First off, I am new to the site. I have been doing many searches to find out how to get more compression from my 2.2L. I have a 97 2.2L that just spun a bearing, I have a spare engine laying around that I am going to build for the car. I found this site that claims that if you use pistons out of a 98+ 2.2L that they are more flat top. Is this true?
Link here for claim... Also I am not 100% on what year the spare engine is.. it might be a 98.... is that the same block as a 97? TIA!
If its a 98 I believe it should be a 2200 which would give it obvious physical differences (different manifolding, different valve cover) to your 97 2.2. I seem to remember there being a trick involved with piston swapping between the two from previous posts, which I'm sure someone else will jump in and enlighten you as to what that was because for the life of me, I can't remember... And I'm not sure exactly how much the smaller dish raises compression. Raising compression alone really wouldn't even be worth it without porting the head, getting a cam regrind and then finding a way to tune it (not sure when the cutoff was for HPTuners). There are also pistons and parts available from importperformanceparts.net, though I'd advise against ordering anything until you come up with a solid game plan and run it by a few of the more knowledgeable OHV guys on here.
A lot of people will tell you not to bother with the 2.2, that its "not worth the money you'll put into it". Well, you have to first decide what you ultimately want out of it (a particular amount of power, a particular track time, just a fun street motor, etc), then find out how much $ you'll need to get the engine to that goal. Then you, and only you, can decide if its worth it. Me, I'd be happy as a clam to build an 11:1 compression, ported head, cammed, custom header, custom intake manifold, standalone ecu-run 2200, but other people might not be.
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'Nuff said
if you are going to build a spare motor might as well do as Scarab said. Draw out your goals on paper and a game plan, then i'm pretty sure that one of the guys here like notec, madjack, and Scarab would be willing to look it over and tell you if something is off or not.
As far as raising compression goes you could shave the head slightly to raise it or like stated just buy direct replacement forged internals that come with a higher compression. If you decided to do a good build go ahead and get a wild port and polish on that head and maybe add +1mm oversize valves, get a cam regrind, roller rockers with a 1.6 ratio and so forth. Try to do mods that will complement each other and not work against anything else. The is still the mystery of what better springs to use and whatnot but you can do the LT1/LN2 hybrid lifters from a post made in the past, better push rods, and get the head cleaned up at a machine shop. Hope this helps!
Stevo wrote:First off, I am new to the site. I have been doing many searches to find out how to get more compression from my 2.2L. I have a 97 2.2L that just spun a bearing, I have a spare engine laying around that I am going to build for the car. I found this site that claims that if you use pistons out of a 98+ 2.2L that they are more flat top. Is this true? Link here for claim... Also I am not 100% on what year the spare engine is.. it might be a 98.... is that the same block as a 97? TIA!
2200 pistons w/ a 2.2L head is WAY too much for pump gas. Instead, bump compression by milling the BLOCK so the pistons are .010" out of the hole, which also decreases your quench distance making the engine even more efficient. Now you need custom-length pushrods, so get some thick-walled rods made to spec from Crane (which eliminates the relatively low RPM deflection the stockers have). Add a decent cam regrind (since you're already getting custom pushrods), mill the spring seats down, and throw in some LSX springs... fun will be had
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
OHV Notec
What kind of number would you estimate to be had form a build like this?
1997 Sunfire SE
Michael Antle wrote:What kind of number would you estimate to be had form a build like this?
There are way too many factors to bench race without more details.
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
OHV notec wrote:2200 pistons w/ a 2.2L head is WAY too much for pump gas.
What kind of compression ratio are we lookin at? BTW, who said anything about gas?
What kind of alternate fuel are you gonna go with Steve? Have you gotten any work on the new head you got?
JBO Member since 2006.
