FW Motorsports
03-03-2012, 11:30 AM
#190
There was a thread on nasioc recently, built motor section, some guy in another state with built motor snapped a stock sti rod on e85, 20g, 400qhp/ ftlbs, rod looked exactly the same. IMO if you're shooting for over 350, definitely upgrade rods in your build. Especially if they're high mileage or been abused for years.
03-03-2012, 04:21 PM
#191
Full disclosure:
This is one of our customer's cars that we built back in 2009. This was a stage 1 engine and was originally built to run a stock VF39 turbo. This engine was built using the original crank and rods that had miles on them at the time.
Later the customer upgraded to run the VF39 on E85 and ran it that way for abou a year. Eventually, the customer wanted even more power and decided to upgrade the turbo to a Blouch Dom 3.0XTR and run it on E85 as well.
The customer was informed that the engine was never built to support this kind of power so there was no guarantee on how long it would hold up. The car was tuned semi-conservatively at about 23psi on E85, making about 420whp. It ran this way for about 6-7 months until one day the customer got on it and one of the original OEM rods let go.
Until this point, the car ran very well and had no major issues. This was simply too much power for the aged stock rods to handle and eventually one let go. This is certainly unfortunate for the customer, but ultimately, he was well informed and made the decision to run this power level. The known weak point of the engine was exactly what failed as expected.
This is why we don't recommend using the OEM rods for anything at or over 400whp. Our stage 2 engines with Manley I-Beam rods are meant for that kind of power range.
I hope this clears up any mysteries as we honestly have nothing to hide. I hope the customer is happy with his rebuild at FW and wish him and his car all the best in the future.
Thanks
-- Ed
This is one of our customer's cars that we built back in 2009. This was a stage 1 engine and was originally built to run a stock VF39 turbo. This engine was built using the original crank and rods that had miles on them at the time.
Later the customer upgraded to run the VF39 on E85 and ran it that way for abou a year. Eventually, the customer wanted even more power and decided to upgrade the turbo to a Blouch Dom 3.0XTR and run it on E85 as well.
The customer was informed that the engine was never built to support this kind of power so there was no guarantee on how long it would hold up. The car was tuned semi-conservatively at about 23psi on E85, making about 420whp. It ran this way for about 6-7 months until one day the customer got on it and one of the original OEM rods let go.
Until this point, the car ran very well and had no major issues. This was simply too much power for the aged stock rods to handle and eventually one let go. This is certainly unfortunate for the customer, but ultimately, he was well informed and made the decision to run this power level. The known weak point of the engine was exactly what failed as expected.
This is why we don't recommend using the OEM rods for anything at or over 400whp. Our stage 2 engines with Manley I-Beam rods are meant for that kind of power range.
I hope this clears up any mysteries as we honestly have nothing to hide. I hope the customer is happy with his rebuild at FW and wish him and his car all the best in the future.
Thanks
-- Ed
03-03-2012, 05:18 PM
#192
banned
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: 2006 Zero/sports Widebody
Posts: 1,669
Car Info: 500+ whp Club
When the rod stopped so quickly. Everything else took longer and it jumped time. Or seems. I have seen that happen on motorcycles a lot at the race track. But its just a guess on my part about this. Like to see what the bottom of those heads look like.
03-03-2012, 06:40 PM
#194
It looks like about 1-2 teeth off there and I wouldn't be surprised if it jumped that much when the rod snapped and the piston likely hit some valves. If the timing was that far off before this happened, the engine certainly wouldn't have made the power it did throughout its lifetime. I also wouldn't be surprised if most of the clearances would measure out poorly at this point as well since the case has lost nearly all of its integrity.
Thanks
-- Ed
Thanks
-- Ed
