The proverbial question every gear head wants to know: Which engine is the best?
Is it high compression, high-revving normally aspirated four-bangers? Or how about twin-turbocharged sixes putting out tarmac ripping horsepower? Or is it the no-replacement-for-displacement V8 domestics putting out metal twisting low-end torque? Like arguing over who the greatest boxer is of all time, the age-old debate will never end. Until now.
Thanks to Castrol and our sister publications (Super Street, Lowrider, eurotuner, Sport Compact Car, Modified and Turbo) we are finally going to put the dispute to rest. Each of the magazines, including yours truly, will select a motor and a tuning shop to build, tune and dyno, to see how much power they can make.
To level the playing field for motor size and number of cylinders, the competition will measure the horsepower per liter-;a little division for the math-weary. Fuel is allowed at a boost-friendly 100 octane, but to hedge for a forced induction advantage, will be penalized by doubling its motor size (i.e. 2.0L turbo would count as a 4.0L NA).
Given those restraints, we decided to stick with the forced induction route and go with the proven SR20DET motor found in a Japanese-spec 240SX. The mill makes power upwards in the 600s relatively easy but with careful tuning, we're shooting for the 800 mark. And with Castrol SYNTEC oil and the Nissan gurus over at G-Dimension as our shop of choice, we have a good chance.
So will we be able to build an 800 hp turbocharged four-cylinder? More importantly, will that effort be good enough for the win? With seven titles representing the import, sport compact, domestic and euro markets fighting for ultimate bragging rights, only time will tell. Until then, keep reading 2ner and check out www.SyntecTopShop.com.
HOTBOX
Castrol
www.SyntecTopShop.com
G-Dimension
www.g-dimension.com
