mjalaly, I've gone through your build log of your car, and the construction of your car is FAR better than my contraption of a car. From your bell cranks to the uprights, the attention to detail on your car is absolutely superb. A very inspiring build!
If I had the time, budget, and tooling as you did, I could maybe approach the build quality of your car. That being said, I've got a VERY limited budget for this build.
As per the turbocharger, with 12.5:1 compression ratio, and lumpy Skunk2 Pro3 Cams, boosting would be dangerous. A piston and cam change would be required, but my Darton sleeves could take the boost. In terms of my 2.0L engine:
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JE 12.5CR.jpg
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JE Forged Pistons Darton Sleeves 85mm bore.jpg
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balancing pistons.jpg
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Darton Sleeves.jpg
I had Kotzur Racing Heads do the port work:
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Ported Head.jpg
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intake ports.jpg
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4340 Manley Rods.jpg
(Very close piston to valve clearance. 0.008" exhaust valve to piston clearance before increasing relief)
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0.008 inch piston to valve clearance before relief cut.jpg
63 degrees of valve overlap on the vtec cam. 13mm of peak lift on intake.
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76mm Throttle Body.jpg
I will concede more power can easily be had with a turbo. I suppose my approach is somewhat like running a sailboat...certainly more speed can be had with an outboard Mercury engine, but there is something rewarding about doing something the hard way.
I love crisp throttle response and linear power feel, despite this engine is very peaky and high strung. Plus I love the naked elegance of a simple engine, without all of the turbocharger auxiliaries of wastegates, blow off valves, WG dump tubes, intricate exhaust manifold, oil supply/return plumbing, intercooling, charge piping, etc...
I have a set of the Energy Suspension Polyurethane inserts, and I've found the transmissibility to be horrible, causing blurred vision at idle. To think I was playing with the idea of using the engine as a semi-stressed member was insanity. Perhaps I'm just getting old and boring, but I'd like reduced transmissibilty, and very soft suspension.
I'd like to be able to flog this car with some regularity at the local SCCA autocrosses. Essentially, I would like to tune the angle of my control arms such that lateral loads induce ZERO body roll, and springs compress only in bump and not during cornering. IMHO, lateral loads should be supported by the control arms, and vertical loads should be supported by the springs/dampers. My goal is to use the SOFTEST springs possible, without adverse affects on roll. A low CG, and carefully situated control arms would allow me to get away with very soft springs. I have no intentions on using anti-roll bars, as coupling the left and right wheels often reduces the normal load on the inside wheel, and increases the wheel rate of the outside wheel.
I would like to design the car to have the option of tuning the suspension in nearly every aspect, and it wouldn't be too hard to design for multiple mounting locations of inboard pickup points. As I'm not sure how this animal will act whilst turning a wheel in anger, I'll finalize the pickup points after the car has been driven for a while. At the moment I'm designing for zero Anti's in the car, and aiming for neutral handling. I'll start with soft springs in the rear, and start with safe understeer, and go from there.