has anyone ever put a turbo or super charger on their car?
how about boring out the cylinders and adding domed heads?
anyone ever put a nitrous oxide system on their car?

do any of those disqualify you for auto cross?

are there any other pratical ways to get more power out of that little four (specifically a 1.7)?

-shaggy

making cars fast!
getting more speed

Catching a huge tail wind

Can't wait to watch this thread.

Welcome Shaggy!

It's all been done. How much money and expertise do you have, or wish to hire?

You can turbo a 914.... umm.... or was that can't?

You can build up a nice 2.0.

You can get a mega type IV motor. Jake is a great resource for that.

You can swap in a Subaru STI motor. Scott will be pitching in I'm sure.

You can swap in a V8. Many here have done that.

There are lots of pros and cons... and MANY opinions.

Now lets watch this unfold...

believe it or not, even thou the car is 30 years old, no one has ever done anything to their motors, we all drive stock cars

yes, you can do pretty much anything to these engines, do a search and bring cash (what the heck is a domed head? do you mean domed pistons)

As for "disqualify you for autocross"? That entirely depends on the organization you AX with, and their rules. Chances are good it won't disqualify you, but it may push you into a class that requires you to do a great deal to your car to make it competititive.

The "usual" route to power with the Type IV is to go big. 2270cc is a common size that can be built on a reasonable budget, but there are engines bigger than 2.5L that have been built. All depends on the size of your wallet. 2270cc will, in street/AX form, give you 140-150hp, up from the 80hp a 1.7 delivers.

QUOTE

anyone ever put a nitrous oxide system on their car? do any of those disqualify you for auto cross?

SCCA and most PCA regions specifically prohibit nitrous.

it is never a matter of making the car fast.

it is always a matter of how much you want to spend, and how long you want it to last.

sand-drag cars make huge HP at huge cost - and they do it for 1/8-mi at a time.

QUOTE

has anyone ever put a turbo or super charger on their car? how about boring out the cylinders and adding domed heads? anyone ever put a nitrous oxide system on their car? do any of those disqualify you for auto cross?

There is an open class in most AX orginizations so you can probably bring a full-on race car and run it.

But after bolting on headers for a couple of hp, you are going to want to change camshafts if you want more hp. The cam swap and/or any of the mods you mention will put you in SM/2 or faster class under SCCA rules.

Those with more knowledge on this subject (almost everyone) please point out where I am wrong.

KISS (keep it simple stupid)

Easiest way to go faster for nothing, remove all that extra weight. Be it form the car or you

Then get better brakes. No point going faster if ya can't stop.

Handling so it ain't just a point & squirt machine. Encompasses dampers, springs, sway bars, tyres etc.

Logically you need to have all those areas sorted 1st before adding hp. Power is nothing without Control.

QUOTE (shaggy @ Sep 30 2005, 01:41 PM)

are there any other pratical ways to get more power out of that little four (specifically a 1.7)?

yes!

lose weight. lots of it!!!

a 1500 lbs 914 (in the hands of the right driver) would be a AX killer, even with a stock 1.7L ...
Andy

I've got one.....


make sure your going down hill.
The car is always fastest if your going down hill.
The steeper the grade the better!

Shaggy,
sorry I just re-read my response and it wasn't very friendly. So Welcome! and like everyone said, basically everything has been done. Sometime well, and sometimes not so well. The faster you want to go, the more money it will cost. Most people want to only go a few thousand dollars faster, but there are 914's that go 50thousand or even more faster.

each manner of increasing horsepower has pro's and con's

welcome
brant

I've heard cutting weight is a good "weigh" to go. Talk to Brant.....swiss cheese everything and spend no more than $50 "per pound saved" on light weight components!!

Sorry Brant. Couldn't resist.

Oh....and welcome to another local guy!! Where in the Valley are you, Shaggy?

ha....

50$ per pound is ok.. really...

(just keep telling yourself that until you believe it)

have a good weekend Michael.

brant

Turbo, supercharger, nitrous..

Its all been done.

Turbo is the best IMHO, leads to the best result.

Supercharger gets in the way of the fan system, and nitrous is dangerous, and can blow up one of these poor engines.

That is if your staying with the stock engine..

You could also build up your engine to be more efficient, bigger cam, bigger bore and stroke.

Dont limit yourself, look at all the engine swaps out there..

Porsche 6(2.0-3.6, 140-400hp) is a comomon one and among the most respected. expect 8k.

Subaru 4 turbo, small displacement, efficient, 30mpg, 200hp. expect 5k.

Small block chevy, large displacement, cheap repair, 20mpg, 200- unlimitedhp, expect 5k.

and a number of others.

Good luck.

Andrew

QUOTE (shaggy @ Sep 30 2005, 01:41 PM)

has anyone ever put a turbo or super charger on their car? how about boring out the cylinders and adding domed heads? anyone ever put a nitrous oxide system on their car? do any of those disqualify you for auto cross? are there any other pratical ways to get more power out of that little four (specifically a 1.7)? -shaggy

1.) Learn to drive it

2.) Do suspension upgrades

3.) Learn to drive it

4.) Do motor mods

5.) Learn to drive it

Jet propelled

i personally like this twin supercharged v8 teener.

BTW, anyone know any more about this car?
Crazy V8

There was a place in florida that did a roots type supercharger on a 2.0 4 cyl, I think it put out around 150HP or so, several people have done turbocharging with similar results. Also Jake builds monster 4 cyl engines as well. Of course going light is the equivalent of more HP and torque - to a certain degree.

One of the fastest cars in the NW AX scene has been a prefectly balanced 1.7 car. I think its bumped to a 1911cc motor but its all in the handling as the 914 is a momentuem car. In others words, it keeps its speed thru the corners. You don't have to have high hp if you go as faster thru the corners than anyone else!

Start with tires, rims and shocks and get lots of seat time then decide about the motor.

come on guys, i'm surprised no one said it:

PAINT YOUR CAR YELLOW

I've got a good idea, don't worry about going faster!

Go do your homework and get used to goin' slow.

Dad

P.S. Shame on all of you for tellin' my boy (seventeen and 3/4's) ANY advice on goin faster!

That's it..........

You are all GROUNDED!

John

Going fast is waaaaaay over rated.

Go slow, you get to see more that way.

(Is that good, John?)

The cheapest speed you can get is a hack job V8 install. Any beater V8 will move a 2000 lb car very quickly. How much would a bare bones job cost? $1500?

QUOTE (URY914 @ Sep 30 2005, 06:09 PM)

Going fast is waaaaaay over rated. Go slow, you get to see more that way. (Is that good, John?)

VERY good.

Thanks,
John

BTW, his name is Jimmy or Jim or James or Jimbo, we did not name him Shaggy

John

Faster?

Get AAA!


M=EC³

who putta turbo ona teener?

Ive had like 4 engine builders say "It cant be done...!"

i know ANYTHING can be had for the right $$$...but they said like, size wise, it just would fit in a "normal" engine bay....

QUOTE (Bezerker420 @ Oct 1 2005, 03:27 PM)

who putta turbo ona teener? Ive had like 4 engine builders say "It cant be done...!" i know ANYTHING can be had for the right $$$...but they said like, size wise, it just would fit in a "normal" engine bay....

Martin Schneider did it over 30 years ago; lots of people have done it to /6's.

there are MANY compromises - not least of which is that there are no kits, you're on your own for everything. lots of fuel injection systems can handle boost - but the stock one has issues (unless you have a 1,8's AFC - which has -other- issues...)

if Porsche could turbo a 911 - with the engine right at the back, there is surely room for a mid-engine car, with all that under-trunk room.

i know of two or 3 current 914/4 turbos. all of them were built by guys who really knew what they were doing. have you read "Maximum Boost" by Corky Bell? "Turbochargers" by Hugh MacInnes? "The Design and Tuning of Competition Engines"? "Scientific Design of Exhaust and Intake Systems"?

read those and get back to us...

(and yes, as a matter of fact, i *have* read those myself...)

you need to find a more well informed pool of would-be engine builders ...

about how much do domed heads cost? and are they really as good as i have heard they are? what about a bore? i have a 1.7 now whats the most i could make it safely? and the cam that people have been mentioning...how exactly does that help me, where would i get one, how much are they, and can i add that myself?

if i was to pick up an old 911 box 6 engine would i have to change from a 901 to something like a 915 tranny?

what about some clutch work? i have heard people say that a dual disk clutch would help me.

for suspention what should i look into? and how can i get something good cheap? i was told that i could have my stock shocks sent somewhere to have them rebuilt cheaper than i could but new ones. can i do it myself or do they have to be sent away? would that help me at all or do i need a performance type thing?

what about exaust? can i get an exaust minus the heat exchangers (they are just extra weight to me seeing as how my heater dosent work anyways)?

Domed heads? You mean... hemi? Hummm.. I don't know where you would get a fully hemispherical head for a T4, but you already have semi-hemi.

Try a 2270.. you need a fatter motor.


M

QUOTE (shaggy @ Oct 1 2005, 05:31 PM)

about how much do domed heads cost? ...

i applaud your enthusiasm :-)

you have a *lot* of homework to do.

the only way to do things "less expensively" ("cheaper" doesn't exist...) i have found is to do it yourself, right, the first time. all 3 are critical. yourself, right, the first time.

you can trade knowledge and effort for a substantial amount of money. if you have no knowledge, you'll buy the wrong expensive parts over and over. you must LEARN.

buy a manual. read it. learn how your car goes together. the answers to most of your questions are in there. the answers to everything else are on the web - most of them on this site from many people who have asked the same questions already.

I would say you should rebuild stock first, drive it and then look for some more power.