As the time to make my first incision draws closer, I am considering other power options apart from K20. The K series engine is fantastic, no doubt about it. The cylinder heads are wonderful. The options are wide open for internal performance parts. The real star to me is the engine management and the access to software such as Hondata, which allow 100% factory drivability on engines that make stratospheric horsepower.
But there are problems, well, mainly one: the cost of buying in in the first place. I am realizing that, for a few reasons, I need to start this project with an inexpensive buy-in in terms of engine and transmission that I can set in the bay and build around. The process of bringing the car to a point of being able to start and run will be at least a year, and during that time I can save and compile and build an engine. What I would really want is a JDM K20A from an Integra Type R. It has some advantages compared to buying a US spec K20A2 package, including factory LSD (saving $1000+ over having to install an aftermarket one.) It has much lower mileage than the US engines that are available these days (200k+ most of the time,) and, compared to the JDM Euro R packages that are more common, it has an ECU for which Hondata offers software, so I don't have to buy another ECU and deal with the pinout differences between Euro R and ITR. SO ANYWAY... The JDM ITR packages are going for $6000 right now if you can find one. I suspect that the transglobal shipping issues have caught up with the JDM engine suppliers. Everybody is out of everything good. That, and/or those engines are now older than JDM TII engines were when they started drying up.
I said all that to say this: there are other options for power in this car that don't require the up-front payout of the K20A--maybe less sizzle than a K20A, but they're out there. In every case, the approximate power goal is 400HP.
Here they are:
K24A2: I'm really saying this one to prevent somebody else from suggesting it. Yes, a K24 is available for a lot less money than a K20A or K20A2. But it doesn't have the same free-revving joy of the K20. Yes, they can be made to sing, but a 99mm stroke means very high piston speeds. Overall, they are a lot less interesting to me than the top line K20A and A2. Buy-in is still $2000+ for engine and trans just to have something to set in the engine bay and start building around. Built engine will pass $6k. This engine would have to be turbocharged to get me to my power goal.
2GR-FE: Fantastic engine from what I have seen. Roughly 300HP in stock form with some tuning. 280 degree cams are available for $1400 plus another $600 for necessary valvetrain parts to allow the cams to work. I could start with a stock engine to get the car running, then later build something nice from a spare engine that I could acquire. A good engine to start with is goin to cost about $1000, but the turbo MR2 transmission that I would want is going to cost another $1500. After port work, cams, engine rebuild, etc., I would probably end up north of $8000 for the engine that I would want. But it *would* make neat Stratos sounds. I am also not sure how well this very wide engine would fit in the narrow X1/9 engine bay, even after cutting.
Honda J series: This one is a bit confusing to me because there are so many iterations of the J series V6 and not a lot of information about which one, or which combination of parts, is best. Engine, figure $500-1000 for something to build around. Trans cost unknown. Building a rowdier engine would end up similar to the 2GR, but with even poorer cam options. Overall, I think that a J series would be a lesser version of the 2GR option above, with an easier fit because of the cylinder head design.
And right below this line are my current leading ideas:
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All my automotive life, I have been a VW guy. Specifically, an 8V VW guy. I have built several 8V engines, each one equally loved for its own special features. I am considering returning to VW engines for this project.
VW 8V Crossflow Turbo: This one has probably the least sizzle of all of the engine options, but it has a few things going for it and is actually my favorite for a number of reasons.
1) Super cheap buy-in, as in I can probably find a bottom end for $200 or so and a trans for around $400.
2) SPA Turbo in Brazil has a nifty new cylinder head for this engine that uses entirely new port geometry designed for performance rather than economy. The new head is turbo-friendly, with greatly improved intake and exhaust ports and an allowance for a much larger exhaust valve than the factory heads would allow. (Turbo engines benefit from a larger exhaust valve relative to a comparable NA engine.)
3) The early VW 8V engines (external water pump engines) were tough as nails with strong blocks and, mostly, with forged crankshafts. Give them some good forged rods and pistons, and they are ready for lots of boost.
4) For all of their "malaise" era shortcomings, they are probably my favorite engine ever. They're what I grew up with in a manner of speaking. I like the simplicity of a SOHC engine with no VVT, no frills. Just two valves per cylinder being flung wide open and gases flowing through heavily worked ports and hand-built manifolds.
5) A relatively crude (compared to the K) engine that has been modified to suit the purpose is actually more in line with the "stradale" idea that I initially laid out for this project. I hate to say that the K is "too refined," but it sort of is. When I think of my inspiration for this project, it's cars such as the Renault R5 Turbo and the Lancia 037. Those homologation specials were lumpy and wild, even in stock form. Their engines were developed into being performance engines, not performance engines from the start. Crude and high-strung, but tough is more in line with the cars that I like so much.
6) Not exactly cheap to build, but not expensive either. Only four pistons, four rods, and eight valves. OE rebuild parts are tough enough for severe duty and still easy to get. I know these engines inside and out, and I know all of the tricks.
7) 02M transmission bolts up, offering a 240mm clutch disc. LSDs are available. They are a tough six speed transmission with some minor faults that can be corrected during a rebuild. Just replace the differential and use BOLTS instead of RIVETS and don't bang the gears hard and they'll be fine.
8) Because of its undersquare design with an iron block that does not need a larger on-center cylinder spacing and because of the 02M's compact two main shaft design, the 8V should package very well into the engine bay, better than the K20. The K20 fits, but it does require clearance work on the left and right sides of the bay. I think that the 8V might need only left side clearancing. Firewall clearance work will still be necessary, and I'd do it even if it weren't strictly necessary to make service easier.
9) I just love the engine, OK?
12V VR6: I am also considering this one. The 12V VR will make 400HP in a foxtrot as long as a turbocharger is present. There are scads of people making 400 turbo horsepower on stock internals. I'm not in love with the VR, and I tend to think of it as the "easy button" solution. The engine itself has always been kinda "meh" to me, but it does have a lot going for it. Virtues and antivirtues in no particular order:
1) I'm going to say this first because it's the first thing that comes to mind with the VR: I HATE the way the timing chain is handled, starting with the fact that it's on the back end of the engine and finishing with the goofiness with which tensioning is managed. I am not stupid, and I am not an inexperienced mechanic, but I struggled to get the cam timing correct on this engine, and somehow, in spite of my care and attention, still screwed it up somehow. This sticks in my craw to this day.
2) Lots of displacement compared to a 2.0L 8V engine means significantly more off-boost power and much lower boost to the power goal.
3) Kinda heavy. It's not that it can't make up for its weight with horsepower. That's not the issue. The issue is that a heavy engine is going into the back of a small, light car and might upset handling in a way that I can't correct.
4) These engines were once prized for swaps and therefore expensive, but, now having been surpassed by several engines, are cheap to buy.
5) Quality cast intake and exhaust manifolds can be had cheap--cheaper than weldable materials for me to build my own.
6) Nice engine sounds.
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Engines that I am NOT considering:
VW 1.8T, 2.0 FSI, 24V VR, 07K.
Left-mounted engines such as Honda B and D series, Mitsubishi 4G63, etc. I don't want the engine on the same side as the driver.
Exhaust on front engines such as FIAT 500 Abarth, MINI, Toyota 3SGTE and 4AGE, etc. I don't want a turbocharger on the firewall right behind the passenger.
Please offer up your input regarding engine choices. I am open to suggestions.