Let's talk engines...

[RICK LAKE]

SoTxButler Ross I disagree with Brent on lugging a motor. Your cam shaft has a power band to it, anywhere from 2,000 rpm to 8,000 rpm. The torque band is lower that the HP band. The motor starts lugging when you are in top gear and trying to keep the car or accellerate in top gear at a low rpm. You are not running a diesel where you can turn 1,400rpm and accellerate in to gear. You are already in the torque range of a diesel motor. The torque range is about 500 rpm below the bottom of the power band of your cam. Lugging feels like a hesitation or a miss. IMO the motor is working extra harder to turn over and will pound the bottom end bearings. It doesn't matter weather you are running 100 psi or 30 psi oil pressure. When driving your car you want to keep the motor in the power band. Most cam manufactures tell you the rpm range of the camshaft so you can also match the manifold, carb, exhaust, and cubic inches for the best power in that range. I build torque motors and have run my 3.31 rear gearing and have the motor in overdrive, (.78) pull the car along in top gear at 1,500 rpm. It is not good for the motor. The 40 lbs flywheel helps to stop the lugging with stored energy. I can't do the same thing with my 22 lbs flywheel. I sure you have driven the car at say 40 mph in 5 gear, steep on the accellerator and the car starts to buck, you then down shift and take off, that's lugging. There are things that I have learned from talking to some of the best PRO motor builders, and the top 3 all say the same thing about the damage done for lugging motors. FE has a very heavy assembly wieght. Has rod bearing the same width as a 351 windsor, yet carries about 150 to 200 grams more mass. This is one of the reasons I run HVHP oil pumps. I don't believe the number you see at the gauage is the same you see in the back of the motor or the rod bearings on #7&8. These are the rod bearings that go first in most motors with front oil supply. They are the last to get oil on startup, unless you are using a peroiler. Ross I just installed a 482 stroker kit and pulled the 452 out. I checked the bearings and they looked like the day they where installed the coating was still on them. I had a small groove in the #5 main. Not sure what caused this. All I can say after abusing my car for 8 years of autocrossing and road racing, I am having no problems with the motor. What camshaft are you running? Sorry for the rambling. I have to learn to shorten the answers, Problem is I don't want to leave anything out. Rick L.