beefier all over on the bottom end..I would expect 450whp (dyno dynamics) to really be closer to the 'safe' limit as long as torque wasn't over ~400 and the motor didn't see over 8000rpm much. It's for this reason that going 'all out' on the X is really not a bad choice and at the same time, makes me wonder if upgrading the snail on my car is a good idea :)

[mlomker]

The cams on an X are so mild I would think that even the stock springs might be able to deal with an elevated rev-limit, even on aftermarket cams.

So far in life my cars haven't rewarded me much for going one notch to the safe side but I still tend to do it. The MX1 is a mild cam and doesn't require springs but if I were going to up the rev limiter then I'd do the mild cam + springs.

In my mind the head studs & rod bolts are a given. I had a very reasonable quote from DG Motors for doing it ($300 when doing cams) so if a local shop can do it then that's cheap insurance.

[mlomker]

I had resisted ordering an intake but I'm not sure if the BB-X has a 3" inlet or not. If it does then the Perrin inlet that I'd already purchased wouldn't work. I'd thought about buying the UR short ram but that can run into problems from the fan blowing on it.

I bit the bullet and ordered the AMS intake. I'll have to unload the parts that I'm pulling off but such is life. I rarely get these things right on the first try. The AMS seemed overpriced when I first looked at it but on closer inspection, it has important features that the others don't...the fan shield, relocating the BOV, being 3" so that I can just change the coupler at the turbo inlet. <sigh>

[scheides]

I really wouldn't bother with the head studs until you need to pull the head for some reason, the stockers are just dandy. No comment on the rod bolts, I've been going back and forth on these and ultimately if the rod bolt does hold, the next thing to go is the actual rod itself, resulting in catastrophic damage (block and all) vs just a spun bearing...I'm sticking with my stockers for now.

I like the AMS intake, full 3" is nice. I'm pretty sure the BBX has a stock-sized inlet, but having the intake as open as possible is is rarely a bad thing :)

[mlomker]

I really wouldn't bother with the head studs until you need to pull the head for some reason, the stockers are just dandy.

Ron tells me that the springs can probably be done without pulling the head but if I let him pull the head then it'd be quicker to do...he could remove the pistons and deal with the rod bolts on a bench that way.

During my first oil change I'd noticed my oil pan gasket has small leak so I could kill a couple birds with one stone here. I'd definitely feel fine about revving out the motor with those pieces in place.

I ordered a Full Race manifold. I had thought about going with a Grimmspeed pnp but the tubulars look much nicer even if there isn't a lot of power difference.

[Constant_Project21]

There's too much reading in this thread, where are the friggin pictures!!!

[mlomker]

There's too much reading in this thread, where are the friggin pictures!!!

Pictures of what, me deciding what to order? There is a lot more to projects than that.

[Kracka]

I want some action shots of you entering your CC# online!

[Constant_Project21]

How about pictures of all this newly installed suspension and what the car actually looks like now lowered?

[Constant_Project21]

And I understand there's more to projects than pictures, but not all of us dsm'ers like reading novels. We are more of the picture book types.