Solid Block - sans water cooling

[ch3no2]

Theoretically, given that the majority of the top billet blocks for racing are solid - e.g. no provisions for water cooling, I was wondering about the stability of a given motor oil in this sort of environment over a greater period of time than a 1/4 mile, say a 6 hour endurance race.

I'm currently laying out the plans for an endurance build - chassis hasn't been decided upon - though the Honda S2000 is the closest contender right now. The current motor plan is as follows:

- BBC (5 inch bore space), solid billet block (CN Blocks)
- 8000 RPM max
- Dry sump (24 quart capacity)
- Dual inline single pass oil coolers (~14 - 18" in length/ each)
- Methanol fuel (0.6 - 0.8 lambda)
- 50wt - 70wt oil (mono grades)
- Mechanical Fuel Injection (Enderle)

Given that methanol offers a relatively substantial cooling effect (e.g. latent heat of vaporization), a rather large oil capacity (24 quarts), and dual oil coolers. If the oil temperatures are kept below 240f, would this be sufficient enough to prevent the oil from shearing/ coking, in turn, allowing the engine to run said endurance event - sans water cooling?

 

[atikovi]

Umm, you do know VW and Porsche built plenty of engines with no provisions for water cooling? Maybe examine their proven designs instead of trying to reinvent one.

 

[kschachn]

Plus the Japanese have worked for a very long time on adiabatic engines.

 

[CT8]

What does the winning competetors use? Go from that point.

 

[928]

Solid block= drag race only. You need to get rid of the heat generatetd in the cylinders.

 

[A_Harman]

Solid blocks are for drag racing or tractor pulling.
No water in the cylinder heads? Forget it. Meltdown will occur within 3 minutes under power.
And if you plan to do "internal cooling" by flooding the engine with excess amounts of methanol, fuel dilution of the oil will be a bigger issue than shearing or coking.
(And not to mention high ring and bore wear from flooding the cylinders with methanol.)

 

[racin4ds]

Yea, not gonna happen. Solid blocks will never have a place outside of 1/4 mile passes. 8k RPM in a BBC for 6 hours will be tough enough with properly functioning water cooled blocks.