building for boost. a couple questions....HALP??

[eight six spooler.]

scroll down for questions if you dont wanna read my babbling.

i am having a hard time finding a lot of info on forged internal builds on an 86.
everyone semms to just do the gze swap. (yes i know gze pistons are forged)

but i dont want to do that.

-----------i have my bluetop running about 11 psi of boost with water/meth. and 22-RTE ecu. /gze injectors--------------------

i gotta say. its pretty fast. but i feel like the internals are JUST barely hanging together.i want something that will last.
i also want to raise boost... not a ton but mabey 18psi. but forged internals would be very expensive and the scrawny bluetop rods wont much more than 12psi.
however im surprised they lasted this long.... im betting it is because the bluetop is the lowest comp 4ag out there. (save for the gze)

----------SOO.
the main difference in AGE and GZE are the pistons/rods... and crank?

---does anyone have experience with JUST swapping in gze internals on a bluetop block??
---what about a crank? how much can a bluetop crank handle?
---and the 3rib block that i have?


AND ANY OTHER ADVICE/ CRITICISM/ COMMENTS/ QUESTIONS WOULD BE AWESOME.
i am an auto technition and know my way around a car BUT this is my first 86 (and first post here) i have owned it for only 4 months.
its the best freakin car in the world.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Criticism
Please don't use top color to describe 4AGEs it causes more confusion and does more harm than good.

Gen1/largeport 3 rib
Gen2/largeport 7 rib
Gen 3/smallport

On the note of said confusion.
There is no such thing as a GZE crank or rods. All 7 ribs had the same crank and 7 rib 16 valves had very similar rods. There are several different part numbers over the years possibly with tiny changes but it has nothing to do with GZE/NA but to do with era and design market.
The only internal difference between NA and GZE of the same generation is the pistons.

SOO
The significant differences between the 3 rib and 7 rib are crank, rods, and pistons. 3 rib had a smaller crank and smaller wrist pins. Rods were 40mm big end 18mm small end. Pistons were also a press fit wrist pin.
7 rib had 42mm big end 20mm small end and had full floating wrist pins.

You can swap the larger rotating assembly into a 3 rib block but you would be much better off just finding a 7 rib long or shortblock or even better a complete smallport and just throw better pistons into it.

Another option would be to build a 7AGE hybrid.
http://www.matrixgarage.com/content/get ... brid-build

One thing to remember is the balance of the motor. For example I am a huge fan of high compression builds. You could build a 10:1 motor with 264 cams that made more power at 12 PSI than a low compression motor with stock cams at 18 PSI.
It would also have other significant advantages like better off boost power, quicker spool, cooler intake temps, better gas mileage, etc.

Sounds like you know a good bit about general turbo theory but you may still find some useful info here.
http://www.matrixgarage.com/content/yos ... oing-4a-ge

Props on running the 22RTE ECU. I am running a Blacktop on a GZE ECU with a turbo and stock pistons at 11:1. I love seeing what the stock ECU can do and seeing people make Frankenstein builds work.

Do you have any monitoring like AFR, EGT and knock? Honestly that is more important than internals. With those things you can make sure nothing stupid happens that takes out weak internals.

[oldeskewltoy]

boost won't hurt the rods.... at least reasonable boost... typically what breaks an engine is either too many rpm, or incorrect timing (fuel, ignition, or cam... take your pick)

Boost will kill pistons... especially stock 4AGE pistons, this is because there is an inherent weakness in the ring lands, and so the piston can't take much abuse, and typically is the fail point on "stock 4AGE" boosted builds

Whether boosted, or n/a the 4AG head takes well to proper port work.

The early blocks are far weaker, and are ok for stock, or mild n/a builds, but I wouldn't use one for boost, or a high rpm build. Source/find a 7 rib block - 7 rib has far less twist in the block. In photo below 7 rib is right side up, while 3 rib is upside down, so besides there being more ribs in the side of the block, the strengthening went far deeper.

[eight six spooler.]

hey yoshi thanks a ton for taking the time to reply so in depth!
i can tell you are a well regarded figure in the performance depot.
your turbo guide specific to the 4age is pure GOLD. i am reading it from start to finish.

and Oldschool... the flicks you posted are very helpfull was unsure of the exact difference untill now.... saved to COMP.