Engine reliability mods for road racing?

[///m3]

Looks like I blew the motor in the wife's car at Sebring this past weekend. The motor had a strange tick at the end of the day on Saturday, sounded like a lifter. Anyways, took it out for the instructors session and after a puff of smoke and a loss of power, I pulled it into the pits. It didn't sound good. Looks like I lost piston 1 came apart with zero compression and #3 only has 60psi, but haven't figured out why yet. Oh yeah, and the supercharger puked all of it's oil into the intake track, but that's another thread...

Are there any must do reliability mods, other than cooling, to perform during the engine rebuild? I've already got all the cooling mods one can do, and it seems to run cool enough. The only one I can think of is a baffled oil pan, if someone makes one. Any others? Different oil pump?

 

[TroyV]

Please provide more details.. The car, the mileage, the mods, etc..

 

[///m3]

Doh! I thought I put all of that in my signature.

03 Cobra coupe, 48k miles, full interior, 2.8" pulley, 460whp, Evans cooling system with fender mounted oil cooler, upgraded radiator and heat exchanger, differential oil cooler

It's hanging on the fence between gutted track car and street car.

I don't think this is good...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mun7t6GMUtw/ShvB-zgAZEI/AAAAAAAAARk/LOnznEsXexE/s144/Cobra Motor 012.jpg

 

[mu22stang]

I'd say the 2.8" pulley for road racing duties is going to need a ported blower to go with it. Otherwise, strap the stocker back on because your IAT2s are going to be hard to keep low otherwise. Also, getting a custom tune with some extra fuel and conservative timing will keep temps down. Reische makes a good thermostat if you haven't come across it yet. Are the vents on the underside of the hood still restricted by the hood blanket and plastic flap? If so, rip that blanket off and cut the plastic flaps. You can go one step further and take out the grills when you're on the track, or go even further and do this.

 

[TroyV]

+1

I'm of the feeling that it probably isn't necessary to run a whole lot of boost on a car that is only doing DE's......I'd suggest, in addition to the other suggestions, you run a 3.1 or 3.4 pulley on DE days.....especially the hot days.

When you piece that engine back together, make sure you have ARP2000 studs put in, or risk lifting a head. Been there......TTY bolts blow.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

If you spent all that cash on cooling systems did you install gauges to monitor everything? What were your oil and coolant temps out there?

As stated above, port the blower. A 2.8 WITH a port is too much for open track events in most climates. Sounds like the blower got cooked, and that may have caused your pistion issues. On the outset it does not sound like you melted a piston from an over agressive tune.

I run a 3.1 pulley with a ported blower. It makes 475 to the wheels at 10 lbs of boost. I rarely see over 130 IATs on track even in high 80/low 90 degree weather, and I have yet to have high coolant or oil temp issues.

 

[///m3]

I've been running the 2.8 pulley for a couple of years now, probably been to 25 days of tracking. We hadn't seen a problem before this, but it still doesn't mean it's been right.

The blower didn't SEEM to puke it's guts until after I limped it half way around Sebring and unloaded it off the trailer back at the house.

I do have a coolant temp gauge in the driver's side head that just hits 240, but the stock gauge never moves. I thought that it was acceptable limit since it was actually inside the head, especially with the Evans coolant. I don't have an oil temp sensor in the oil cooler setup yet. It's on the list.

It sounds like I was pushing the motor too hard with the smaller pulley. Sounds like a ported blower is definitely a must, especially since i have to rebuild it. I'll have the motor out and head off tomorrow, so I'll find out what happened to the two pistons.

Any other must do improvements while the motor is out? I do have the head cooling mod too, by the way.

Everyone OK with the oiling system in these motors?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Well tomorrow will tell the tale. Good luck.

Maybe your intercooler pump stopped working? I've read about engines blowing because of that. These engines don't have knock sensors from the factory.

If you are going to have the engine out, an upgraded oil pan is a nice to have.

 

[racebronco2]

You will need to have a real heat extractor hood to keep temps in check. The smallest pulley i use is a 3.10 in the summertime.

 

[pkwest]

Get a good road race oil pan. I lost a modular engine a few years ago on the track. Spun a bearing, broke a piston and the rod went thru the block. One of the first modes done on my 03 cobra prior to track use was a canton road race oil pan.

 

[racebronco2]

oops double post.

 

[BlackStripes]

You will need to have a real heat extractor hood to keep temps in check. The smallest pulley i use is a 3.10 in the summertime.

Maybe someone needs to start selling those hoods oke:

 

[TroyV]

LOL...yeah.... He posts that pic at least once a week on here. I got so frustrated waiting for Carlos that I just up and sold my car....

 

[BlackStripes]

I got so frustrated waiting for Carlos that I just up and sold my car....

man... i guess i should start thinking about selling my car? damn

 

[racebronco2]

I am making a couple of them. Shipping to your part of the country would cost an arm and a jeg.

 

[Phxcobra]

I'm in AZ. How much for a hood, hmm, hmm, hmm?

 

[TroyV]

Carlos, you can just use the "is the cost of shipping more or less painful than the cost of over heating 15 minutes into every session" angle. Had I still had my Cobra, I'd have paid for the shipping. The hood is good juju.

 

[BlackStripes]

I am making a couple of them. Shipping to your part of the country would cost an arm and a jeg.

If the hood weighs less than 20lbs... I'd be willing to pay for shipping without too much concern... any ideas of time frame?

 

[TXPD]

Doh! I thought I put all of that in my signature.

03 Cobra coupe, 48k miles, full interior, 2.8" pulley, 460whp, Evans cooling system with fender mounted oil cooler, upgraded radiator and heat exchanger, differential oil cooler

It's hanging on the fence between gutted track car and street car.

I don't think this is good...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mun7t6GMUtw/ShvB-zgAZEI/AAAAAAAAARk/LOnznEsXexE/s144/Cobra Motor 012.jpg

This is your wife's car?

 

[racebronco2]

If the hood weighs less than 20lbs... I'd be willing to pay for shipping without too much concern... any ideas of time frame?

I have started on one. If someone wants it i need a 100.00 deposit. Cost will be 500.00 (200.00 for the hood and 300.00 to mod and primer). I am sure it weighs more then 20lbs. It was a relief to run hard and hardly ever have to worry about the temps except for when running in 100* weather. If i could get damaged hoods cheaper then the cost would be less.