Death of my Max :(
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 37
Death of my Max :(
Cruisin down the highway at approx. 100 mph.. 4am, nobody on the roads. All of a sudden I hear a bang and flames shooting out from behind my car, so much that they scorched the paint on the rear of the car, and a rear hubcap.
Pulled over, saw my engine on fire from below, look below the engine and there is a piston rod sitting on the ground. Ended up taking me about 5 mins to put the fire out, thank god the shooting flames out the back didnt blow my tank. Mind you I was 2 hrs away from home at the time, had to wait for father from hometown to come out and tow me back, ended up getting home around 10am... what a f*cking night
Video of car after getting home :P : http://youtube.com/watch?v=13pHcp7Xs9Q
Pics:
Pulled over, saw my engine on fire from below, look below the engine and there is a piston rod sitting on the ground. Ended up taking me about 5 mins to put the fire out, thank god the shooting flames out the back didnt blow my tank. Mind you I was 2 hrs away from home at the time, had to wait for father from hometown to come out and tow me back, ended up getting home around 10am... what a f*cking night
Video of car after getting home :P : http://youtube.com/watch?v=13pHcp7Xs9Q
Pics:
noise
man thats crazy. still runs after a rod thru the block..i dont think many other people can say that about there cars. thats funny, i just hit about 135-140mph headin home from work on this abandoned stretch of road lol. that would suck if anythin like that happened, like 10kms away from any sort of home or anythin lol..
Originally Posted by STILLENGLE
maybe you shouldnt have gone 100 mph on a highway. maybe that caused it to blow.
Originally Posted by Fr33way™
Because the engine couldn't have reached that RPM or load in any other gear at any other speed, right?
Stranger things have happened... my Accord's piston seized for no reason
About the 100 mph causing the failure thing, here's a thought: You could easily have that combination of load and RPM in any other gear, but unless you're driving uphill you won't be sustaining it for very long. That's key: the stresses of sustaining high speed and high load are unique, and while the VQ30DE is a great design in many ways, I can't imagine it was designed for them.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 989
From: Levittown PA
Originally Posted by d00df00d
About the 100 mph causing the failure thing, here's a thought: You could easily have that combination of load and RPM in any other gear, but unless you're driving uphill you won't be sustaining it for very long. That's key: the stresses of sustaining high speed and high load are unique, and while the VQ30DE is a great design in many ways, I can't imagine it was designed for them.
so In a way i am right? because he was probably holding the rpms to long.
i would think these motors r built better than that they can hold a load of that sort....... its not like it was being coasting at a very strong load usch as 5500-6000k.. than i would understand the rod going thru the block but at 100 mph an auto is at liek 3700/3800 a manul is like 4100/4200
i just think his motor haivng almsot 180k and being a 95 not everything is to great inside or as strong as per say a 99 with 100k on it.
i just think his motor haivng almsot 180k and being a 95 not everything is to great inside or as strong as per say a 99 with 100k on it.
RPM and load are two different things and put different kinds of stress on an engine. RPM is obviously how quickly the engine is turning; Load is how much stress is on the engine (e.g. there's more load at full throttle uphill than at half throttle downhill).
Constant running at ~100 mph involves moderately high RPMs and moderately high loads together: not only is the engine spinning fairly quickly, but it also has to fight all the resistance from the wind, the tires, and all the rotating parts (wheel bearings, etc.). Subjecting an engine to that combination of stresses continuously for long periods of time is very hard on it.
Age and mileage are factors, too. Unless the car was always babied for the first 5-10 minutes after each cold start and put on a conscientious schedule of oil changes with top-shelf synthetics every 5k-10k miles, it's going to be showing some age.
Constant running at ~100 mph involves moderately high RPMs and moderately high loads together: not only is the engine spinning fairly quickly, but it also has to fight all the resistance from the wind, the tires, and all the rotating parts (wheel bearings, etc.). Subjecting an engine to that combination of stresses continuously for long periods of time is very hard on it.
Age and mileage are factors, too. Unless the car was always babied for the first 5-10 minutes after each cold start and put on a conscientious schedule of oil changes with top-shelf synthetics every 5k-10k miles, it's going to be showing some age.
lol JK 
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 135
I have a Fidanza flywheel and if memory serves, I run 100mph around 3700-3800 rpm (5-speed).
Considering the VQ is a torque biased engine, you wouldn't think a constant 4000 rpm on moderate uphill grades at 100mph would pose much more stress on your internals than running on flat grades at 100mph. Lets not forget cars run constant at this speed in many countries in Europe. Driving through Montana a few years back, I was cruising 100 mph constant for hours on end in an '85 Audi 5000 with 200,000+ on it with no problems, and that was a car with problems (Thule hard case on top too).
An oil pump failure maybe? You can't stress an engine more than draging and you don't hear many people throwing rods who do drag. Sounds like an isolated incident. It could have been neglected maintence from a previous owner that caused this. Some folks drive their cars for quite a while with overheating problems and the like.
Anyhow, good luck getting back up and running. Any chance you were following Koren Robinson in his BMW 750 on highway 169?
Considering the VQ is a torque biased engine, you wouldn't think a constant 4000 rpm on moderate uphill grades at 100mph would pose much more stress on your internals than running on flat grades at 100mph. Lets not forget cars run constant at this speed in many countries in Europe. Driving through Montana a few years back, I was cruising 100 mph constant for hours on end in an '85 Audi 5000 with 200,000+ on it with no problems, and that was a car with problems (Thule hard case on top too).
An oil pump failure maybe? You can't stress an engine more than draging and you don't hear many people throwing rods who do drag. Sounds like an isolated incident. It could have been neglected maintence from a previous owner that caused this. Some folks drive their cars for quite a while with overheating problems and the like.
Anyhow, good luck getting back up and running. Any chance you were following Koren Robinson in his BMW 750 on highway 169?
Originally Posted by Peebs187
Lets not forget cars run constant at this speed in many countries in Europe. Driving through Montana a few years back, I was cruising 100 mph constant for hours on end in an '85 Audi 5000 with 200,000+ on it with no problems, and that was a car with problems (Thule hard case on top too).
Originally Posted by Peebs187
An oil pump failure maybe? You can't stress an engine more than draging and you don't hear many people throwing rods who do drag.
Originally Posted by Peebs187
Sounds like an isolated incident. It could have been neglected maintence from a previous owner that caused this. Some folks drive their cars for quite a while with overheating problems and the like.
Sorry to hear about your max...
Just be glad that you didnt get injuried or worse. Blowing a piston at that speed could have been alot worse. The car can be replace, you can't.
With that amount of mileage on your car, a piston blowing is not a far-fetched event. How did you maintain the engine? Did the previous owner give you a maintainence record history?
Just be glad that you didnt get injuried or worse. Blowing a piston at that speed could have been alot worse. The car can be replace, you can't.
With that amount of mileage on your car, a piston blowing is not a far-fetched event. How did you maintain the engine? Did the previous owner give you a maintainence record history?
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by zeeman
do u use synthetic oil or conventional? and whats ur oil change interval?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 37
Originally Posted by SMOKEYMOUNTAIN
Sorry to hear about your max...
Just be glad that you didnt get injuried or worse. Blowing a piston at that speed could have been alot worse. The car can be replace, you can't.
With that amount of mileage on your car, a piston blowing is not a far-fetched event. How did you maintain the engine? Did the previous owner give you a maintainence record history?
Just be glad that you didnt get injuried or worse. Blowing a piston at that speed could have been alot worse. The car can be replace, you can't.
With that amount of mileage on your car, a piston blowing is not a far-fetched event. How did you maintain the engine? Did the previous owner give you a maintainence record history?
maintainence was up to basic standards, oil changes, valve cleanings, fuel injector cleaners and what not. Pretty sure I found a nice chunk of the piston on the road a bit back, saw the o-ring grooves on it
Originally Posted by Peebs187
I run 100mph around 3700-3800 rpm (5-speed).
I am pretty sure that most 5spds run above 4000 rpms when over 100. I am at 3700-3800 rpms going 85-90. Maybe a 4spd Auto will run 3700-3800 at 100 but not a 5spd.
