I blew a piston on my 09 JCW and started the rebuild. My goal is 300-350 whp and up to 8000-9000rpm. So here the list of mods being done. ABF Performance is going to supply custom forged JE pistons, 0.020" oversized. Custom Carrillo rods. OS Giken twin disc clutch and Locking differential. SuperTech Valve springs and titanium retainers. Randy from Precision Engine is doing the lower end, balancing and headwork. The block with be bored 0.020" over and matched to the pistons. Crankshaft main and rod journals are going to be micro-polished. Crank-pistons etc will be balanced to +/- 1/2 degree which is good for 12k rpm+. With the HP I'm looking to achieve Randy says the sleeve needs to be 0.125" thick. The measurement of the stock block is 0.130" I decided to go with the stock sleeves which is not what Dez from ABF recommends. The head-I'm going with the supertech springs and titanium retainers. Randy will do a good 3 or 5 angle valve job. Minor porting and polishing. All ports will be flow matched. Mike at ABF is working on some type of stud kit instead of bolts. Labor installing the engine is being done by myself and one of my guys at the shop. The run a general repair shop in IL.

So once the engine is back in and running I'm going to drive it for a few weeks with the setup I blew it up with. . Once everything is ok I'll tune with meth/water injection. I'm going to use the kit from Jeff @ altaperformance. Once that is done then I'm going to install the GT28rs turbo kit and tune for 300+whp.

Special thanks to Mike & Dez from ABF performance for guidance and tech support.

Randy from Precision Engine in Plainfield, IL for your help. I've been working with Randy for over 15yrs.

Jeff Perrin from altaperformance for the countless maps you have made and for the next 50.

The pic below is the block on the way to Randy's.

Any questions? I know this is one big experiment. I can't wait to see what happens.


Ray

 

I think you have it covered. Keep us in the loop!

 

Yes I have a few questions, however before I ask them, I am in no way trying to dismay your project, I wish you good luck in reaching your desired 300+ whp @ 8000 - 9000 RPM.

Easy 1: What picture ?

2: What revisions will you be doing to the rest of the valvetrain components, to support your intended high RPM's, besides installing SuperTech valve springs/retainers ?

3: I presume you'll be having custom camshafts ground to match your ported/polished and flow matched cylinder head, to work with the flow volume required by your chosen GT28RS turbo at your intended high RPM's ?

3a: Have you got and done the necessary, flow, velocity and pressure calculations of your stock cylinder head so you know where your going when you modify for your intended components and RPM ?

4: Any revisions for the fuel system ?

5: Will the oil pump deliver at your intended high RPM's ? IF not what you going to do ?

6: Any revisions for the cooling system/s both water and oil ?

7: You've already lost a piston, do you know exactly why it failed, what was the cause, and what measures have you taken to prevent this from happening to your custom forged JE aftermarket pistons ?

These are just a few of the basics you should already know or be working on, well before you start any engine work!

 

 

Going to need a lot of this:

 

What was the "set up you blew it up with"?

 

An Alta Billet K03......running 28 psi lol

 

Come on now. I hit over 29 before it blew.

 

Yep all that and issues with the oil getting back into the pan fast enough. CV shafts, etc. The engine may never turn 9k. Max rpm will be determined by where the HP is. There's gonna be a lot of R&D here. Like thumper said have the popcorn ready.

 

What research have you done, to determine the reason your piston failed in the first place ? You really need to know this first, because as you increase the power you'll increase the heat, and this will accelerate the initial issue that led to your piston failure!

And if you don't have this answer, then the same will happen to your custom forged JE piston/s, and you'll kick yourself for not solving the initial problematic issue!

Was it cylinder/piston No 3 that failed ?

 

Yes cyl 3 failed. The lower ring land. Looks the same as all the others. I'm being told the cylinder pressures may also go down since I'll be running less boost with the larger turbo. First step is water/meth injection. I'll see how far that takes me. There will be a lot of data acquisition so this doesn't happen again. What I need is a computer program instead of making recordings with the accessport.

 

Don't mind if I ask what this car is for?

Also what is the cost of the parts?

 

signing up to watch the progress... sounds like it will be a beast when its all done

 

I would say go with the howerton eng HFS water/meth kit, not the Alta kit

 

Less boost charge pressure combined with your chosen larger GT28RS turbo = turbo lag and some low end RPM torque loss, from the volume flow rate inefficiency mismatch between the flow capabilities of the cylinder head and the flow volume required from your chosen GT28RS turbo!

To get any real significant gains from water/meth injection, you will need multiple nozzles, and there location will be critical to gaining VS loosing power!

What kind of data are you going to collect ?

Individual manifold pressures, inlet and exhaust.

Individual cylinder charge pressure/temperatures.

Cylinder head temperature.

Individual cylinder AFR's.

This data will then give you a better insight as to what is happening in and around the individual cylinders, more importantly cylinder No3!

Good luck with your data collection, and finding the cause of the detonation issue, which destroyed your piston.

 

Forget al the technical stuff...

When will this car be done??? Because I want to start a "how long until it blows up again" pool.

 

Longevity of the proposed engine will depend on how it's driven. Assuming it lasts through dyno testing to verify output, it may last a while if driven with care. If pushed to its limits, lifetime may be measured in hours.

This can be considered acceptable for the engine designed to win a race. Take a look at what is expected of an engine in the Indy 500. It needs to last only a few hours.

Anything more is just speculation. We're not even sure that money has changed hands yet. Nevertheless, I will be following the saga.

 

This technical stuff, as you call it, is important to any engine build, as most folks on here, work hard for their money, and it's better to listen and learn from professionals first, before anyone goes out and spends their hard earned $$$ only to fail.

There is too much misleading incorrect information on forums, we are all on here to help each other, not to hinder folks progress, and speaking for myself and my postings, I try to help by hopefully getting people to do a little thinking for themselves along the right lines, to hopefully prevent basic mistakes, from misunderstanding all this technical stuff........

 

+1

And thanks so much for all the insight and help.

There are always bolt on hobbitists that do not even know they need help.

 

an amicus curiae brief then czar?

it's a tough spot though, with Mini changing engines -- not at all like the Chevy 327 block, for which a massive aftermarket has appeared over decades.

i've seen evidence of serious folks building pistons/rods and other high-dollar internals, but their attention is split between the Brazilian and French engines, their initial costs are high, and the eventual size of the market is uncertain.

as an autocrosser, I reckon 10 lbs/hp is enough, so much over 250 hp strikes me as surplus to requirements. i do enjoy watching a friend's CRX with over 300 hp run, but know that when he ever opens the throttle in the lower gears the car goes straight ahead regardless of the angle of the front wheels...

i suppose anyone embracing 250+ hp from any Mini engine does not expect 100k miles from the result, and I wonder what expectations if any are reasonable. It is inevitable that someone that builds that much power will wish to use it, and the greater the power would seem to me to drive frequency of use to some degree.

But when all is said an done I look forward to the OP creating a beast, and will certainly get my vicarious thrills if permitted to do so.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

HAHAHA I am not a "Bolt on Hobbitists" but that was a funny line.

 

Must be a Lord of the Rings reference...

 

My I-phone auto correct comes up with the funniest stuff. At least it was not indecent.

 

The head is packed up and shipping to Supertech tomorrow to match up valve springs and retainers (hopefully). Waiting on pistons and rods from ABF. Attached are some pictures. Including pictures of the Direct injection injectors.

 

The block going to the machine shop...