Thread: Budget ve build

I'm mainly looking for YOUR opinions.. I know this could become a battle but I think it'll be helpful for the forum.

I, like most on this forum, want to know where to get the best bang for my buck with my ve. In the past I've had my bolt on ve's, and I've been very happy with them. But think it's now time to get a little deeper into it. My pockets aren't as deep as some of those 2.4L boys in the northeast. So I would like to keep this a 2.0L. Btw it's a daily driver.

I want to know what your build list would look like.. Keep it 86mm bore and stroke pls

Here is what I was thinking..

Det block (already have)
Ve head ( port & polished)
Valve springs& retainers
N1 cams
86mm Cp 12.5:1 pistons
Eagle rods
Lightweight flywheel
Lightweight pullies
Ve oil pump
Asp budget header
Calum realtime
Walbro 255
Nismo afpr

Now my main question is..
Are the eagle rods worth the 300.00?
Will the reduction in weight be worththe money? Or should that be invested into something else?

Best bang for the buck? Put the VE in the lightest car you can get your hands on.

If you plan on using nitrous with the motor, I think its a nice solid platform. That car would be silly with a 100+shot. If you plan on strictly NA and its a budget build, there are other ways around it. Stock rods are fine. You could also opt for a set of SR16 or N1 pistons for a bump in compression. I would rather spend the money on a pair of Kelfords and use the stock rods and either one of those pistons if your plans are 100% NA.

Wouldn't the cp's be better then the sr16's?
What would the compression be with the sr16's ? 11.8:1?

In a 2.0 motor, they would yield 13.2:1 or so CR IIRC. Most people have the piston machined to bring the CR down into the mid 12's. They also need a mod for oil squirters which I believe is not too difficult.

It depends what you mean as far as "budget". The CP's are nice but thats why I said I would use the cash saved from the CP's and rods to buy a set of Kelford 184C's. My buddy did this setup in his B14 and it was a quick/fun street car.

Ahh I got ya now.. Thank you, I'll def look into that.

please forgive the non sequitur, but couldn't help noticing that motor looks really fun in a miata.

(i'm here lurking and learning about ve's to do a switch to one in my miata)

The DET block is for a RWD transmission only, you know? The Rods and Pistons are good for a 400hp+ turbo setup.

please clarify this

My block is a fwd block. This is a front wheel drive all motor setup. The det pistons won't do me any good