RAY BAILEY | |
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May 10, 1994 Mr. Alan D. Roth Dear Mr. Roth: I build boxstock gokarts that use a 5-hp Briggs & Stratton aluminum bore engine. They would get about 5 to 8 races before needing new rings. The rings would wear down from 122 thousandths to about 110 thousandths causing the engines to lose horsepower and slow down. I have treated 20 engines with Militec-1 at 1 ounce per quart of Coolpower (castor blend) oil. Eight of these engines have come back with more than 25 races and the rings were down to only 118 thousandths which meant they still did not need new rings. We had one engine come back with worn out rings that had been using Militec-1. However, this engine had been run without an air filter and this allowed dust and dirt to go through the cylinders. The engine had about 10 races on it which is still impressive as the engine would have barely gone 4 races without needing ring replacement. The other 11 engines are still out in the field so we don't know what state they are in. I have a dynamometer on which I test the gokart engines. Once heated up, the engines show a head temperature of around 380 degrees F. I have seen a drop in head temperature of 10 to 15 degrees in just a couple of minutes running by adding a half ounce of Militec-1 to 16 ounces of oil. While I believe the Militec-1 is helping the horsepower (it has to be cutting down on friction shown by the temperature drop) I have not been able to measure this increase on the dyno. We also work with superstock engines that use a Tillison carburetor and a little different rod and piston (purchased on the after-market). I have six of these running. These normally needed new rings after 5 to 8 races and would have to be bored and a new piston installed after 15 to 20 races. I have treated them at the same ratio of one ounce of Militec-1 for each quart of oil. I had one last night that came in because the owner said it was skipping. It was due to the carburetor overloading the methanol fuel and this resulted in excess fuel going by the piston into the crankcase. Even though about 4 ounces of methanol were in the crankcase and the race was fifteen laps, there was absolutely no measurable wear or damage. Normally, when this would occur, you would have to replace the piston because the chrome would come off. An engine could even seize up when the fuel gets in. That engine had fifteen complete races and still did not show any significant wear or damage to any of the parts. The rings still appeared to be at 122 thousandths! Yours truly, /s/ Ray A. Bailey |