If something were to fail with the meth system, the tune should be set to adjust for the increased IAT without the meth. call ECS if A&A won't install and tune meth for you

 

Sure do. Lately I do all my discussing with Doug in person at the ECS shop

BTW I'm not sure why you think I've done almost everything wrong... My experience with FI was:

1- Installed A&A Supercharger kit myself, enjoyed 30,000 miles without as much as a check engine light. Engine broke a piston because, well, it was a stock engine with 30K miles of boosted abuse.

2- Swapped stock motor for forged engine. Engine had issues, swapped it out a second time, replaced blower.

3- Blower spun a bearing.

I'm not sure how I could have done it any differently. I've been extremely unlucky in getting first a bad engine, then a bad blower, but realistically this could, can, and does happen to anyone... My mistake, if I made one, was thinking a forged engine was a worthwhile investment. It was not. But you will find plenty of people here who feel otherwise.

 

true could happen to anyone and has happened to alot of people.

On a side Note ,Sam I know they have a ton of E85 stations in NY.. you might want to dump the Meth and go with E85 ..2.40 a gallon and =106+ octane

A few GTRs (3.8 liters) are making 760whp on a mustang dyno , and one is making 806whp on a very stingy mustang dyno...

with meth you prob will be making close to 750whp all day..

You will need to upgrade injectors and maybe fuel pumps.. but well worth it.

 

The nearest gas station from my house is 60 miles away in Pensylvania and it is about the only one in the area untill Maryland or New York. Add to that the 30% drop in fuel economy from running E85 and basically all my car would be good for would be trips to and from the gas station

I totally agree with you; it is a fantastic power adder, but I don't have the fuel pump headroom for it, and I take 3000 + mile roadtrips with this car regularly (this month ALONE I drove 7K miles); running an exotic fuel is 100% completely infeasible. Even Meth is enough of a PITA for me

 

Powerlabs,
You're right. Just bad luck, now that I'm a little more sober.
You know, I've had some unlucky episodes myself. Most have.
Again, no negative intent.

 

Its fine man, always nice seeing you post anyways

 

Sam,

Sorry, I disagree with the above statement - I believe a forged set of pistons & forged rods are a very worthwhile investment and here is why....

With the exception of the LSA, the factory cast pistons were not engineered for the typical high cylinder pressures seen in boosted applications - but when running a reasonable boost level, in conjunction with a well mapped calibration, they will survive; however, this places the piston at the far end of its design limits and any miscue will generally result in failure, generally catastrophic.

The factory con rods aren't by known for breaking in two, but they also aren't engineered for boost - the factory rod bolt strength is extremely suspect though. Most "H" beam rods may be overkill but given their low cost they are almost a "no-brainer" during any rebuild, especially a forced induction rebuild.

The cost of a basic forged rod, forged piston, built short block is essentially ~2K, opening the door of "reasonable boost" quite wide. Sure, there are additional costs involved in this "forged short block" investment but no more than replacing the engine with stock components and a lot less if that stock engine has lifted the top of a piston.

The cost of a high boost short block varies and with that so does the value. But, if someone expects to run 14lbs of boost or more while actually extracting some real power out of it, they should know going in that it is not inexpensive. This type of build requires much more than just forged pistons and rods. In fact, compared to most of the ancillaries required, that's the least of the expense.

 

Charlie,

You make an excellent case for a forged engine, and your case mirrors my logic when, after observing a factory piston split in half despite no signs of detonation occuring on my engine, I decided to go forged.
On paper the forged engine is a no brainer. The stock engine was designed to make 400HP and it was NEVER intended for boost. The factory hypereutectic cas pistons aren't just not meant for boost; they are known to break when subjected to it for long enough.

The reality of going forged though was very different for me. I spent about 8 grand (block was cracked, needed a new one, heads had to be redone, tons of parts were upgraded, etc, etc,), I spent an enormous amount of my own time swapping it, and the resulting engine:
1- Made less power than a stock engine,
2- Burned incredible amounts of oil,
3- Had no low end torque.

Out went the engine, back to the shop, for a second rebuild. Now, back with a fresh hone and a higher compression ratio, I got an engine that still
1- Burns more oil than a stock engine (I am told this is completely normal because of the larger clearances, and a search through any car forum will reveal similar observations from people running forged engines).
2- Makes more power than the stock motor, but only because it runs a LOT more boost AND needs methanol injection.

All in all, I spent a TON of money to make a LITTLE more power and ended up with a car that can only function given a steady diet of Methanol.

Is a forged motor stronger than stock? Yes. Is it more reliable? Sure.
Is my car faster now? Yes, absolutely. Am I happy with the car? Yes: I wanted a fast car and I got one.
BUT....

Was it worth it?
No. Not for what it cost me. By the time it was all said and done, with the bigger blower, the cam, the meth kit, my twin disk clutch, various retunes, etc etc etc... I spent 15 thousand dollars into a car that is worth maybe 30K. I took a car that was already too fast by most standards (can't drag race it because it has no roll cage, can't get on it on the street because I will go to jail) and made it a little faster while burning off a large sum of money I will never get a return on...


SOOO... What I really mean is:

While a forged engine IS a much better choice for a boosted car, I do not feel that the cost and hassle of one was worth the benefit for me. Given the chance I would have stuck another stock engine in there, driven it for 30K miles, blown it up, put another stock one, etc... For what I spent on the car I could be swapping out stock motors for the next 5 years before the forged motor became a worthwhile investment
It was an all around very bad experience. I hate to waste money and this was definitely a waste.

MAYBE if I had just dropped the car off at a shop like yours, and picked it back up with no hassle and it was done right the first time around I'd feel differently about it, but I didn't want to use a shop because I was trying to save money. I saved money doing the labor myself but in the end still spent a ton of money and ended up quite bitter about how much work and money I put into the car vs what I really got back out of it.

 

Totally understandable...If you had gotten the motor you though you'd bought the first time, I'm thinking your whole outlook would be different. I just replaced the motor in my dd truck with a similar setup. Just from a different shop in Houston. So far, so good.

 

in my opinion you broke a piston after 30k miles not because it was old, but because of detonation, not saying your tune is wrong, because it lived for 30k but maybe you got a bad batch of fuel, and got detonation

 

I respect your opinion and I wont' say you are wrong, but I did examine the piston, spark plug, and engine head on that cylinder VERY carefully using a digital microscope and found absolutely no signs of detonation at all... Back when I raced turbo Subarus I blew 3 of the turbo engines up, 2 from detonation, and the signs were all there; pitting, chipped spark plug insulators, etc... This time there were none.
I really think it broke because it "had enough"... Nothing lasts forever: 30,000K hard boosted miles making 600RWHP on a 56K engine that was designed to make 340WHP to begin with is not that bad..

 

I think it would still be going but you are rather hard on things......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqL5d6_ErbE&feature=fvw

 

[QUOTE=Rock'n Blue 08;1575386985]I think it would still be going but you are rather hard on things......




Well, I didn't supercharge it so I could drive to church on Sundays... I boosted my car with every intention of driving the crap out of it.
And its fine that it broke too. Like I said; my only regret was taking the forged motor route. I should've put another stock block in there.