B20 go BOOM- Carnage inside!
Some of you may remember the B20 Del Sol VTEC we did a turbo kit on a few months back.
When he came to me he said he had his engine built by PLACE RACING out in california about 6 years ago. He said it had aftermarket rods and pistons and valvesprings an retainers.
In his consultation i informed him that a stock sleeve b20 is pretty weak that anything over 10psi i dont recommend for longevity reasons. After a few more questions i asked what compression his engine was, he stated it was 10:1. After a quick compression and leakdown to verify the motor was in good shape, and it was, the turbo kit install began.
I went with a GT2860RS ball bearing turbo using a Treadstone FMIC and manifold. We made the downpipe, Tial was enlisted for BOV and Wastegate duties.
At 9psi the car made an outstanding 285whp! I was amazed at the power, and after some road tuning , we let the car go.
The customer has had the car for around 5months now, when i get a call that the car wont turn over. like itll turn but not fire up.
I instruct him to tow the car and ill look at it. Here is what we found after a compression test yielded less than stellar results:
Cracked sleeve on cylinder 2+3. Not that surprising, i figured with the cold weather it may have spiked when he wasnt paying attention or something.
Then i took a second glance, LOOK AT THE DOME ON THOSE PISTONS! That is NOT a 10:1 piston! thats more like a 12:1+ LOL So when they built his engine they told him one thing then put super high compression pistons in it.
So he was running 9psi of boost on a 12:1 motor for 5 months ! I cant believe it lasted that long! Funny thing is, there are NO signs of detonation on the plugs or the pistons. It was just simple cylinder pressure that caused the sleeve to fail.
Oh well, just thought id share, RIP B20 Block.
Golden Eagle is sending me a TURBO shortblock as we speak so we can reinstall and turn the boost up for 350whp
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Originally Posted by HalfBaked
