HP/Driveability Question for Don M & Others
01-14-2007, 11:41 PM
#16
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Assuming there are no factory defects i.e. stress risers in the castings, inclusions in the castings, ring gaps too tight, etc. the engine should hold together for tens of thousands of miles with pretty hard use. Maybe more.
HP is like money in a savings account with a finite number. Everytime you run the engine hard you withdraw a bit of that money until finally you or your engine are broke/broken.
Hard core sled pullers use the power very little @ 300 feet per pull. Peak heat and stress in many cases would be higher than a street truck but the street truck is constantly pulling money from the account with use. Towing withdraws a larger sum than daily cruising.
The bigger the account to begin with i.e. stronger and more thermal resistant parts and designs, the longer we can withdraw from it.
For an overwhelming number of us, the stock shortblock and parts Cummins has in the engine from the get go are adequate.
I had various levels of power in my 12 Valve over the last 6 years and the worse damage by far was from high timing. Followed by heat.
Some guys can run a 600 HP truck for 100's of thousands of miles, but they dont use the power every time they get behind the wheel. Not enough of us on here run 700 HP daily on the street and use it alot so we really dont know yet how long these new engines will last.
Control the heat. I have dozens of customers that run 600 plus HP, and they have not experienced any bad engine failures like rods, pistons, cranks, etc.
Byron Haner is one guy that sled pulls his truck half the year in the NW. He has over 600 HP. But with his cam, injectors, and twin turbos he never sees over 1300 degrees with a 40,000 lb sled behind him. 1200 on the dyno and street. This thermal control is part of what keeps his truck on the track and road everyday. I worry more about his drivetrain in conversations with him than I do his engine.
HP is like money in a savings account with a finite number. Everytime you run the engine hard you withdraw a bit of that money until finally you or your engine are broke/broken.
Hard core sled pullers use the power very little @ 300 feet per pull. Peak heat and stress in many cases would be higher than a street truck but the street truck is constantly pulling money from the account with use. Towing withdraws a larger sum than daily cruising.
The bigger the account to begin with i.e. stronger and more thermal resistant parts and designs, the longer we can withdraw from it.
For an overwhelming number of us, the stock shortblock and parts Cummins has in the engine from the get go are adequate.
I had various levels of power in my 12 Valve over the last 6 years and the worse damage by far was from high timing. Followed by heat.
Some guys can run a 600 HP truck for 100's of thousands of miles, but they dont use the power every time they get behind the wheel. Not enough of us on here run 700 HP daily on the street and use it alot so we really dont know yet how long these new engines will last.
Control the heat. I have dozens of customers that run 600 plus HP, and they have not experienced any bad engine failures like rods, pistons, cranks, etc.
Byron Haner is one guy that sled pulls his truck half the year in the NW. He has over 600 HP. But with his cam, injectors, and twin turbos he never sees over 1300 degrees with a 40,000 lb sled behind him. 1200 on the dyno and street. This thermal control is part of what keeps his truck on the track and road everyday. I worry more about his drivetrain in conversations with him than I do his engine.
Very good information Don. I am very aware of the temperatures for just such reasons. I am glad to know that this is one of the things you recommend. I definitely want to get the Helix 2 cam from you as well as some new Flux's when I get my dual CP3 setup from John. Do you offer anything else that will help increase the size of my bank account???
I am not sure when I will get around to the custom set of twins but hopefully sooner rather than later.
I would say that I use all the power of the truck (i.e., all the power with the TST on 1/0 since I have no dyno to dial it in) less than 5% of the time. most of the time I roll on the throttle and only accelerate heavily in 4th, 5th, and 6the just because it makes the ride more enjoyable.
Hopefully with your help, we can make my account large enough that my truck will be able to retire without running it dry!
01-15-2007, 01:33 AM
#17
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D - you could buy another bank account and store it in your garage until your current one is depleted, then simply swap them out in Optimus.... repeat as necessary and Optimus will achieve virtual immortality. 
Ceteris Paribus, of course
Ceteris Paribus, of course
01-15-2007, 10:23 AM
#18
Crower makes billet steel rods (ours are forged) and the machining in the rods is FAR superior than the factory, as well as a superior rod bolt in the Crower rod. J&E (and I think a few others) makes the pistons. The crank, I am not sure, but I am thinking Crower makes it as well, BUT the factory crank can be knife edged, lightened, nitred (sp?), and then the whole assembly balanced to perfection with a good crank dampner and you will have a bullet proof bottom end. Also, the block can be machined (blueprinted) having clearances set up, once again, FAR superior to the factory, and I am not sure if our main caps have bolts or studs, but if they have bolts, I would swap over to main studs (ARP). Also, check into billet main cap's (do not think anyone makes any at this time, but you can check). And of course, good bearings and rings go a long way in reliability as well.
01-15-2007, 10:55 AM
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Wiggs,
For what you are doing with a street truck all the high dollar parts in the world wont buy a street engine much more time than stock parts from the factory.
The big dollar parts are built for high stress over short periods of times (I guess is what I am trying to say).
The stock short block is hard to beat for a street truck.
For what you are doing with a street truck all the high dollar parts in the world wont buy a street engine much more time than stock parts from the factory.
The big dollar parts are built for high stress over short periods of times (I guess is what I am trying to say).
The stock short block is hard to beat for a street truck.
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