How much HP are modified Atoms Making

[bambam]

Sorry if there are other threads already started here but I am curious as to some of the mods some people have done on their Atoms & what HP they have been able to produce.  Also how reliable are they once modified?

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="bambam"]
...what HP they have been able to produce. 

Also how reliable are they once modified?
[/quote]

Lots.

Not very.

[DarthChicken]

They are making the same HP as any other car with the engine chosen.  Whatever a K20 honda engine can make in a honda, it can make it in an atom.  Ditto on with the ecotec atom 2 cars. 

I'm pushing about 330whp in my ecotec car.

[bambam]

What type of mods have done then?

[NathanE]

probably easiest to do a search.  Calscot's posts are worth looking at as a starting point. 

[Heywood-Yablowme]

Ecotec Atoms have many choices for upgrades. Sector 111 has a complete bolt on kit that makes 280hp. Hahn sells a turbo kit for the LSJ in the 300whp range,that has to be modified to fit the Atom. ZZ performance makes a twin charge setup that brings the hp to 350whp and has to be modded to fit the Atom. You can bolt on a Harrop supercharger,add some 60lb injectors,a better exhaust and a tune,should bring you to 275-300whp.  The bone stock LSJ powered cars are pretty damn fast and I have been able to win various track events with mine,although I have done considerable "other" work to the car.

The Honda powered cars have similar options for HP,but beware of going too far..as you will start to loose dependability.

The HP you desire is only as far away as your credit card.Speed cost money.

The Atom really does not NEED a lot of HP to be fun to drive and is fast out of the box. However, there is always more,if desired..

[AtomMadStew]

Saw an ep3 drag civic Type r in a japanese tuning mag claiming near the 1000hp mark. It was turbo'd nitrous'ed heavily modified with darton sleeves and liners with a 200mpg gearset running slicks. 

[AtomMadStew]

But like most modified stuff it will probably require a rebuild regularly. There's a fine line between power and normal reliability i'd say. Up the power on the engine and then risking blowing the gearbox. Suppose reliability can be bought to an extent but common sense has to enter the equation somewhere.

[bambam]

Yes, I don't think 1000 hp would last too long with that set up but I am not near an expert.  Just history has told me when you start messing with things there is a line that shouldn't be crossed if you want some reliability.

[CalScot]

Your reliability will depend on many factors. Not the least is how you intend to drive it. Ive spent a small fortune on my car building it up to high HP with the best parts, advice and professional  help I could get. I've had numerous gear box issues as well as a bown motor with the bottom end failing a few months back and a piston ring failure in 08. My car has almost 15K miles.

In my case, I am happy with the fun I have had even through the issues. There's just nothing like the sheer mental acceleration of an Atom with 475WHP. Fact is I am hard on every car I have. I have a stock Lexus LS460. The dealer has told me on several occasions "we have NEVER seen this problem before". They have sent technicians from Toyota corporate engineering division to figure out why it has blown pistons on two separate occasions. I have had the brake rotors changed under warranty twice because of excessive warping. All I can tell you is it's a great car and can lap Willow Springs big track as fast as most drivers in a BMW M5 for at least the first five laps until the brakes go on fire or the engine makes a funny rumble as it comes to a smokey demise  Go figure!!

I'd say the stock Atom 3 with the Jackson S/C is probably plenty fast at over 320BHP.
Once you go into the insane group, It's a "cheap and easy" upgrade to retune it, port and polish the head and a few other minor stuff to get the power up another 30-40HP. It would still be reliable and silly fast. Go beyond that and you are into the realm of racing engine reliability and costing. That means rebuilds and fixing stuff. There's no free lunch here.

[arielatom600]

I run a 500whp atom. Fully race built k24 with a rotrex S/C. My problems have been gearbox and/or clutch. Runs too hot. Also blew a head gasket and some water related parts on the last trackday.
I did 1:27 with a stock 300,
now 1:22 on the same track with a 500whp. As a comparison, the best radical on SLICKS does 1:17 on the same track.

0-150mph in 8.5sec. Road legal. Road tires. Beat that!

[CalScot]

[quote="arielatom600"]
I run a 500whp atom. Fully race built k24 with a rotrex S/C. My problems have been gearbox and/or clutch. Runs too hot. Also blew a head gasket and some water related parts on the last trackday.
I did 1:27 with a stock 300,
now 1:22 on the same track with a 500whp. As a comparison, the best radical on SLICKS does 1:17 on the same track.

0-150mph in 8.5sec. Road legal. Road tires. Beat that!


[/quote]

You need to change your avatar to ArielAtom500 

Did you machine "O" ring the head? With that relatively modest boost from the Rotrex you have, it should not blow a head gasket.
Did you get the new gearbox from that outfit I PM'd you located in Arizona?
Easy to run an aux oil cooler and easy to modify or add more elements to the front radiator to get enough cooling for the K24.

I'm happy with the Stock OEM geabox. It's as good as anyting out there although a local guy is designing a 5 speed dog racing box for the K20 that might be ready in 2010.
The ACT six puck clutch is awesome and should handle anything you throw at it. Get the one with the springs though as it lasts longer and takes the shock out of the load transfer.

I'd love to see a video of your beastie in action?

[arielatom600]

[quote="CalScot"]
[quote="arielatom600"]
I run a 500whp atom. Fully race built k24 with a rotrex S/C. My problems have been gearbox and/or clutch. Runs too hot. Also blew a head gasket and some water related parts on the last trackday.
I did 1:27 with a stock 300,
now 1:22 on the same track with a 500whp. As a comparison, the best radical on SLICKS does 1:17 on the same track.

0-150mph in 8.5sec. Road legal. Road tires. Beat that!


[/quote]

You need to change your avatar to ArielAtom500 

Did you machine "O" ring the head? With that relatively modest boost from the Rotrex you have, it should not blow a head gasket.
Did you get the new gearbox from that outfit I PM'd you located in Arizona?
Easy to run an aux oil cooler and easy to modify or add more elements to the front radiator to get enough cooling for the K24.

I'm happy with the Stock OEM geabox. It's as good as anyting out there although a local guy is designing a 5 speed dog racing box for the K20 that might be ready in 2010.
The ACT six puck clutch is awesome and should handle anything you throw at it. Get the one with the springs though as it lasts longer and takes the shock out of the load transfer.

I'd love to see a video of your beastie in action?


[/quote]

I know... but it's probably 600 if measured at the stove.
did not get the gb in AZ pm...
I'm adding a cooler to the gb, probably in a side scoop as on the AA500...
don't know if it was machined.
Will probably go for a turbo this winter, just to see if there's any downside to it. Can't stand the noice and vibrations from the rotrex. And it's stealing a lot of power.
A moderate boost, just to get 400+ will be good. And hopefully that won't be too laggy.
Have no vids at all... camera dipped on first corner braking and filmed the gear stick.
It's amazing power, I reach the end of 6th gear just at 1/4mile. AMAZING.
Had a formula 1 test driver try the car this fall. He said it was easily the fastest "road legal" thing he'd ever driven. With slicks it would kill. Probably both driver and car. Chassi would most likely bend and crack.

[AtomMadStew]

Using a k20 head on that k24 block or is it a full k24 engine?

[positron]

It's best summed up with "How fast can you afford to go?"

Mathematically represented as Fast = $3

Also a general rule of thumb is the dollars you spend on mod's will be dollars you spend on future repairs caused by mod's. More fast makes money go more fast..

Repairs = $Fast