My '03 DE motor is going under the knife in August, and I am working on funding the build. The car is used mostly for HPDE, T/A, and drifting, but it must also get me to and from events under its own power. The current [engine] mods are as follows:

Pop Charger
Kinetix V+ plenum
Oil cooler
UTEC with WB and tuner
AAM single 3" exhaust (midpipe and muffler).

I am putting down 250 WHP with this setup, but need a good 300 to approach the 1:10 HP/weight ratio. I just acquired some OEM HR headers and resonated test pipes, as I will need them to make power with the JWT S2 cams I bought used.

I can't have all of this stuff due to budget constraints, but I can probably afford most of it:

HR oil pump
Valve spring kit (JWT, BC, or something similar)
ARP rod bolts if they can be replaced without removing the motor from the car

Is any of this stuff unnecessary?

Furthermore, I have a line on a used JWT flywheel. I would like to put on a new friction surface and maybe do a clutch while we're in there. Would I be better off doing that now, or getting a Motordyne XYZ pipe now? Or should I do both and forego some of the other stuff?

I realize that this will not make 300 WHP. Then again, it's not WHP that wins races. I need a good, reliable setup that will get me in the ballpark without putting me in too much debt. The car has 75,000 miles on it.

Thoughts on this?

 

if i had a stock DE and wanted to keep it N/A. I'd get a plenum spacer, art test pipes, 4.08 gears, Uprev tune and call it a day. imho its a waste of money to get exhausts (test pipes are what give you majority of gains from altering the exhaust system), headers, cams or anything else that costs more than $500 to buy and install. in the end you're still be slow.

edit.. i'd get a stage 1 clutch with lightened flywheel too.

 

splurge on suspension..bigtime..

you wont regret spending the cash on a great set of coilovers..

 

amen to that too. i was thinking he was just asking about non suspension performance mods.

 

The suspension is done, as are the brakes, and I have some Hoosiers, too. Oh, and I have been driving in competitions for seven years.

The plan is to go in this order:
Driver, suspension, tires, brakes, motor, seats, aero. Then I can replace the harness bar with a roll bar and add lightness to what little extent I still can. So guess where I am in this process?

The reason I'm looking at power right now is because I have an advantage over some of my competitors in tires, chassis, and brakes. My suspension, while on the soft side, is optimized. They have lightness and horsepower, and in one case, AWD. So where do you go from here? My weight/HP is around 13.5:1 where I am allowed 10:1. Losing weight is even more expensive than adding power, and I need to keep the car family friendly. Stripping it out is not an option.

So now that we've covered the basic assumptions, I'm trying to figure out how to get the most from a set of free headers and a cam install that is going to cost $1000 (cams included) thanks to a sweet deal from an area shop. What else should I replace while the engine is opened up?

 

Go look up up user 1cockyz's build....he did it on a budget and made about 310whp.

 

BC 264's with a set of longtubes. For some reason reason the BC cams make crazy torque in comparison. Longtubes just work. I didn't know the HR oil pump worked. ARP rod bolts, oil pump, double shimmed HR springs. Set the rev limiter about 7200 cause the stock pistons will fail. A friend made 280whp/265wtq sae corrected on a dynojet on a stock longblock with bc 264, megan shorties, AAM spacer, hfc's, injen duals, and injen cold air. The megan longtubes work up to a point somewhere around 330 crank hp. Although the power gains are good throughout. Unless you do the labor yourself there is no cheap build, although budget is an incredibly subjective term.

 

Where you refering to the Rev-Up oil pump? I think the HR's pump may be too different to simply install.

As for the other mods you referenced,
-The rod bolts are a must for increasing the rev limiter over the mentioned 7200 limit. That was a known weakness in the DE.
-I've never heard of the pistons having trouble so I'll defer that to Cocky1's experience.
-If you do the cams and plan to raise the rev limit the springs will almost become a nescesity.
-As for your HR manifolds and test pipes, I would imagine they would work ok but I probably would have suggested some long tubes as well.
-On the flywheel, be aware that some people can't stand the noises the flywheel makes, so I suggest witnessing one first.

Take a look at this old link to Japanese tuning styles and mods, some even give a rough estimate of whp. Circuit Reference Manual