Part: 5 The Last Word?
| Pound For Pound Part 5 - December 2007 Wrenchin'
So is this the last part of this massive power buildup? Likely, but it seems no Honda Tuning project is ever finished. But we have created a monster, thanks to Larry Widmer owner of Endyn in Fort Worth, Texas.
The September issue was the proof where we finally put the Endyn/Dart engine on the engine dyno and it spun past 9,000 rpm to a peak of 318 hp. That's even better than the original goal of 150 per liter and amazing for an engine that has to snort 91 octane gas.
This time around, we've got the engine in the car, a '00 Integra, and added some nice parts to complete the whole mission. A trip to the chassis dyno is in order and maybe, if the weather is decent, a few passes down the quarter-mile.
After leaving Endyn's engine dyno in Texas, the engine was professionally packed and shipped by truck to the guys at UMS Tuning in Tempe, Ariz., for installation. This is thanks to Tony and Kevin for the late-hour installation time.
| Pretty good way to ship an engine, huh? That HyTech header looks hot, maybe even hotter than the 100 percent hand-built Endyn intake manifold.
When you have an engine that is capable of making this much power, it's time to start checking all the parts of the chassis that work with it. Stock mounts would certainly work, but some billet Hasport mounts are a much better choice. Fuel was also going to need an upgrade. In addition to the RC injectors, the pump was changed out to a Walbro 255lph in-tank unit from BBK. Since we had no idea how old it was, the factory fuel filter was replaced.
Oil pressure is a must-know item on a high-strung engine like this and is one of the main reasons we obtained the Racepak dash. It comes with an oil pressure kit. We also connected the water temp sensor it uses and in combination with the PLX electronics, the engine is now monitored like a casino floor.
| Centerforce's patented dual friction clutch is the rest of the clamping package. The trick here is to have two different friction materials on the clutch disc. The result is a car that's fairly easy to launch but has the capacity of a racing style clutch.
Putting the power to the ground will certainly be an issue. The JDM LSD will help a great deal, but only if the clutch can take it. To be sure, Centerforce plugged in a lightened aluminum flywheel and its patented dual friction clutch system. The genius of the Centerforce setup is that it drives and engages like a stock clutch but has a lot more clamping force.
If we weren't going to track the car at all, stock axles would probably make it, but with an engine like this, who's not going to the track? Honda axles hate axle hop and can break at just 200 whp. The Driveshaft Shop came to the rescue again. Their new 2.9 axles are rated to 475 hp and have the ABS splines on them. It will be an effort to try and do some damage to these.
| How about that trick intake system? Believe it or not, a lot of dyno testing went into it. It's actually a modified truck intake. The engine loved the 3.5-inch tube and large filter. All kinds of lengths were tried, but the short length gave the best mid and upper torque.
Under the hood, an intake became a problem because there really wasn't anything off the shelf that Endyn recommended so we thought we'd do some testing on the dyno to see what the engine likes. What you see is the length and diameter that worked best, basically a modified truck intake with a massive 3.5-inch diameter and extra long filter. The 16-inch length gave the best top end while not taking too much away from the low end. What it needs now is some kind of box to direct outside air to the filter because data logging is showing intake temps around 150-degrees. Not so nice.
| We really wanted to use the new Z06 muffler, but it seems as though the only thing we have time for is procrastinating. Damn good thing Thermal R&D still makes a complete 3-inch all stainless system. Amazing too, how they get it to go up and over the suspension like stock.
With the air in handled, what about the air out? The original plan was to get a muffler from the new Z06. It has a vacuum operated flap that, when open, allows for all the flow we'd need but when closed is a very good muffler. Imagine how the IABs work on a GSR or Prelude and you'll understand how it works.
There's never enough time or volunteers and so a call to Thermal R&D really saved our ass. They are one of the few companies that make a complete 3-inch system including catalytic converter. Right off the 3-inch collector of the HyTech header is the Thermal cat and full 3-inch stainless system. Amazing how they get it all to fit above the suspension like stock. Even better, it doesn't drone at highway speeds.
After all those components were finally installed, it was time to put the car on the chassis dyno. On Endyn's SuperFlow engine dyno the peak number was 318, but 310 was the more consistent number. There, only the alternator was connected. Here, we'd have power steering and A/C and we won't be able to control the temperature and humidity of the air the engine will ingest.
| Pound For Pound Part 5 - December 2007 Wrenchin'
Unfortunately for us, it was a typical hot day with temperatures in the dyno room of 104 degrees and more humidity than we'd like as well. The Dynojet has SAE corrections for weather, but hot air is hot air. Given that, the results were pretty damn good: 267 whp and 183 lb-ft of torque at a usable 7,000 rpm. From the 310 number, that's a 14 percent loss, very respectable considering a full exhaust and all the engine accessories.
| Finally, in the car and fully connected. Like all of Endyn's premium builds, our engine features the upper/lower breather system, with separate breather cans for the top and bottom of the engine. Crankcase pressure can not only rob power but cause ring seal issues, especially in an engine that can rev to 10,000 rpm
At the end of the day, everyone was chomping at the bit to get to the dragstrip, but it was all just falling apart. Trying to run on 40-series street tires and the 17-inch wheels that the car had is not very smart. Plus, no matter where we turned, we couldn't get a set of slicks that would fit. The times would likely have been pretty poor as well since temps were pushing over 100 in the day and even by 11 p.m., they were still in the 90's, typical desert summer.
For now, this concludes a very successful project. Getting 150 hp per liter from a street engine on 91 octane gas is obviously no simple thing. Larry at Endyn taught us many a thing and put to death many a myth. We'll certainly get to the dragstrip, but in the meantime maybe just put some miles on the car and enjoy. In the future, who knows, it is a Dart block so it could take a lot of boost.
| How often do you get a gearbox in the mail like this? It's our fully rebuilt, custom geared Gearspeed transmission all decked out with an LS Fifth gear and a JDM LSD so we can work both front shoes.
A Honda Tranny Like No OtherAs hard as it was to find the right person for this engine build, it was easy to find the right transmission guys because they may be the only guys around. Gearspeed in Southern California specializes in Honda transmissions. Building them, rebuilding them and making them even better than Honda did-and that's saying something considering the torque a B-series tranny can take.
If you've owned a Honda for long, then you know the synchros are one of the weaker things in the transmission. The U.S. never got a limited slip tranny (except the ITR) whereas they were like pimples on a teenager over in Japan. With Gearspeed's help, we got both of those fixed and had a custom geared tranny as well.
| Pound For Pound Part 5 - December 2007 Wrenchin'
Gearspeed's specialty is its carbon synchros. They use a carbon coating technology that acts as a braking material during gear engagement. This allows for quicker and more precise shifting plus longer synchro life, even when you drive it like someone else paid for it.
One thing we can tell you from this adventure is to try and source a GSR trans if you want to put in a JDM limited slip like we bought. The Si gearboxes have a different shaft and final drive gear ring so they won't work with 99 percent of the JDM LSDs you're going to find on eBay and elsewhere. An Si LSD is a very limited item. Nearly all of them are GSR (JDM SiR-G) and Type-R style.
Thanks to James at Gearspeed who took our broken-case tranny and sorted through it all to give us not only a better-than-new tranny with the Gearspeed carbon synchros and a JDM LSD, but ratios that would really make the best of the Endyn engine's torque.
Basically, it has First through Third gears from a U.S. Civic Si, Fourth gear from a U.S. GSR and Fifth gear from an Integra LS. Finish it up with the standard 4.40 final drive and you have a gearbox that should let the car go through the traps at the top of Fourth gear, but cruise the freeways at just 3,300 rpm while making good time.
If you've got tranny issues or you want a tough gearbox as custom as this, the Gearspeed guys have proven themselves to be the ticket. It's also worth mentioning that their parent company also knows their way around the Honda slush boxes.
