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Cubic inches motors vs. light weight motors


RacerX

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I hope this is the appropriate place for my inquiry.

 

In regards to building a Zcar for more street use than track use;

 

For those of you who have already completed their Zcar project - if you were to do it again, what would you do differently in the engine capacity?

 

For those of you who are in the process of, OR contemplating an engine for your project, what have you decided on and why?

 

This is my inquiry. Would you prefer to have the extra cubic inches, extra cylinders and horsepower that comes with it though there is some weight gain to the car OR would you prefer to have a lightweight engine and make up horsepower by power adders and keep the car as light as possible? Why and how did you come to your decision?

 

I would prefer that this doesn't get into a discussion about using specific engines please.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

RacerX

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Great Topic Ill Spell out what type of setup i want to be running

 

The motor im choosing is a CA18DET its slightly lighter than the sr20det 20 pds ive heard and can make only slightly less power. The reason i choose the motor is it will be able to make my hp requirements 340 HP and will also be light and be behind the cross member. The motor also should have a redline of around 9k which is excellent for a track car.

 

For the motor setup its going to be a bit expensive. I want to run a COP setup or something with a coil for each cylinder. The car will also be running on race gas only so this should help somewhat.

 

I think when you look at a motor you should think to yourself what do i want High hp? Low Weight? Reliabilty? this should make choosing a engine much easier becuase theres a large list of vehicles

 

oh and btw i would not recommend the CA18DET for a daily driver im building this z strictly for track use i cant say anymore

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Hm... lets not get engines involved...

 

Well I think the maing goal here is to improve upon the stock L6, otherwise there is no point in swapping it out in the first place.

 

There are several engines that can produce more power than the l6, with a lighter overall weight. When I consider an engine swap for my car, I think of a more compact engine than what is in there.

 

But I am biased towards corners, not straight line acceleration. It has alot to do with what kind of racing you are doing.

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I'm running 3 liters with turbo and plan to go bigger, 4.5l also with turbo in the near future. I'm a hair over 2500lbs with a/c, bumpers, ect. Unless one can get the weight under 2k I wouldn't go down on displacement. Torque (off boost) is a good thing on the street. You need cc's/ci's to get that.

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http://www.worldcastings.com/prods_pages/108052.htm

 

how about an all aluminum 572 bbc??

700hp/700ft lbs in an engine that weights less than an iron sbc??

 

and thats well before adding a mild dose of nitrous that could easily jump the power noticably

 

THOSE ALL ALUMINUM 572s go for about $15,700 DELIVERED TO YOUR LOCAL AREA FREIGHT DEPOT

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What you (Ernie) needs is folks that have been on both sides of this fence and can say which was best for them. In my case, I am about to find out. For the last 15 years, I've had the 289/302/289 (yeah, I liked the 289 better). Even though it was down on HP as compared to those larger, blown, heavier cars I've run against, the lightweight Z chassis let me take the lead.

 

Now in the works: I have a 383 (shortest of the 351W stroker kits) being machined for installation this winter. It will add about 75 pounds to the car, about 100 cubic inches, additional stressing to the drivetrain, a little more HP, and GOBBS more torque as compared to the high reving 289 (The 383 still should rev fine with the set-up I'm using though). Hopefully, by next spring I'll find out whether I made a mistake or an improvement.

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Hey CLIFTON, I've been gathering all my parts for my 7MTswap when I retire from the MIL. in 3.5 months +- a few days,hours,seconds but who's counting. I hope you're not saying I would be better off using the 1991 5.0L I have sitting on my garage floor as it will be a street car only. I know you can't make this call for me but do you have regrets concerning the 7MT as a daily driver vs a 5.0L with It's low end torque. Thanks

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THOSE ALL ALUMINUM 572s go for about $15,700 DELIVERED TO YOUR LOCAL AREA FREIGHT DEPOT, you could build it yourself only slightly cheaper, and Id bet 90% of the guys would be far ahead both in cost and time buying the crate engine

 

the block costs about $5000

heads about $3000

rotating assembly about $2500

cam, valve & train accessories /misc parts necessary about $2000

intake about $400

oil system/gaskets about $1000

carb about $1000

so your just not saving a great deal building it yourself

 

BTW ask several of the twin turbo guys what they have invested in getting to 700-900hp and youll soon see how that aluminum big blocks just not all that expensive in comparison to building a intercooled twin turbo combo making similar power

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572 All Aluminum Stroker... If I only had $16K (plus another $1K for N2O) to play with... I could kick the crap out of ALL those little light-weight engines.

 

A BIG aluminum V8 is the way to go, IMO (if you can afford it). DAMN the weight... full speed ahead!!!

 

johnc... you'll notice I'm talking WEIGHT here... NOT V8 vs L4/L6/V6/etc.:D

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well you could get crazy and put it on the little plastic card, have it installed , tear up your drive train,sit around wondering how to build a roll cage and drive train to work with that 700-1100 ft lbs of torque once the nitrous systems installed,and make exorbidant payments for the rest of the decade..PLUS

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Thats why I like 6cyl's.

 

Example. Stock 240sx engine, the KA24E or DE. Weighs about 300lbs. its an iron block 4cyl and makes decent power when turbo'd.

 

Stock 95+maxima and various nissans VQ30DE. 3L v6,300lbs, revs to 7200-7500 reliably (with a modified ecu) and makes plenty of power NA or turbo. Even with 10:1 cr lots of people are pushing 400WHP on stock blocks and sometimes stock cams. No VTC or anything, just a varible intake manifold. (its alu block/heads)

 

They weigh the same and the VQ sits further back, revs better, is just as cheap, and has more potental.(PS the 3.5L version VQ35DE also weighs the same and has a ♥♥♥♥ load of support from the 350Z's and G35 market)

 

Now nissan does have I6's and V6's that weigh 500-600lb's (RB,VG,L) but were talking about advantages.

 

~Alex

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Sounds like fun:wink:

 

well you could get crazy and put it on the little plastic card, have it installed , tear up your drive train,sit around wondering how to build a roll cage and drive train to work with that 700-1100 ft lbs of torque once the nitrous systems installed,and make exorbidant payments for the rest of the decade..PLUS
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