Just curious to see what anyone thinks. I have two Z24s a 97 5 speed and a 2000 automatic (yeah yeah automatic, tell me about it lol ) But I am just curious to see how the LD9 compares to other engines ie: k24 ect.. as far as potential horsepower, torque, acceptance to modification. basically is the engine worth putting money into?
Depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend. The LD9 has little aftermarket support compared to just about every Honda engine.
Its about 400hp+ good with the Team Green treatment.
if he engine had HALF the support of a honda, toyota or mistu engine i think it would probably blow a lot of peoples mind's with what it could be capable of...
and idk... you tell me... the highest naturally aspirated 2.4 engine record is held at 245whp right now.
if you change the oil and keep up with the maintenance and not beat the living crap out of it day in and day out it will last all of 150,000 miles and beyond. the longevity is definitely there if you take care of it. but at the same time the performance can be as well.
Are you scared of the changes coming? The answer is on the inside.
I've heard that the average lifespan of an LD9 is 150k, give or take... now, I've owned 2 that went above and beyond that (my last one, the tranny broke before the motor) but I never really put it thru the ringer. they've been modded and saw regular racing (the first one was all street, but this last one took my track cherry), and never gave me too many problems
as far as performance, look at the the contenders.. Grumpy was a fully-built nitrous car that hit, if memory serves, low 13s-high 12s.. backed by an automatic. then you got John Higgins with a turbo LD9 thats pretty much legendary on this site.. also automatic. he also owns an '01 Z24 5-spd thats hit high 14s NA with typical bolt-ons and cams.. it all depends on what you wanna do with it. its a VERY respectable and underestimated engine, and when my Z's spank other cars from the stoplight, it leaves me nothing but smiles
and when compared to other cars, here is my Kill List (with typical bolt-ons: intake, cat-back exhaust, suspension, wheels, tires)
- '91 Nissan 240SX (similar mods)
- a few Ford Escort ZX2s and Focus ZX3s (more modded than me)
- '02 Ford Focus SVT (similar mods)
- '93 Honda Accord coupe (bolt-ons and a 50-shot of nitrous)
- '91 Honda Civic DX (turbo'ed runnin 7 PSI)
- countless other Hondas.. some swapped, some gutted
the only cars to ever really beat me, and its a select few, was an '03 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V 6-spd that had the same mods I did.. a '96 Chevy Monte Carlo Z34 that was also modded similar to mine.. and a '98 Honda Civic DX, fully stripped and gutted with a B20 VTec in it.. and he only beat me by 3/4 of a car..
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
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^^^^ I have plenty of respect for Higgins, but I don't recall his auto being "legendary." Jeremy (Skilz10179) was on the verge of 12's with his auto and only pushing 8psi through it (durring a time when members were running 20+psi in their 5-speeds and barely breaking into the 12's...granted they were probably running smaller chargers)...that I consider legendary.
I Eat Hondas wrote:Just curious to see what anyone thinks. I have two Z24s a 97 5 speed and a 2000 automatic (yeah yeah automatic, tell me about it lol ) But I am just curious to see how the LD9 compares to other engines ie: k24 ect.. as far as potential horsepower, torque, acceptance to modification. basically is the engine worth putting money into?
You really can't compare VTEC engines to any GM engine. For street use, VTEC simply dominates the Naturally Aspirated world. Sure you could build a lopey Quad4 with a similar powerband, but you will never get a similar torque curve, and streetability would be very questionable. If the LD9 had some method of cam switching, then it might be a fair comparison. As far as "acceptance to modifications," the J-body in particular is pretty crappy, unless you have HPTuners to adjust for changes. Other PCMs will incorporate MAF sensors that help engines respond to bolt-ons much better. The J-body, however, just uses the good-ole trusty TPS.
Otherwise, the LD9 is just like any other engine. You tune every aspect of the engine (manifolds, throttle, ports, camshafts, cam timing, fuel, spark, etc.) to the powerband you require. The problem with the LD9 in particular, however, is the lack of aftermarket support. There is little aftermarket for cams (many use the stock HO cams from a Quad4), no aftermarket for cranks (Sweetness is the only one I'm aware of who has one, and I believe he payed a pretty penny for it too), and little aftermarket for intake manifolds (Venom and just recently Vulcan).
The one redeeming quality of the engine that is particularly noteworthy, though, is the crank. It may be a little heavy, but I have been around for about 6-7 years and have never once heard of a crank snap from shear power.
I have no signiture
Quote:
I have plenty of respect for Higgins, but I don't recall his auto being "legendary." Jeremy (Skilz10179) was on the verge of 12's with his auto and only pushing 8psi through it (durring a time when members were running 20+psi in their 5-speeds and barely breaking into the 12's...granted they were probably running smaller chargers)...that I consider legendary.
Sorry for his post. I don't think he meant it as in performance so to speak. The car is/was well known because it was one of the cars/owners to get things going for J's back in the day. It was the 2 ever turbo 3 gen 2.4 with a SpeedCraft turbo kit (first kit ever made for the 3 gen 2.4's) Time wise nothing special to write home about. I think 14.4 is the best it ever did with the orginal owner. Best I ever got was 14.8 on 4 psi. Again nothing to write home about.
In the near future there should be plenty to write home about.
FU Tuning
^^^^ OK. I can certainly respect that. Sorry if it sounded like I was degrading your car, because I wasn't trying to.
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Whalesac wrote:^^^^ OK. I can certainly respect that. Sorry if it sounded like I was degrading your car, because I wasn't trying to.
No I did not take it that way. Back in the day everyone knew the car (called Grim Reaper), most call it the Reaper. Not many people know of it now. Plus it has been down and out of site for 3 years.
FU Tuning
if you have a 2000 car and you want aftermarket support for the bolt on go with an eco
yea, I wasnt meaning it in the performance-only aspect.. it was based off of reputation and how well the car itself was known back in the day for being one of the first turbo LD9s on the site. everyone knew who the Reaper was way back when.. even nowadays, people still ask about it.. some even wanna CHALLENGE it
R.I.P. JessE Gerard 7.11.87 - 1.25.08
The Radiation Nation Facebook Twitter Twisted Metal Alliance
