Atomic Long Motor

[Don Kedick]

Hey guys, I’ve bought a basically stock FG turbo, 6 speed auto, and it has low compression in cylinder one and a rough idle. Leak down test indicates rings are shot.

Anyway I have been going through various rebuild options and they are all either expensive or half a job or I do the rebuild myself as my first try. 

Anyway, I am looking at buying a long motor (street torquer 550) straight from ATOMIC which costs about 14k, which was roughly the same as a rebuild from TBRE which is local here in Toowoomba where I live. 
Does anyone have one of these engines?

I can’t find much info and no reviews anywhere.
I’ve read on another post they can be noisy, forged Pistons etc. but some people say the timing chain is also noisy but the Pistons are so loud people have sold their new  atomic engine.. so any advice would be great.

I will be using the car as a daily to and from work and on lunch breaks for short runs etc. also a few runs at the track but mostly street use. Intentions of adding Pulsar Gtx3582 or 4(opinions please), 50mm gate, antz stage 2 piping and turbo side intake, it already has autotecnica big cooler, 3.5 or 4” turbo back exhaust, 1000cc injectors, walbro 460, sx-f fuel reg, oil cooler and trans cooler both thermosatted, has a new Fenix rad and atomic thermostat I put on, I am going to do 4x DBA T3 rotors and NS400 pads plus Toyo Proxes T1 Tyres.

Total spend including car is about 35k plus tune at FORCED PERFORMANCE (maybe $1500), would this be considered good value for money? 
And I’m hoping for a reliable 500-600hp what do you think? 

Thanks Heaps Fellas!

-Callum 

Edited 26/02/22 12:40 PM by Don Kedick

[Don Kedick]

Also what do you think the value of my old engine with turbo, cooler and factory piping is? Cheers! 

[bossmang]

I would just go to forced performance, tell them to start a fresh, tell them your goals let them create a nice package for you. 

[Don Kedick]

Bossmang I went to their recommended engine builder and a rebuild is same price as the atomic engine. I can sell mine and recoup some costs. Forced will definitely be tuning it once done though. Cheers 

[Tom Tucker]

Hey mate, your old broken engine isn't worth much. You can buy functional barras for $6-800. 

The rule when dealing with workshops is to use whatever they recommend. This covers you from a warranty perspective. If you go out on your own, any problems will become yours to sort. 

The problem you'll have is turn around time from TBRE. You'd have to ask FP if they are happy to use Atomic, it's that simple. And get them to spec everything according to goals, and what you're prepared to pay. 

[sixman]

Who does Forced Performance recommend for engine rebuilds? I thought they did it in house?

[Don Kedick]

Sixman - When I spoke to them they said they use a couple of engine builders but I only got as far as TBRE and another Toowoomba based engine builder.

 

Tom Tucker - I am just going to use FP for dyno tuning once I have the car built and the Atomic long motor comes with a 12 month warranty which is voided if I go to the track which I won’t for at least 12 months.

 

Atomic got back to me and said all the new engines are nice and quiet and the engine should be good for what I am doing so they are some good guarantees from my perspective. 

 

Also for the discussion I would note Tony at TBRE was awesome to talk to and for a rebuild like I was doing he would have been able to fit it in and the turn around wasn’t going to be long at all just a month or so.

[Tom Tucker]

@Don Kedick if TBRE turn around is good, it's a no brainer, sorry. His engine will be superior to a Street Torquer at the same price point everyday, and that's not even taking into account the local support available

[Puffwagon]

On 26/02/2022 at 11:02 PM, Don Kedick said:

I’m hoping for a reliable 500-600hp

 

A stock motor will do that all day every day.

 

You could probably just buy a single stock piston to replace the cracked one (hint it aint a single ring set that's farked) and slap it in.

 

It depends on things but a built motor for 600whp is overkill. $14k for a 600whp engine is madness. I'd rather buy a non running moped, heel kick myself in the sack, slap my nanna, drink a shot of white vinegar and ride a pushbike to work in the rain while the moped sits at home before I paid that much.

 

Tl;dr yeah nah

[Don Kedick]

@Puffwagon yeah 600hp for now I just don’t want to do the internals again further down the track. I mean I would be happy with more power but I’m just trying to be sensible.

And I’m kinda going for overkill so idk.. 
My thinking is if I’m going to fix this compression problem I might as well do a full rebuild as that’s pretty much the hard part, looking at about 5k (which is the same as an atomic phase 2 rebuilt kit) for everything plus machining yadayada it starts getting closer  to just paying someone to do it or buying an engine (which seems so easy).

I dunno man any advice helps 

 

@Tom Tucker yeah maybe your right in the Atomic vs Local Rebuild when it comes to support. Atomic does come with free cam upgrade though 🥲. Although no one really comes more highly rated than TBRE. Man I don’t know, I could just fix it for around $1500..