Since Torched05stang kinda bailed, let me shed some light on this.... If indeed this is the same block that I saw, this came out of a car that was running a Saleen blower, longtubes, etc. with an automatic trans. The car ran low low 11s and on a trip to the strip last fall, the pulley was changed to the max and tune was changed to the max in an attempt to get into the 10s. Dyno numbers were north of 550 at the wheels I believe. The owner knew he was asking for trouble but didn't care..... when they first started the car up at the strip, it threw the belt off while coming off the trailer. This was a full weight auto car...... They laughed and put the belt back on, attempted one pass, and BANG.

I actually still have a piece of the block, sitting in one of my cabinets as a token for helping to push it down the track and back to the pits.

The car was back up and running 48 hours later with a newly installed complete shortblock.

 

That is a very wierd failure! The main caps appear to be perfectly fine (aka: still in one piece and fully attached to the block), but all the windows between the main webs has been chewed out.

Did a rod fail and then the extra "stuff" bouncing around in the case get smashed against the sides of the block to blast the windows out?

If not, what took out the sides of the block while leaving the main cap and crank all snug and happy?

 

Wow, that's ridiculous. Is this what generally happens to F.I. engines if they fail? I was under the impression that 10lbs of boost was on the high end of "reasonable".. Does 1lbs too much cause catostrophic failure? Or does this mean that people running 9lbs of boost are risking this sort of failure?

I also was interested in getting F.I. after I pay my car off, but now I think I need to understand F.I. better before I blow up my baby.

 

Ahhhhh, so thats what they really mean when you grenade a motor

 

I never took it literally to hear these cars were "blown".... This is why most people don't attempt over 450rwhp on the stock motor.

 

Sorry, I wasn't bailing. I just had other things to do last night. Thanks tom281 for more info to everyone. They knew that they were pushing the envelope,but like you said they didn't care. It was like a test session on where to draw the line.
I wasn't trying to scare everyone.THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GETTING A SUPERCHARGER. I'm pointing out what could happen.Just make sure that you talk to the pros on what to do. DONT try to squeeze that extra out if you dont know what your doing. I even messed up with me nitrous set up cause I didn't talk to the pros. I almost cost me a engine,but I caught It in time. Too much juice and not enough fuel meant melted spark plugs and upper engine problems.
I tried to go up to 175hp shot but it leaned out. I had to repair the upper half so I decided to install new cams and heads while we had it apart. The heads are a waste at this point with out any boost. I gain only 35hp with the cams and heads. I had it on the Dyno at Brenspeed and I have 323hp and 335tq at the wheels. so to say I was disappointed on that.

Point is "Be carefull" on that stock block. We can thank Ford for there pistons and rods that they have been putting in these motors for years. But I quess its job security for me.

 

Dang Mark, glad you got the N20 system figured out in time before anymore damage was done.

 

It all depends on where the boost is kicking in ...

10 PSI of boost kicking in at 1500 RPM in 4th Gear ... that would not be good ....

10 PSI of boost at 5000 RPM in 3rd would be fine ...

 

Tom and Mark, Thanks for following up with the details. This post scared the crap out of me. I just had the intercooler upgrade done on my Whipple and am going to a 12lb pulley. Doug is tuning it on the 23rd of this month. We are definitely going to stay "reasonable." I'll be happy w/ 425rwhp.

 

[Point is "Be carefull" on that stock block. We can thank Ford for there pistons and rods that they have been putting in these motors for years. But I quess its job security for me.[/quote]


**** FORD parts guys!

 

Rods, yes. Pistons... Not so sure. All the pics seem to show a busted rod (not unexpected unfortunately), but the pics seem fairly good. Of course, there might be other evidence I didn't see that shows the piston ring lands were failing as well.

I remember this was a common concern when the 3-vale first came out. The rods seem to have proven that they ARE a power limiter, but not so much the stock pistons, other than their compression ratio set for NA use.

 

Oh, and one thing I DID find kind of impressive with these pics: Even with all the damage to the block, all the main caps where still in place and the crank was still in one piece. I've seen pics of broken rods on 302s just about tossing the crank out the bottom of the block. That is one area where the mod motor definitely seems to be better built.

 

My understanding is the Saleen charger is nominally set for 5 psi boost.

Doubling the recommended boost might not be a great idea.

 

Good luck trying to stay in the 425 zone running 12lbs. Id say you are looking at more like 500.

 

You can run 10lbs all day long with the proper tune.

 

12lbs is to high to get 425rwhp. I am running 10lbs and get 456rwhp with an automatic.
I don't suggest going that high. The tune has to be right.

 

Most of Fords pistons are cast......They need to be forged. Forged is what mostly all aftermarket companies offer.

 

its all about the internals...

my redline ran 12psi stock

 

All a forged piston does is allow for a little wiggle room in the tune or gas in regards to detonation. You can burn a forged piston just as easily as a stocker.

 

Thanks for posting this Tom281 .I'd hate for others to get the wrong impression about the Saleen S/C or getting any S/C.It does kick ares .
The guy just wanted to push the limit and found it .
-John