Longevity & Reliability vs. Power

[Tom Kirkham]

At about 5,500 RPMs

[zrayr]

Originally Posted by Tom Kirkham

At about 5,500 RPMs

then, is it too much of a generalization to say that keeping the rpm under 5500 will do more for reliability & longevity than limiting horsepower ?

thanks for all the (mostly) serious answers.


Z.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by zrayr

then, is it too much of a generalization to say that keeping the rpm under 5500 will do more for reliability & longevity than limiting horsepower ?

thanks for all the (mostly) serious answers.


Z.

... or you could do like RodKnock and keep it at zero RPM and it will last forever. I will add that revving your FE up in the 6000+ range is fun, regardless of whether it is necessary or causes extra wear on the engine. It really is fun, and it sounds great.

[RodKnock]

I might go one step further and say to over build it with quality components and limit the RPM to 5,000-5,500, but 5,500 should be max for reliability.

I think my hydraulic roller cam poops out about 5,600-5,800 RPM and my engine dyno'ed at 605 HP. I think. It's been a while since I reviewed the dyno sheet or driven my car for that matter.

I will say Patrick is right. Zero RPM does wonders for engine longevity.

[patrickt]

zrayr -- dyno numbers can be sneaky. It might sound like Rod's 605HP is a lot more than my 450HP... but it might be closer than you think. My 450HP is with the pipes on, air cleaner on, and water pump churning. Pull all that stuff off and you can get a dyno well in to the 500's. Now if Rod's 605HP number is with open pipes, and maybe a few "adjustments' factored in on the dyno, he could be well down in to the low 500's with an "apples to apples" dyno run like mine. You can play a lot of games with dyno numbers... a lot of games.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by patrickt

zrayr -- dyno numbers can be sneaky. It might sound like Rod's 605HP is a lot more than my 450HP... but it might be closer than you think. My 450HP is with the pipes on, air cleaner on, and water pump churning. Pull all that stuff off and you can get a dyno well in to the 500's. Now if Rod's 605HP number is with open pipes, and maybe a few "adjustments' factored in on the dyno, he could be well down in to the low 500's with an "apples to apples" dyno run like mine. You can play a lot of games with dyno numbers... a lot of games.

You're far more delusional that I thought if you think your 445 makes similar HP as my 482. Bigger cam, bigger cubes and weighs a lot less.

I would say "talk to the hand", but instead, I'll tell you to talk to Chas. He'll better explain it to you.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

You're far more delusional that I thought if you think your 445 makes similar HP as my 482. Bigger cam, bigger cubes and weighs a lot less.

I would say "talk to the hand", but instead, I'll tell you to talk to Chas. He'll better explain it to you.

I conceded you have more. I would bet probably 75 more. I'm betting your 482 puts out about 525HP at the fly with the pipes and accessories all hooked up. Lykins, you agree with that?

[blykins]

Originally Posted by zrayr

then, is it too much of a generalization to say that keeping the rpm under 5500 will do more for reliability & longevity than limiting horsepower ?

thanks for all the (mostly) serious answers.


Z.

It's all related to each other.

A 427 ci engine is never going to make 550-600 hp without spinning it up. So keeping it under 5500 is going to limit your horsepower itself.

Don't use 5500 as a magic number.

There are plenty of engines that peak at 6000 or 6200 that are perfectly reliable.

The easiest way to go about this would be to say:

What combination of parts would I need to get to xxx hp? I can answer that question very easily and provide information on reliability and longevity.