[quote="MadMaxAtom and company"]
Not worried..the LSJ piston is pretty stout as long as you don't run gobs of timing or lousy fuel. My car lives on track only 95+ octane and I told Trifecta I wasn't looking for top HP numbers.Vince seems to have tuned quite a few of the LSJ's and is pretty confident in his work. I've run canned tunes before,and they may not make 100% of the capable potential power..but good enough. As long as the tune is close,the ECM has the ability to adjust things as well.It can see how much air is coming in,how hot the engine is,the temperature of the intake air,the throttle position, load on the engine,and has a knock sensor.
If you run any motor lean or too hot,custom tune or not,it will pop. Most engine failures on track are from oil starvation or heat.
Would it be wise to run forged pistons? Sure.How about a better clutch?Absolutely.Maybe stronger rods..custom engine balance,light flywheel,better cams..ported head,custom tuned,custom header.. etc etc...
I have not lost a motor,ever,and I certainly don't expect to loose this one. If things don't sound right,I stop running and find the problem.Yes,yes,it all happens so suddenly....the thing is,I have seen SO many engine casualties that could have been avoided IF the driver was paying just a little attention,instead of flogging the thing to death!
An engine usually gives you warning before bad things happen,unless it is a catastrophic component failure,and then there is not much you can do..but pick up the pieces and move on.
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You're absolutely correct Mark. What I'm curious about, is how many Atoms has this guy done, with the stock intake/MAF housing, with these injectors and a HARROP? Enough to develop a MAF curve that can be used by all (MAF curve wrong = can't tell how much air)? So he's sending a wideband out with this cable, so he can see what's going on?
I have no doubt you'll be fine Max. You're a mechanic. You know what to look out for. If something fails, putting new pistons or an entire engine in the car is a weekend project. Others on here are stymied by something as simple as a hose clamp.
My hope is that folks like you will see if there is something wrong for the others not so technically capable, and throw a red flag to keep others out of trouble.
