Who to build Honda Motor?

[Jtmurr02]

any recommendations for a motor builder?

driving 91 civic si want to build the max ita motor

im in ohio but would drive a reasonable amount

Thanks,
JT

[email protected]

[Knestis]

Blake Meredith would be right at the top of my list.

K

[Hawkeye]

King Motorsports in Wisconsin have a pretty good reputation for Hondas.
Happy New Year

[downingracing]

Scott Lunder up in Cleveland. Couldn't be happier with the motor he built for my ITA car.

[mossaidis]

Rep to all the folks listed above. Matt Kessler in CT built my z6 - baller. Special note to King. They built Moser's a6s and I would think they have it all spec'ed out to the max. Talk to Mike.

[lateapex911]

The closest top firm for an IT motor is King in Wisc, as others have suggested. If you talk to Scott, tell him Jake (G, from CT) sent you. Scott used to run AT Engineering here in CT way back when before he joined King, and then became the owner. They also did the Mosers recent prod car. As with any of the top shops, don't go in with an empty wallet. A "to the max" motor will set you back. King is a Mugen dealer and a Honda specialist.

Blake Merideth and Matt Kessler are also well respected, although much further away. Matt does mostly Miatas, and some Hondas. I'm not sure what Blakes coverage is. he's been in the game for quite awhile and has lots of racing experience. I know he does Honda, Porsche and more.

[Greg Amy]

Kessler is very talented with what he does; he's always my first choice. Doesn't hurt that his shop is about 2 miles from me as the crow flies. However, as with all mad geniuses, getting his attention is difficult; don't expect to have an engine in any kind of hurry. That, and he's heads-down with Spec Miatas lately (those guys spend money a lot more freely than present company).

Blake Meredith has built for me whole engines and various components (e.g., head prep); I've been extremely satisfied with his quality and value.

I've no personal experience with King, but their reputation is very good.

[gran racing]

I echo what Greg says. Regardless of who you go with, begin the process as soon as possible.

[mossaidis]

Budget $2.5K-$4K depending on the condition of existing parts and whether or not you decide to take the motor out yourself. No matter what, my advice would be for new valves, valve springs and valve seals. Add more for custom ODB0 ECU, new clutch and tuning.

EDIT: I think new a6 valve springs are near impossible to find. Also, join HPD if you have not done so already. New OEM parts at wholesale pricing. http://hpd.honda.com/racing-line/become-a-member/

[Tom Blaney]

JT If you look at some of the fastest running LEGAL ITA Civic's and CRX's in the Northeast you will see that are running my Bullet Proof motors.

Tom Blaney

[JohnRW]

However, as with all mad geniuses, getting his attention is difficult; don't expect to have an engine in any kind of hurry.

And...speaking of mad geniuses....

Greg's Engine and Frycake Emporium, Elkhart Lake Wisc....nothing but the best.....

http://imageshack.com/a/img22/6808/tmxe.jpg

[Xian]

Blake Meredith would be right at the top of my list.

K

Yup. Tons of Honda experience... has worked at Sunbelt and OPM previously and now plays with Porsche stuff. He absolutely knows his stuff (as does Matt K, King, etc).

[raffaelli]

While everyone listed can and has built top notch engines, for my money the most complete honda package comes from Tom Blaney. I have a Bullet Proof engine and transmission in my CRX. Despite my attempts to grenade it....it just keeps producing gobs of power. It beats process numbers.

Toms guidance on tuning, after care and maintanence just push the value over the top.

Drop him a note. Since you are not in my region he his allowed to build one for you as fast as mine.:eclipsee_steering:

[email protected]

[lateapex911]

While everyone listed can and has built top notch engines, for my money the most complete honda package comes from Tom Blaney. I have a Bullet Proof engine and transmission in my CRX. Despite my attempts to grenade it....it just keeps producing gobs of power. It beats process numbers.

Toms guidance on tuning, after care and maintanence just push the value over the top.

Drop him a note. Since you are not in my region he his allowed to build one for you as fast as mine.:eclipsee_steering:

[email protected]

Duly noted and sent to the ITAC! The Mosers will not be amused at such information leakages, LOL.

[quadzjr]

Duly noted and sent to the ITAC! The Mosers will not be amused at such information leakages, LOL.

We all know that there are a few cars that make more than process power.. non of which I believe are being addressed by the ITAC. There are a few in ITS that make more than process as there are in ITA, and ITB. I assume the same is true for ITR and ITC but I am less familiar with them. I personally have built a few D15/D16s for IT racing.. The money you want to spend will determine what side of the process number you want to be on.

*BTW.. I know the Moser thing is a bit of a joke. mosers issue was sum of parts.. and not enough motor to get away from that sum of parts.

[lateapex911]

Well, just to flesh out the private joke about the Mosers. First, they are really cool people, and I've nejoyed my time with them. They're like all racers, they work hard on the package and try to push the rules where tehy think they can. I've done things that identified loopholes and rules have been rewritten because of it. It's what racers do.

Back in the day, the CRX got a weight adjustment to repair a bad classing, and naturally, it ruffled feathers of all CRX owners. The Mosers were brave enough to be business men and wrote to voice their thoughts, which were essentially that they thought the power we used was optimistic and that the additional weight would put undue wear and tear on the car.

To their credit, they went back to the drawing board, and kept developing and sure enough, got faster. And both of them can drive, well. So well that they have been the cars to beat at the ARRC, and have been involved in some epic battles.

So I smile when I hear that CRXs are exceeding Process power. The car is a front runner, and more power ups the game.

[ITA_honda]

+1 for Scott Lunder in Cleveland - he helped prep my ITA motor for my 90 Civic Si. Runs great, no issues! And to top if off he is a great guy and class act! Good luck in your build :D

[OUBob]

Scott Lunder is a good guy with decades of experience. Kevin Ruck is just north of Columbus and builds great engines. R2Racing on here. Figured Id throw that out there if you are close.

[gran racing]

For those of you not taking using someone locally, how are you shipping the motor? Seems like that would be fairly expensive to do, no?

[georgethefierce]

For those of you not taking using someone locally, how are you shipping the motor? Seems like that would be fairly expensive to do, no?

It's probably not as bad as you think, crate it up, send it LTL via UPS freight or any other carrier, depending on the distance you could expect a couple hundred dollar bucks. In my experience anyway. (this is shipping via a company's loading dock. I have no experience with home pickup)

[Jtmurr02]

Thanks Everyone! i dont know if that made it easier or harder but ill
work with it.

See everyone at mid ohio with some sort of motor!:eclipsee_steering:

[quadzjr]

For those of you not taking using someone locally, how are you shipping the motor? Seems like that would be fairly expensive to do, no?

I just got back from the 4 hour round trip to my engine machine shop I use. I have had nothing but good work done by him so even when we both moved away from each other I still bring my work to him.

Also shipping can be worked around, and yes.. it is still not cheap. However, hopefully this is a one time expense every 3-5 years or so. So in the grand scheme of things.. it is really not that big of deal.

[Bob Roth]

I suggest also talking to Steve Colletti in dayton. Link (http://colletti-motorsports.org/)

He's built pro honda motors for about 20 years. Also he can do any hondata and dyno work you need in his shop. A big plus is that he can help you with intake/filter and exhaust stuff which is as important for horsepower as the actual motor work. He does my tuning and I found 7 ho in the air filter/big tube combination he suggested. He's good.

[downingracing]

I suggest also talking to Steve Colletti in dayton. Link (http://colletti-motorsports.org/)

He's built pro honda motors for about 20 years. Also he can do any hondata and dyno work you need in his shop. A big plus is that he can help you with intake/filter and exhaust stuff which is as important for horsepower as the actual motor work. He does my tuning and I found 7 ho in the air filter/big tube combination he suggested. He's good.

He is who tuned my 'Lunder' motor. Steve is a great guy and his shop does top quality work!

[almracing]

I'll second the Tom Blaney motor work. I was ready to freshen my motor a season ago and the cylinder tests said don't bother. That's after about 4 seasons on the motor.

[Wreckerboy]

+ another for Colletti. I worked for him when he had his shop in NY and can say that he is an excellent diagnostician, thorough , and open minded. I remember when he got his first dyno in NY and his delight in discovering that several "givens" about horsepower just did not stand up to facts.

He used to be something of a Toyota guy as well and ran a ITC Corolla in the NARRC series with more success than anything with such crude beginnings should have ever had.

[lateapex911]

+ another for Colletti. I worked for him when he had his shop in NY and can say that he is an excellent diagnostician, thorough , and open minded. I remember when he got his first dyno in NY and his delight in discovering that several "givens" about horsepower just did not stand up to facts.

He used to be something of a Toyota guy as well and ran a ITC Corolla in the NARRC series with more success than anything with such crude beginnings should have ever had.
yea yea yea, you and Kai are such Corolla fanbois!

[Wreckerboy]

As tempting as it is, I can't blame Colletowitz for that. I wasn't a fanboy until I owned one. They say the first taste is free...