Big Power. What Are The Cons For Over 300rwkw

[Geeseman]

Lately we had more and more Xr6T’s getting over the 300rwkw bracket and some in even into the 400’s, which as everyone knows is big power.

My question or concern is what are the consequences for taking a stock 240fwkw car above 400fwkw.

So far we’ve heard that the internals can’t cut it, yet we are seeing more and more cars push over 330rwkw and they still appear to be running OK.

But what about the other parts of the car.

For transmissions, manuals seem to have clutch problems from 280rwkw upwards, autos from a similar power point, but its their clutches and bands that fall, and in some cases the gears themselves break.

Diffs seem to be quite strong with few reported cases of failure.

It would be good to get some first hand experience from users on what their experience has been with big power and what parts of the car appear to be the most susceptible to failure or increased wear in the short term or long term. Background to the experience would also be good. Some people forced to rebuild autos at 250rwkw while others have them over 300rwkw with little trouble. We need to understand the circumstances behind the failures to get a better understanding, ie. The 250rwkw car may be driven really hard, whilst the 300rwkw auto is babied. This understanding helps to increase knowledge and possibly avoid failures fully understanding what the ‘mean’ level of performance for car components are. Experiences don't have to be with cars over 300rwkw either, as cars under this power have failures to. All input is highly appreciated.

Now before we start, I don’t want this thread to be a cause for ‘doom and gloom’ for potential modders who might consider going above 300rwkw. From what I’ve seen there seems to be very few ‘sure things’ in regards to car component failure when it comes to modifying. It is good though, to remain ‘realistic’ when it comes to understanding the costs behind modifying your car. From what I can see the T is one of the cheapest cars to mod, and per $ provides potentially the some of the best results in cars today. But there still are limits to what you can do to a car before its components start to fail. Hopefully given the relatively short life of the T we can gain some understanding as to what these potential risk areas are so you won’t be left stranded when they may occur to you in the future.

Anway, if you have some first hand experience with parts that have gone belly up under big power, please let us know. Also provide circumstance as to how they failed if you can.

[HYPOXR]

I had an APS Phase II in my ute and the engine only lasted 2000kms. It is a 6 speed manual though. It actually threw a rod out of the side of the block. I also had to change the clutch. my ute only made 293rwkw. Now I have had the engine rebuilt or should I say a new engine with a set of rods and left the standard pistons. But the APS kit will be coming out.

[Geeseman]

Thanks HYPOXR

Had you bee driving the car hard? Also was there detonation present before the incident?

[HYPOXR]

Thanks HYPOXR

Had you bee driving the car hard? Also was there detonation present before the incident?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah I had given it some stick here and there but not all the time. I couldnt hear any detonation in the time that the kit was fitted. I was told that I could drive it hard all day everyday. As soon as it blew up the dealer who sold me the kit didnt want anything to do with it.

[badxr6]

So far we’ve heard that the internals can’t cut it, yet we are seeing more and more cars push over 330rwkw and they still appear to be running OK.

well I had to do the clutch after a couple of months with 290rwkws and then when it was at 330kws the gearbox got noisy and lasted 12 months unill I got it upto 360 then she broke third gear so in went the t56 and up the power to 397rwkws and yes the engine is still stock but I will be taking it out in the next 2 weeks to put some rods etc. so it will be interesting to see how she looks inside

[HYPOXR]

So far we’ve heard that the internals can’t cut it, yet we are seeing more and more cars push over 330rwkw and they still appear to be running OK.

well I had to do the clutch after a couple of months with 290rwkws and then when it was at 330kws the gearbox got noisy and lasted 12 months unill I got it upto 360  then she broke third gear so in went the t56 and up the power to 397rwkws and yes the engine is still stock but I will be taking it out in the next 2 weeks to put some rods etc. so it will be interesting to see how she looks inside

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that's Awesome!

[Geeseman]

So far we’ve heard that the internals can’t cut it, yet we are seeing more and more cars push over 330rwkw and they still appear to be running OK.

well I had to do the clutch after a couple of months with 290rwkws and then when it was at 330kws the gearbox got noisy and lasted 12 months unill I got it upto 360  then she broke third gear so in went the t56 and up the power to 397rwkws and yes the engine is still stock but I will be taking it out in the next 2 weeks to put some rods etc. so it will be interesting to see how she looks inside

Thanks Bruce. Be sure to post your findings on the condition of the engine internals.

How do you drive your car? Hard or easy?

[KBB]

I think you'll find that the cars that have thrown legs out of bed, that the factory assembly line workers forgot to do up one or both of the rod bolts nuts or that the forging or casting metal was ridden with impurities that they have now realised, cause many NA's have done the leg out of bed too, but the problem seems to have resolved on later builds

[Grant]

Good topic Steve... I think it would also be pertinent to ask people how long they have been running this kind of power.

Long term reliability is a much different thing to short term reliability. 300rwkw for a month vs 300rwkw for six months could see an entirely different set of results for engine reliability.

Grant

[Geeseman]

I think you'll find that the cars that have thrown legs out of bed, that the factory assembly line workers forgot to do up one or both of the rod bolts nuts or that the forging or casting metal was ridden with impurities that they have now realised, cause many NA's have done the leg out of bed too, but the problem seems to have resolved on later builds

Interesting point.

HYPOXR, how old was your car when the engine blew? What is the manufacture date?