Editorial : December 12, 2008

One thing that I’ve noticed: a lot of people can’t size equipment right.

What I mean by this is the guys that are throwing a 70 trim journal bearing turbo on a small displacement motor and wondering why they don’t spool until 1k before redline. They always ask why their powerband is so bad, or nonexistent. LAWL. This is what I mean folks. It’s all about sizing. In the case of turbos, bigger isn’t always better. If anything, if you’re running such a large turbo on a small displacement motor, when it finally DOES spool it’ll probably just blow your tires off anyhow. More often than not, you’d be way better off getting a smaller ball bearing turbo and actually having a powerband while still having some response.

Having an aftermarket stall on a automatic is great also, but just like everything else, it’s got to be properly sized. Let’s say you have a 4400rpm stall on your daily driven car. Does this make sense to you? I guess most people tend to forget that if you have such a large stall, your car will barely move in traffic unless you are applying a gratuitous amount of throttle. Finding a proper sized torque converter is key if you plan on driving on the street without sloppy and jerky acceleration.

Let’s see. How about cams? I’ve seen guys with stock GSRs, stock valvetrain, with stock compression and Toda Vtec Killers. Hmm, why does my car produce 1ft/lb of torque at low RPM and stutter until I get to 6,000 RPM? Fail. There is no reason to get the largest lift/duration cams there ever was, because in that case, it just doesn’t work. Sure, you’ll have top end power for days but you’ll have to rev to 50,000k (exaggeration, obviously) to get the use out of them.

Of course, this is just a few minor niggles than bother me, but I’m sure I’m not the only one. Before you buy anything. Please for the sake of yourself and anyone else around you. Please either do research, or talk to someone that knows what they are talking about.

Thanks,

Greg