Peace of Mind
12-11-2019, 12:52 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Peace of Mind
I know this topic has been beaten to death, but having recently taken delivery of a 11' GT3RS I can't help myself...
Prior to purchasing I went as far down the RL rabbit hole as humanly possible digging into the cam actuator bolt/harmonics issue. I put in an order with Jaime for the harmonic dampener before the car even arrived and I've been told there is a way to have a look at the actuators without dropping the motor. My question to all of you who have a 3.8 is this... if the actuator bolts appear to be torqued down and I have the dampener installed, have I done my part? Is there anything else I can do? Is it silly for me to feel like I'm walking on eggshells every time I go out for an early Sunday morning blast? The car has 11K miles, is never going to see the track, but when I do drive it's always going to be EXTREMELY spirited.
I appreciate and welcome any and all comments. I'm so stoked about the car, just want to be able to enjoy her confidently..
Prior to purchasing I went as far down the RL rabbit hole as humanly possible digging into the cam actuator bolt/harmonics issue. I put in an order with Jaime for the harmonic dampener before the car even arrived and I've been told there is a way to have a look at the actuators without dropping the motor. My question to all of you who have a 3.8 is this... if the actuator bolts appear to be torqued down and I have the dampener installed, have I done my part? Is there anything else I can do? Is it silly for me to feel like I'm walking on eggshells every time I go out for an early Sunday morning blast? The car has 11K miles, is never going to see the track, but when I do drive it's always going to be EXTREMELY spirited.
I appreciate and welcome any and all comments. I'm so stoked about the car, just want to be able to enjoy her confidently..
12-11-2019, 02:10 PM
#2
Quit Smokin'
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Congrats on the new car!
I wanted to look at the fasteners on mine, but it ended up looking like a big pain in the butt by the time I started looking at it. I think I would feel pretty good about things if you could check the torque and install the damper. My car has the dual mass flywheel, and I would install the damper also, if it weren't against the rules of my autocross class. Honestly I rarely think about it. Certainly if my car ever starts to have strange behavior, like failing to actuate to the high RPM cam setting, I would stop it immediately, and try to limit exposure to potential metal inside the engine. My tow vehicle has a cummins engine that is known to have a flaw where one of the steel dowel pins can fall out inside the timing cover and destroy the engine.... I find the key to happiness is not dwelling on it. I would not be happy if I lost the engine, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. BTW, if you read Neil's research at performance developments, it suggests that the harmonics are more present around mid range RPM.... so no worries about trips to the redline. It's actually happier up there.
http://performancedevelopments.com/p...enginefailure/
I wanted to look at the fasteners on mine, but it ended up looking like a big pain in the butt by the time I started looking at it. I think I would feel pretty good about things if you could check the torque and install the damper. My car has the dual mass flywheel, and I would install the damper also, if it weren't against the rules of my autocross class. Honestly I rarely think about it. Certainly if my car ever starts to have strange behavior, like failing to actuate to the high RPM cam setting, I would stop it immediately, and try to limit exposure to potential metal inside the engine. My tow vehicle has a cummins engine that is known to have a flaw where one of the steel dowel pins can fall out inside the timing cover and destroy the engine.... I find the key to happiness is not dwelling on it. I would not be happy if I lost the engine, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. BTW, if you read Neil's research at performance developments, it suggests that the harmonics are more present around mid range RPM.... so no worries about trips to the redline. It's actually happier up there.
http://performancedevelopments.com/p...enginefailure/