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16 valve or 531...which should I go with

gotboost

gotboost

contributor
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Location
PNW
So I've got this '93 squirter block sitting on a stand and I'm about to start throwing it together. I WAS planning on throwing on a completely rebuilt 531 head and brand new RSI stage II cam I have and calling it good. Wouldn't you know that a 16 valve car showed up at the wrecking yard over the weekend and I ended up pulling the head. So now I'm really torn. The timing belt did snap on the 16V motor, and 6 of the valves need to be replaced. The remaining 10 are totally unscathed.

What would you guys do? Stick with the 531 & RSI cam or have 6 new valves installed on the 16V and go that route? I think I'd be able to sell the 531 and RSI cam for a decent amount of coin, which could then be used to repair and buy adapters for the 16V head. So torn...
 
one requires a lot more work than the other.

Sorta like saying

"cold air intake or +t"

One's gonna make loads more power, but will take a lot more time and planning.
 
i swaped a 531 on my 242, will probbly go 16v asap i have the head a few feet away from me right now. the 16v head will really make alot more power. 531 isnt a huge gain. but teh 16v will require alot more work.
 
also besides adapters, you will want a intake manifold, and flycuts in your pistons. i wouldnt use the b230 intake with and adapter on the intake side.. its a joke.
 
MrBill said:
one requires a lot more work than the other.

Sorta like saying

"cold air intake or +t"

One's gonna make loads more power, but will take a lot more time and planning.
Click to expand...

you know, i was going to come in here and say something but this is exactly what i would have said.

+1
 
Sounds like the consensus is to stick with the 531. I'm going to have to think about this one a little more though. The car it's going into has a perfectly good b21ft in it right now, so a couple extra months spent building the engine won't really matter much to me. And like I said in my OP, I think financially either option will work out about the same (assuming I just use a b230f intake manifold bolted to an adapter plate). A custom intake manifold would get really spendy, really quick.
 
i would say 16v but you didnt list a budget or anything, yoru not comparing apples to apples. the 16v will out perform a 8v all day long but it costs more..
 
Nothing beats the sound of a 8v making 400-500whp.

I plan to stick with the ole 8v's there worth the time and the sound is just epic when there in the 400 range.
 
Depends on your goals.

To me, a 531 is going to continue down the path of a lot of work for not much return power wise.

For 16v, you will need:

Timing belt solution
16v crank gear
16v cam gear for aux shaft
exhaust manifold solution (adapter plate ftw!)
intake manifold solution (stock 16v will work with some creativity) I also offer modifed manifolds that are not THAT spendy relative to most on the market
piston fly cuts (join the group buy)
crab dist cap if your still have a distributor

You are going to spend $500+ on this stuff, it will take a little more effort but at the end of the day the head/cams are not going to be the limiting factor on making power for a good long time.
 
:roll: Guess it comes down to whether U want to RUN with the big dogs or just sit on the porch.....
 
Quattro said:
Nothing beats the sound of a 8v making 400-500whp.

I plan to stick with the ole 8v's there worth the time and the sound is just epic when there in the 400 range.
Click to expand...

except a 16v that'll put out more power per psi of boost than your struggling 8v motor....

I'd see what you can sell the 531 head and cam for 1st, as long as you can recoup your money, I'd opt to go 16v, do it right the 1st time so you have no regrets later on down the road !!!
 
Quattro said:
Nothing beats the sound of a 8v making 400-500whp.

I plan to stick with the ole 8v's there worth the time and the sound is just epic when there in the 400 range.
Click to expand...

My 350whp 16v sounds pretty amazing, I suspect it will sound just as good/better at 400whp.
 
16v is the easy way out.And so far no one on TB in the states have made anything 'impressive' for a 16v that couldn't be done or has already been done on a 8v over the pond.

Just sayin.

I do see the bigger bang for the buck with the 16v.That weighs a big factor over messing with the 8v heads.
 
Quattro said:
16v is the easy way out.And so far no one on TB in the states have made anything 'impressive' for a 16v that couldn't be done or has already been done on a 8v over the pond.

Just sayin.

I do see the bigger bang for the buck with the 16v.That weighs a big factor over messing with the 8v heads.
Click to expand...


We are here though, "not over the pond". Where are all the 500whp 8vs running around? You could probablly count on one hand the people on here making over 300whp on an 8v on this forum. Just because it can be done does not mean it should be.

Just sayin.
 
sdturbo said:
Depends on your goals.

To me, a 531 is going to continue down the path of a lot of work for not much return power wise.

For 16v, you will need:

Timing belt solution
16v crank gear
16v cam gear for aux shaft
exhaust manifold solution (adapter plate ftw!)
intake manifold solution (stock 16v will work with some creativity) I also offer modifed manifolds that are not THAT spendy relative to most on the market
piston fly cuts (join the group buy)
crab dist cap if your still have a distributor

You are going to spend $500+ on this stuff, it will take a little more effort but at the end of the day the head/cams are not going to be the limiting factor on making power for a good long time.
Click to expand...

Haven't really done all my homework yet I guess. I knew about all that stuff except for the crank gear and aux shaft gear. Didn't know those were different. Guess I'm going to have to go back to the yard and grab them and maybe the intake manifold while I'm at it. I'd have to think you could cut a section out of each of the runners and weld it back together. That would solve most of the clearance issues, right?
 
LOL - you guys are like parents who think their kid is just the cutest kid ever. :lol: Hate to break it to you but all redblocks sound pretty horrid.

Anyways the 8v vs 16v debate is an oldie but a goodie.

IMO the fact that RSI has some pretty well-developed 8v heads stateside makes a difference and strengthens the case for an 8V- we just haven't really seen many high-profile projects with them as yet.

If I were building a redblock, it'd be a tough call though. The twincam is sexier- not that sexy is the right word... but kinda, and it has slightly higher max potential and certianly way more potential out-of-the-box.


That said, I don't think a built ported 8v with big valves from RSI is much more money than all of the adapters and etc to run a 16v, and it's dirt simple and straightforward and there are zillions of different cams available - building something with well-matched components is pretty straightforward.

For up to and including 350whp, I'd probably do an 8v with 48/40's, a hot cam, header, turbo. Clean, simple, etc. For 400+whp, it's hard to argue that the 16v does not have an edge. 8v will do it but the parts/headwork starts to get exotic and therefore expensive.
 
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