31 replies to this topic

[johnb4]

so the other day i was chatting to my mechanic and he was saying that the b4's shouldnt be changed from stock cause they dont handle it very well and have heaps of problems when you do.

now i figured that once you've played around with your engine its not going to be as reliable as stock but is it really as bad as he's saying?

i figured why not ask people that have worked on there b4's and find out

so would be great to hear from you guys about this

cheers

[ams]

As with modifying all cars, you need the supporting mods to make reliable power...and unfortunately that means spending more.

ie. if you up the boost - you need to make sure your fuel pump can handle it etc...things like that.

If you're willing to spend the money, the sky's the limit...just don't be cheap and you can have a car as powerful/reliable as you like.

- Alex.

[RX25SE]

These thing are a double edged sword.

I've never owned one (and never will) so I will never get to modify one.

The problem is they have issues with pinging from new which causes the big end bearing to fail.
People modify them to eliminate the ping and more often than not, get more power but the bearings are already worn. The added power then loads the bearing even more which will eventually fail.

I have mangaged to avoid all this by accepting the fact I can live with less power. I bought an N/A.

Just my thoughts on it.



Edit. +1 to Alex's post.
How fast/ reliable can you afford to be?

[ams]

The problem is they have issues with pinging from new which causes the big end bearing to fail.

*some, not all.

I owned mine for a year before I had it re-tuned and had no issues whatsoever.

[johnb4]

was thinking something like ss TBE, hyperflow tmic, cai, walbro fuel pump and tune

[ams]

Basically what I have, minus the fuel pump upgrade.

....yes, I see the irony.

[johnb4]

did you have any problems with your car after you did that?

[aekOne]

Basically what I have, minus the fuel pump upgrade.

....yes, I see the irony.

[ams]

did you have any problems with your car after you did that?

Nope.

It will definately be my next upgrade (the fuel pump) before I do anything else to it.

I originally arranged to get the pump swapped out with a Bosch fuel pump at the major 100k service but they had endless problems getting the bastard in so they basically said it couldn't be done with that model. Not sure if they ordered the wrong model or what but the model number i asked for "supposedly" should have fit/worked.

(no it wasn't a dealership doing the service)

[buzzda]

I bought mine stock, and had nothing but trouble till I got it tuned. Was very happy at 158kw (CAI, F/P, H/flow tmic and retune) almost 12mths like that and didn't have one single problem. Still felt good at 184 (ported turbos &ecv, xorst and retune) tho was only there for a couple weeks.... we all know what happened at 193 (pri dump cat removed)

Walts and quite a few others have round the 185 and don't have issues.

IMHO a stock B4 is a pretty lame drive.

[ams]

Walts and quite a few others have round the 185 and don't have issues.

I'm at mid- 170's and no issues.

[buzzda]

I'm at mid- 170's and no issues.

That's without the ported bits yeah?

[Richo]

so the other day i was chatting to my mechanic and he was saying that the b4's shouldnt be changed from stock cause they dont handle it very well and have heaps of problems when you do.

New mechanic, find one

[ams]

That's without the ported bits yeah?

Yes.

And with stock fuel pump.

New mechanic, find one

RMS.

[Delete This Account]

At 185ish kw's mine has been as reliable as a Diesel Toyota Hilux so far. (apart from the Gearbox breaking, which was completely my fault)

Probably more reliable than a stock one as well because there's no pinging.




The mods listed above are a great start, and pretty much all you can do to a B4 without going ridiculous, and it should have enough power to satisfy your needs.

[Richo]

bit far to go. Victoria to Carlisle just for some mods

[ams]

bit far to go. Victoria to Carlisle just for some mods

Oh.

I thought you quoted mine.

Never mind

[Chadza]

johnb4-

The simple fact is with b4's, the sooner you do a retune the better. RX25E is correct with what he's saying, but if you dont go stupid with the amounts of power (180 ish kw seems to be a safe mark for most B4's- so far) then a retune will eliminate pinging and your bearings will be happier for it.

If you can afford it, try and minimise the time spent driving around with a new exhaust, cai and intercooler until you have also had a tune. The exhaust mod in particular throws the AFR's out quite a bit with turbo engines, if you need to drive it around before a retune, try and refrain from loading up the engine too much.

When you do get a retune and you see the difference in AFR's and boost pressure before and after the tune you will know what we are all talking about. Its pretty obvious!!

[ams]

I also had issues with the Hyperflow cold air intake throwing my afm readings all to shit when it came to tuning it.

[Alex]

I wouldn't tweak a B4 too heavily If I were you.

You get to a wall, and then the motor doesn't like it.

Replace motor, with a proven 207, then do whatever you like.