Anybody do any leak down testing? I've been doing it after each event with my older SR8, and had consistent cold (didn't warm up the engine first) numbers of 8% or less. All good.
On my newer SR8, the numbers (again cold) are fantastic, in the 1-3% range. And the spark plugs look brand new.
Given the difference, I wonder if the newer car's engine was just refreshed (the story varies -- which is partly why the price was discounted).
Anyway, anybody have any leak down numbers to share -- brand new engine, refreshed engine, tired engine?
Thanks!
I never did a leak down test on my car so I don’t have any data. But that is great news about your new engine! Because of the previous owners death it has been difficult to find the full story on the car. When I first started working with them they were convinced that the car had a new engine and transmission. When they downloaded the data from the ECU they were very surprised to see that it appeared to have ~35 hours on the engine because that didn’t match what they were told about the car. I wouldn’t be too surprised if the engine was replaced and the ECU wasn’t reset. Since there are only a few places that overhaul these engines I would think you will be able to find out the last time it was rebuilt. The first thing to check is if the engine is sealed. It is my understanding that each certified engine rebuilder has a different seal so if it has a seal you know that it was rebuilt by one of Radicals approved facilities, and you can figure out which one. Then you can contact them with the engine serial number to see when it was last overhauled. If it doesn’t have a seal you know that it was rebuilt by a non radical shop and you can start searching those shops.
One more random thought... I wonder if the improved leak down rates could have anything to do with your new car having a K8 based engine compared to your other cars K7 based engine?
The engine is sealed, with a "medallion" number of 016434. I sent that information off to SMR -- they seem to have some decent records on the car. I'm leaning to the "refreshed, but forgot to reset the ECU" deal myself too. Or maybe they didn't send the ECU back when the engine was refreshed, and never got it done that way.
The chassis only 71 hours on it in 10 years. That's one track weekend a year!
Wow, I knew you got an amazing deal, but if the engine has been refreshed... you got the deal of the decade!
So here's the definitive answer from James S at Radical:
The engine was first built in 2008. The last factory records show this engine being rebuilt in 2012 here at the factory. This was quite a big rebuild requiring a new crankshaft, new con rods along with all the normal bits. We would consider this quite an old engine, many of the components have since been modified and updated to improve performance and reliability.
So the deal of the year anyway. 🙂
Well it’s good to know what you have. Did James confirm that the seal was from the last Factory Rebuild? To the best of my knowledge Radical doesn’t have one universal Maintenance data system that is shared by all of the dealers. So the Factory would only have the information for the overhauls done by them. They won’t have any maintenance records for work done by any of the other dealers. So it is possible that Spring Mountain or one of the other certified overhaul centers have done work on the engine since it left the factory. It is likely a long shot, but it is possible.
hmmm, no. He just said their records had it in for a massive rebuild in 2012. He didn't say for sure that the seal was from the factory.
I asked SRM first about this, but haven't heard back.
Carl told me that "Brandon" was the main tech who supported the car for the Dallas owner. He said he'd get me that contact info today.
If you take a picture of the seal SM should be able to tell you if it is one of theirs or the Factories. Most of the SR8 engines go back to the factory, so you likely have the full information... but it never hurts to confirm. Once you talk to the mechanic you should know for sure.
I got confirmation today that the engine has never been to SRM for any maintenance. And the local tech said the previous owner got the car with a new refresh in early 2013, and never did another one. So I think I have the whole story now. 🙂
Back to fixing the oil leaks and getting it ready for a track day later this summer...
It's good that you have the whole story.
