Update on 3.2ltr 16v turbo race car.

[333pg333]

What a thorough and well-written recap of your travails and the road back. Hats off for sticking with it - that cannot be easy! I enjoyed the details even though they are beyond my level of understanding. Good fortune going forward!

By the way, that's one hell of an engine.

Thanks Tim. Appreciate it.

[333pg333]

Patrick -- I knew you'd be back! We are all rooting for you Pretty incredible story about the old motor. Cracks happen and stuff fails, but sounds like there were just too many things going on with that matter to chalk it all up to bad luck. My guess is it was crack at the machine shop, and never stood a chance. You show admirable restraint not blasting whoever built it by name.

No way to use a dual clutch transmission from a modern car? Maybe from the c8 corvette? Looking forward to hearing about your project as it progresses -- if I can help with anything here in California, just say they word -- though I'd sure understand if you stick with local shops this time around!


(P.S., thanks for sharing here on Carpokes. Many of the serious 944 types have found there way already, and more every day, so hopefully you get good exposure and feedback here, without the very loud white noise found elsewhere these days.... maybe a carpokes sponsorship sticker is in order for that car. )

Thanks Tom. By the time that motor finally made it's way to us we had so little remaining before the main event. It wasn't until we filled it with fluids that a crack appeared. The other cracks hadn't come to light at that stage. It's sort of a shame that it didn't come apart on the dyno as I'm sure the fire damage would have been kept to a minimum.

Yes we've thought about various different options for dual clutch trans. Corvette would be a definite possibility. There's also still an element in us that wants to beat the competition with the old 6 speed 968 'box. We feel like we could get close with a new aero package and an ounce of luck.

Appreciate the kind words and offer.

[333pg333]

Who's the US builder that F'd the block? You should out them so no one else makes the mistake as well. Especially if they aren't owning it and helping resolve anything.

Well quite a few people know who it is. I'm not going crazy in public at this stage. Not sure where I think it will all finish up. Probably nowhere. The builder is still asking for a small amount of money he says I owe him. The problem is that I had quite a long professional relationship with him and you get to know people more than just vendor / customer. But I was naïve and forgiving. Add to that, stupid. Perhaps lesson learned.

[333pg333]

Patrick, even though you have heard this too many times, it will work out just fine this time thanks to doing things locally. Long time since I had seen such partnography. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Thom. I knew you had misgivings for some time. I wish I'd listened more and pulled the pin on the projects many years ago. However, not possible to go back in time. Now I'm just trying to keep my head down and do things better this time around.

[333pg333]

Great first post Patrick....good to hear you are back in the game.

I think having your own trusted machinist, also based in Oz will make things so much more reliable for you. Along with all the experience your friend Sean Buchanan must have by now with turbo charging these 16v engines we will be expecting great things from this latest build. Good luck with everything and keep the updates coming.

Cheers Nick. Nice to see some familiar faces in here...so to speak. Yes, really great to have this local (interstate) machinist builder recommended. Between them, Sean and the owner of the shop where the car lives, Paul, I'm in good hands. Might be a little while longer until we're back on the dyno. At this stage we're not shooting for massive numbers. Just want to ensure the head stays down, the block stays together and the car moves under it's own steam for a longer duration than usual. We ran on the track with the old 3.1ltr 8v at around 18-20psi. I think this would have been circa ~450whp and the car was still pretty fast. We saw 618whp @ 16psi with the 16v motor. So there shouldn't be much need to exceed that. Sure, I'd love to see what say 25psi might bring just for curiosity's sake and it's hard to imagine we'll see headlift at that pressure with the new studs and tq values...but I don't want to push things to the point of unreliability. We shall see.

[333pg333]

Hi Patrick,

Thanks so much for the update, some of us have been following your progress for a long time!

I am excited to see how this progresses. Surely there will be more hurdles, but it seems like you know how to navigate such things.

It's sad to say I've faced a lot of hurdles with this car but I'm not Mr R Crusoe on that front. Hopefully some of the lessons along the way have sunk in to my thick skull!

ps...I've been to Santa Barbara. Nice little town.

[Thom]

Thanks Thom. I knew you had misgivings for some time. I wish I'd listened more and pulled the pin on the projects many years ago. However, not possible to go back in time. Now I'm just trying to keep my head down and do things better this time around.

Well, making costly mistakes is probably the steepest learning curve for folks who are willing to learn. Although on a much lower scale than yours at this stage I'm happy with the resources spent on my previous engine that never completely satisfied me as this process helped me put together the last one in a far more efficient manner with zero hesitation on each of its aspects, and so far is paying off big time, and considering how you have everything in control locally this time I really cannot see how it could wrong especially with the strong experience of previous failures. For hopelessly demanding 944 freaks like us it is perhaps just impossible to get our engines "right" the first time around - these days I get to drive some far more exotic machinery and I reckon our cars still fare well in terms of performance but with an appreciable low key factor. When it works out eventually and we look back at all we have been through I think it is still worth it in the end.

Again this time it will work and you will enjoy it for good, but please don't be too greedy with the boost. Regardless of what the dyno says you also should be able to feel the sweet spot yourself when driving the car, and stick to it, IMO at least.

[michaelmount123]

This is great news from Patrick! The pain and suffering experienced so far would have caused most mere mortals to reconsider the WTAC path and pursue something cheaper and easier. The inordinate challenge of racing and the pursuit of podium finishes on a modest budget takes an extraordinary passion and diehard personal commitment. We're rooting for you Patrick! Good-on-ya, my friend.

[ROB III]

Patrick, your past issues would have brought a lesser person to their knees. I admire your tenacity and candor in sharing issues and perspective. Keep looking forward while appreciating lessons learned from the past as there is something to be learned from every good or bad outcome.

[333pg333]

Thanks Thom. I knew you had misgivings for some time. I wish I'd listened more and pulled the pin on the projects many years ago. However, not possible to go back in time. Now I'm just trying to keep my head down and do things better this time around.

Well, making costly mistakes is probably the steepest learning curve for folks who are willing to learn. Although on a much lower scale than yours at this stage I'm happy with the resources spent on my previous engine that never completely satisfied me as this process helped me put together the last one in a far more efficient manner with zero hesitation on each of its aspects, and so far is paying off big time, and considering how you have everything in control locally this time I really cannot see how it could wrong especially with the strong experience of previous failures. For hopelessly demanding 944 freaks like us it is perhaps just impossible to get our engines "right" the first time around - these days I get to drive some far more exotic machinery and I reckon our cars still fare well in terms of performance but with an appreciable low key factor. When it works out eventually and we look back at all we have been through I think it is still worth it in the end.

Again this time it will work and you will enjoy it for good, but please don't be too greedy with the boost. Regardless of what the dyno says you also should be able to feel the sweet spot yourself when driving the car, and stick to it, IMO at least.

Great to hear of the success you've had with your latest motor. Good point about 'getting it right'. To me that would mean a motor that is designed and assembled well. Tuned not within an inch of it's life and not pushed over the edge. The concept of building a motor that can supply a similar result and pleasure that say a GT3 owner experiences would be nice. Drive to the track. Have some fun. Drive home. Rinse - repeat. I think with forced induction this becomes a little trickier but attainable.