Reliability of 5.2 with Whipple

[olaosunt]

Speaking of, Brenspeed just laid down 1000 big ones with a Whipple and a '16 car. To be fair though I fully believe this particular car is absolutely on borrowed time. That's a lot of nut on a stock motor. But hey, they did it.

Thats just nuts at that price —could be as high $60K if you tick all the options . That’s a little
less than just adding a base GT 500 to your stable .

I have a Gen 3 Whipple on my 2016 tech pack and ended rebuilding my stock motor(had billet OPG/CS before ) after bending a couple of rods, running the whipple tune /race gas and only a 3.5 pulley .

Not sure what caused it but the whipple tune is suspect . I think I also fouled my 02 sensors running leaded race gas after deleting the cats and car had been missing before the rods bent .


New motor is back in the car now and it’s running like a champ . It’s a similar build to the one in the Brendspeed car but rods are Manley H with 2000 bolts .Also have return fuel system with 3 pumps /ID1300 and upgraded the clutch to twin disc Spec SS.I already had CF one piece drive shaft before the rebuild and also run around on MT SS drag radials .
I have about 1000 miles on the motor and no dyno but it pulls strong per my butt dyno with a 3.25 grip tech pulley and the tires will hook even in mid 40 degree weather . RPG warranties the motto for year @1300 hp .

Summary of engine build below .

I did also do the PAC springs upgrade .
One head was replaced after FedEx dropped the motor at first attempt to ship it back (builder decided to replace to be safe )
Thanks to Will@ RPG again .

I can assure you I have not spent close to the Brendspeed quote and consider the engine to be as reliable as you can get .... but just in case I have a “back up “ engine getting rods /spring /head studs upgrade . Lol
Might also be building a short block with the new Predator block so I have a “back up “ for the “back up” .
I plan to keep the car for ever and if I don’t ever need the back ups I am sure I can find some other use for them or sell to anyone who needs one quickly . Lol

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[Britt]

I just bought the car and it had the upgrades put on by the previous owner. I've only put 700 miles on it and absolutely love it. Its the loudest car I've ever been in on the road. However the Hennessy warranty is non transferable and I am a little concerned

 

[olaosunt]

Speaking of, Brenspeed just laid down 1000 big ones with a Whipple and a '16 car. To be fair though I fully believe this particular car is absolutely on borrowed time. That's a lot of nut on a stock motor. But hey, they did it.

Not a stock motor .

 

[lightrules]

I want to hear more about these Whipple blown engines, definitely news to me. seems like everyone and anyone's putting on Whipple's these days...

 

[nastang87xx]

Not a stock motor .

Yeah I misheard. I thought he said sleeved and stock. Negative...full build.

 

[olaosunt]

I want to hear more about these Whipple blown engines, definitely news to me. seems like everyone and anyone's putting on Whipple's these days...

I too would like to know about others but see my post above for details on mine .
Couple bent rods . Engine builder also thought it may also have been lifting the heads with the stock bolts .

 

[Britt]

Thats just nuts at that price —could be as high $60K if you tick all the options . That’s a little
less than just adding a base GT 500 to your stable .

I have a Gen 3 Whipple on my 2016 tech pack and ended rebuilding my stock motor(had billet OPG/CS before ) after bending a couple of rods, running the whipple tune /race gas and only a 3.5 pulley .

Not sure what caused it but the whipple tune is suspect . I think I also fouled my 02 sensors running leaded race gas after deleting the cats and car had been missing before the rods bent .


New motor is back in the car now and it’s running like a champ . It’s a similar build to the one in the Brendspeed car but rods are Manley H with 2000 bolts .Also have return fuel system with 3 pumps /ID1300 and upgraded the clutch to twin disc Spec SS.I already had CF one piece drive shaft before the rebuild and also run around on MT SS drag radials .
I have about 1000 miles on the motor and no dyno but it pulls strong per my butt dyno with a 3.25 grip tech pulley and the tires will hook even in mid 40 degree weather . RPG warranties the motto for year @1300 hp .

Summary of engine build below .

I did also do the PAC springs upgrade .
One head was replaced after FedEx dropped the motor at first attempt to ship it back (builder decided to replace to be safe )
Thanks to Will@ RPG again .

I can assure you I have not spent close to the Brendspeed quote and consider the engine to be as reliable as you can get .... but just in case I have a “back up “ engine getting rods /spring /head studs upgrade . Lol
Might also be building a short block with the new Predator block so I have a “back up “ for the “back up” .
I plan to keep the car for ever and if I don’t ever need the back ups I am sure I can find some other use for them or sell to anyone who needs one quickly . Lol

Who did the engine work? Did you like working with them. I figured the money I saved on the car I plan setting aside for the rebuild if or when needed.

 

[olaosunt]

Price is still nuts thought .
That’s even more than the Fatfab1400 R package

 

[olaosunt]

Who did the engine work? Did you like working with them. I figured the money I saved on the car I plan setting aside for the rebuild if or when needed.

Will @ RPG tuning in California did the build .
He has previously built me a predator type short block for my Hellion car.

Shipping the motor out and getting it back was a pain due to no fault of his (it’s just a pain shipping engines ) but Will is extraordinary in his customer service.
He also has a ton of experience building 5.2/flat pane or cross plane engines. I got a bit of deal as a repeat customer but his prices are very reasonable.

 

[madlag]

Thats just nuts at that price —could be as high $60K if you tick all the options . That’s a little
less than just adding a base GT 500 to your stable .

I have a Gen 3 Whipple on my 2016 tech pack and ended rebuilding my stock motor(had billet OPG/CS before ) after bending a couple of rods, running the whipple tune /race gas and only a 3.5 pulley .

Not sure what caused it but the whipple tune is suspect . I think I also fouled my 02 sensors running leaded race gas after deleting the cats and car had been missing before the rods bent .


New motor is back in the car now and it’s running like a champ . It’s a similar build to the one in the Brendspeed car but rods are Manley H with 2000 bolts .Also have return fuel system with 3 pumps /ID1300 and upgraded the clutch to twin disc Spec SS.I already had CF one piece drive shaft before the rebuild and also run around on MT SS drag radials .
I have about 1000 miles on the motor and no dyno but it pulls strong per my butt dyno with a 3.25 grip tech pulley and the tires will hook even in mid 40 degree weather . RPG warranties the motto for year @1300 hp .

Summary of engine build below .

I did also do the PAC springs upgrade .
One head was replaced after FedEx dropped the motor at first attempt to ship it back (builder decided to replace to be safe )
Thanks to Will@ RPG again .

I can assure you I have not spent close to the Brendspeed quote and consider the engine to be as reliable as you can get .... but just in case I have a “back up “ engine getting rods /spring /head studs upgrade . Lol
Might also be building a short block with the new Predator block so I have a “back up “ for the “back up” .
I plan to keep the car for ever and if I don’t ever need the back ups I am sure I can find some other use for them or sell to anyone who needs one quickly . Lol

This is what I plan to do as well. I'm probably going to build a short block on the side and then swap it into mine later then work on the original lmao.

 

[olaosunt]

That’s a great plan .
I already had my “spare “ engine when my stock motor went down ... but obviously did not want to replace it with the same .

Now it’s getting a mild build so I can use It if needed .....

I never want to see as much downtime as I did rebuilding the stock motor (mostly due to shipping snafus)

A short block is also great option especially with the Gen3/ predator block as an foundation to build on .

 

[madlag]

That’s a great plan .
I already had my “spare “ engine when my stock motor went down ... but obviously did not want to replace it with the same .

Now it’s getting a mild build so I can use It if needed .....

I never want to see as much downtime as I did rebuilding the stock motor (mostly due to shipping snafus)

A short block is also great option especially with the Gen3/ predator block as an foundation to build on .

agreed. It's on my list for this year. I'd rest alot easier knowing I had a spare block built at the house ready to go...

 

[3star2nr]

I'm running 2019 GT350 5.2 Whipple and currently have 3800 miles without any issues. I will avrage about 10k miles a year. This is a daily driver and probably run it a little hard. I'm just curious if anyone is having any reliability issues.

Hate to be a dick but you bought a GT350... Why are you even talking about reliability. The whipple is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

In all seriousness you kind of have to realize what youve stepped into. The entire point of the GT350, is that its a car that prioriterizes driving experience over everything else including reliability. The supercharger will add extra load to the snout of the crank on an engine thats already super sensative to engine harmonics and vibrations, is that a problem? Sure. but why do you even care?

You whippled it because speed and fun and bragging rights and attention trumps everything else... So say fuck it, grab your nuts and send it!

Worrying about gas mileage and reliabilty with a build like this is like asking if they sell wings at a strip club... Did you come to eat or see tits...

 

[3star2nr]

I'll add this there is a reason ford went with the crossplane on the aluminator engines and on the GT500...

Not saying the voodoo is a bad motor its amazing but the vibrations are just a fact of life of it. It os what it is.

So just consider the motor as a wear item, you change oil every 5000 miles, factor in a rebuild once every 4-6 years, total longblock swap every 8-12 and just send it. You got AAA right. The rest is just time and money. Build it, send it, break it, fix it. No need to stress

 

[madlag]

I'll add this there is a reason ford went with the crossplane on the aluminator engines and on the GT500...

Not saying the voodoo is a bad motor its amazing but the vibrations are just a fact of life of it. It os what it is.

So just consider the motor as a wear item, you change oil every 5000 miles, factor in a rebuild once every 4-6 years, total longblock swap every 8-12 and just send it. You got AAA right. The rest is just time and money. Build it, send it, break it, fix it. No need to stress

LOL

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