Running 11mm arp studs here at 600ish

 

To be honest mate there is no definitive line where you MUST have 14mm studs etc. In my opinion its not the studs that are the issue. Its the amount of contact patch that the studs grab on to in the block. The 14mm studs have a huge contact patch in the block where as the 11mm ones dont have as much.

Im also a big believer in cycling the studs so that they and the nuts burnish eachother properly. This is done by taking the fasteners to peak tq and then relaxing them 3 times. On the 4th time you will leave it at peak tq. You can actually feel the clamping load of the fasteners change as you cycle them. On the 4th time they become solid as you approach peak tq.

This may be one area where the 11mm studs have failed, i dont know for sure. To be honest Ross. If i hadnt decided to draw the line and just start building my motor i too would have gone for the 14mm studs as i believe over 550/550 they offer peace of mind over the 11s at that level.

However as said, Duncan has run the 11s to 600bhp and more importantly 2.8 bar of boost and they have held up just fine. Although i think Dunc maybe pushing his luck at that level lol

Id like to see my car in the mid 500 area and for this i feel the 11mm ARPs will be okay.

 

No idea if mine were cycled or not when put together. As before, I trust David and his chief engine builder (Mick I think) to do the job right. I recall him telling me about building few it up and down a few times, checking tolerances, weights, torques etc as a 'built' engine is quite different to one that has been put together, which I believe mine was before.

Your spec decisions are always well thought out so thought I would ask. Appreciate the opinion as always.... Good post fella

 

Youre welcome Ross. But i also dont have all the answers, far from it. There are tuners out there that know better than i.

Nothing much to report today guys. Ive checked all the camshaft turnover torques and endfloats and done the tappet clearances. Now i need to order some new buckets to get the required spec.
So while thats been going on ive been sorting parts to go to the powdercoaters. Think im going to try and stick with the wrinkle red manifold for an OEM look and go for gloss black/bright silver for everything else.
Cam covers will be piano black i think.

 

Indeed, but valued second opinions are always welcome as they help you to understand if you've previously been fed garbage, as I've experienced before. Mucho appreciated.

Piano black.. classy..

 

Good call

 

Im open to other colour suggestions but nothing out there i really like. lol

 

Black or red wacky ages badly IMHO

 

Is there no way of getting a blue flake added to the black to match the bodywork?

 

Dunno, we'll see. I gotta get these poxy bucket shims first.

 

Just trying to remember what I suggested when you asked for opinions on colours a while ago? Oh yes I remember

 

couple of things to get done first and then in the next two\three weeks I guess...

 

Shims have gone for machining to the required sizes, should get them back in a couple of days.
Also dropped off all my engine based components for powdercoating. These will be a week or two.
Ended up going for Matte black on the cam covers, I was all up for gloss but fell in love with the motorsport looks of the matte when I see it. Lol.
All pressed steel brackets, water hoses, breather hoses and X-over pipe are going to be gloss piano black. The stainless APS overflow tank is also going matte black. While all of the solid aluminium brackets for the alternator etc are being done in a plain bright silver.
I also stripped the alternator and PAS pump to have their housings coated to match.
These parts should be done within 10 days or so. Still waiting for my baffeled sump to be finished along with the pickup pipe. These should be done soon too.
Neil @ T-logic is alos back from holiday and hopes to have my rotated kit complete by next week too.

All I need to do now is sort what I'm going to do about the intake manifold as it seems you can only get the textured red if you buy 20kg of powder.
I've approached a Ferrari engine builder to see if he can help me get my manifold done with his ones.

So progress is steady. Now we wait

 

how much of a pita was the alternator to take apart Frayz?

 

Fezza red FTW !!!

 

Its not, just getting it back together is tricky

 

lol, I knew there would be a catch...any special tools required?

 

Yes mate, you need to make a tool to hole the brushes in when you slide the armature back in. Its a royal PITA.

 

may ask for a lend of said tool, if that's OK I'll drop your separator round too

 

Mask it all up ian one by one

 

Ian, I can show you how to do it mate. Its basically a flat section of wire with a 90 degree bend in it. It holds the brushes in when you drop the arm back in. But the is flexibile enough for you to pull out of the case when you slot the 2 cases back together.

 

nice one...when are you free?

 

One evening next week?

 

Got in touch with a few of the Ferrari boys regarding the textured red of our STI manifolds.
Basically the reason we cant get it in powdercoat is that it has now been banned within the EU due to too high iron content (apparantly?)
It is available in the US and Japan but i cant find anyone that will ship it to me just yet. The Ferrari place purchased 40kg of the powder from Brussells to refurb their own projects and offered to do my manifold for between £400-£600!!

Needless to say im exploring other avenues. Hahaha

 

sounds good, I'll drop you a text

 

No worries.

 

BARGAIN!!!

 

RCM can do STI red powder coating,they have their own supply.

 

Cheers for the call Chris

 

Friday the buckets came back from the machine shop so i set about doing my clearances. 2 of them however will need to be remachined as theyre still a little tight. These will go back tomorrow and hopefully should come back by the weekend.

Heres my progress.






While i knew i couldnt do anything on the motor i decided to finish off my aerocatches.