Thread: How to build a 300 WHP/Liter SR (on the cheap?) discussion.

Don't worry, we'll get to manifolds, exhaust and turbo choices and such real soon. I just want to get the block and head sorted first.

In that vane I'll give the summary. It seems the SR16VE head is the choice because of the ease and reliably in obtaining 9,000 rpm and the cam is very good to begin with. The short stroke of the SR16 crank is desirable for the same reason, so the cheapest thing to do (obviously) is to buy a complete SR16VE engine. Also the oil pump I hear is higher flow, and piston oil squirters are included.

Got to make sure one of these later engines is obtained.

Things to be replaced so far in the stock block include the stock forged pistons with stronger/lighter units, the stock cast(?) pistons with stronger/lighter forged units. (OEM piston rings.) The crank should be lightened to match the lighter pistons/rods. A crank scraper and oil pan baffle would be cheap and should be included. There's been talk from daxx of using the 19mm rod bearing size. I'm still curious as to what it takes to get this done on the block (Edit: Nothing you idiot, these are rod bearings not main bearings). I think the 19mm rod idea is great and cheap enough so that's another thing to be included. OEM bearings will be used throughout to keep costs down. All hardware will be ARP with the possible exception of the head studs. There's a few good choices for head gaskets, and APEXi would be the first choice, but since this is a budget build the Cosworth unit should make an appearance. If the most power can be found at cam timing 0/0 then no adjustable cam sprockets should be needed (although I'd love to see what less overlap could do). Stiffer valve springs and good retainers (are OEM up to it?) are on the menu, but which ones?


So what pistons work for 19mm rod bearings? Would cam timing need to be adjusted? And what type or brand of valve springs and retainers?

Have I missed anything involving the block or head?

The actual rod needs machining to accept the 19mm rod bearings. The GTiR block and VE block have the oil groove in the mains so you dont need any machining here. You will also need diff rods for the sr16 crank since shorter stroke. Now if going the Sr16 crank way there are 2 rods you can use, dimedave used a chevy rod. Now I am not sure if these rods can accept the 19mm bearings. Will need to look into this. Also you can get flat top pistons and get them notched for valve reliefs... Or get the CP VE pists. You need a higher compression pists to compensate for the shorter stroke. If I'm not mistaken Miko did a thread on a short stroke setup...

i also agree on the whole sleeve issue, i really feel confident that i could run 700whp+ on a stock sleeve block. we arent like hondas where you have open sleeve jackets that can flex and move under high loads, almost 100% of the time hondas sleeve their block to be solid deck block just like the nissans, of course they use ductile iron sleeves which are extremely strong, but the whole idea is really to have a solid deck so the jackets dont move.

when i was into hondas i had nothing but sleeved blocks, of course i was running high boost, and it was needed and although it does give you a sense of structual integrity, its really only needed beucase of those open jacket problems which nissan doesnt have.

that being said, nissan sr20de blocks having a straight solid deck from the factory puts them at a advantage off the bat. i really dont feel it would even be needed unless you were going for more like 1000+ and even then theres really no say in if they are even needed then. i really feel that the 240sx sr20det guys are really more aggressive i wanna say with their engines and arent afraid to push them way past what they say they are to be pushed at with little to no problems, but i really feel its all in the tuning, and the setup as to what the engines can really make solid.

This arguement on sleeving a block vs sleeving the block has gone out of hand. When I brough this up it had nothing to do with wether the motor could handle the power on stock sleeves. It had to do with how quick you could make the HP in corolation to boost.

By sleeving the block and going to a 2.2L it would be easy to get to the goal of 600 WHP which was the power goal by 24 PSI or so.

At the moment it would seem to be that getting to 600 WHP on a VE would take close to 28-30 PSI. With the 2.2L motor it could be done at a more reasonable boost level. Very high boost levels take away from the reliabilty of the motor in my opinion.

When boring the block, adding stronger sleeves just makes too much sense not to. When not boring the block it could be done without. We get it I think.

I think I need to change the name of this thread, especially since it seems to have moved on to a SR16 discussion. The goal to begin with was 300 WHP/liter, not necessarily 600 WHP. This makes the 2.2L idea less appealing as it would now need to make 660 WHP.

Yeah I think sleeving the block is optional but if I were to do it, it would be more for reliability.

On my build(big bore) it was done for reliability and efficiency of the engine. IMO I would rather have the engine make 600whp at 20psi rather than 30psi,less strain on the whole engine.

On that note, if you were to keep stock bore and have the extra dough to make a more efficient engine, you need to look at the head and ensure it performs well. I always make sure on any build that my head is well thought since this is what really makes the power efficiently.

Is seems the only issue left with the block in the rod. Some Chevy rod or (what's the second option daxx?).


Time to move onto the intake manifold. Make your own? I was thinking O2 induction for proven performance, but do they make one for the VE head (assuming SR20VE and SR16VE head intake ports are the same)?

300whp is a likkle bit to easy IMO. i thought the idea was to challenge the motor and make it work with minimum money but still be sufficient.

I just can't win can I?

If you want cheap make your own manifold, you can play around with the power curve potentially too. Find some good proven designs and improve on them. It is the path less traveled but be ready for some hang ups. (this one gets my vote)

If you want easy and have the cash to throw around and like supporting a cool company go O2.

It all depends on how far you want to go