I would say that looks like a nice setup on paper. There are a few things I would like to add though. 1. I dont like all of the coatings for a few reasons. The main reason is because when you add coatings to a machined surface or bearing, it throws the clearance off that the block was machined for. There isn't much benefit in moly coating bearings. I've heard bill say before that it reduces friction by 15% (or somewhere around there), but that number is taken at idle... At idle, who really cares... When your motor is making power (4k+ rpm), those moly coatings may free up 0.0001 HP which, to me is not worth messing with the clearance tolorances. Not to mention the extra money you spend for it. Now, ceramic coating the exhaust ports and the exhaust manifold makes sense. As for the pistons, if it were me, I'd leave them alone. There is no need to ceramic coat CP pistons, or any good forged piston for that matter. When the block is machined, any good machine shop like VT will take into account how hot the pistons will get and machine the piston to wall clearance accordingly. If you plan to run mad boost and nitrous, just tell them and they will machine the block for that. Forged pistons are meant to expand and contract with heat. If your car is tuned so poorly that you melt a piston, ceramic coating it wouldn't have done much to save you anyway. As for moly coating the piston skirts, again I wouldn't do it (but that's just me).

My other concern lies with the standalone system. Before you dive into a true standalone system like the AEM, you'd better know what you are doing when it comes to tuning, and you'd better have access to a dyno for a long long long time (very expensive to tune on). The AEM system does not come with any preset maps for your car. It will be a big enough pain in the ass just to get it to idle nice, let alone tune it throughout the entire powerband. There are shops out there (like VT) who are certified by AEM to install and tune their standalone systems. If you decide to go that route, I highly recommend you let them tune it and nobody else, unless you really really turst them that they know what they're doing. I wouldnt ever recommend a standalone to someone who doesn't do their own engine work and tuning.

As for the engine internals, you can't go wrong with cp pistons or pauter rods. They are both top notch.

If I were you, I would also look at the new stroker motor that FTY/VT are selling. It is a 2.0 block so you dont have to deal with all the issues that come with a 2.4 swap. It comes with a bulletproof brand new custom forged crank that puts the stroker motor's displacement at 2.238 liters. Not to mention, you get a crank that's capable of turning 9000+ rpm no problem. If you haven't seen it before, check it out at http://www.fasterthanyou.com/420A_engines.cfm (the domestic killer).

That's all I can think of for now...

Matt
1995 Eclipse GS
2.0L, S16g Turbo, 8 Injectors, 26psi

1998 Eclipse GSX
2.3L Stroker, AEM EMS Converted to Speed Density, FP3065 Turbo, 35psi , and so on...