The Ute is back!

[veewhytu]

Chris from Russo Perfomance started tuning the ute today just in time for the nats :nutbag:

Its going to be interesting to see how she goes, it had traction issues even when it was cam only.....thats the problem with wanting it to go fast and having ssl springs in it so it looks ok.....cant have your cake and eat it i 'spose...not in a ute anyway :rolleyes:

It made 484 rwkw before it ran out of fuel, Chris didnt get a chance to lean on it properly....looks like its off to Rocket tomorrow for another 044 then we can have another go :dance: .

[fatas]

need a 044 $200 i will tell you were to get them from :woohoo:

[lautray]

484rwkw & more to come :shock: :woohoo: . Can't wait to see end result, but more importantly, how you go with it next week :D. Glad we'll be there to see it firsthand.

[35R]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!

484rwkw!

OMG.

Not bad for a 346 Rick!

Dahm, can't wait to see you pilot this thing.

Make sure you take brown undies to the nats mate.

So with decent pumps you're going to see over 500rwkw surely.

[NickS]

:shock: -----> :bow:

HOLY CRAP !!!

[Delft Maloo]

With a giant turbo and small cubes this thing is going to take off like a f14 on a carrier:shock: . Well done rick and the russo team, you better make sure you take some spares with you.

[exploder]

http://users.tpg.com.au/antjar//Rick's%20ute.jpg

[veewhytu]

Lol, thats a classic Jarrod :lol: :slap:

I took it for a quick drive on my private road i bought earlier this year, man its another whole level of fast compared to before.

Tomorrow will see the last of the fuel system upgraded and then its back on the dyno :up2sum: .

[35R]

is that the private road next to my private road?

[DaveHAT]

Holy frightened sheep heards Rick :shock:

That's a fairly serious kick upstairs in the power upgrade stakes.

Care to divuldge any details? :toetap:

[exploder]

Man that thing must be insane. Once you get a hold of it lets us know how the power delivery builds.

[seedyrom]

is it a garrett T51?
The power figure would indicate larger though :eek:

Tim said small cubes .. is it still 346 ?

[35R]

Forged 346 - dunno the turbo though

[vyssII]

Holy crap......The bar just keeps getting set higher and higher with these LS engines dosen't it!

Cheers,
Adam

[Delft Maloo]

is it a garrett T51?
The power figure would indicate larger though :eek:

Tim said small cubes .. is it still 346 ?

As dunc said a forged 346 and a turbo that makes mine look like a baby.

[veewhytu]

Holy frightened sheep heards Rick :shock:

That's a fairly serious kick upstairs in the power upgrade stakes.

Care to divuldge any details? :toetap:

This is one of those upgrades that kinda got out of control :doh:

Originally all we were going to do was port the heads...they are now one of the few remaining untouched parts.

The engine was stripped, cleaned and inspected, then re-assembled with fresh bearings and a set of quality rods and pistons, along with a specifically ground for this application custom cam (custom as its more than likely the only one of its type...not chosen off an American website 'custom' :p ). It retains the stock displacement of 346ci...watching a pro engine builder screw a combo together using skills and knowledge learnt over 20 odd years as opposed to just doing it all up with the torque wrench was pretty cool....there's a lot of precision measuring devices in the Russo workshop you're not going to see at your average mechanics...i learnt heaps that day.

Next up was the fabrication and installation of the turbo kit which was designed and fabricated entirely inhouse with a 3 1/2 dump pipe along with a custom twin 3" exhaust.

The turbo is smaller than some might think, its a very efficient high end unit (not chinese) that makes lots of power in a decent sized package.
Its a little smaller than a T51r (76mm wheel against a 76.5mm) with a carefully chosen exhaust housing to suit my goals.
So far it's made 484rwkw on 13 psi before running out of fuel, but we havent yet had it back on the rollers since then...probably early next week.

As its still a stock alloy block there is obviously a limit to how much power it will take...everyone has there own theory on this of course but we wont be taking it much past 500rwkw....ive got a funny feeling ill be breaking lots of driveline components over the next while...im glad its going down to Heathcote on a transporter :confused:

[veewhytu]

Chris spent a bit more time on the dyno yesterday and upped the boost to 16 pounds.

How much power did it make?.....No idea....it was smashing the rollers that hard there's 2 piles of rubber behind the dyno and it smoked out the workshop. We'll probably have to look at an alternative strapping technique next time it goes on.

We'll be down in Heathcote on Friday so mph will tell the real story (if the driveline holds up :confused: )

[veewhytu]

Got back from Heathcote today, what an awesome weekend :nutbag:

I did 4 runs in the ute, 2 were getting pretty messy so i got off it, then followed up with a 10.51@137.8 with a crap 1.78 60', then a 10.58@ 137.

Boost was at 13 psi, there was no point in upping it anymore as it was torching the tyres as it was. I need to get a smaller waste gate spring so i can stage the boost using the controller, get a decent 60' with minimal psi then really pour it in at the top of the track.

This method should hopefully net us a us a 9 sec pass :D

Chris Russo did a pass in it (didnt record an et due to beam error) and it was nuts to watch it from behind skating all over the track, he said it was still crossed up as he went across the line!, i think he was enjoying himself :lol:

I think there is some video around, ill see if i can get hold of it.

PS If anyone has a moroso calculator, could they please tell me the hp for 138mph @ 3800lbs

[35R]

Good stuff Rick, well done to you and Russo Bros.

I am uploading some video to youtube for you atm, shoudl be done soon and i will post up the link.

Edit: here is the video - quality is not too crash hot - sorry Rick - the new flash based camera is shyte unfortunately

t6rYj9PStZE

[veewhytu]

Good stuff Rick, well done to you and Russo Bros.

I am uploading some video to youtube for you atm, shoudl be done soon and i will post up the link.

Awesome, thanks mate.

[lautray]

Yep, looked mighty impressive at the track. Well done Russo's/Rick. Well chosen combo.

[35R]

Rick, 138mph in a commodore means just shy of 500rwkw according to my LS1 timeslip charts.

This backs up your dyno result perfectly.

Here is the rwkw vs mph chart / curve

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2241/2177968844_5903e4ea91.jpg

[RedVYIISS]

fantastic stuff Rick, particularly considering a 1st outing.