Project S2000: Part 27 – Building the F22c for Turbo Boost and Manifold Test Fit

My process to start the engine break-in was to run the engine from 2000rpm to 2500rpm running up through the gears from 2nd through 6th. Then I would double-clutch the downshifts down through all the gears back to 2nd in order to break-in the clutch. The first impression of the ACT HD pressure plate with the street disk was no impression, i.e. I didn’t even notice it was different than the Centerforce or stock clutches. I haven’t driven the stock clutch in many years, but the ACT HD pressure plate is not even remotely heavy in my opinion and I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that it was different from the Centerforce. Engagement was perfectly smooth and easy to modulate. While the engine was out, we did swap in a new OEM clutch master cylinder as they are known to fail on S2000s.

What was my other initial impression? The engine sure was smooth…. Which was actually slightly disappointing. If you recall from when I installed the Hasport engine mounts, the extra vibration added some noise and character and I could feel it in the shifter. Now, that vibration has been muted which I can only attribute to the Fluidampr.

Using the good ole ARK Design MFD2, I kept tabs on the vacuum level to make sure I was using enough load to help seat the piston rings. After running between 2000rpm to 2500rpm for a few cycles, I ramped it up to 3000rpm and then 3500rpm. Then I started going from 2500rpm to 4000rpm. Then I moved up in 500rpm increments all the way until I got to 8000rpm. I also increased the dyno load to 15% and 20% during the pulls through the gears. At the higher rpms, I started to limit the runs to 5th gear and then 4th gear as the wheel speeds were well over 100mph. With the higher rpms and higher loads, the oil temperature was starting to get toasty. As we are planning to dive into the turbo build which includes remote mounting the oil filter, we skipped on hooking up the oil cooler or using the stock oil cooler donut thing. To help the car cool down more quickly, I decreased the dyno load to 2% and cruised in 6th gear varying engine speed between 2000-2500rpm until the oil temperature came down enough to start another run through the gears and rpms.

All said and done, the car was on the dyno for about an hour and a half and we put 80 miles on the engine. The engine is running very smooth with the new Mahle pistons, Carrillo rods, King Racing bearings, and Fluidampr. No leaks with the JE Pro Seal MLS gasket, HPS silicone hoses, ARP fasteners, and Howard’s expert assembly skills. I did around a thousand clutch engagements to break in the ACT HD pressure plate to the OEM Honda disc. Now that our lower compression ratio engine is broken-in, we can get to work on fitting parts for boost. We are also taking the opportunity to adjust the manifold design to improve the clearance of the wastegate to the frame. We did pretty well for a first shot, but there’s room for improvement.

Sources

Mahle Pistons

Carillo

King Bearings

JE Pistons

Turbosmart

Garrett Turbo

Fluidampr

WPC Treatment

HPS Hoses

ARP

ACT

 

 

 

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