Kessler Improved Touring Engines

Reliability

MK: " More important, though, is reliability. An IT engine should last 2 seasons before a refresh and never "grenade" unless improperly tuned and maintained or abused. A lot of the reliability comes from the same places the power comes, making sure everything is just right. For example, using torque plates for boring and honing. I perform 90% of the machine work and 100% of the assembly personally. Anything I sublet is done by the best I can find."

BMW M44 custom torque plate.

1.8 Mazda custom torque plate being made in house.

Installation

A typical installation includes an engine bay cleanup, misc. bracket and accessory cleanup, wiring harness check and minor repairs, and a diagnostic check of every major fuel and ignition system component. The car is then run on the dyno for initial break in and to check for problems under real conditions.

MK: " I treat every install as if I was going to support the car at the track. I look for problems and hopefully catch them before they manifest on the track. And nobody likes working in a dirty engine compartment. Though I can't be everywhere, I usually try to get to your first outting on track to do what I can to support the engine."

Typical installs

Legality

MK: " Every engine I build is to the letter of the rules. I have absolute confidence that my engines will pass a full teardown, not only by a tech inspector, but by any other engine builder. I've taken apart many "pro" engines and been amazed at the flagrant rules violations. I'm equally amazed by the improper basic machine work I find on those same engines. I will not build an illegal engine, even if asked to."

Greg Amy's NX2000 being torn down at the 2006 ARRC. Note the intense secrecy.

Pricing

Engines must be priced on a case by case basis. The make and type of your engine, the condition of your core and your power goals and are variables that need to be considered.

MK: " My prices for labor usually fall right in the middle of estimates from a "stock" rebuild shop and a high profile "pro" builder. Many regular machine shops consider an Improved Touring type engine as a stock rebuild. This simply isn't the case if you're looking for any real power gains or better reliability. The high-profile builders are simply charging more money because they can or they're spending money on things they shouldn't be."

Kessler Engineering Improved Touring Engines.

What is Improved Touring?

Matt Kessler:

" My goal for any Improved Touring engine is a minimum gain of 10% wheel hp over flywheel rated horsepower, measured on my "low reading" Dynapack dyno. This assumes the engine management system can be tuned to handle the improved volumetric efficiency. I've had gains of 25% on higher budget builds."

Dyno sheet of a VW GTI 1.8 CIS in ITB without the infamous "G grind" cam. Factory power rating: 100hp@5500 and 105 torque @ 3000. Got torque?