Tom's B6 Build Thread

[Flyin4stroke]

There's some old man, getting on the hwy with his disposable $600 economy car.....WTF?!?!? :-)

As you roll past them in the fast lane!! Cheesin' [emoji16]

[TominMO]

Just got off the phone with Matt. He sez a stock BP flows 125 CFM; and that this B6 head is flowing 155 CFM.

BP................. 125 CFM......127 crank HP........Subtract 15% for driveline losses = 108 WHP
B6M (Matt)... 155 CFM... ~158 crank HP?......Subtract 15% for driveline losses = 134 WHP

We'll see what the dyno says. BTW, Matt's B3 head dynoed at 85 WHP, and he says that the B3 is not as well-designed a head as the B6.

[Advancedynamix]

Only subtract 15% of the original hp for drive train loss, unless you've changed the drive train. I.E. a BPT bolted to an E series with stock diameter wheels doesn't loose more hp than a stock b3 (well, except when the clutch slips or the diff explodes, haha.) This driveline loss calculation is a common trick that many "tuners" use to inflate advertised crank HP as measured through a chassis dyno. I have seen plenty of 600hp turbo kits sold to people as 800hp because the tuner calculated driveline loss from the end result, rather than the actual parasitic loss.

Great work Tom! I bet that car is a blast to drive now. I'd like to get a ride.

[TominMO]

Only subtract 15% of the original hp for drive train loss, unless you've changed the drive train. I.E. a BPT bolted to an E series with stock diameter wheels doesn't loose more hp than a stock b3 (well, except when the clutch slips or the diff explodes, haha.) This driveline loss calculation is a common trick that many "tuners" use to inflate advertised crank HP as measured through a chassis dyno. I have seen plenty of 600hp turbo kits sold to people as 800hp because the tuner calculated driveline loss from the end result, rather than the actual parasitic loss.

Great work Tom! I bet that car is a blast to drive now. I'd like to get a ride.

Good to know, what you said up there in boldface.

This morning I readjusted a couple of the valve lash adjusters that I had adjusted too loose before, maybe ~ .014 or so. The valve clackiness went away after that. Then I got on the road.

It is a blast! Manual trans, Honda short shifter, major handling upgrades, Capri front brakes, and perhaps 145 WHP. Had no clutch slippage issues on the hwy today, so I will call for a dyno appointment.

Downshift? We don't need no stinkin' downshift! :-) Also, it's a little unnerving to glance at the speedo and realize you have been cruising at 80, effortlessly.

I punched it today on a state hwy to catch a green light about 1/4 mile away, hitting Warp Factor 2, I believe. Then had to stand on the brakes as the light turned yellow too soon. No doubt very entertaining for the other drivers.

Thinking of starting a hi-speed washing machine delivery service......

EDIT: Dyno run will be at 2PM Friday.

[Advancedynamix]

Nice!
Yeah, these little cars are rock solid at 80,90 even 100 with a good suspension package. Looking forward to seeing the dyno results.

[navdoc101]

Damn it !
Now you make me want a B6.

[TominMO]

The motor runs cool, as in about 1/4 of the way (at the most) into the normal zone. Ambient air temp was in the low 70s. Even when idling it for 20 minutes to cook the headers, it never got above 1/3 and the fan never turned on. It does get warm enough to give good heat, and the 3-wire O2 sensor* is apparently doing its job; no CEL. I have the pass. side bumper opening covered, and plan to cover the pass. side of the grill too, esp. with winter coming. I'll probably even cover the driver side bumper opening when it gets colder, leaving only the driver side grill for the rad to get cool air. If it gets super-cold, a piece of duct tape across the grill opening will help to block heat too.

It got a bit warmer on the gauge with the original exhaust mani. I'm guessing that is because the mani is a big heat reservoir, whereas the headers have a lot more area to shed heat, and of course are much thinner.

I'm also going to make a small shroud out of aluminum dryer ducting to protect the bottom of the header from moisture, junk, etc. I'm planning on not ever driving it in road-salt conditions again.

* BTW, if anyone wants to know, the 3-wire is a Denso, part # 234-3000.

[TominMO]

Damn it !
Now you make me want a B6.

What's that saying? If you go B6, you'll never go back.....

[sketchman]

B6 is sweet. This build is sweet. When I have money I still want some work done by Matt. If your 8v 1.6 feels that good, I can't imagine what the 16v would be like.

[TominMO]

So, to summarize what this car's been thru in seven years:
--Oct 2008: purchased for $600; daily driver, all stock, used for MPG testing.
--Feb 2010: Greg installed a B6 and rear-turboed it; dynoed @ 111WHP (Casper, the BP car we had with us, was 108 WHP).
--2013ish: blew the head gasket and the turbo was starting to leak oil, so I converted it to NA and bumped the timing to get some of the HP back.
--Early 2015: upgraded the suspension for better handling; stock Festy springs all around, VW Bilsteins on rear, Rio GR2s on front. 165/55-14 V-rated tires.
--Sep 2015: Matt Dickmeyer-built B6 head, cam, and his original B3 header installed.
--the future: thinking about having Matt build the bottom end and make me a turbo manifold, and go for it. This would be a couple years out tho, if at all. It's plenty amusing as-is.

[bhearts]

So, to summarize what this car's been thru in seven years:
--Oct 2008: purchased for $600; daily driver, all stock, used for MPG testing.
--Feb 2010: Greg installed a B6 and rear-turboed it; dynoed @ 111WHP (Casper, the BP we had with us, was 108 WHP).
--2013?: blew the head gasket and the turbo was starting to leak oil, so I converted it to NA and bumped the timing to get some of the HP back.
--Sep 2015: Matt Dickmeyer-built B6 head and his original B3 header installed.
--the future: thinking about having Matt build the bottom end and make me a turbo manifold, and go for it. This would be a couple years out tho, if at all.

Please just rear turbo with that header, you have bookoo space on the backside of that motor for a turbo, especially if you space the engine forward 2".

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[TominMO]

Please just rear turbo with that header, you have bookoo space on the backside of that motor for a turbo, especially if you space the engine forward 2".

That's also a thought. Matt mentioned that as a possibility in an earlier conversation. Simpler and cheaper to do it that way; but I'll see if I want the extra complication and more frequent HG-blowing. Comes down to driving style in the long run. I need to play with this setup, and decide if I actually want another 50% power or am happy/safer with this.

[bhearts]

That's also a thought. Matt mentioned that as a possibility in an earlier conversation. Simpler and cheaper to do it that way; but I'll see if I want the extra complication and more frequent HG-blowing. Comes down to driving style in the long run. I need to play with this setup, and decide if I actually want another 50% power or am happy/safer with this.

You don't neeed 50 percent to be happy. 5 psi would even be fun. Maybe you'll just need a custom made mls gasket.

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[TominMO]

You don't need 50 percent to be happy. 5 psi would even be fun. Maybe you'll just need a custom made mls gasket.

With only 5 PSI it probably wouldn't blow anyway. That would simplify things a bit to go low boost; but the power benefit at that level makes it seem not so worth the expense/complication. Especially since I would need to back off the timing for the sake of the turbo. Lose a little power to gain some more power. For example, B6D = 100 HP, B6T = 130. Meh.

[ryanprins13]

Tom's B6 Build Thread

I don't know too many people who do their own build and plan to stay at low boost who actually do... Its so much fun to just turn it up a little more and a little more