Is the 16v conversion worth the work/cost

[curious george]

im looking into getting an omni to drive and occasionally take to an autocross event, and of course i cant wait to show some of these ricers how it is done. so my question is: is the power worth the extra money and work to convert? What kind of power is the conversion showing also? will an 8v 2.5 be good for mid/high 12s in street trim. Also just as a side note, my dad owns a supercharged b18c1 swapped civic( yeah he is 46 and it is his daily driver) and is there anyway i can beat him for under 3 grand in mods, car not included or is he in a ballpark all his own. i do know his injectors are limiting him now and it is horribly untuned so prolly mid hig 12s himself. i really wanna show him what TDs are all about cause he laughed the first time i told him i thought an omni was cool(before i knew they were fast also, ha ha) thanks guys. I want an Omni soooooooo bad.

[Dave]

Folks like to think that doing the 16v conversion is expensive. It only is when you swap the TIII motor in, go out and get a Stratus 2.4 motor and a Neon tranny, swap the trannys internals and whatnot, get a custom calibration from FWD Performance, and all the other neccasities.

I was promised that in my Spirit doing this swap that I can see high 11's for around $1,500.

[QKsilverF1]

i meannnnnn.....i would still plan to spend a lil more than 1500 honestly

[Andre Parker]

I think Russ Jerome is selling his Omni. It runs 12's and is his daily driver. If you already have one, then I think YES it's worth it. The 2.4 swap Ohiorob did is an awsome swap as well. Either one is going to require some custom fab work, but if you have even basic skills, you CAN do this. I'm in the process of building a magnum head hybrid, a dohc hybrid and a regular sohc hybrid swaps for a few different cars.

[russ jerome]

Just walked in from track, drove there and home with
passengers on old tires. Low 12's at 120mph on street
rubber I think its worth it but depends on you fabrication
skills. I got a turn key Hybrid Omni for YOU! 26mpg and
you can waste Saleen SC Mustangs on your lunch break

[QKsilverF1]

120mph = good times

[kedavis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Folks like to think that doing the 16v conversion is expensive. It only is when you swap the TIII motor in, go out and get a Stratus 2.4 motor and a Neon tranny, swap the trannys internals and whatnot, get a custom calibration from FWD Performance, and all the other neccasities. I was promised that in my Spirit doing this swap that I can see high 11's for around $1,500.

It is definately not that easy there is a lot of fabrication to be done and as far as money goes you can do high 11's in an omni cheaper with an 8 valve setup.Just put it this way I have 1300.00 into just rods and pistons,turbo sc6152 another 700.00 external wastegate another 240.00 and you havent even begun to buy the things you need.Granted you dont have to use pauter billet rods but I think forged pistons are definately a necessity.

[Frank]

Check out this thread....
Hybrid VS 2.4 transplant thoughts?

[Garret]

I think if you have the ask the question if it's worth it. It's not the swap for you because it is a lot of work and it'll nickle and dime you to death if you aren't good at pre-planning. My advice would be to just stick with a warmed up 8v until you feel confident re-engineering your car. Until that point it's probably not a good idea

[Khajjathefang]

price on these bad boys varies wildly depending on what parts you go with, junkyard or otherwise and how much fab work you can do yourself

I myself am going the over the top route thanks to the US taxpayers heres a picture

Crane #14 Cams 399.95
Crane titanium springs/retainers 269.95
Ferrea Inconel valves 303.84
PT style lifters 99.95
SBI rockers 139.95
Aluminum Rods 520.00
head studs 112.00
venolia pistons 429.00
magnacore wires 79.00
manifolds 400.00 (i payed twice this but have since seen each for much cheaper )
cam gears 269.00
head/block 200.00

current total 3222.64

and thats not counting shipping, a turbo, tranny mods, porting, the standalone i want etc...

[kedavis]

Thats about the same setup Im running except I went with pauter rods instead of grp's.

[DaytonaFury]

Couldn't the factory forged rods hold up just fine, even at 400+ hp?

[89Waredaytona]

one thing i've noticed so far is the cars that i've seen pictures of with the hybrid setup run automatics, can the A555 or 568 take the power from a hybrid? just as a thought, stock rebuilt bottom end on a 2.5 and a stock T3 with stock intercooler and various little things. mainly just the head swapped and ran. will the manual trannies take the abuse of racing occaisiinally and the usual highway speed ups and slow downs?

Scott
89 Daytona Shelby 2.5 "T2" wishin for a garret...

[OmniGuy123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89Waredaytona one thing i've noticed so far is the cars that i've seen pictures of with the hybrid setup run automatics, can the A555 or 568 take the power from a hybrid? just as a thought, stock rebuilt bottom end on a 2.5 and a stock T3 with stock intercooler and various little things. mainly just the head swapped and ran. will the manual trannies take the abuse of racing occaisiinally and the usual highway speed ups and slow downs? Scott 89 Daytona Shelby 2.5 "T2" wishin for a garret...

Last I checked only one person had broken a 568, and it was supposedly a bad casting. With some of the hybrid guys out there that could have changed since last I read up on the duability of the 568s. YMMV.

[90Shadow]

I think people should just set a budget on what they are willing to dish out for a new engine, I mean you are building a new engine right? Figure out what you can afford, price everything out and go from there. Or you can do it over the winter (when you generally cant race) and by the end of the season your ready to go! $500 a month for 6 months of winter, and you have $3000 for play. (may not apply to those south of canada EH) Having a second income might help too.