To trade, or not to trade...

[viroid]

Hey,

I purchased a '97 del Sol S back in February, have been thinking about putting a little money into it but was wondering whether or not a Si chassis would be easier to work on/with. I suppose my goal would be to drop a H22a in there and eventually a turbo-charger, completely rebuild the suspension system and exhaust, and then maybe some bodywork.

I've got my eye on a green '97 Si, I'd love to have the additional powered items aswell as the disc brake system, seems to be it would be easier to upgrade an existing disc brake system rather than having to do a drum-to-disc conversion.

Here's another question while I'm at it, whats the largest width tires/wheels you can place on a del Sol without having to shave(?) the wheel wells or loose it's amazing turning radius? What size wheel/tire would you suggest for best overall performance?

Yet another, for those of you who have purchased the JDM motors, are the JDM motors really worth the extra money they cost? or would a USDM h22a motor do me just as well after the turbo and be less expensive?


...ViROID

[slix]

one option would be to purchase a fender flare kit. They range at around $250 but are relatively easy to install, and worth it if your looking for added show. With it, you could have up to 18-19 inch rims without problems. The best overall wheel size for a sol would have to be 17". As for the h22, you should probably go ahead and get the JDMspec engine. Even though it cost a little more, you can probably find one for around $3,000 if you shop around. If your not willing to spend that much now, the USDM can of course eventually be on the same level, and with a good turbo, the difference wont be that major. But thats just another step you'd have to take to get the extra 20 hp or so.

[viroid]

Originally posted by slix
one option would be to purchase a fender flare kit. They range at around $250 but are relatively easy to install, and worth it if your looking for added show. With it, you could have up to 18-19 inch rims without problems. The best overall wheel size for a sol would have to be 17". As for the h22, you should probably go ahead and get the JDMspec engine. Even though it cost a little more, you can probably find one for around $3,000 if you shop around. If your not willing to spend that much now, the USDM can of course eventually be on the same level, and with a good turbo, the difference wont be that major. But thats just another step you'd have to take to get the extra 20 hp or so.

Check out http://www.grounddesigns2000.com/ in the 'del sol' they have some real nice pictures of a del sol with the SFII kit, are those the fender flares your talking about, or is that a wide body kit? It looks like they are using a different size wheel/tire in the show pics, what size are those?

I did see a JDM swap kit for $3000, came with complete motor and trans(lsd extra), ECU, axels, stock shift linkages, stock motor mounts & stock engine harness plus sensors. I'd still have a buy the del sol motor mounts and a clutch conversion kit and a few other items I'm sure, probably looking at $4000+ by the time I was done.

Since I don't need alot of those stock items, I wonder if they would keep'em and give me a break on the items I do need...

I've read that some people lower the compression ratio on their motor before applying a turbo charger, what's your thought on this.

...ViROID

[slix]

Those are a version of the flares i was talking about. If you have z3 fenders it may require a little cutting. You could probably even do it yourself with the right supplies. Those wheels look to be about 18" but the main concern in choosing size would be the actual tire. Usually the width of the tire decreases with the size of the rim, but theres always minor differences.

Most engine retailers will compromise with you and not sell you stuff you dont need, since they have so many engines, they can use that to put on more used engines that may need stuff.

I'm sure you have already, but http://hasport.com has the most reliable mounts for the cost, and also has some pretty good information on dropping in an h22.

honestly im not very informed on the subject because i dont know anyone who has done this, but i think lowering the compression ratio is mostly a reliability type thing for getting more out of the life of your turbo, but for sheer performance that's really not necessary.