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I called LN today, I have been at their location, They sell a very good product, but the people on the phone are salesmen, they are not technical people that are rebuilding engines between phone calls. They could not tell me if I should have done my ring end gaps at standard shop temp or in a freezer. They said I should be okay, but the person on talked to on the phone was not very sure of their answer or very convincing.
I spent a lot of time and money on this engine. Is there anyone on the forum that rebuilt their own engine or had someone else do it ( other than flat6) and operate their car all year long especially in sub zero or single digit F temps
I live in the Chicagoland area also. If you don't have snows on your car, or you have a winter car to drive, why not just drive it and not worry about it?
Do you really want to get all the salt in and up in your vehicle? I sure do not.
On top of this, you will be guaranteed that there will be no issues if you don't use it in the single digit weather, just wait a few weeks, it will warm up again. I know how much money you must of spent, why chance it at all?
Motors in all sorts of cars can withstand temp variations. The M96/97 scoring issues may or may not be attributable to ambient temp. We have built 2 motors because they suffered scoring and both were from warmer climates...
That said, if LN produces a product that is hyped to be the best available I would expect to be able to use it all year long, regardless of where I live. Their literature does not state ambient temp ranges for use.
My own 3.8 cayman uses LN sleeves. We don't get as cold as you do, but I am not worried about the temp at all.
Ring end gaps have little to do with scoring. It is not the rings that are scoring the bore, it is the piston skirt.
Providing that the ring end gaps, and oil ring tensions were correctly set during assembly, you will have zero problems with LN Nickies in extreme cold. Most of the cold weather development was done in Moment IL, where LN is located.
I have dozens of engines in Canada, and haven't ever had a cold weather related issue.
No, it doesn't matter someone's background, this engine has it's own set of variables that gives it the character that it has. I've instructed my hands on classes for over a decade, and have interacted with more than 1,400 people during that period of time, from all walks of life, and backgrounds. Rocket Scientist, or ditch digger, everyone goes into the M96 with the same lack of experience. Results may vary.
"Its just another engine"
No, its not. Keep thinking that.
Last edited by Flat6 Innovations; 12-17-2016 at 12:10 PM.
The instructions that I got with my pistons were pretty good except for step #2 of water-cooled basic assembly and break in instructions
step #2) "ring end gaps must be checked and gapped if necessary. M96 and M97 engines should have their top rings to a min spec of .004 per inch of bore for second and oil control rings. Some applications may require additional end gap......"
It is crystal clear what the gap for the top ring should be, but the sentence just runs on or something is missing when second and oil control rings are mentioned.
is the intent of this sentence to gap all the rings the same? That is unusual, usual there is a difference in end gaps depending on location of the ring to prevent flutter aid in sealing.
As the temps plummet here, I am revisiting this instruction, if, in fact, I did everything correctly. Car has be running great all summer since I got it together, broken in, feel much more power.
Another thing about nikasil to ponder is just about every single high performance small engine is made with the coating on the cylinders now. This goes for snowmobiles, mx bikes etc...
BRP Rotax has switched from Nikasil to Plasma coating with their newest engine tech this season.
Another thing about nikasil to ponder is just about every single high performance small engine is made with the coating on the cylinders now. This goes for snowmobiles, mx bikes etc...
BRP Rotax has switched from Nikasil to Plasma coating with their newest engine tech this season.
Nikisil is the standard in the hi performance snowmobile world. This is plating, not coating. That said, just like the M96, manufacturers are always trying to make more money, and with the environmental impacts of Nikisil plating, they are getting further from it. This isn't because isn't the best, this is because of accountants and the EPA.
Charles at LN sent me these pics this morning. I built this engine in the LN track car 7 years ago, using my 101mm Nickies set up, and clearances. it has lived through this every winter.
Nikisil is the standard in the hi performance snowmobile world. This is plating, not coating. That said, just like the M96, manufacturers are always trying to make more money, and with the environmental impacts of Nikisil plating, they are getting further from it. This isn't because isn't the best, this is because of accountants and the EPA.
Charles at LN sent me these pics this morning. I built this engine in the LN track car 7 years ago, using my 101mm Nickies set up, and clearances. it has lived through this every winter.
I'll be curious how this new plasma coating works out for BRP / Rotax. I "believe" some of the tech jargon is that in a 2 stroke the plasma has better oil retention as its more pours but I haven't followed it too closely.
We can't compare two stroke technology with threat of the M96. I've done a lot of 2 stroke development in my time too. Things are changing with 2 stroke engines in regard to oil. No longer can a 2 stroke oil just have a ton of Ester dumped in it, and be bottled.
Getting back on track... Seeing a manufacturer do something new these days is something I take with a grain of salt... I usually think "ok, that's cheaper, let's see if it blows up".
As a developer I am always looking for mistakes that manufactures make, and speculation can pay off big time. This equates to things well outside the Porsche world, too.
Getting back on track... Seeing a manufacturer do something new these days is something I take with a grain of salt... I usually think "ok, that's cheaper, let's see WHEN it blows up".
FIFY
Now it's more accurate. Lifespan calculations are allso reason for the poor longetivity of parts. It's not good business to make things last too long.
12-15-2016, 08:24 PM
