Turbo Build Article Part 4
Project boost part IV
Welcome back. Although I haven’t gotten any hate mail about my turbo build articles, I have decided to break things up a bit to keep things interesting for those who could care less about the build. Also because events are finally starting to pop up here and there so I actually have other things I can write about. But first, a bit of info on the turbo build from Ian at FSR Motorsports.
Well, we have made some progress and run into some problems since our last installment. Let’s first get some of the nagging issues out of the way. The pistons came in, and we assembled those beautiful 84,5mm CP’s on those beefy crower rods to make for a stout rotating assembly. We gapped the rings for boost leaving the lower ring slightly more open in order that pressure from combustion does not get trapped between the two rings attempting to blow them out. We had the crank checked for cracks, turned, and micropolished. New cleveite 77 tri-metal bearings are on order and matched to the crank.
The block though… well, that’s a different story. This block was sleeved, as I understand it, by RS Machine way back in the day when the sleeving was just beginning. Sleeving became very popular with the Honda guys as their blocks were not holding up to the abuse and beating that boost was putting on their lightweight blocks. While the Saturn block “appeared” a bit beefier, the bore spacing is actually tighter (worse) and there is absolutely positively no statistical evidence suggesting that a Saturn block is stronger than a Honda block. This myth came about by the fact that Saturn blocks were not self destructing. The problem with that logic (lack of) is that Saturns were never making the power that Hondas were; 200whp or more LESS than comparable aluminum blocks.
As such, Qahhaar had this block sleeved. It’s not a bad idea at all and it reduces the amount of cylinder wall failure. However, the early sleeved blocks had issues, whether they be Honda or Saturn. One of the sleeves in the block dropped and we made every attempt to “save” it but would rather not take the chance on a motor that is going to take a lot of abuse. We are going to save the pistons and then go with a Golden Eagle block. Golden Eagle machines a groove for the sleeve to sit on, greatly reducing the chances of sleeves dropping. Furthermore, they have the best deck bracing the industry. This improves cooling and virtually eliminates cylinder wall and sleeve shift, which I believe is a big cause of blown head gaskets.
So down with the myth of supposedly “strong” Saturn blocks, and on with more power and reliability!
Work on the exhaust manifold is progressing well. As of now 3 of the 4 pipes are in their final shape being held together by spot welds. The 4th is in progress as we speak. The 4 equal length pipes will flow out of the cylinder head and twist up and around dropping down directly into the collector and turbo. This thing will look beautiful when completed and polished. Expect to see more in the next time.
That’s about it for this issue. If you have any questions, comments, complaints or whatever, please feel free to contact me at q@speedsyndicate.net
This article was published with the friendly permission of Q president of Speed Syndicate Racing.
Article released by Dimi on 09.08.2008 01:40:29
