Update on 3.2ltr 16v turbo race car.

[333pg333]

Long 1st post.

As some of you might be aware, I had my last motor destruct catastrophically within a very short period of running time. It was back in 2017 just before the big Time Attack event down here in Sydney. We had been waiting a long time to receive the motor back from the builder in the US. When it finally got to us we saw we had some decisions to make. The front of the motor had some expensive custom one off parts that we didn't feel were up to scratch. So I had to get my shop down here to quickly fashion replacement parts which we felt were a better design. Of course this is all out of my pocket. We then discovered a water leak when the motor was first filled with fluids. There was a hairline crack in the block below the intake. With the event literally only days away it was decided to try and repair the crack rather than send the motor back to the US. This was discussed in concert with the builder. So the crack was 'repaired' and off to the dyno we went. 618whp @ 16psi was very promising.

We then trailered the car 2.5 hours to a track for the shakedown. Unfortunately we had a crank signal issue and could only manage 1.5 laps. The joys of motorsport. It wasn't a major issue but one that we had to fix back at the shop. So the next outing was the practice day before the year’s big event. Got half way through the first outlap when smoke, then flames started to enter the cabin. Paul who built the car is also a highly skilled and brave driver. He could have abandoned the car at the side of the track which would almost certainly seen it burn to the ground. Instead he drove all the way back into the pit so we could get it under control. Unfortunately on this practice day there were no fire marshals present around the track.

Anyway, it was discovered that the block had cracked in several places creating an oil fire. This was the last straw for me financially and mentally and the car was stored in a shed for approximately 4 years.

Eventually I got tired of paying for storage fees and wanted to do something with the car. To sell it in this condition would have brought a stupidly low price and I just couldn't bear to finish my relationship with the car like that. So I made the decision to rebuild it with the intention of running it in one more WTAC event and then selling it. We know that the car never reached it's potential and the temptation of having one more crack at a podium proved too tempting.

To help financially with merely getting the car to the 2017 event I had pre sold my aero package to another racer down here. This meant that I had to get a new package designed. I reconnected with the same team at AMB aero and they have come up with updated designs which according to their cfd will increase downforce significantly over the last version. The rules have also opened up somewhat which has helped in this improvement.

The problem has been getting someone to make the parts at a reasonable cost. The leading company down here quoted over $50k. I politely declined to go with them even though their work is world class. So I've found another guy who quoted a much more reasonable cost. However with carbon fibre you need to make the positive 'male' plugs before you can lay any carbon. He has to outsource for this process and this has proved to be the stalling point. So my current plan is to defer to next year's event (2024) and hopefully have more time to test the car and not be stressed leading up to the event. The new aero will almost certainly require some changes in suspension. We currently run 1500lb springs at all 4 corners but will have to in all likelihood increase these and play with some bumpstops.

Back to the motor. I sourced a 3lt S2 block out of the UK and had it sent down here. It was my hope that we could re-use the main internal components from the failed engine providing nothing had been irreparably damaged due to the failure. We found a machine shop / engine builder down here who came highly recommended. (Wish I'd found them years ago....) So we sent the new block plus the current head/crank/pistons etc up to them. They would inspect and come back to me with a way forward. They are a licensed installer of Darton sleeves and it was decided that we would go with some MiDs. Having had previous issues with MiDs I was somewhat apprehensive about going down this path again. However in the ensuing years since those first MiD builds we felt that the then machinist had failed us which created the issues back through 2008-9. Having communicated with Chris White and others, I felt confident that if installed correctly these wet sleeves could work. Note that Chris supplied the block that went in the original RP968 (well known Time Attack car down here) and they never had any issues with that motor due to the sleeves. They ran that motor up close to 900bhp to my knowledge.

I also sourced some high quality studs for the motor. These have been torqued down to 135ft/lbs without any distortion to the MiD sleeves. That's impressive!

The new engine builder/machinist did discover some other issues with the parts that we'd sent him:

- The Valve Seats were not concentric to the valve guides (not seating without springs)
- Cam buckets were worn and concaved.
- Valve Stem Seals were bigger than the locator causing the inner valve spring to pull the valve stem seals off.
- The intake ports were too smooth and required texturing.
- The conrods were piston guided without sufficient side clearance at crank journal causing binding between the two. They had to be relieved.

To be honest, this is unfathomable in view of the amount of $$$ I was charged for the motor. By the time I add the cost of the new motor plus all the time and money spent cleaning and rebuilding the car after the fire, this engine is going to cost me more than $100k aud!

I'm also waiting to hear back from Joe Gibbs / Driven oils Tech dept. The machinist / builder recommended we go with one of their X6 race oils. Pretty sure the last oil we ran was either a 25w/60 or straight 60w. It's been a few years. It would appear that the X6 reference chart would have us running a lower viscosity which I don't love the idea of. I'll post up any correspondence I get from them.

The biggest disadvantage we have over our competition is the lack of a sequential gearbox. We have compared data to some other cars and we figure to lose up to 2 seconds per lap at our local track. Which is huge! One of the options is to convert to dbw and then our race engineer can write some code to minimise shift times which in turn reduces boost loss during shifts. The alternative would be to buy and install an SQ transmission which I'd have to factor at least $50k which is too much for my budget at any one time.

Work will continue to be pretty slow but I'll update this thread when there is some progress.

[333pg333]

Few more pics. Due to the fire retardant it badly affected the nice finish to the intake manifold. So Sean Buchanan put it through their glass bead machine. Came back with a satin finish which I think makes it look more factory.

[gruhsy]

Crazy stuff and great feedback.

Any chance that block was dropped in shipping? I had wondered that back when you informed us of the failure at the track. I have zero faith in shipping companies properly taking care not to damage packages.

I stumbled onto this yesterday speaking of piston guided rods along with side clearance for rods.

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/ ... confusion/

The intake looks fantastic.

[333pg333]

Of course anything is possible however it would have been completely obvious if there had been a drop of such significance that the block was cracked in so many places. The wooden crate would have certainly showed witness marks at the very least. Also it would have manifested itself on the dyno or the couple of laps during shakedown. Unfortunately the serts that were used have to carry the bulk of the blame. The deckplate was also sunk on one side which we didn't see until the head came off. That was after the fire.

Not to mention so many faults with the head. In more recent times I have subsequently been advised about some shortcomings involved in that build.

I think you and I have been reading the same articles of late. Interesting and a decent explanation.

[blueline]

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.

[Tom]

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. )

[AudiSport]

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.

[Thom]

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.

[nick_968]

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.

[cda951]

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.