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For starters, my name is John, I've been a member of the s2ki forums for a few years but overall have spent more time lurking then participating. I am the former owner of a 2001 Silver S2000 and current owner of a 2006 LSBP S2000. I have owned the vehicle since January of 2013 and have always desired finding a way to make the vehicle more fun to drive. Approximately 2 months ago, I purchased a Kraftswerks Supercharger kit with a Rotrex c38-91. Below I will post some pictures but sadly this story as of now has a sad ending. I received the kit approx 6 weeks ago, the install itself took approximately 6.5 hours and went smoothly minus the missing parts in the kit. I contacted Kraftwerks and within 4 days received the 2 cooler fittings the kit was missing, I uploaded the base tune and put approximately 300 miles on the charger while waiting for my tuner to free up. Unfortunately after 3 weeks of waiting and being ghosted by my tuner. I contacted a different individual that came highly recommended. This past Thursday I drove to the new tuner, however driving home I suffered from oil pressure loss resulting in lower end damage. I was able to drive the vehicle home, the vehicle still runs but current has 5 psi at idle and 35 psi at 3k rpm which is considerably lower than required. Despite the low readings the engine is still surprisingly quiet, however it is currently parked in my garage and will more than likely be receiving an inline pro short block & cylinder head come spring time.
Now obviously I didn't get a lot of miles on the tune (approx 10) prior to the oil loss condition, but I will absolutely say that the kit itself is extremely well constructed, the power was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to reassemble this in the spring with the new motor. My current mods in conjunction with the Kraftswerks kit include a Skunk2 header, Berk high-flow converter & Megan racing cat-back (most likely replacing in the spring). Ballade Sports TCT, Hondata Flash-pro, ACT HD pressure plate, ACT lightened flywheel & factory clutch disc. In the spring along with the motor I will be installing a 90mm pulley (might as well make use of the stronger motor), and upgraded engine mounts.
Also interested as to what caused the oil pressure loss. I’m currently 1500 miles into having my supercharger installed and have finally sorted out all issues and it’s fantastic.
Clean! What caused the oil pressure loss? Was it the tune??
I have no way to prove what the root cause was. However, based on the metal in the pan and large amounts of play in multiple rod bearings I'm leaning towards detonation that caused massive bearing failure. If that is in fact the case, then it very well could have been the tune. The tuner ran into a few different issues when it was on the dyno, including fueling & spark issues at higher rpm as well as issues keeping his a/f sensor to not rattle off my tailpipe, and despite him having quite a bit of honda experience, and the fact im not going to accuse someone of doing something I cannot prove, I can't help but feel that it might have been related to the tune.
The engine had 59k miles on it, never burned a drop of oil and for the last 3 years has seen 1500 miles total of driving with 3 oil changes in that time frame (once per year).
What's your oil level? Before rushing to swap a new motor in, check to see if your actually has damage. I'd start with both compression and leakdown test, then checking drained oil and bearings.
Edit: I just posted after your response. What spark plugs are you using?
What's your oil level? Before rushing to swap a new motor in, check to see if your actually has damage. I'd start with both compression and leakdown test, then checking drained oil and bearings.
Edit: I just posted after your response. What spark plugs are you using?
On the dyno I was running a factory spark plug, after shortening the gap the spark issue went away. But to clarify he never did any hard passes prior to adjusting the gap
On the dyno I was running a factory spark plug, after shortening the gap the spark issue went away. But to clarify he never did any hard passes prior to adjusting the gap
that's your problem. You are suppose you be running at minimum a step cooler spark plug. That explains the ignition issues in higher rpm and possible detention of your motor
that's your problem. You are suppose you be running at minimum a step cooler spark plug. That explains the ignition issues in higher rpm and possible detention of your motor
If anything, fuel starvation was a much more likely cause as the plugs show signs of a lean condition.
that being said, kraftswerks does not recommend a different heat range plug, and having spoken to multiple people running the same kit others have run the factory plug with a shorter gap with zero issues, including a local guy pushing 473 on pump gas using the same plugs on a .018 gap
that's actually quite an asinine comment to make over the internet without physically being able to inspect anything. If anything, fuel starvation was a much more likely cause as the plugs show signs of a lean condition.
that being said, kraftswerks does not recommend a different heat range plug, and having spoken to multiple people running the same kit others have run the factory plug with a shorter gap with zero issues, including a local guy pushing 473 on pump gas using the same plugs on a .018 gap
...not to mention I have first hand experience not having a cool enough plug that gave me higher rpm ignition issue, later to be cured by a colder plug. I don't know anybody who is boosted running stock spark plugs with over 400whp.
how is it asinine as there are many threads about which plugs to run while boosted to prevent the issue you currently have...not to mention I have first hand experience not having a cool enough plug that gave me higher rpm ignition issue, later to be cured by a colder plug. I don't know anybody who is boosted running stock spark plugs with over 400whp. Next time instead of being upset with a helpful response, do some research
09-24-2017, 08:28 PM
The life & temporary death of my blown S2K
