The Road to Drag Week 2016 - August 29, 2016

[mike7570]

As I sit here unable to really talk but somewhat able to type (wisdom teeth pulled & went "dry socket" - no fun at all) I had a few thoughts.

Ha, I can relate I just had an impacted wisdom tooth removed last Thursday along with a root canal and crown. I'm still in pain
Did they put you out to extract it?  I was awake, just a few shots to numb me up, then they proceeded with what felt like power tools and a chisel.
I'll tell you Hydrocodone is your friend.

[cobracammer]

Those are actually the same headers I use in the car, with primary tubes about 32" long.  As far as bigger always being better when it comes to headers, I know a lot of very knowledgeable people who would disagree with that.  My own experience, with this engine, comes from the header tests I did last year.  I had two sets of headers, one with stepped primaries that went 2-1/8" to 2-1/4" to 2-3/8", and another set that went 2" to 2-1/8" to 2-1/4".  I also had two merge collectors for the smaller header set, one with a 3" choke and one with a 2-3/4" choke, and one merge collector with a 3-1/4" choke for the larger set.  I tested all on the dyno.  The smaller headers and smallest choke merge collector made the most power.  Not by a lot, but by enough that I am still running those pipes on the car.  So, my opinion is that the largest possible tubes are definitely NOT the best way to go.

Thanks Jay.  Here is the video (if only for amusement).  I hope this is the link to the correct one  LOL  :0)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PVXvHkr-Vs

[jayb]

Looks like that test was just about the exhaust system, downstream from the headers.  In that case bigger is better, and open headers (no exhaust) is the best.

[Hemi Joel]

Hemis can over-scavenge during overlap, pulling too much of the intake charge out the exhaust port. You can see the exhaust port when looking into the intake port when both valves are open. Perhaps this is why your motor makes more power with a smaller header. You could test it on the dyno by decreasing the valve overlap in the cam, then see what headers it likes better.  (after drag week)

[Qikbbstang]

Wow 6,800 rpm sporting every inch of displacement that can be crammed into the confines of an FE block's casting. In this day of screaming 5.0 Shelby GT350's it is mind numbing to comprehend all that additional mass and the hell it goes through.  It makes me realize a Drag Week engine like Jay's is really an Endurance Engine thanks to Smokey Yunick's writings..... I recall reading Smokey stating a NASCAR cup motor is an endurance motor... When you get down to it a Drag Week motor must hold up for dyno runs, an entire week of street & race not to mention some parts are re-used annually -- that's an tuff task in view of the shear mass of components, rpm and time.

[machoneman]

Way too much credit to long-gone Smokey Yunick, far too little kudos to Jay and other modern FE enthusiasts like Capt. CobraJet, Barry, Brent and more.

You should be ashamed!

[Qikbbstang]

Barry on dental issue/wisdom teeth
  I had mine yanked nearly 40 years ago... Nest day or so I recall I was snorkeling on a reef and it dawned on me my purging through the snorkel was leaving a trail of blood in the water so I got out early not wanting to be shark bait.. I think back on the frightening dentist I had as a kid... He was prying really hard and working away on my tooth and I'm thinking IF he slips he'll be half-way down my throat with his tools.. I finally stopped him and said: Doc it ain't coming out. He fires up the drill and saws the tooth into two pieces and then takes it out in two parts... He then showed me the two halves and how the roots were U'd which prevented the tooth from being pulled out. The moron would have known about the U lock to my jaw if he'd looked at the x-ray I believe.
   Anyway last year I went to my dentist in pain as a tooth about 1/4" around was coming out of my gum near the front of my mouth...... the Doc fiddled around and pulled it out (like a flat chip) charging me full price for an extraction..... It was a chunk of a wisdom tooth that had migrated along inside my gums to the front of my mouth over 30+ years. Brought back the memories of that Witch Doctor

[Cyclone03]

Nice work hitting the 1000 it's been a long time coming!

On the stud for the tensioner , maybe the front cover can have a hole machined into it to allow the stud to be removed with the cover in place,then a screw in plug added for running. This of course is a mod down the road.

Believe it or not,Ducati motor cycles use a swinging idler pulley to tension the cam drive belts,they are all stud mounted in aluminum.

I like studs in every position in aluminum if the fastener has to be removed in service.

I rewire airplanes,the area looks a lot like yours no matter how much I try to keep it cleaned up.lol

[My427stang]

Hemis can over-scavenge during overlap, pulling too much of the intake charge out the exhaust port. You can see the exhaust port when looking into the intake port when both valves are open. Perhaps this is why your motor makes more power with a smaller header. You could test it on the dyno by decreasing the valve overlap in the cam, then see what headers it likes better.  (after drag week)

Although I completely agree that a hemi, or even canted valve heads, can overscavenge if treated like a inline wedge, to me, I'd think the smaller headers (to a point) would pull harder on the chamber during overlap, my guess was he was coming up on the correct combo of length and diameter.

However, not a dyno guy, but would love to see what the O2 sensors were reading on the entire curve with each header setup, I'd expect them to look funky if raw fuel was being pulled through

[JERICOGTX]

Posting live from Professor Jays FE skunkworks:

The Cammer is in the car, and Jay is busy installing the front suspension on the Shelby. I'm in the paint booth prepping a pair of fiberglass bumpers for the car now. It's coming along!

[machoneman]

Yeah! Go guys go! 

[thatdarncat]

Super secret spy photo from earlier this week. Let's keep our fingers crossed all goes well.

[Hemi Joel]

Posting live from Professor Jays FE skunkworks:

The Cammer is in the car, and Jay is busy installing the front suspension on the Shelby. I'm in the paint booth prepping a pair of fiberglass bumpers for the car now. It's coming along!

luring away my trunk monkey with visions of fame and beautiful ladies...

[jayb]

Your trunk monkey is tired of working on your car, and wants to work on a winner LOL! 

[machoneman]

Wow, you guys have a babe too? Hopefully, a younger one as the gal in that B&W pic is likely a great grandmother by now!