The official Honda Thread

I have heard good things about Church’s automotive testing and also Ericks racing. Both are supposed to be great with Honda/AEM. 
BTW - I used Ericks Racing for the tune. It went well and Erick seems like a good guy, reasonable price too. I would recommend to others. 

Like other tuned engines I've owned, my J35 (w/ turbo and AEM Series 2) takes a while to warm up and doesn't really want to idle when its cold. Should the IAC keep it from stalling when its a little cold? Or does this sound normal for a swapped J35 on a stand alone ECU? 

 
BTW - I used Ericks Racing for the tune. It went well and Erick seems like a good guy, reasonable price too. I would recommend to others. 

Like other tuned engines I've owned, my J35 (w/ turbo and AEM Series 2) takes a while to warm up and doesn't really want to idle when its cold. Should the IAC keep it from stalling when its a little cold? Or does this sound normal for a swapped J35 on a stand alone ECU? 
Not normal. Mine would idle no problem no matter what. No need to play with the throttle or anything. I’d make sure the tuner tuned more than just wot. 

 
What compression ratio are you going with? Assume Traum was able to make the dome calc for you, when you told them what compression ration your wanted. 

Have you heard about any problems with running forged pistons in stock bores? The tuner I used for my motor does a lot of J35's and he said the stock cylinder liner, which is more of a coating? is pretty thin on the J35's and "fibrous" on the J35A4's?? He recommend new liners for his J35 builds, but he is going after big boost. 
I went with stock compression numbers. The walls of the cylinders are thinner than most I've seen.  You could only go two sizes over (90mm I think) before replacing them.  I don't think There will be any issues with the pitons on stock cylinder walls.

What is big boost according to him???

FYI I got the pistons from Power Rev Racing out of Florida.  Between them and Halferland Performance, you can get most of what you need.

Does bring me to a question, does anyone know where I could get a nice lightweight harmonic balancer for a J35? 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
What is big boost according to him???
I think something like 20-25+ psi. I saw a J32a2 block in his shop, it has iron sleeves and a completely closed deck...it looked pretty stout. 

I need to speak with him again about some of the details. He's gotten away from engine building and does mostly tuning now, but seems willing to share advise with his clients. (Erick's Racing - only dealt within once, but seems like a good guy) 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I went with stock compression numbers. The walls of the cylinders are thinner than most I've seen.  You could only go two sizes over (90mm I think) before replacing them.  I don't think There will be any issues with the pitons on stock cylinder walls.
OK, thanks for the info. Its interesting because the street guys don't seem to mind boosting 10:1 compression engines, but the sand guys like C&G and Outfront like to drop the compression quite a bit. I can understand the Sand Tuners being conservative though, they want to see their motors last, and we probably get into higher load cells in the sand than they do on the street. 

 
Not normal. Mine would idle no problem no matter what. No need to play with the throttle or anything. I’d make sure the tuner tuned more than just wot. 
Thanks, good to know.. Sounds like yours would idle fine, even when cold. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK, thanks for the info. Its interesting because the street guys don't seem to mind boosting 10:1 compression engines, but the sand guys like C&G and Outfront like to drop the compression quite a bit. I can understand the Sand Tuners being conservative though, they want to see their motors last, and we probably get into higher load cells in the sand than they do on the street. 
I thinks it is because of the different ways the engine is stressed.  Sand can be more forgiving and more harsh in different ways than a paved road.  I just look at it as a true hobby, gotta pay to play.  I have two engines for this reason.  If I blow one up I have a spare.  At the relatively cheap cost of these engines, if you can afford the space to have a spare laying around, than by all means keep pushing it until you find its limit then find a way pass that limit. 

 
hey turbo guys....

At what points did you you tap into the cooling circuit to pick up water for the turbo, and then dump the hot water back into the system? 

Any pics appreciated, thx. 

 
hey turbo guys....

At what points did you you tap into the cooling circuit to pick up water for the turbo, and then dump the hot water back into the system? 

Any pics appreciated, thx. 
Post a pic of your cooling manifold.

 
hey turbo guys....

At what points did you you tap into the cooling circuit to pick up water for the turbo, and then dump the hot water back into the system? 

Any pics appreciated, thx. 
Never thought about it.  Don't know of anyone that does.

 
Never thought about it.  Don't know of anyone that does.
Ok thx...my Subi had water cooling and the turbo was still going strong after 12 years. Pretty standard on street cars, but maybe in the sand, with going thru engines and drivetrains so much faster, turbo longevity is not really a factor...

 
Ok thx...my Subi had water cooling and the turbo was still going strong after 12 years. Pretty standard on street cars, but maybe in the sand, with going thru engines and drivetrains so much faster, turbo longevity is not really a factor...
The engine compartment isn’t as hot in a sand rail as it is under a hood. And you’re also not usually going on 3 hour long cruises. Obviously it doesn’t hurt to plumb it that way. I had a journal bearing turbo last 4 years and will probably go another few more years before needing a rebuild. 

 
Back
Top