Is a 2.3L a bad choice?

[Joe DSM]

Hey guys so I recently bought a 2.3L block. I dint do any research on the 2.3L until after I got this block because I got it for a seal the guy sold it for 800$ so I just took it without thinking. After doing some research I've been reading a lot on how 2.3L 4g63s breaks rods and cranks very easy is this true? I was aiming for 500-550awhp with this block but now I'm worried to shoot that high. The block is bored .20 over has a 100mm eagle crank, manly I-beam Rods and wiseco 8.3.1 pistons

 

[Archer Fabrications]

For the majority of people with this motor (not me) I'd think your transmission will be going before your rods and crank, failures like that are usually assembily error, or detonation.

If it looks good and was built by someone that knew what they were doing I'd say run it, the 2.3 is a tq monster. And it sounds like they used quality parts.

 

[Joe DSM]

Yeah luckly enough he did. I checked all serial numbers and all came back legit. I was just getting worried because of what I saw on forms

 

[90laserRSfwd]

Honestly it's the machine work and proper clearances that are usually the issue. For some reason, machine shops can't seem to get things right or it's assembled in correctly like Kyle stated above (or tuned incorrectly)

Your best bet (honestly) is to pull that motor apart and re measure everything to be sure it was done right. Once it's in the car and started it's too late. The assurance that the work was done right will outlast the time / cost it spent to check over it.

"Measure twice, cut once"

 

[DeadlyAKrunna47]

I have a 2.3 and i absolutely love it. I really feel the torque and the quicker rev.
Is yours a 6 bolt or 7?
So your main concern is reliablity? Ive only seen bad reviews of the eagle cranks that are out of spec.
I used a 100mm oem crank out of a 4g64. eagle rods, wiesco pistons. put down 430hp on a 20g and now tuned on a gtx35, estimated 500+. i have 13,000 miles total on the block, and still runs strong!

 

[SOADweskey]

I have had two 2.3L 6-bolts. As stated by DeadlyAKrunna47 the Eagle Crank can be a PITA. For me personally it took Eagle sending me four different cranks before they got one to me that measured out within roundness and run-out tolerances that my machine shop was willing to use. Since yours is used you are pretty much stuck with it but I would still pull everything apart and have it measured by a competent machine shop just for peace of mind.

Beyond that ensuring that you have proper oil pressure (as is important with any build) and a good tune are essential to making it a reliable engine. Also keeping the RPMs to a reasonable number. I never spun my 2.3L builds past 7.5K RPMs and some people thought that was pushing to hard.

 

[danielsl1999gsx]

Every 2.3L I've seen fail has been due to an over revving issue. Even when the tune and engine assemble is on point, there's only so much mechanical limit a 2.3L has to offer.

 

[Joe DSM]

Honestly it's the machine work and proper clearances that are usually the issue. For some reason, machine shops can't seem to get things right or it's assembled in correctly like Kyle stated above (or tuned incorrectly)

Your best bet (honestly) is to pull that motor apart and re measure everything to be sure it was done right. Once it's in the car and started it's too late. The assurance that the work was done right will outlast the time / cost it spent to check over it.

"Measure twice, cut once"

Yeah no I matter what it was for Teri no taken apart to because it never ends Edson a good cleaning and new seals and shit. I've been looking around at a couple 5 star shops

 

[Joe DSM]

I have a 2.3 and i absolutely love it. I really feel the torque and the quicker rev.
Is yours a 6 bolt or 7?
So your main concernt is reliablity? Ive only seen bad reviews of the eagle cranks that are out of spec.
I used a 100mm oem crank out of a 4g64. eagle rods, wiesco pistons. put down 430hp on a 20g and now tuned on a gtx35, estimated 500+. i have 13,000 miles total on the block, and still runs strong!

I have a 7 bolt

 

[Joe DSM]

I have had two 2.3L 6-bolts. As stated by DeadlyAKrunna47 the Eagle Crank can be a PITA. For me personally it took Eagle sending me four different cranks before they got one to me that measured out within roundness and run-out tolerances that my machine shop was willing to use. Since yours is used you are pretty much stuck with it but I would still pull everything apart and have it measured by a competent machine shop just for peace of mind.

Beyond that ensuring that you have proper oil pressure (as is important with any build) and a good tune are essential to making it a reliable engine. Also keeping the RPMs to a reasonable number. I never spun my 2.3L builds past 7.5K RPMs and some people thought that was pushing to hard.

Yeah I'm planning on having a good shop take it apart and clean it out really good before I use it. I'll probably have stm or espec tune my car for me

 

[Joe DSM]

Every 2.3L I've seen fail has been due to over revving issue. Even with the tune and engine assembly on point there only so much mechanical limit a 2.3L can handle.

So basically it's important I get a tune to where the rpms won't climb to high?

 

[danielsl1999gsx]

So basically it's important I get a tune to where the rpms won't climb to high?

Its more of a self control issue. Every tuner I've spoken to seems to agree that a 2.3L shouldn't be revving over 7500RPM. Will it rev higher than that? Sure it will, but for how long? These over revving issues are always wrist-pin failures and boy are they catastrophic. Here's a recent example of 2.3L failure from a local Evo 9

 

[er82]

If it's not making power beyond a certain rpm then probably no need to rev any higher. Unless you're running out of gears in whatever racing that you plan to do.

 

[SOADweskey]

Its more of a self control issue. Every tuner I've spoken to seems to agree that a 2.3L shouldn't be revving over 7500RPM. Will it rev higher than that? Sure it will, but for how long? These over revving issues are always wrist-pin failures and boy are they catastrophic. Here's a recent example of 2.3L failure from a local Evo 9

If it's not making power beyond a certain rpm then probably no need to rev any higher. Unless you're running out of gears in whatever racing that you plan to do.

That's dead on with self control, my 2.3L were still making power at 7500 RPM and the curve looked good. It took a lot of restraint to not just raise the rev limit and see what it would do. For me personally I called it quits after an oiling issue killed my second one and now I have a 2.0 that I can just spin out to 9K if needed (current turbo is done around 8K though)

 

[Joe DSM]

Its more of a self control issue. Every tuner I've spoken to seems to agree that a 2.3L shouldn't be revving over 7500RPM. Will it rev higher than that? Sure it will, but for how long? These over revving issues are always wrist-pin failures and boy are they catastrophic. Here's a recent example of 2.3L failure from a local Evo 9

What's a good way to prevent over revving with a automatic trans?

 

[Joe DSM]

If it's not making power beyond a certain rpm then probably no need to rev any higher. Unless you're running out of gears in whatever racing that you plan to do.

Looking to just f*** around on the street

 

[lasershark]

What's a good way to prevent over revving with a automatic trans?

Basically where ever you set the rev limiter to. If the rev limiter is set to 7k it won't keep spinning higher and higher. When they are saying it's a self control thing; they mean don't be tempted to raise the rev limiter because the turbo still has more "steam". Some turbos will make their peak power beyond 7k or higher and that is when the temptation of raising the rev limiter will come into play...

 

[yoscoobie]

Hey guys so I recently bought a 2.3L block. I dint do any research on the 2.3L until after I got this block because I got it for a seal the guy sold it for 800$ so I just took it without thinking. After doing some research I've been reading a lot on how 2.3L 4g63s breaks rods and cranks very easy is this true? I was aiming for 500-550awhp with this block but now I'm worried to shoot that high. The block is bored .20 over has a 100mm eagle crank, manly I-beam Rods and wiseco 8.3.1 pistons

It will be great, just make sure it is built with professional quality and I look forward to hearing more on how it turns out

 

[blizz99]

A lot of guys on the ECMLink forum are going over 8k on their 2.3. Personally, I shift at 8k on mine.

 

[DeadlyAKrunna47]

I really wanted my 2.3 to rev to 9k but it was running out of breath right about 6k. Need bigger cams if you want it to breath in that rpm.

 

[jery1234]

I rev my 2.3 to 9k @ 44 psi with no problems for 3 years.

 

[Joe DSM]

I rev my 2.3 to 9k @ 44 psi with no problems for 3 years.

That's insane

 

[Joe DSM]

Basically where ever you set the rev limiter to. If the rev limiter is set to 7k it won't keep spinning higher and higher. When they are saying it's a self control thing; they mean don't be tempted to raise the rev limiter because the turbo still has more "steam". Some turbos will make their peak power beyond 7k or higher and that is when the temptation of raising the rev limiter will come into play...

Can the rev control be set by ecmlink? And I was planning on usuing a holset hx35 how would that do? Like I said I was shooting for 5-550hp and it's an auto

 

[jim95redgsx]

Here is an excellent article on the pros and cons of a 2.3 stroker.
http://www.speedperf6rmanc3.com/content/StrokeOrNot.pdf

It covers a lot of different aspects, like Horsepower, Torque, RPM, Rod ratio, Friction, Balance, Cam selection, etc.

Jim

 

[SOADweskey]

Can the rev control be set by ecmlink? And I was planning on usuing a holset hx35 how would that do? Like I said I was shooting for 5-550hp and it's an auto

I ran a 7-blade HX-35 in the .55A/R bolt on housing on my 2.3L and got up to 452AWHP. There is obviously a bunch of variables that play into what your car can make vice what mine did. I was running out of injector as I only have 1200CC/min injectors and am on e85, also I still have a stock intake manifold which limits flow on the top end.

With that said I think you can get above 500 with the hx35 but to make that happen I would use a t3 hotside with the turbo instead of the DSM style bolt on housing.