"junkyard" engine install tips?

[Ivinsea]

My brother and I had a good test day in our Stohrs on Sat at NJMP Lightning circuit.

We made a lot of changes of the winters (new engine in his car, in my car - new engine, both lower rear control arms, brakes etc). His engine was a rebuilt Rilltech engine; my was a junkyard one. We both have the updated Rilltech wet sump pan.

We ran the first session with the engine covers off and stopped in the hot grid every few laps to have our crew check for leaks or any loose parts.

We ran the rest of the day at a moderate pace. While tightening my remote oil pressure sensor we inadvertantly loosened the other end which caused a small leak which was a little stupid but an easy fix.

Both engines ran perfectly and made good oil pressure.

We were the only cars in the open wheel group at the member day - it was like having our own private track. I would highly recommend membership at the track with the caveat of their chapter 11 reorganization.

[Richard Dziak]

Ivan:

Good to hear your back on the track. Open track days can be lots fun and a very good time to test the cars.

[ctracer18]

Hey Ivan,

Glad to hear both you and your brother's car are back in running order. I heard there was a test day on the 20th and was tempted to drop by for motivation for this season. You had great weather, hope that's the pattern for the rest of the year!

Sherman
Stohr 01D #18
Stohr WF-1 #33

[Ivinsea]

My brother Pete's and my engines in our Stohrs have been running great after 8 days on track.

We are more careful this year than last regarding:

Longer gearing to reduce revs at top speed.
Shifting at 12,200 to 12,500 max.
Very attentive during braking & downshifting to not over rev.
Very conscientious to warm oil up to 150*F before every session.

Both of us have noted lower oil and water temps than last year which can probably be attributed to lower revs.

We have both gotten faster even while being careful with the engines so we might as well work on our driving and set up rather then stressing the engines.

Oil pressure dips are still evident even with the updated Rilltech pan which is a little disappointing.

With the longer gearing, T7 on NJMP Lightning for example requires only 2 downshifts instead of 3, and one can brake much harder with only 2 downshifts to complete rather than 3. I can imagine completing 4 downshifts would be very difficult.

Bill Wald mentioned in the recent FB Rules thread how cool it is to run a used $1500 engine for a season and that is a great thing about this class!

[Richard Dziak]

Ivan:

Everything you discussed above will help your engines last so much longer.

Suggested you add the following to your list.

Change the oil after every 4 hours on the engine, along with new oil filter.

Have fun, sounds like you are doing that already.
Glad to hear your back on the track....enjoy.
You don't have to be national racer to enjoy these race cars.

[billwald]

Congrats to you and your brother! Glad your on track and enjoying your cars!!

[ASRF1000]

Ivan, Great to hear that you and your brother's cars are doing well. Just goes to show that you don't have to spend a bunch of money to enjoy these cars!

[JakeL]

Oil pressure dips are still evident even with the updated Rilltech pan which is a little disappointing.

Ivan -

I'm running an updated Rilltech pan in my Stohr, and I don't see any dips that aren't caused by drops in RPM - are you sure the drops you see aren't directly correlated with the engine RPM dropping as you brake?

You could experiment by pushing in the clutch on a straight (without slowing) and seeing if the oil pressure drops follow the same pattern.

Alternatively, you might want to make sure the oil level is at the right level - 1/4 to 1/2 qt above the sight glass while running & hot?

Glad you're having fun with the car.

Cheers!

-Jake

[Richard Dziak]

I agree with Jake on the amount of oil.

I use 4 3/4 quarts of Amsoil and the oil is always over the fill window when running. Besides if you overfill, the engine will spit it out to the overflow canister.

I find using 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 quarts is just about perfect. Of course I realize every oil pan may be different in size.

[Ivinsea]

Change the oil after every 4 hours on the engine, along with new oil filter.

Richard - yes, we are changing oil every other race weekend.

I'm running an updated Rilltech pan in my Stohr, and I don't see any dips that aren't caused by drops in RPM - are you sure the drops you see aren't directly correlated with the engine RPM dropping as you brake?

Jake,
Max OP on the straight is 51 to 53.
Min OP is 31 to 35 @ 7800 RPM always after braking and downshifts are completed.

Is 7800 RPM causing low OP?

(I am trying to figure out how to do a screenshot.)

[ghickman]

Ivan
I've been building these reversed pickup pans for 3 years now.

The oil pressure you are observing is PERFECTLY NORMAL.

Now if you see it dip below 20 psi in corners or under braking I'd be concerned.

[Brett Lane]

Ran Daytona with 220F on the oil temp taking it off the oil cooler. Oil pressure was 30 psi at just over 12,000 rpms across the start/finish line.

The track temp was way over 110F, and the OAT was around 95F with a relative humidity of way hot.

Just to hear that engine sing in my right ear(say what?) for that long was enough to make me leave my wife.

But it hung in there, and so will Julia. I love them both!

Brett

[glenn cooper]

Brett, that OP is very low for 12k rpm.
It should be about double that.
Have you tried hooking a mechanical gauge to the port; perhaps something is wrong with the elec sending unit, or the dash needs to be configured to the type of sender you are using.

GC

PS - You are using hearing protection, right? (Ya got me worried)

[urbanimports02]

fill your motor to the bottom of the site glass and go dyno it.... now fill it 1/2qt above the site glass and dyno again..... the power will not be what your engine builder said it was because he didnt run it 1/2qt above the site glass. the dry sump will make just slightly more hp then running your motor at the bottom of the site glass and will maintain solid op. i know this as i have a LOT of time on georges dyno. i am confident that the power restored with dry sump will overcome the weight penalty of 12-15lbs. plus your motor will live and you will not worry about it. spend the money once and save over the course of your racing career as apposed to taking the gamble that your motor will live. the dsr guys have chosen to go for wet sump as part of the all out weight loss approach and they feel it is making them faster. i still believe they would pull the same lap times dry sump, they are just chasing an impossible number. now as brandon and many other fb guys are approaching lap times very close to dsr cars, makes you wonder if they are making the right choices. many fast fb guys are running BRD dry sumps as a performance advantage, plus peace of mind. they all did proper data collection and testing and now have loads of time on the dry sump and will never look back on that purchase.