Setup Suggestions, input greatly appreciated!

[Halon]

I like the HD Wiseco's, but man it is serious overkill for your setup. I don't really know about the Manley pistons but they seem affordable and may be worth looking into. ExtremePSI shows them in both 8.5 and 9.0 ratios. I personally would go with 8.5 because I feel it will only assist in making tuning simpler, and well if you want more power, just add more boost! I personally run Mahle's which are very nicely priced, are hard anodized, and are one of the lighter pistons available off the shelf for our motors. But they seem to be more prone to cold start up piston slap due to being made from a different material. And their skirts are slightly shorter so I've wondered if that would affect longevity. But I've been rocking them for nearly 5 years now I think, and they are doing fine.

Is there something wrong with the motor, because really it seems like the money spent building the bottom end could be wisely spent elsewhere since you're going to be on a 16g setup.

As for the head differences. I personally feel the 2G head is a better design. The smaller ports allow for higher velocity, and the angle the intake ports take towards the valves is less extreme. If you have a way to simply clean up the casting on the intake ports, that's about all I would do. I wouldn't mess with an extreme port job, or 1mm over valves at your levels. Once again, money could be spent wiser elsewhere.

Everyone will have their own opinions, and it's your choice in the end to decide what is best for you. Good luck with the build!!!

[jrohner]

Originally Posted by Halon

I personally would go with 8.5 because I feel it will only assist in making tuning simpler, and well if you want more power, just add more boost!

But running a 16G means you can't really run much boost on top end; 30 at most even with all the tweaks and 'tricks'. I would go 9:1 if you want to save a little money, otherwise 10:1 custom pistons. He's going to run E85, so it can handle it fine.

I do agree on running the 2G head.

I think the BC272 cams are the perfect match for a 16G, no big loss of off-boost power, same spool as stock cams, more power and torque everywhere. They seem to make the most of the 16G, bigger cams will just trade off torque and spool for maybe a few more unnoticed hp. It doesn't pay to lose a bunch of torque with a turbo that's basically known for torque and mid range power. The torque hit is what makes the 16G so fun; I regret getting bigger cams for my car.

Save the extra expense and parts of an external gate and just get a higher pressure WGA, such as a Holset one, so you can hold a few more PSI on the top end. Ebay downpipe and exhaust, or just no exhaust at all