I was looking for some advise and ideas on what I should be looking at for doing a LN2 rebuild. To keep it short I have a 2001 Cavalier and put a cavalier connections kit on it a few years ago. Since then I never really drove the car much, and when I did it was not hard. I recently got back into fixing it up and Tuning. This involved putting in the 2002 SC MAP sensor and reprogramming the ECM with HPT. On the 3rd drive around the block it ended up blowing the ring lands off 3 of the 4 pistons.
Now I know there are a lot of things that I could have done differently, but that doesn't bother me, it just gives me the excuse I needed to rip the engine apart. So currently I have been looking at new Wiseco pistons with Eagle rods and a turbo cam. I already have the Cobalt injectors (36 lb/hr), a msd box, Cartech RRFPR, and HPT as I said before. Does anybody have any other ideas or websites of things to look at, maybe a built block and or P&P head?
I will admit I know minimal about the aftermarket world, but I have been a Chevy tech for 12 years so I can do the work. And I am not looking to run more than 10 psi and just wanted a solid unit before I send it to a tuner this time.
Steve
Same thing happened to my engine. Put wiseco pistons and eagle rods, with a cleaned up crank and all new engine parts. Runs great 30000 miles later not one problem. Once I get it tuned right it should be a real blast to drive. Seems like these ln2 engines respond very well to a little boost. As for a p&p head I keep hearing patriot has a head for this engine but when i asked patriot about it a few yrs back they new nothing about it. so I dont really know.I bet this engine would be a bit stronger with a bigger int valve. Have you installed the 36 lb injectors yet with them tuned? How does it run?
Yes the new injectors were installed before the bang. It ran fine once I changed the injector constant in HPTuners. It was the first day running with the new MAP sensor so I had just started to tune, but it ran like a bat outa ... before it went.
Do you know what your inj constant was for the 36 lb injectors?
Check out import performance parts. They have a good amount of 2.2 hi po parts
I think the constant was .12500, but it was a little while ago when I set that (when I installed them)
I have been looking at ipp and like what I see so far.
Another question, does anybody have any info on the old cavalier connection kits. I only know the turbo # because of the tag, i would love to know what the kit included. And yes I know I should have kept the paperwork, stupid on my part!
What, specifically, do you need to know about the CavConn kit? Are you missing parts? The manifold, charge pipes, downpipe and oil drain were custom-built.
For your goals, I'd just keep the stock rods, throw in some cheap Venolia pistons, run a fairly wide ring gap, ARP head studs, Cometic headgasket, and have fun! Oh, and ditch that Cartech unit, it's only a liability if you're already tuning with HPT.
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
what are venolia pistons?
Dave De Stefano wrote:what are venolia pistons?
Venolia is a manufacturer. They make a good piston. I am running them in my wife's car.
P&P Tuning
420.5whp / 359.8wtq
what are they, just cast, or hypereutechtics, or what?
i spelled that wrong didn't i?lol, probably
QWK LN2 (aka ImPhat0260) wrote:Dave De Stefano wrote:what are venolia pistons?
Venolia is a manufacturer. They make a good piston. I am running them in my wife's car.
They are also relatively inexpensive, and people around here can hive you a speciic job number so you don't have to start measuring up your pistons.
Ryan, have you noticed any 'knocking' at colder temperatures with the Venolia slugs? Supposedly they use an alloy with a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion, so they require a looser bore and longer "warm-up" period.
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
OHV notec wrote:QWK LN2 (aka ImPhat0260) wrote:Dave De Stefano wrote:what are venolia pistons?
Venolia is a manufacturer. They make a good piston. I am running them in my wife's car.
They are also relatively inexpensive, and people around here can hive you a speciic job number so you don't have to start measuring up your pistons.
Ryan, have you noticed any 'knocking' at colder temperatures with the Venolia slugs? Supposedly they use an alloy with a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion, so they require a looser bore and longer "warm-up" period.
Nothing of the sort. The only noise I get out of her engine is some minor valvetrain noise.
P&P Tuning
420.5whp / 359.8wtq
Are the venolias cheaper than wisecos? Any1 know where to look for info on them for the 2.2 ln2? thanks.
I was looking for an original parts list so I can see exact parts that had been included.
As for not changing the rods, why not? Is it really worth it to not? I was looking at JE pistons and Eagle Rods, is it not best to replace all while apart?
And does anyone else recommend ditching the Cartech? I read a lot of posts to use it, but I can see how HPT would overcome that.
Thanks for the replies.
Just out of sheer curiosity, why're you running a Cartech RR FPR in conjunction with HPT?
Don't forget to upgrade the oil pump; the stock unit is not turbo friendly. Afterall, it was the reason my motor blew. Also, definitely look into a P&P on the head. There's lot of room from improvement and I went very aggressive with mine.
tom jones wrote:Are the venolias cheaper than wisecos?
Considerably.
tom jones wrote:Any1 know where to look for info on them for the 2.2 ln2? thanks.
Talk to Ryan (QWK LN2), he could probably give you the job number to use when ordering them from Venolia. Mine are second-hand, so I don't have the details.
Stephen Stashek wrote:I was looking for an original parts list so I can see exact parts that had been included.
Well, the turbo manifold, charge pipes, downpipe, and oil drain tube were all custom-made. They offered an intercooler kit, but I don't think they sold many, so if you have more than one pipe but no intercooler, you are probably missing the intercooler
They used a Vortech FMU I believe, but I don't remember what kind of BOV. Obviously it would have come with tidbits like the oil feed and fuel lines as well.
Stephen Stashek wrote:As for not changing the rods, why not? Is it really worth it to not? I was looking at JE pistons and Eagle Rods, is it not best to replace all while apart?
The stock rods are damn beefy for an OEM econobox motor. Comparing them to other OEM rods with known failure points, I'd estimate them to be good until about 400bhp. Eagles are only rated to 500bhp (although I know of plenty of cars who have taken them past 700).
Stephen Stashek wrote:And does anyone else recommend ditching the Cartech? I read a lot of posts to use it, but I can see how HPT would overcome that.
With HPT, it's unnecessary. I also had the signal fitting brake on mine, which led to total engine failure.
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
Gotta be a pretty good tuner with hp tuner, to tune the ln2 with no ability for the ecm to read boost pressure. Not to easy correct?
