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I've got a pair of friends who own a engine shop with both an engine and a chassis dyno. I have spent more than a few hours around the engine dyno but a dont have much interest on the chassis dyno yet, we will see. I keep thinking about boost and FI for my little Ford motor so it could happen.
I think engine dynos are great for track/race and really scratch that itch for science and numbers kind of guys.
But a chassis dyno is a lot more fun for me. As a spectator, half-@$$ hobbyist, I like the loud noises and the body torque under power. I come up with reasons to convince myself I don't need to spend the money to go to an engine dyno shop, because I am definitely not equipped to pull engines and all that.
I'm sure so-cal is a really awesome area for anything performance/custom.
Working with what's in my area, I think I finally found a great shop. Buchellon Motorsports weren't too thrilled about my project. Probably rightly so, because it seems like they do a lot of very expensive builds.
The shop I'm using now has already called to address my questions in detail and talk about my requirements. The owner seems to know how to handle business and customer interaction a lot better that the last. But as always, we'll see what happens.
I'm just trying to be the best customer possible, knowing my ride might possibly need a lot of frustrating work (possible exhaust header gasket leak...)
Just changed the oil today and made sure my O2 sensors are secure, checked under carriage and inspected fluid lines for leaks. Seems bone dry and ready to rip up that AWD dyno. All I can do now is wait for my appointment (which has been moved to Thursday, slated to run into the following Wednesday).
If this weren't my only vehicle, I'd probably leave things as is until the next round of mods (whether that's stroke or boost). But I can't keep doing roadtrips while worrying about rich mixture washing out cylinders and gaskets pushing loose.
I hope the Cookie Monster appreciates my time and attention better than my first project!
It's always good to get a baseline before going forward with more changes.
Definitely. For me, I'll be interested to see if my expectations are realistic. I came into this project with no direct experience in modifying V8, or Mopar, or hemi. My best guess was that the engine would benefit most from what it already does well; breathe.
I don't think there are any terrible features to the 5.7 hemi design. Just that classic stock configuration of making something great, and then watering it down for profitability and warranty.
I could well be wrong.
But I don't think there is anything poorly designed in hemi engines, from tolerances to materials and how it all matches up with the rest of the drive train.
I suspect that giving it a precise and plentiful air supply is really all I need to make something strong (by street standard, anyway).
The Cookie Monster is at the new shop and has finished inspection.
Things the previous shop screwed up and couldn't find and fix:
- Passenger side head valve cover gasket improperly installed.
- EGR valve cracked and leaking (assuming damaged during their failed attempts to start it with the cam installed wrong).
- Throttle Body mounted improperly/wrong hardware, loose.
- Front driver's side coil pack missing bolts.
- Oil return line damaged at the linkage to the engine.
- Custom Y-Bend bolts too long and won't fasten down far enough
I probably should have discovered a lot of these myself, but it's like playing Where's Waldo to me. Glad this new shop seems to be on point so far.
Not sure if I'll be able to take this list to the previous shop and get some money back, but I'll try. Anyone been in a similar situation?
I've had some bad luck with mechanics so far. Hopefully, the buck stops here!
I think you may have found a good one, my mechanic son runs into this stuff with vehicles brought to him from other shops. It's like small stuff to some is good enough, a good mechanic finds one thing, the alarm bells go off, and they're thinking "what else did these people miss". That's when you get this big list and it tells the story.
My sons and I live by my Father's philosophy "nothing is perfect, there is no such thing as good enough, there is right and wrong".
"I can do this job right or wrong which one do you want".
I think you're right, Coronet500.
Lesson learned, when you pick a mechanic, pic the one with a clean garage and climate controlled vehicle storage. You get what you pay for.
Anyway,
It's a good sign when a mechanic finds a series of (relatively) small issues. Especially when their shop is clean and organized like this one.
The last shop is a perfect example that -anyone- can "complete" a build that will drive off the lot. But not everyone wants to do it right.
I just might end up eating the cost of putting my vehicle in the wrong hands. But that's life. It won't ruin me, though I will be missing out on a lot of nice things I could have bought instead.
Well, now that I think about it, wanting things will only help keep me motivated to work, so things will even out eventually.
As for an update:
The Cookie Monster should have parts on the way today and wrenches under the hood this afternoon or Monday. I'm expecting a call early next week for a status update (and a request for payment, haha!)
One thing you will always find is that the next guy will always find things that the last guy did wrong. Every time....
Probably true.
In this case, I know the last shop botched it bad. Especially the little things like reinstalling rubber baffles and plastic guards. I'm not surprised there is work to be done.
Looks like the estimate for completion is now a day sooner, which is a very good sign.
Here's hoping the speed gods will give The Cookie Monster a nod on dyno day. Last thing I need is an unrelated problem like a blown tire...
That 6.4 isn't too rediculous. Kind of wish I had gone with a built crate engine in the first place. Wouldn't have taken nearly as long and would have been able to go to a better shop. Still would cost more than what I'm spending so far, though.
I'm almost certain I'll be breaking 10k on the build very soon...
Y'all are right, of course.
I think the bottom line so far in this thread is:
Better "built and tested" than "built and see what happens when I drive it"!
Obviously, work is on pause through the weekend.
Estimate shows me back on the road Wednesday.
Total build cost just over $9k, including currently scheduled work and dyno tuning.
The next obvious question:
Will I be modding further in the future?
High probability that I will, even if a few years from now. You can bet that I'll be saving for a supercharger installed by a top tier shop, or buying a crate engine with S/C installed and accessories.
I am done playing "where's my build" with wannabes who operate one notch over a chop shop, no matter how many of their builds drag successfully.
Current shop called to report that The Cookie Monster will be ready to pickup tomorrow afternoon, complete with baseline and tuned dyno sheets.
I'll post pics of the results soon after that.
Shop owner stated improvement by 100 peak hp, which is excellent. But, I'm more interested in seeing the difference in area under the curve... Because I'm a big nerd! Haha!
Concittering the fact that your Jeep is all wheel drive and the power loss from all that drivetrain I'd say that's impressive numbers. Your almost at the gross power level of the stock motor. I have no doubt that you gained 100+ horse power and torque maybe 125.
A/C fuse was pulled, but what I failed to catch was that I needed to press the On button in the dash after I found and plugged in the fuse! haha!
At least the shop performed a pressure check on the AC system and warned me that it's a few psi low.
All seems well with the build right now.
Looks like I'm on for a trip to Florida real soon, too. I'm excited! The Cookie Monster is finally straightened out!
I got to lay down a WOT pull through 1st and 2nd on an entrance ramp to the highway tonight. Looking forward to seeing what the old data logger has to say about it when I open the files tomorrow.
Had some fun with other night drivers, too!
You know you're pretty quick when you play with the throttle and get people winding out their motor just to catch up after you've already slowed back down to the speed limit, haha!
Had my girlfriend in the passenger seat (of course). A Ford Escape did all it could to catch up to us after our on ramp pull. Once my engine quieted back down under 2k rpm, she said "That escape sounds like our vacuum cleaner!"
Good times!
Turns out I'm getting Short Term Knock Retard at WOT, according to my Diablo i3 datalogger.
This was recorded during a wide open throttle pull from 20mph rolling start up to about 60mph. I was happy with the pull from the driver's seat and the engine seemed happy to me (much more confident near redline than it was before, for reasons explained in the dyno chart of the old tune).
But reviewing the data reveals 2 degrees of Short Term Knock Retard, which I am shocked to see considering the cost of this new tune!
Any ECU tuners out there have any input or advice for me?
I've already sent this and the raw file to the tuner, but I'm not sure how big a deal this actually is.
I do know that my amateur @$$ managed to modify my old supercharged Pontiac back in the day and never saw KR at all (except for when I ran less than 93 octane, of course). Stunned to see it from such a reputable shop now...
I mean, it wasn't enough to feel from the driver's seat, but it's there in the data.
Orange is ST KR. Purple is Spark at Cylinder 1. White is Throttle. Yellow is RPM.
