Forged Piston Problems

[mytmousemalibu]

Plan-B Explained! (sry for the OT!)

Tell me more about plan B.........:rofl: looks like my lenco set up.

I'll explain for all!

Plan-B is the eventual repalcment of the Allison with a Bruno BRT converter drive and a 5-spd Lenco CS-1 Transmission! And this will be streetable!

The One pictured in my sig is the 3-spd CS-1 from our gone Pro-Mod Now I will have to upgrade this one with 2 more gear sections to achive 5 speeds! Lenco actually makes 3 differant race trannys and 1 street version but all but the badass CS-1, are too weak! The CS-1 is rated for 3500HP @ 2500lb.tq. and is magnesium cased! Its the torque the others fall short of.

Now you may ask why?...
Well I have a burning desire to have over 1000HP out of this sucker and when that happens as you guys know, the Ally has surviveability/reliability issues at that power level. Well with the high cost of an all-out Ally that might not survive and rebuilds/parts also pricy. The other trans is the Duraflite 47RE, and its no better off from the Ally, IMO. As my truck is 2WD and drag racing is my focus, i need the max traction i can get. This is gonna mean i need a burnout. Well as Mike L. has said, burnouts and Ally's dont get along. If it were 4x4 i might be able to get away with no burnout. This should be the end-all solution to this, at least for me!

You may ask how?....
Well all Ally and associated parts will be removed and custom mounting will be fabbed for the BRT/Lenco. Now alot of Lenco's including ours were run via a clutch. Well thats not an option for me, i want a converter for ease of use and starting line spool-up. Thats what the Bruno BRT is for. It bolts to the Lenco adding, bellhousing, pump, drive and such as an ultra strong adjustable converter drive system.

Hows it all work?
Well, A Lenco is much like an automatic transmission inside. There "pods" are planetary gear sections. Each individual planetary reduction is shifted into 1:1drive via CO2 shift pods or manual levers per section and are adjustable in shift firmness per gear. So you can have a softer 1-2 shift if traction is lower and firm it up when its hooked! Cool! reverse is a whole diff planetary at the end of the trans activated by its own lever (see pic) and actually has the same gearing in reverse as forward so its 5 reverse speeds although 1-2 is all thats used. Now CO2 isnt an option since this will be a street/strip truck so manual shift levers are the ticket. The Lenco has no neutral nor park, unless you cut the reverse gear for a "gap" neutral. So the trans is always in gear. So its always in 1st and theres 5 levers, one for each subsequent gear and one for reverse. The Lenco is an addition of all the gear reductions added up and each time a lever is pulled a gear reduction is reduced till 5th and its 1:1 drive. I can switch and choose these individual gear ratios as i wish. No overdrive unfrotunatly. This design allows instant full throttle shifts with no defuel, like a clutchless manual. Now I will cut my reverse for neutral and hafta use my park brakes as park. Now the Bruno BRT is basically the torque converter part of an automatic. Its is its own self contained system. It has a CO2 operated trans-brake so i'll hafta have CO2 or on-board air for it. Now that allows for wicked launches and also effectivlly "neutrals" the transmission when activated by taking bypassing the fluid from the converter and and removes the viscous link to the trans.

How to operate it...
I will use the transbrake for launches and for neutraling the truck. I will build a "fake" clutch pedal in the truck that activates/deactivates the transbrake. It must be used between switching from forward/reverse. Im going to build or buy a new reverser lever w/ lockout. I'll use it also at stoplights and such to take load off the system and at the end of 1/4 mile runs. Shifting up can be done when ever I want, idle to WOT with out clutching it! To back shift, all that is required is take my foot off the power and throw desired levers forward. The center console will be removed because the floor will be full of levers and shift rods!

When?
As soon as i have all the compnents! I have the Lenco but need the rest! As you can imagine, these parts are top of the line race spec parts and arnt cheap! A brand new CS-1 5-speed would be $9500 Now I hope I can find a used Bruno, I know alot of the right guys as this stuff goes! If not a new Bruno is pricy too, and i need the stronger 1.25 Marage shafted unit of the two they make. The converter is gonna be from Neil Chance, a local but well known converter maker, powering some of the fastest drag machines around! A nice stout non-lockup bolt-togather converter isnt cheap too. So Im trying to save every dime i can to get it rollin, as my Ally is hurtin, this is the next upgrade to the truck! So stay tuned, hopfully soon you guys will see the "Worlds 1st Street Lenco'ed Diesel Truck" !!!

 

[DuramaxPowered]

That was the best off topic post I've ever read ......Sounds badass

 

[Diesel power]

I think your on to a good idea! Lenco's are by far the best out there IMO, and the bruno drive is also very stout.

 

[mytmousemalibu]

We'll See! I'm super excited about it! Outta be a blast to drive and some serious WTF factor! Money is my only slowing point, as this wonderful ecomomy makes it that much better But Im pretty stubborn and headstrong so once i set my mind on somthing, I do my best to follow through! IMO its a better option to the Ally till someone makes it last and even at that, this is a proven bullet! We have made prolly 50 runs on our Lenco and every season we had it torn down and our Lenco guy said it was flawless and like brand new inside, never freshed it, just changed the oil in it, and that was 50 passes behind 3000HP mind you! Since I have the Lenco already, thata keep me pushed to keep this project rollin!

 

[Diesel power]

I have a 3-speed lenco with a Ti can and a 3 disk clutch, air shifter via electronics, big sprags, Ti gears and fine spline shafts, going in my P/S truck.

should hold anything that i can throw at it.

i can only hope that this project turns as many heads at the track as it has on paper!

Lots of new things coming out for the d-max very soon! From the block up.....

 

[Trippin]

A quick note on spraying NOx. NOx is itself a FUEL. When you inject the diesel, you light off the NOx charge too. The added benefit is the released O2.

Actually, Nitrous Oxide is a catalyst. The release of oxygen acts as a catalyst to improve the burn of the fuel, be it gasoline or diesel etc......

Just my two cents on pistons, for some people free or cheap parts are the best.

 

[Fingers]

Actually, Nitrous Oxide is a catalyst. The release of oxygen acts as a catalyst to improve the burn of the fuel, be it gasoline or diesel etc......

Just my two cents on pistons, for some people free or cheap parts are the best.

Symantics maybe? By definition, a Catalyst is not consumed in the reaction. For instance the Palladium in the catalytic converter is not consumed but does enhance the reaction.

Nitrous Oxide breaking down generates heat as well as the additional O2. The reaction is exothermic and anaerobic. (does not require O2) To get it going, the NOx requires kicker. Not unlike a blasting cap in a stick of dynamite. You could run the engine on NOx provided you could start off the reaction.

The breakdown though, is so harsh, it will break things if used in excess.

But what do I know......

 

[Diesel power]

Typically the reaction happens at a temp of 300+ and above, thats the main reason for me personally injecting the nos as soon as possible giving the reaction time to "feather out" and produce whats needed most......Cold Oxygen.

 

[Fingers]

Nitrous Oxide decomposes violently above temp of 1112*F.

 

[McRat]

Symantics maybe? By definition, a Catalyst is not consumed in the reaction. For instance the Palladium in the catalytic converter is not consumed but does enhance the reaction.

Nitrous Oxide breaking down generates heat as well as the additional O2. The reaction is exothermic and anaerobic. (does not require O2) To get it going, the NOx requires kicker. Not unlike a blasting cap in a stick of dynamite. You could run the engine on NOx provided you could start off the reaction.

The breakdown though, is so harsh, it will break things if used in excess.

But what do I know......

You're right, catalyst is probably not the right word. But without it, we don't see the aluminum igniting, nor will nitrous by itself ignite aluminum. It has to be present at the high temps and pressures to make it burn.

 

[Fingers]

You bring up an interesting point Pat. Aluminum, when exposed to Nitrous Oxide at high (but not ugly high) temps will actually burn the aluminum. Yep, ignite it. I will see if I can find the temperature the Aluminum needs to be for that to happen. Keep in mind the piston needs to hot for this to be significant.

Probably not the primary factor here. Then again, what I saw of your pistons they looked eroded more than melted.

Again, what do I know...

 

[McRat]

You bring up an interesting point Pat. Aluminum, when exposed to Nitrous Oxide at high (but not ugly high) temps will actually burn the aluminum. Yep, ignite it. I will see if I can find the temperature the Aluminum needs to be for that to happen. Keep in mind the piston needs to hot for this to be significant.

Probably not the primary factor here. Then again, what I saw of your pistons they looked eroded more than melted.

Again, what do I know...

Yes, the pistons became lighter, didn't crack and aluminum oxide crystals coated the valves and ports. The bottom of the pistons didn't see carmelized oil either. Without the nitrous, we didn't see the problem.

 

[Diesel power]

Yes, the pistons became lighter, didn't crack and aluminum oxide crystals coated the valves and ports. The bottom of the pistons didn't see carmelized oil either. Without the nitrous, we didn't see the problem.

Injecting the nitrous well before the temps are that high will eliminate the issue at hand. Maybe a slightly different tune would help too. also having coated Forged pistons would make things a bit more tolerable too!

 

[McRat]

Well, since I'm not allowed to use nitrous for LSR, and replacing pistons is $$$ on these trucks, further experiments will be postponed. We know it's fairly safe at 40psi boost, dangerous at 45-60, but we are going to up past 60, so the risk will go up, not down. It's not just me who has seen it, but since engine failures are normally top secret, we will never know how many others have seen it.

 

[Diesel power]

Well, since I'm not allowed to use nitrous for LSR, and replacing pistons is $$$ on these trucks, further experiments will be postponed. We know it's fairly safe at 40psi boost, dangerous at 45-60, but we are going to up past 60, so the risk will go up, not down. It's not just me who has seen it, but since engine failures are normally top secret, we will never know how many others have seen it.

Ohh, i see.

Why so much boost? is it to keep things cooler with out nitrous/water meth?

 

[McRat]

We need ~900rwhp sustained to achieve our goals. While we can hit that with a single charger, the EGT's get out of control. By twinning the truck, we hope to be able to sustain high HP for longer durations.

 

[Diesel power]

We need ~900rwhp sustained to achieve our goals. While we can hit that with a single charger, the EGT's get out of control. By twinning the truck, we hope to be able to sustain high HP for longer durations.

OK how about this senaro, bigger twins for more air volume at a lower boost than the twins you now have? Is there room for this?

Wouldent be a bad idea considering you have a mile of running room....
thats with the assumtion that 45+lbs of boost is entering dangerous area, so the lower the boost the better as long as volume is not sacrificed....

 

[McRat]

Bigger twins? I'm running a GT55 + GT4202. So far, everything looks promising.

 

[Diesel power]

Bigger twins? I'm running a GT55 + GT4202. So far, everything looks promising.

Cool, have you ran this set up yet, or guessing on the boost #'s

there a big set of chargers for sure

 

[juddski88]

jay from NH runs the same twins and IIRC he sees 80 psi+ , also IIRC Mika ran a slightly smaller setup and saw close to 100 psi.