2.5L Max Cool Block Reinforcement
Pricing:
The price of $895 includes
- 1 Max Cool Block Reinforcement
- Machining of the cylinder block to fit the reinforcement plate
- Installation of the reinforcement plate into the block
- Thermal Guard Shims installed between the cylinders
The price does not include
- A core block, we can help source one if necessary
- Disassembly of a complete motor
- Shipping, we can supply shipping supplies so you can safely ship your block to us.
- Any additional block machining, we do not deck, bore, or hone the cylinder block in the standard installation process. We can assist with additional machining if requested.
Quantity based discounts are available for this item:
Since there is a considerable amount setup time required to machine & install these, we can pass on a savings to you. If you can coordinate with any other customers to send a batch of motors in for machining we can offer different discounts levels. There are levels available for 2+ units, 4+ units, and 6+units.The background:
The B5254T4 83mm bore 5 cylinder motors are great motors with one major caveat, they frequently crack the cylinder liners under heavy usage. This can happen on modified setups and stock setups and once it happens the entire engine block is toast.
Volvo employed an open deck architecture when manufacturing the white block series motors which has several advantages and disadvantages compared to closed deck motors like the older red blocks.
The pros: light weight, low manufacturing costs, and excellent cooling
The cons: low stability, low strength
The factory rotating assembly (crank, rods, and pistons) are very high quality and will support substantial power output if the block will hold up.
The existing two methods commonly used is shimming the cylinder liners and installing a sleeve kit. Both can work but have their drawbacks. Shimming addresses the problem indirectly by supporting the block in the weakest area but the block is still subject to the high stresses that cause the cracking. Sleeving the block is overly expensive and the cast iron used does not reject heat as well as an aluminum housed sleeve.
The problem:
The main issues are the engines ability to handle the thermal loads and the block stiffness.
The B5254T4 can produce a lot of heat, especially with increased power output. Since the stock arrangement can not cope with heavy loads, it allows the materials to operate in a temperature range where they see a dramatic reduction in strength and the result is eventually the cylinder liner fatigues and cracks.
The open deck design allows the top of the cylinders to float and are only braced by the head gasket and the cylinder head, which is problematic at high outputs. Between the normal vibrations created in the engine and the thrust force created by the pistons during their normal stroke this will cause a situation where the location of the bore is not stable.
Our solution:
We decided to engineer and manufacture a hybrid solution between sleeving and shimming. One of the big advantages that you get with the Darton MID sleeve kit is the block receives extra bracing from the design of the sleeve. We have integrated the same approach into our kit but since our kit is made from aluminum & the factory block is made from aluminum, the thermal expansion rates will be very similar and keep the support consistent as the engine changes temperature.
There are cooling fins integrated into the lower half of our support which also function as stiffening ribs. Keeping an open channel at the top of the support allows coolant to flow around the area with the highest thermal load.
The process:
The process starts with an 11 lb bar of billet 6061-T651 aluminum that we CNC machine down to a .7 lb reinforcement plate.
Than we take a bare cylinder block and CNC machine the water channel of the block to be able to precisely fit our reinforcement plate.
Once the block is machined, we apply an aerospace grade thermally conductive epoxy that mechanically and thermally bonds the reinforcement plate to the engine block. This insures that we have over 99% surface contact between the engine block and reinforcement. By filling all the minor surface variations and microvoids we can achieve a much greater thermal transfer rate from the cylinder to the guard.
We also shim to fit each the cylinders during the installation process.
Updates:
Milestones with the test car.
- Out flowed factory AMM @ 18 psi, installed 3.5" AMM
- Out flowed New Volvo S60R fuel pump @ 20 psi, installed Aeromotive 340
- Out flowed 840cc / 5bar injectors @ 26 psi of boost
1/13/16 Update: Over 4,000 miles have been put on the test block with a variety of driving conditions including long idling in hot weather, high boost runs, and cold starts. The setup is currently running 22 psi on a 58mm Precision turbo (~400 whp). We have seen no issues thus far.
2/19/16 Update: Over 6,000 miles logged. Car is running 21.9 psi. Did a few dyno pulls to get a base line for tuning info. Coolant temps were also logged to check the efficiency of the block guard. Dyno results were 382 wheel hp and 327 ft lbs of torque. This was done on a very conservatively calibrated mustang dyno so we are making good power.
3/16/16 Update: Increased pressure to 26 psi and ran out of fuel. Shopping for larger injectors and working on custom firmware package to allow for more control at higher output levels.