How long do FM motors last?

[Darryl Wills]

I am finally getting my motor freshened up. It still runs strong but is using a lot of oil per session. I could easily run this thing the rest of the season but don't have to.

Put in service 4/2011

Record:
23 National wins
2 SCCA National titles
1 NASA FCC National title

Total mileage:
1800 miles of testing/practice
3000 miles of race weekends

4800 miles of pure enjoyment

$1.30/ mile for motor usage

[automalone]

As I'm getting into this sport, that is very encouraging to hear! Thanks for the post

[racerdad2]

Green with envy

[Ted Idlof]

I keep track of hrs at speed & estimate 80 mph avg speed on central Ca tracks. I had 90 hrs. on the last motor Which was my 2nd. First went 50 hrs & was the car's original motor.

[iracer]

Some of my rental mazdas have over 3000 hrs on them !
I dont log the miles and I do dyno the engines and continually compare all of them with data aquisition. This one is 2hp down from my new rebuilt engine.

[gapo3]

We bought our 1997 Formula Mazda in 2009. Per Daryl Drummond when he rebuilt our motor in 2014 it had a 1988 or earlier engine seal on it. I would say that 26 years on one race engine is pretty good! We also won the Formula Car Challenge Series that year!

[mstephenson51]

Wow yall! very good to hear such huge times on a motor.

Sure beats the shifter kart I got out of... "stock" shifter that needs a new piston every weekend and a new piston ring every DAY.

[holmberg]

Based on what folks have said in this thread, the weak point in FM appears to be the gearbox. On a per-hour basis, you'll spend more than twice the dollars per hour on the gearbox than on the engine.

That's seems like something that should be addressed for this class.

Greg

[mstephenson51]

Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind, its a straight-cut, dog-ring box, H-pattern. We typically shift without clutch bc its faster so its possible to extend the life by not doing clutchless shifts I guess.

So IMHO, the pro's and cons of this box vs something that will make ratios last longer (possibly a sequential, or possibly bigger box?):
-This box is very inexpensive to buy. VS a Seq or bigger box, those would be an easy $5-6k more I bet. So you take a $22-24k car and then it becomes a $30-32k car. BUT, you might get double the life out of the gears? I don't know.
-Sequential may get more life out of the dog rings and ratios, but then they are sometimes harder to set up right and sometimes easier to break if you miss shifts.
-change-over costs. IMO, this being a spec class a big cost change over like that may kill the class. even if people are spending money on the gears, I would imagine that is preferred to dropping $10k on a new box.

Much babbling there, sorry. Im kind of a fan of what we have. You can always make the choice to shift with clutch and go from 0.2 sec shifts to a .7 sec shift and be easier on the gears. plus the benefit of 2 pedal driving under brakes you can get your gas-brake crossover time to nearly zero. When the race is heated, I personally like 2-pedal driving to gain those couple tenths. ;0)

Based on what folks have said in this thread, the weak point in FM appears to be the gearbox. On a per-hour basis, you'll spend more than twice the dollars per hour on the gearbox than on the engine.

That's seems like something that should be addressed for this class.

Greg

[dmccallum]

Guys, I bought Alan's Formula Mazda in 2009 and I don't know how long it had been since the engine had been rebuilt. Probably a number of years. The engine seemed to run fine. Alan certainly won his share of races against some of the best around. Finally at the Runoffs in 2012, we went to the Dyno and Moses said it was down on Horsepower. We put a new motor in at that time. So, if you wonder about how you engine is performing, put it on the Dyno and jet the Webber. It should be somewhere around 170 HP when new. You will have to decide how much drop off you are willing to live with. I change oil after every weekend event.
I don't get the Gearbox cost comments. We have been racing the FM for 8 years and I have never done anything but change the gear ratios and I always use new fluid. Moses has looked at it a few times and advised a new gear set or a dog ring here or there but not often. It certainly has not cost $300 a weekend. Maybe $300 a season.
I hope everyone has a great time at Indy. Sorry we can't be there to race with you. Not possible with School.
Dale McCallum

[sflaten]

Some of my rental mazdas have over 3000 hrs on them !
I dont log the miles and I do dyno the engines and continually compare all of them with data aquisition. This one is 2hp down from my new rebuilt engine.

I know Drummond dynos engines, but wondering what the chassis dyno will show as a "new" engine and how far the HP differs between 185 HP engine and chassis losses before you know it is time to look at refurbishing?

[dmccallum]

I am not sure how much clearer I can be. Look at the post from Sept.11. The DYNO HP on a new is about 170 with the carb jetted properly.