SCCAForums.com

I don't know if there is anything to be gained but an SFI damper is quite a bit lighter than stock....And can only be good for the engine. I didn't do it on mine as that wasn't S/P legal at the time. But I would have. And have the engine balanced with it in mind.

 

Accusump is really a feel good item. But I'm sure that if you stay away from Mobil 1, and use the canton pan your problems will be long gone.

 

BTW during your build I think your going to be surprised by the timing chain set. I was blown away at how expensive that thing was!

---

DSP 325IS.

I don't want to threadjack, but if you have a link or some sort of explanation I'm curious as to why you are citing Mobil 1 as part of the problem.  All the engines I've built for customers and the ones I've done for myself I've never seen any issue so I'm always curious if there is something I've missed. 

---

Steve Nackers
'98 BMW 318i

TurfBurn:

I don't want to threadjack, but if you have a link or some sort of explanation I'm curious as to why you are citing Mobil 1 as part of the problem.  All the engines I've built for customers and the ones I've done for myself I've never seen any issue so I'm always curious if there is something I've missed. 

 

i'm with him! ^^^^

 

i've run mobil 1 in all of my cars with no issues... i just happened to stumble on a deal on something else, which is why there's royal purple in the current motor... if there's data out there that says otherwise, i'd love to see it!

---

-Josh

1997 Neon ACR-Clone - current EP class warrior
89 toyota RN- 4cylinder 4x4 tow truck...
86 toyota corolla gt-s... ep wha?

Because every single GM engine in a Vette or F-body that I know of that has let go, has happened in an engine that has Mobil 1 in it. An engine is to expensive, and the numbers are more than a coincidence.

Talk to Sam, and he can give you specific examples, (names). 

 

Ignoring that just look at oil consumption vs other oil in GM LT/LS engines, oil temperatures, and hot oil pressures.

 

And FWIW all of these engines with Mobil 1 that have had problems have failed due to oiling issues. Just like this one.

---

DSP 325IS.

FWIW, we didn't even have the car long enough to do an oil change.  I have no idea what kind of oil was in it, all I know is that when it came out of the car it was kind of sparkly.

---

It's going to an interesting season...

Mobil 1 is an excellent oil, and this is coming from someone that does pretty serious engine development for a living.  I'd have no problems using M1 in a race engine, particularly their 15W-50.

I think this is the classic case of a false cause/effect conclusion.  Lots of "into it" engine guys want to protect their investment, so they use M1.  Then they have an engine failure, most likely from oil starvation, as in Brad's case here.  Since lots of guys have failures while running M1, it is falsely assumed to be a cause.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  When they rebuild, they are then extra cautious and in addition to changing oil, they do things like a better pan or an accusump.  Engine lives, and now the false conclusion of the oil being at fault is reinforced.  I don't care what magical, marketing claim oil would have been in this LT4, it would still have died.  No oil = high bearing wear, regardless of the brand on the bottle (or what Al Unser says on the Prolong infomercial when he drives the Viper with no oil).

I also mentioned the accusump, which was poo-poo'd earlier.  They are excellent devices and will indeed save an engine that gets the oil pick up uncovered for short periods.  If your class' rules allow it, it is a great device for auto-x or road racing.

Recently, because of SAE requirements, most/all street use oils have taken a small step backwards in engine protection in the name of catalyst durability.  If you don't mind spending the cash, one of the very few oils that is a step up from M1 is Redline.  This summer will be the first time I've run anything other than M1 in my fleet, as I'm switching to Redline in the Z06...just for that slight improvement in engine protection.

-Steve

Windscreen:

Mobil 1 is an excellent oil, and this is coming from someone that does pretty serious engine development for a living.  I'd have no problems using M1 in a race engine, particularly their 15W-50.

I think this is the classic case of a false cause/effect conclusion.  Lots of "into it" engine guys want to protect their investment, so they use M1.  Then they have an engine failure, most likely from oil starvation, as in Brad's case here.  Since lots of guys have failures while running M1, it is falsely assumed to be a cause.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  When they rebuild, they are then extra cautious and in addition to changing oil, they do things like a better pan or an accusump.  Engine lives, and now the false conclusion of the oil being at fault is reinforced.  I don't care what magical, marketing claim oil would have been in this LT4, it would still have died.  No oil = high bearing wear, regardless of the brand on the bottle (or what Al Unser says on the Prolong infomercial when he drives the Viper with no oil).

I also mentioned the accusump, which was poo-poo'd earlier.  They are excellent devices and will indeed save an engine that gets the oil pick up uncovered for short periods.  If your class' rules allow it, it is a great device for auto-x or road racing.

Recently, because of SAE requirements, most/all street use oils have taken a small step backwards in engine protection in the name of catalyst durability.  If you don't mind spending the cash, one of the very few oils that is a step up from M1 is Redline.  This summer will be the first time I've run anything other than M1 in my fleet, as I'm switching to Redline in the Z06...just for that slight improvement in engine protection.

-Steve

 

 

I'm not here to argue. To me it was to many numbers to be a coincidence. I felt after spending the money on a rebuild I wasn't ready to take that gamble. To each his own though. It's only money afterall.

---

DSP 325IS.

Why can't steve find some LT5 laying around. He's gotta know of one hidden away somewhere in Mercury storage.

---

I need more tape!
Ben takes a unique line through 14. The Porsche is not impressed.

The LT5 would be cool just to say I did it, but from a horsepower standpoint it's not really worth it.  A really well tuned and prepared BSP LT4 could be in the about 340-350 rwhp range (a pretty generous guesstimate) which is about what a C5 Z06 puts down, and about what a stock LT5 puts down.

 

Two huge disadvantages to the LT5: Cost and weight.  They're incredibly hard to come by and when you find one.... be prepared to pay.  Parts are even harder to find.  The engine is also a freakin' huge anchor, over the front of an already front heavy car.  It'd be cool to say I did, but other than that, way more of a pain then its worth.

---

It's going to an interesting season...

Yah I know, I was just joking about the LT5 it just is a cool collectors item (the c4 zr-1, which one of my friends dad has.) If I were to pick a C4 a ZR-1 would be sweet just for the rarity. 

---

I need more tape!
Ben takes a unique line through 14. The Porsche is not impressed.

Trust me, if I could find a way to justify doing it, I would.  Those were sweet engines.

 

I saw a factory one off ZR-1 fetch 200k over at Barrett-Jackson... Wow. 

---

It's going to an interesting season...

For those of you playing the home game, It's been a long few weeks.  Pictures to follow next weekend after I pull myself out of the drunken stupor known as Opening Day.

 

Needless to say, I spent 34 hours between friday, saturday, and part of sunday on this b**** of a car.  On friday I started with a block and heads, and had the engine in the car by 2:00  AM Saturday morning.  Sunday I got the transmission in and everything connected, intake manifold on, headers in (holy crap the passenger side is impossible) oil primed, blah blah blah, all of the crap connected.  Sunday I got the exhaust put back on, spark plug wires run, a couple small leaks fixed (whoopsie) and other small errors fixed. After all checking, double checking, and triple checking, we attempted to start it at about 4:30 pm.  The weather held out all day so it looked like it might get on the road.

 Well, the car started on the first turn of the key and ran like the engine was brand new.  Honestly.  All was great.  There's a new clutch in, as well as a host of other reliability parts (water pump, starter, sensors, oil pump, oil pan, etc.) and all went well UNTIL I shut it off.  There is some coolant seeping out of some of the head bolts, it looks like the sealer didn't seal properly.  SH**!

It was a killer.  As of right now, the bolts have been identified, the driver's side header is back off, exhaust is off, and I'm back in Madison playing college student again.  This weekend will be chalk full of more crap to do.

 Step one is fix the leaks (drain block, remove head bolts, re-seal, fill block, replace exhaust), step 2 is replace all of the wheel bearings (all 4 are completely shot), step 3 is replace the interior parts I had to remove, and finally step 5 is change oil for the break in. Using 50 wt oil, the car has about 60-70 psi at idle with a high volume high pressure pump.

With any luck, I can start the break in process on Sunday.  If not, I'll have to drive it around for about 10 hours next Friday to get the car ready for Saturday and Sunday.  Crap, lots of work to do and no time to do it.  

 

---

It's going to an interesting season...

Z28Lt1AutoXer:

I cant wait to see the shiny new oil pressure warning light that your going to have on the dash!  Pops is probably going want something in the 6" 200 Watt range before you get to drive it again.  :)

 

I'll have pictures of this bad boy next weekend, it's almost installed.  The wires are run and the holes are drilled in the roll bar.  It's about a 2.5" by 1" rectangle filled with LED's, pointed straight at the driver's face.  The car will not starve of oil again, not as long as this light is blinding the driver.  The car will most likely crash due to temporary driver blindness. 

---

It's going to an interesting season...

Well, it's alive and semi leak free.  There's still one small pesky drip I'm trying to track down, but the car is 180 miles in to it's 500 mile break in period.

 

It's still loud, but i'm working on designing a new exhaust system as we speak.  One project at a time. 

---

It's going to an interesting season...

BMoore:

Well, it's alive and semi leak free.  There's still one small pesky drip I'm trying to track down, but the car is 180 miles in to it's 500 mile break in period.

 

It's still loud, but i'm working on designing a new exhaust system as we speak.  One project at a time. 

 

the exhaust was half the fun on that car!  keep it!!!!!!

 

good to hear it's back and alive again

---

-Josh

1997 Neon ACR-Clone - current EP class warrior
89 toyota RN- 4cylinder 4x4 tow truck...
86 toyota corolla gt-s... ep wha?