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On my 'new' almost std 1.8T I did some testing to verify behavior in different coolant temperatures. I shot up a long uphill strech at 1.3-1.5bar and ~65* coolant. Great performance no pinging. Tried same test at ~85* coolant and had severe pinging over 1bar. Nothing we wouldn't expect! I modified an oem thermostat and after lots of detail work, I ended up with a 70* unit; I actually built 4 of them, 3 for myself and one for my mechanic's 75 turbo. Currently, as a precaution, I'm having the head gasket replaced with Punto O-rings (which have proven excellent for up to 2bar or more) and a Spesso is on its way as a spare. The block and rad will be reverse flushed (as a matter of fact the entire cooling system) and when everything is clean, the thermostat will go on along with a 82*-77* fan switch. I have a mind to fill the system with the Evans fluid, a friend using it says its excellent, better than the Motul Inugel I use. I can't see the coolant making any significant difference, or can it?
Will update as things change!
Jim K.

JimGreek wrote: The new LCA spacers are done (27mm thick in place of 22.5mm)

LCA spacers?

Hmmmm, right...A-arm spacers
I made one on the lathe and gave it as a sample to someone from the 1.8T gang in the Alfa garage here, to make a few sets for everybody. He figured 28mm would look better (!!) and when I put them on my car I didn't bother measuring them...I wondered though at the way camber looked sort of excessive (this is mostly an everyday car). So, when I went to the alignment shop, they said camber is -3*. I figured their equipment was shot so I thought I'd go somewhere else, until the clown who was responsible for the 28mm started laughing Well, they'll have to do all the work to replace them for free now, so I can put on my A1 wheels with the new Toyo T1R's.
The car is shaping up well; all poly, 27.3 TB's, harder springs, lower height, Bilsteins; about the max for street and some trackdays here and there. When the ~1.3bar setup works reliably and consistently it'll be loads of fun!
Maybe I should think about a rollcage for this one too...1200 reasons (Euros) though keep putting off my decision! Must use it to finish the damn 3liter break-in and mapping!
Jim K.

JK,

Would a FMIC and or water injection be in the works for your 1.8T too?

I asked Greg about his opinion on this since he has played extensively with water injection. I will seriously consider it for the other turbo with all the plastic body parts and Cosworth system, the one aiming for 280hp. That's the one with the water/air IC and the large TD radiator.
For the time being the 'road'car is keeping the std IC as is. To determine if its enough, I should really stick a temp gauge in the intake but we're not there yet! One step at a time! Can't deal with too many things at the same time, plus there's always the cost factor!
Jim K.

Here's a question for you guys:

With 9:1 compression on stock pistons, how much of a risk am I of blowing head gaskets with a low boost turbo setup on a stock 2.0? I'm not very familiar with 4 Cylinder alfas and I forgot that 2 liters have more trouble keeping head gaskets in place on a stock, non-turbo car.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Good intercooling, good control of your ignition timing and fuel delivery (read quallity programmable system that is 'uber consistent), water injection and tuning, tuning tuning.

grant wrote:Here's a question for you guys:

With 9:1 compression on stock pistons, how much of a risk am I of blowing head gaskets with a low boost turbo setup on a stock 2.0? I'm not very familiar with 4 Cylinder alfas and I forgot that 2 liters have more trouble keeping head gaskets in place on a stock, non-turbo car.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Which 2.0? Which cams I mean.

Id say you're pretty safe as long as you stay low in boost and have good mixture and spark control.

Sorry for the delayed response.

I was concerned about the head gasket being weak on the 2 liter when compared to the 1.8 liter.

Cams would be the stock, lame-o spica cams, or maybe a hotter intake came from IAP.

EFI would likely be VEMS. I'm still trying to figure out what to do about ignition timing.

I am asking because I have heard people have a hard time keeping head gaskets together on stock 2 liter engines (in the US at least) and I'm worried about putting putting too much stress on it.

I also have some next to new 10:1 Motronic pistons. Would that be any better for a low boost engine?

Thanks!

No idea about the spec of the stock/Spica cams to be honest but if it's any comfort I'm building my 2.0 turbo not-so-low-boost with a stock 2.0 gasket. 9.0 is better then 10.0 CR, will give you extra safety zones for both boost, spark and fuel. For high compression you need to be dead on target. With a set of TS rods you will drop CR 0.5 units. So 8.5:1 is possible.

If you goi for VEMS you got spark control as well, that will be good.

Thanks for the advice Mats.

I meant to say that I'm wondering how I will get the trigger set up to work with the older Spica engine. I don't know anything about spiders so I don't know how the L-jet of Motronic 2 liters sync the ECU with the engine.

Slyalfa tells me I might be able to remove a tooth from the Spica drive pulley and set up a hall effect sensor but I have no clue how to start on that one.

Since my engine has bad compression right now, I have thought of just swapping in a later Spider engine that is already configured for EFI to make the install easier.

Later spider engine may not work because the crank needs to be slightly modified to fit the 116 driveshaft setup. ALso the Motronic spiders with the 60-2 trigger seup have 10:1 compression. I think you are better off just rebuilding your old engine. Maybe just check the liners for roundness, replace if needed, hone and put new rings.

Nice Zamani, I didn't know you were knowledgeable about 4 cylinders too.

Is the 60-2 setup on the flywheel or the crankshaft pulley? Something else?

The hardest part about the spica intake manifold will be fitting injectors on it I think. Which is what made me wonder about adapting parts from a later engine.

Keith also tells me that later Alfa 4 cylinder heads are of a lower casting quality than the earlier engines, and that I should stay away from them.

Apart from the CR, how different is the 1.8T to the non turbo 1.8 Nord engine? eg, cams, conrods, valve sizes, combustion chambers?

Thanks, Scott

Pistons, cams, valveguides and maybe valveseats. Headgasket. Not sure but maybe valves as well.

Pretty much none of that I would put in a rebuild of a 1.8T now, maybe headgasket.