1UZFE Boosted in S13 240sx

[roastin300]

Hello everyone, i am new but have been scanning the board alot lately the last couple weeks. I acquired a COMPLETE 1UZFE with accessories from a crashed LS400 in a junkyard for $150 total! I have read quite a bit about these motors and they seem very promising. I am planning on installing it into a S13 Nissan 240sx. The 1UZ is a front sump and so is the 240, it should fit nicely. The fab work isnt a problem, i plan on going most likely single turbo with something rather large, thinking about a Holset HX50 ( flows 99 lbs/min) and can be acquired for under $200. I will be fabbing my exhaust manifolds, crossover, intercooler piping, exhaust, motor mounts, tranny mount, ect. I suppose i will need to go with a custom driveshaft too. I am wiring the engine from scratch to run megasquirt. I dont know exactly how the ecu can receive a crank signal with 2 distributors, still working on that, so i might be going the reluctor way and running coil packs. My main dilema is what to do for transmission and clutch setup. I dont have the money for a V160, and probably dont have the money for a T56, so i am looking at the R154. I would pick up a custom bellhousing for that tranny from Dellow or CRS, but then as far as the flywheel goes i am not sure yet. I am shooting for a reliable 600rwhp boosted street legal car. I already own a Z31 (84-89 300zx) with 404rwhp running a Holset HX40 turbo and i am looking for more, and a new project. Please tell me the R154 tranny and the stock 1UZFE bottom end will take 600rwhp???

Any comments or help in the direction i should be going is appreciated. Company names, prices, suggestions? Thank you guys...

 

[Lextreme II]

There are few guys doing the same thing as we speak. One of our moderators named Sniper is doing something very similar to yours or yours is very similar to his.

 

[sniper]

You can can also get a flywheel from delllow, its not light but you can get it from him blank and then you can have it drilled to use any clutch that will fit, i have yet to drill my flywheel but it looks like a NA supra clutch is going to work. the bottom end will hold 600hp no problem, just be sure and chage the pistons, and use ARP rod bolts, ARP head studs and MLS head gasket and your set. All of that will add up to 600 easy relighable HP. R154 is the best tranny to use, if you get a supra R154 your goiing to have to make a new hole for the shifter because its about 6 inchs shorter but thats just details. I was going to go for high HP in my S13 but im focusing on handling now so ill probaly go with ITBs.

 

[roastin300]

So you dont think i will be able to pull 600rwhp out of a BONE stock engine? I really do not want to touch the internals AT ALL. I am making upwards of 500rwhp on my 300zx on a stock 3.0 SOHC V6. I have heard great things about the 1UZFE and was hoping i could do an easy 600rwhp out of a stock block on like 16-18lbs of boost with a big turbo. Is the R154 tranny very strong? I hear its not. Of course i care about handling but definately is not my first priority, i am focusing simply on power at first. It will be takin to the strip quite frequently, i am shooting for 10's on this next project which will require a cage. I am pulling 12's right now with my 300zx with horrible launches at 6000 feet elevation and now have some little slicks and a LSD, i should break 11's this year. I want nothing less than a solid 10 with this car. I want to utilize the 1UZFE very much, its just the costs involved, how much the stock motor can really take, and availability of parts and engines if i blow this one up. I am considering a 5.0 302 and Boosting that. They will only take 600rwhp in stock form at most but are incredibly cheap and easy to build. And a T56 will bolt directly up. I really hate the idea of a domestic pushrod clunker engine and want the 1UZFE to be my power plant more than anything. But i am on a budget and my goal is basically bang for the buck. I think the 5.0 motor will accomplish that before the 1UZFE will. Please give me some insight and convince me i am wrong, i really enjoy the 1uzfe!

 

[340i]

i think its more of a matter of how long it can make that power, rather than whether it will make 600rwhp. to expect a stock $150 motor to make 7-800hp is pretty keen. if you can get more engines at that price and dont mind swapping them out ever so often then that might be the way to go. i expect you'll need something like a trust intercooler at least 4" thick, or a decent sized water/air intercooler to help this beast live under boost. where are you putting the turbo? with the v8, the turbo, piping, intercooler, etc, it will not like turning corners.

 

[sniper]

with a 1UZ it will turn corners ok, its not going to be horrid. But you will not hit 600 relighable HP on a stock motor, the pistons are the week point, you can boost to to about 13-15psi but your pushing your luck. If you want relighable power you can rev all day you must swap out the pistons. and the 1UZ might be more $$$ then the 302, the R154 is a strong box, not as strong as a V160 but it will take 600hp no problem, probably same amount of trq. but even if the 1UZ costs more, it will be lighter then any iron block push rod motor. but if you are only looking at easy power, you might have to go with an american motor if you goal is only how to get 600hp for the cheepest amount of money. If i were building a 10 second S13 id drop a 2JZGTE in it but thats just me....

 

[roastin300]

Hey what did you use for the flywheel and clutch? and also the driveshaft? Did you just buy an entire kit from like RPS or Dellows? Custom driveshaft?

 

[rarson]

So you dont think i will be able to pull 600rwhp out of a BONE stock engine? I really do not want to touch the internals AT ALL. I am making upwards of 500rwhp on my 300zx on a stock 3.0 SOHC V6.

Is this one of the turbo engines? You have to remember, the 1UZ was designed as a naturally aspirated engine. It's much easier to push high horsepower levels out of turbocharged engines (I've seen 500+ on stock 4g63's... 2.0L 4-cylinder). That's the only real downfall of the 1UZ internals.

It will be takin to the strip quite frequently, i am shooting for 10's on this next project which will require a cage. I am pulling 12's right now with my 300zx with horrible launches at 6000 feet elevation and now have some little slicks and a LSD, i should break 11's this year. I want nothing less than a solid 10 with this car. I want to utilize the 1UZFE very much, its just the costs involved, how much the stock motor can really take, and availability of parts and engines if i blow this one up. I am considering a 5.0 302 and Boosting that. They will only take 600rwhp in stock form at most but are incredibly cheap and easy to build. And a T56 will bolt directly up. I really hate the idea of a domestic pushrod clunker engine and want the 1UZFE to be my power plant more than anything. But i am on a budget and my goal is basically bang for the buck. I think the 5.0 motor will accomplish that before the 1UZFE will. Please give me some insight and convince me i am wrong, i really enjoy the 1uzfe!

Honestly the best way to make big power with the 1UZ would be to build the bottom end right. If you're looking for cheap and easy horsepower, the 5.0 probably IS the better way to go.

 

[roastin300]

I have been researching the 5.0 motor and they are piles, the blocks like to break. People break them all day long with like 350hp all motor. People even crack blocks in stock form. Basically once you hit the 400-500hp mark its only so long it will be before the block itself cracks. The blocks arent very sturdy, there is alot of flexing going on, which also creates problems with blowing head gaskets. 4g63's can make it to 500hp but i guarantee will be more unreliable than a 1UZFE, i mean making 500hp on a 1UZ is only doubling the power, a 4g63 would be trippling the power! I am running a NON TURBO 9:1 VG30 V6 BONE stock engine and put out 404whp on a 60-1. The motor non turbo puts out a whopping 150whp stock, i almost have tripled that, now i am running a HX40 turbo and currently am putting out between 450-480 which is more than tripling the stock power, i need to dyno soon though, im looking for a 500rwhp number when i roll on the dyno. My motor isnt designed for boost but is built well stock, forged crank, forged rods and pressure cast pistons, JUST like the 1UZFE is. The 1UZFE is bigger displacement and wont have a problem making the same power, 450-500whp, which is around 500-550 at the crank. Tuned right it would take it all day long. Now 600rwhp or more, maybe not, i dunno. With conservative timing and a solid 10 or 11:1 air fuel on pump gas i think 15lbs on a decent sized turbo would net me 500rwhp easy and be reliable...I know i can do it, i am just trying to justify the bell housing, flywheel, clutch fork and clutch needed to adapt a tranny to it. Then a custom driveshaft. Its not the work, just the money. If there was a manual tranny that came on these damn engines it would be a more popular power plant to boost, there are just no options unless you throw down a grand and have something shipped from Australia.

Im looking at $1000 shipped for bellhousing/flywheel and other parts in kit to adapt supra tranny, $250 for R154 tranny, $700 for RPS stage 3 clutch that will hold 700crank hp. $300-400 for custom balanced driveshaft that will take the power.

About $2500 for a drivetrain past the engine. If there was just something that bolted up i could save over half that money to throw at making my exhaust and intercooler setup, and materials for all the fab work. I figure all said and done without any work to the 240sx suspension, brakes or stock differential, JUST getting the engine in, boosting it, megasquirt, intercooled, fab work, and ALL the drivetrain stuff, if im lucky i will get out of there spending $4000 minus the cost of a rolling body for under a grand... This isnt considering something goes wrong.... But then again i have almost 10 grand into my old 300zx, but its FULL suspension, SDS, wideband, custom intake manifold, intercooled, 3" turbo back exhaust, blah blah blah. $5000-$6000 for a boosted 1UZ powered S13 is practical i suppose. After re-reading this, this is gunna take a long time to do, lol! Sorry for so long....

 

[roastin300]

Oh i was able to do some measurements of my friends S13 engine bay and of the 1UZFE and it should fit pretty easily. Fabbing some manifolds is a problem though, i am not sure where i will make a crossover pipe. The power steering is in the way on the passenger side. I want to run power steering of course. I am possibly thinking of getting it running all motor first and then just building a remote turbo setup, it would be easy and faster to make, but im not a huge fan of remote turbos.

 

[rarson]

A 6-bolt 4g63 at 500 hp will be more reliable than an internally stock 1UZ at 500 hp, if you can get it to make that much. I've been pushing 20 psi daily on pump gas on my 4g63 for about 20 of the 60 thousand miles on the odometer, never having even cracked the factory head gasket off yet.


The problem with the 1UZ is the pistons, the ring lands are weak and they have no dish, resulting in catastrophic failures when detonation occurs. The 3UZ pistons look better, but the rods are much skinnier. If you were to build a 3UZ with 1UZ rods, and do mods to make 500 naturally aspirated horsepower, then you'd have a solid engine. With boost, I myself would be a bit leary pushing that much out of factory internals.

 

[roastin300]

500 naturally aspirated horsepower is going to be a SHITLOAD harder and a SHITLOAD more expensive to make than just boosting it. I will make 500rwhp on the stock block my son. V8 doubling power should be cake. I have tripled my power on a Non turbo Z block with flat top 9:1 cast pistons. I use to cruise around on hot days and push 20-22lbs on 91 octane pump gas. Its ALL about the tuning... Stock engines can go a long way, even a honda, or geo metro for that matter

 

[340i]

i wish you the best of luck with this. you certainly seem keen to push the boundaries of a stock 1uz. please at least add a thicker headgasket to drop the compression a bit though. this would be the minimum i would do.
as for adapting a gearbox, just make up an adaptor plate for the auto bellhousing to connect the manual box, then make a bracket for the clutch fork etc. this is the cheap option, but i personally do not know how much power the auto bellhousing will take before cracking/failing.
keep us updated. im keen to see how this cheap turbo setup goes.

 

[rarson]

500 naturally aspirated horsepower is going to be a SHITLOAD harder and a SHITLOAD more expensive to make than just boosting it. I will make 500rwhp on the stock block my son. V8 doubling power should be cake. I have tripled my power on a Non turbo Z block with flat top 9:1 cast pistons. I use to cruise around on hot days and push 20-22lbs on 91 octane pump gas. Its ALL about the tuning... Stock engines can go a long way, even a honda, or geo metro for that matter

You don't get it, do you "son?" You do realize there's a big difference between iron blocks and aluminum sleeved blocks? Or beefy cast rods versus Honda-sized rods? You know the difference ring spacing can make? Have you looked at the 1UZ pistons?

No it's not "ALL about the tuning," if it were than we'd have 1000 hp stock-block Civics. Now, naturally aspirated horsepower I agree is much more expensive, but I fail to see why you're applying an "a + b = c" mentality to everything automotive. Go ahead and try to get 500 hp out of it, but I personally don't think you'll do it with a stock block.

By the way, why did you ask for our opinions if you were just going to ignore them? That's one of the most aggravating things people seem to do all the time on car forums.

 

[340i]

yes. less talk, more action. lets see this beast. post dyno plots and let us know how long it takes to go pop.

 

[rarson]

Yes, sorry for being so abrasive, but I sometimes fly off the handle.

In my opinion, 500 whp on the stock block is a no-go.

If you are going to push it to prove me wrong, more power to you! Just be sure to keep us up with all the juicy details.

 

[200sx-v8]

Do you you guys think it would have handled 500rwhp with forged pistons with a 8,5 comp?

 

[roastin300]

Yes apparantly ( i am no 1UZFE genius) but i have read that the pistons are the weak point. Stock compression of 10:1 is not the best place to start for pushing boost. Somewhere in the 8:1 range is what is ideal. So i would say forged pistons to give more strength and also drop compression then i really see no reason it couldnt do 500rwhp. I think a stock block will do it tuned real well. How long i dont know? I will find out but probably not for a long time. I have just recently shifted my direction in life, am transferring to another school for mechanical engineering, and am getting screwed with the load from school. I have already been in school 2 years and now have 4 more if i go at a fast pace. I wanted to show 500rwhp out of the stock block but stay tuned for a while from now, it will be a long ongoing project. Year or more to do it.

 

[Pro]

600rwhp out of a stock 1UZFE?

easy as, if you have the cash.

a big turbo, about 20psi of boost and run methanol with effective intercooling. have a good computer to run it all with individual coils (see the thread on COPs) and LOTS of spark.

there is a drag RA28 celica over here in west oz with a pair of GT30s and running low nine second 1320ft. the engine was straight off the dockyards, new bearings and rings (not even a re-hone) and fed 22psi. over 25 passes on a stock bottom end and very, very consistent.

to those who say it's can't be done obviously have never tried. theory is one thing, practise is another.

i only witnessed it, so i can't attest to either!!!

 

[roastin300]

Well there you go. 22psi is alot for a stock block. I am thinking about 15psi, and hope that will do 500rwhp. TUNING, TUNING, and more TUNING, low intake charge temps and no detonation and it will be fine. I WILL show you the way my son, lol, no im j/k. but i will be doing it and it will hold up....