Thanks for the mention Eric!
Hopefully within a month or so we will be able to start really testing any benefits provided by the difference in the cams. We are in the process of looking into modifying our test/break-in stand that we run-in our freshly built motors on with a Stuska XS-111 water brake and Powerpro dyno setup. Our original goal was to determine of there is any noticeable power loss at the flywheel due to rotational mass & real world gains of early vs. late afm & FQS switch settings. This would ultimately tell us if we can build a little stronger, more reliable engine (using forged crank and rods) without losing too much power that might be gained by using a lighter cast crank and cast rods. Not to mention real world power gains of '88 pistons, shaved heads, factory airbox vs cone filter, fuel octane, etc...
With all the debate over "pro built" motors going on, hopefully this wont put a label on us, but we will still offer our same spec-rebuild price!
Our goal is and always has been to build quality, reliable spec race engines at an affordable price. We don't build "cheater" engines, just rebuilt race engines that adhere to factory specifications, with a stress on longevity.
To build a quality engine that attempts to approach the maximum legal horsepower/torque limit (which is almost impossible to obtain if the engine is rebuilt to factory specs) Alot of attention to detail must go into the assembly of the engine. The oil clearance of all bearings, ring end gaps, cylinder taper or ogive (cant be fixed without sleeves) oil pump clearance, quality of valve guides, shoulder height of valves, crankshaft thrust, quality of camshaft....this is just the beginning of the details must be assessed to make sure the engine is going to provide as much power as possible, for as long as possible, and I stress: "for as long as possible"!
No-one wants to build a new race engine every year. Hence, if the engine can be made more reliable with little to no performance loss, that is ideal... and our goal!
At Bennington Motorsports we don’t build $10k engines, we don't even build $5k engines. In fact, when our Midwest rental car dyno'd out at 138.86hp/137.27t (which was indeed higher than everyone else in our region) there were some eyebrows raised! I made the offer: anyone who wants to observe the teardown, and measurement autopsy, I would personally pay half of the ultimate re-assembly price!!
Bottom line... if your going to build an engine, don't build it "Flat out!!
" build it to perform & last, you will thank yourself in the long run! Not to mention decent rebuild able blocks are getting harder and harder to source. If everyone blows 1 engine per year, I give it less than 5 years before every "spec" race engine out there has to be sleeved!!!
Just some food for thought, hopefully it doesn’t sound too much like a commercial
-Nick Miller
Bennington Motorsports.