wierd high exaust temps
 

ok guys I got a weird one, got a motor that runs like a champ, just put it in and it runs great even finished second at a track I normally run mid pack but the exaust temps are crazy hot and i'm goin nuts trying to figure it out, 9to1 350 2brl carb lt1 manifolds running *40 total advance and the plugs look nice and tan so I don't think its a rich/lean condition and water temp stays at 200 all race but the exaust pipes are HOT!!! same pipes with my other bullet temps are all fine? any help would be appreciated!

What fuel are you running ?

Do you have any idea what your EGT's are? How hot is HOT . . ?

I would caution you about using another or previous engine as a true benchmark. If this engine is running "Better" than a previous one, it could be that the previous one wasn't tuned as precisely as the current one and your EGTs are OK for the tune you have on that engine. That's assuming all your other markers were correct.

You possibly were on the rich side previously, dunno . . .

What kind of balancer are you running..? Is it possible your timing mark is off...?
It is likely you are not at 40* advance like you think you are, which sounds like way too much anyways...?

I just melted down a fresh new 355 which I [thought] I had 35*, but turns out the timing was wrong and it was more like 42*.
It ran like a cat's butt on fire, but by the time I caught the problem it was too late and burnt several pistons about six laps into the race.

We did a test in the pits one night to settle an argument, and tried four top of the line expensive timing guns from other teams, and we got four different readings...!
We finally settled on the brand new best gun as the most likely accurate reading...?

If you are on alky, and are absolutely sure the timing is dead on, bump your jets up at couple sizes to see if it cools down.

If you are on high quality race gas, and you are sure the jets are right on, I would highly suspect your timing is off...!

I was also told by an expert engine builder it could have been an intake vacuum leak, but I didn't find any evidence of such when I tore it down...?

I just saw another post from DD about variance in timing guns/manufacturers.... it echo's what DRTRCR22 is basically saying....

That is scarey when 4 different guns all have different readings!!!

well for the fuel question 4 gallons of 89 regular to 1 gallon of Sunoco 112 octane which I ran in the last several engines and had good luck. I do agree that one engine against another is not a good benchmark, I guess I should say I've been racing in this same class for 14 years and have been through several motors but never this particular problem and I have no way to measure E.G.T.s as no telemetry besides tach, oil, and water allowed but the pipes actually melted the paint off the floorboard directly above them and burned my foot/leg and have never had that. the timing light is a little older digital MAC light so it could be off? I think I'll try backing off the timing this weekend and see what happens?

oh and its a proform balancer and I have been through that problem in the past. I double checked the TDC marks after degreeing the camshaft but thank you that's a good suggestion and thanks everyone for the input!!

For the fuel you're running, you've got way too much timing . . For the average SBC. 36° to 38° is about average on Gasoline with the Comp ratio you're using. But this is nothing more than a generality. There's all kinds of things guys do with jetting and timing, especially in those roundy round engines with two barrel carbs . .

Any tuning gauge is generally relative, and depending upon the kind and how it's been taken care of, it may or may not give accurate readings. If you have any doubts about the accuracy of the Timing Light (or any other tuning or diagnostic tool) check it against several others.

On the EGT, just check the heat of the header just below the flange or the head right at the flange with a IR handheld temp gauge. Use it across all eight to not only establish mean or average EGT, but it will also tell you which ones are the hottest (Leaner) and which ones are richer or not firing if you have a problem . .

Your exhaust temp is relative to both your measuring instrument and the type of head/cam you're running. That you'll have to figure out, but a place to start would be using your gauge on someone else's combo that's similar to yours and then look at your's in comparison.

wierd
 

Pro Comp balancer?

I had an experience with on on a customer's street car. It was off several degrees, just before the outer ring fell off and took off on the floor and dented my tool box.

Might not hurt to recheck the top dead center.

well normally I run around *36 advance but it made a noticeable difference in power on the dyno at 40, forgot to mention that, but the guy running the dyno said that makes some sense because we aren't allowd to have an alternator and have to run a stock ish HEI ignition and they don't make much spark at 12 volts?? Maby I just need to back down the timing cuz the dyno and the track are two different things

I've never heard of any class rules 'banning' and alternator ! WHAT is the reasoning behind THAT ?!
:shock: :shock: :shock:

OK, pretty much the bottom of the problem. The "Dyno Guy". He was running it for peak HP, not a curve that you can use on an oval track. At 40°, top end was probably marvelous but coming out of a corner hard unless you were up into the top of the power band wasn't (or shouldn't have been) very impressive. Sounds like an eighth mile Drag Racing Tune Up, almost . .

Running a total loss ignition system with an HEI sounds kind of weird because a stock HEI demands about 20 amps at 6000 RPM or under load, so if you have more than a ten lap heat on a quarter mile track, you're pretty much out of battery. Or at least that's been my experience way back when.

We ran an alternator off the Pinion Yoke, and at the time that was kind of a big deal because of the room required for one of those big ole GM alternators, but today, with 100A alternators the size of a pocket watch, that would be the way I'd go . . I can't imagine a rule like that for Oval Track racing . . Unless the guy who makes the rules also sells magnetos . .

YellaBraick, I don't think hansbuddy really means 'ban' alternators, its just that us short track circle jerks only run about 10 lap heats and 20 lap mains so a good red top Optima will have plenty of juice through the night, and then some, so why drag around a power robbing alternator if not needed, the same reason as your strip car...?
I disagree though that an HEI will lose any juice or power, that is until the battery is nearly dead...?
Get rid of the Proform and buy a really good balancer, before the ring comes off that Proform and goes through your radiator... I've seen it happen... :O(

Yes hansbuddy, nearly every SBC engine I have ever raced in circle track, no matter what size or configuration, have all dialed in right at or close to the 36* mark. My freshly dynoed 406 made no more recordable power or torque from 36* thru 40*, so we set it back on 36. You can push your luck trying more, but why take the chance burning down all your hard earned money...? There are enough other things you can break to make your wallet cry, don't chance it for just a small fraction of power that you probably can't put down onto the track anyways...?
Do you know how traction control device works...? It picks up wheel spin and sends a signal to retard your distributor timing to trim off power and slow down engine response so your tires stay hooked up when you can't control your lead foot. That's why traction control is higly illegal in almost all circle track sanctioning bodies, with very heavy fines and long suspensions if caught with one...!

Remember that reliability, consistency, and smooth driving is what wins almost all races, and you can't win if you don't finish, so it is better to err on the side of conservative in circle track racing, and learn to be a winning driver instead of an exibition of power. Any great dirt circle track driver will tell you that "slower is faster"... meaning put an egg under the gas peddle and one under the brake peddle, and finish the race without breaking either one... :O)

no I can not run an alternator, I know, dumbest rule ever but some clown somewhere made a dummy alternator and had traction control in it so IMCA banned it in all v8 classes

Wow, what class do you run...? I have raced IMCA A-Mod for several years, and I just read my rules every word for word, and I don't find it in our rules...? I would like to find that rule so I can point it out and inform all my friends in those classes...
Are you sure it is an IMCA rule, or maybe just a track rule...?

wow I should read the rules better, they are allowed again but they did take them away from us a couple years ago and I assumed still couldn't use them, guess I know what i'm adding to the car this weekend!

wierd
 

Need a good deal on a 100 amp MSD alternator with traction control?

Re: wierd
 

Troublemaker . . . Heh, heh . . .

Maybe its a really a gyroscope inside a alternator housing :lol:

Wierd
 

Who told you?

I ran in the last several engines and had good luck. I do agree Showbox jiofi.local.html tplinklogin that one engine against another is not a good benchmark, I guess I should say I've been racing in this same class for 14 years and have been through several motors