Hey Guys.....

You may have cought the hint in the NorCal thread about today's Meet up here.... well... here is the rest

We were on a great drive through the Skyline Blvd twisties (one of the best I've been to, an appropriate name as well), when my engine spilled some of it's guts on the road. I heard a hard thump or two, as if i ran over a boulder and it hit the underside of my car.... There were no "explosions" (nothing was seen from behind either) or anything of the kind... in fact i didn't hear any significant sounds from the engine (in front of me), but only the underside of the car.

For the first fraction of second, i thought that i did in fact hit something... Until of course i came to my senses, saw a plume of smoke that completely covered up the road. Andy and the rest of the guys behind me reported 3-5 foot visibility, form what i gather. Once I knew that the engine went, and realised the hazard of that much smoke, I just starting hoping that everyone will emerge out of the cloud alright (and guys... it was seriosuly a HUUUGGGEEEEEE cloud). I was relieved to see Andy come out of it ok with his hazard lights blinking...

So, we park, look at the car.. once i see the trail of oil that I left behind... it's pretty darn clear what happened, a rod broke and flew THROUGH the block. We later found pieces of the block on the road (took pics of this too). Andy wll post some pics soon. After we parked and called for a tow truck, we saw how much oil the car was hemorrhaging.... a few quarts there, and a few quarts on the bed of the truck itself, after we drove into S.F.

Here is technical aspect of things:

Boost: 5.7 psi (+- .2)

RPM: I hit the rpm in 4th gear at around 4000, and ~2 seconds later, it blew. So, about 4300 rpm.

Timing: I was retarding about 0.9 degrees per psi, so my total retard was about 5 degrees. The g35AT sedan timing is about 21-22 degrees BTDC, 3-4 degrees less aggressive than the MT's and the Z's. So, I was at about 16-17 deg BTDC. Which is pretty safe. Aside from that, I do after all have a J&S that indicates knock, and it was NOT going off. Also, I was NOT hearing any audible pinging. So, I am pretty confident saying that it is is not a detonation-related failure. Then again, it's hard to say.

So, no detonation (audible or knock sensor-detected), 4300 rpm (torque peak)... It's got to be a stress-related failure... the rod was probably just fatigued, or it was a weak one from the start who knows. It sucks that it happened now... b/c I was ready to put in a full data-logging solution in my car next week, that would've logged everything.. and we would know much more.

Oh well..... I was planning to build a new motor anyway. But I just hate saying this... as this just shouldn't have happened.

Gurgen

 

Oh man!! I am really sorry to see this happen man. Well hope you get her going again soon!

2004 Infiniti G35S, 6MT, Premium, Sport, DP
Mods: JDM Clears, 20% tint, Z-tube, Stilen CAI
Track: 14.32 at 98.79 mph 2.2032 60ft
Dyno 07-07-04 - 234.2 hp & 233.8 tq
http://www.g35world.com

 

Wow, that sucks! Well, good luck with the re-build.

2004.5 DG/G 5AT Coupe with all options
Sidemarker turnsignal mod
GroundingGear™
2003 Yamaha YZF600R

 

wow! man sorry to hear.. it was awesome riding in your car. It gives you an excuse to rebuild i guess. good luck with it. maybe you can jump on the group buy deals on my350z.com for the rods and pistons.

---------------------------------------------------------
RIP
1994 accord coupe ex
269whp / 281wtq @ 14psi

now....
a happy driver of a TB 6mt w/ navi

 

accordfreak...

You were truly one of the last.... I did get in on the group buy... I was planning to build the motor all along. I have the pistons sitting in my apartment as we speak, with the rods and studs about 2,4 weeks out, respectively.

Gurgen

 

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((

CRY CRY!!

Ed



2003 Transport V35SKYLINE. Team Transport! www.teamtransport.org

 

Man Gurg, it must have been so shocking when this happened, sucks it had to happen to a great guy/car or any 1 for that matter!! Good luck with the re-build man, sorry to hear about this again!! You can pretty much guess what im not putting in my car, ya you got it!! Too much responsibility that i could def. not handle with that in my car, i guess its better i learned that now instead of learning the hard way! Martin


Martin
2003.5 BS G35
Nismo Aero/Sport Package
0-60 5.4 - 1/4 Mile 14.16 *GTech* and on 19's!!

 

Nooooo, this is not real. Was the transmission damaged? I am so sorry to hear this.

 

Is it safe to say that the VQ35DE should not have FI without rebuilding the internals first? It seems to me that the TT guys, Greddy mainly, have had really bad luck with the 5th and 6th rods (I think those are the ones closest to the firewall). What's your take on TT's and not rebuilding the engine?

Also, in one of our PM's I referred to you as a pioneer, and am grateful that you've shared so much of your experience with us. I'm sorry that this has happened, especially since you were trying to take things so safely.

Please keep us in the loop and here's to 550rwhp. [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

 

Welcome to the blown engine club! Good luck on rebuilding and once its done you won't have to worry about these 'minor' issues! It really sucks you won't have a 2nd block left over after your swap, but things could be worse. It is good to hear everyone is OK and there weren't any people injured!



Kevin
www.KPtechnologies.net
AIM: KPiersonTec
04 DG Coupe / VDC Memory
OEM Remote Window up mod
Procharged / Crawford / TS

 

No, actually the VQ can handle boost, but you have to set a point where you can't go over a certain amount of PSI. There are guys running 8-9 psi with vortech setups without any issues just yet. Personally, Stillens setup is probably the safest one to go with at this time. I probably be getting a Stage 3 from Stillen myself or a Vortech..depending what I feel like at the time of purchase.

2004 Infiniti G35S, 6MT, Premium, Sport, DP
Mods: JDM Clears, 20% tint, Z-tube, Stilen CAI
Track: 14.32 at 98.79 mph 2.2032 60ft
Dyno 07-07-04 - 234.2 hp & 233.8 tq
http://www.g35world.com

 

[img]/w3timages/icons/frown.gif[/img]My condolences, Gurgen! Sorry to hear about your experiences over the past little while. I'm sure it's been an unwelcome adventure, but a great learning (and teaching process).

But now you get to start fresh, so have fun![img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

It'll feel even better when you're up and running the way you want!

<font color=blue>[i]GroundingGear™ Equipped </font color=blue>

 

Sorry to hear that. If you get a chance, I'd love to see photos of the damaged parts(the ones you can still find anyways). This would give the best indication as to how the failure occurred. Though I'm no engineer ot metallurgist, I'd still like to raise my own theories.

On the bright side, once you build the new motor, you can rule out the motor as the cause of your smoking problem...

 

sorry to hear about this gurgen.. first off, just glad to hear that you and everyone else on the cruise came out fine.. even though there realli is no bright side to this incident, i know you were considering a rebuild and a MT.. anyhow, good luck with getting everything up and running again..

too bad i didn't get a ride in her, but i'm glad some people did at the meet..

David
04 Ivory Pearl G35C 5AT Premium 18"
Z-Tube/Popcharger, Pioneer AVIC-N1

 

Sorry to hera about this bro... TIME TO GET THE STROKER KIT!!! [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks - Joey Avino