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I'll send measurements for Callies Compstar 6.125" rods. I'm sure you already have measurements for those since they're extremely common, but a second set of numbers can't hurt I suppose.
I also have an unused scraper: EGM-300 Crank Scraper for LS1 Camaro / Firebird (F-Body) Oil Pan that I can't use anymore. I bought back when I was planning on sticking stock bottom end, but alas...winter plans, haha.
Well I called today to order, and was met with disappointment to find out the same product that would net me 2% in HP gain, has now been price increased ~250%. I get that it is made of better material, but for a SBE guy, I can't see spending that kind of cash, for that little gain. It's a shame, I was looking forward to this product. I guess I should have called earlier when I heard this was changing.
Attached are some screen shots of the current work in progress. We have the overall design mostly ironed out and are just working on fine tuning them into specific versions for various applications. There will be 10 or more different versions to fit most factory stroke and 4" stroke setups. Our goal is to make everything 100% bolt-on with no modifications required.
There were a few compromises we made with the original scraper that we weren't happy with, primarily:
The pickup tube was lowered more than we'd like, requiring bending of the tube in some applications
The scraper wasn't as thick or as strong as we'd like
In many applications, it was very difficult to correctly align the scraper because it had to be unbolted in order to bolt the factory windage tray over it
4" applications still required windage tray and pickup tube modifications for proper fitment.
A lot of these compromises were due to reusing the factory windage tray, so we decided to design our own windage tray that actually bolts directly to the scraper itself.
Advantages of the new system:
Thick, CNC-machined billet aluminum scraper is not only lighter but also much stronger than the steel scraper
Pickup tube is kept in the stock location, no modification required in any application whatsoever
100% bolt on windage section for stock and 4" strokers. No modification required for strokers or ARP studs.
The crank scraper can be perfectly aligned, checked for clearance, and bolted down to the main cap studs. The windage tray section then bolts to the scraper itself. No risk of having a misaligned scraper.
The louvered aluminum windage tray section is not only lighter but also stronger than the factory steel windage tray. It's 50% thicker than the factory windage tray.
We always aim to minimize costs but we are not willing to compromise on quality and function, so we made the decision to take what we learned from our first generation scraper offer a much improved product. The new system will be in the $200-$250 price range for the scraper and windage tray (keep in mind you no longer need the factory windage tray) but the price has not yet been finalized.
Our customers have been seeing typical gains of approximately 2% WHP. So if you make 400 WHP, that's an 8 HP gain at the wheels. We feel this is a good return on a bolt-on $250 part, especially considering the additional benefits of reducing oil starvation and improving oil control. Does anyone disagree?
Anyone who purchased the original scraper on back order at the old price will receive the new system at no additional cost to reward your patience.
Please post up any feedback or questions you guys have, and please keep sending us your connecting rod end cap measurements so we can make sure we have something for every application.
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
I agree with your point about keeping the scraper aligned while fitting the windage tray or more checking clearance afterwards, that was a bit tricky but otherwise I had no problems with the old design.
Are the new scrapers and windage tray made out of metal or aluminium? There may be an opportunity to incorporate some uni-directional mesh into the new windage tray design.
One company over here does a mod to the factory windage tray with mesh, it's supposed to help lower oil temps and even add a few horsepower.
Well I had some challenges with the old version. Mainly because it was not designed around Compstar components but I just went to town with a file and clearances it where necessary. Probably sacrificed some of the effect but would rather have a little more gap than not enough.
All that said, if this new version was on the market today and and my engine was still in the build stage I would drop the coin on it. Improved makes some good stuff and they have great customer service. If you're looking to improve oiling system of an LS and don't want to go dry sump this is a part of a great series of parts they make.
I agree with your point about keeping the scraper aligned while fitting the windage tray or more checking clearance afterwards, that was a bit tricky but otherwise I had no problems with the old design.
Are the new scrapers and windage tray made out of metal or aluminium? There may be an opportunity to incorporate some uni-directional mesh into the new windage tray design.
One company over here does a mod to the factory windage tray with mesh, it's supposed to help lower oil temps and even add a few horsepower.
Jason
The new scrapers are aluminum. This has several advantages:
Aluminum has a better strength to weight ratio. We made them significantly thicker so they are both stronger and lighter than a steel scraper. That goes for both the scraper and the windage tray.
Aluminum doesn't rust, so we don't need to worry about it corroding during shipping or storage.
Aluminum is easier to modify should any notching or clearance be needed (though our goal is to make every scraper 100% bolt on)
We did some R&D on the idea of incorporating directional mesh in the design, but decided against it for several reasons:
Adding the mesh would increase cost.
We weren't able to verify that there would be an appreciable advantage over a standard windage tray. If there is an advantage, it's likely very marginal, especially when you already have a scraper.
It decreases reliability because it would require additional small parts (screws and washers) or welds which are another point of failure and introduce the possibility of small components ending up in your oil pan.
The mesh is effective for removing and condensing vapor, but we are already preemptively mitigating that issue with the scraper by removing the oil before it gets flung around and vaporized by the crank.
Oil can flow readily through the mesh in the opposite direction onto the crank if there is significant oil slosh in the pan.
We don't think it's likely that mesh would noticeably decrease oil temperatures any better than the scraper alone would. By getting more oil off the crank with the scraper, the oil spends less time in the engine. The goal is to get the oil off the crank and to the bottom of the oil pan so it can be pumped to your oil cooler and cooled.
Originally Posted by tadams72
Well I had some challenges with the old version. Mainly because it was not designed around Compstar components but I just went to town with a file and clearances it where necessary. Probably sacrificed some of the effect but would rather have a little more gap than not enough.
All that said, if this new version was on the market today and and my engine was still in the build stage I would drop the coin on it. Improved makes some good stuff and they have great customer service. If you're looking to improve oiling system of an LS and don't want to go dry sump this is a part of a great series of parts they make.
The Compstar rods are a little unique so we will definitely have a scraper just for it.
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
Cool, thanks for the detailed reply, your products seem like well thought out high quality items. I've got one of your original scrapers and other than what I've already mentioned it was fine.
Good luck with the new designs, I'd happily use the new version except the exchange rate over here would be the big killer at the moment with the higher cost.
It's almost to the point where it's becoming a bottom end girdle, which helps some of us higher hp guys.
It's not as strong as a steel girdle, but it will definitely add some strength and ties the main caps together. We haven't finalized the thickness yet but it will be around 1/4" thick billet 6061-T6 aluminum.
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
When do you expect the scrapers to be ready to ship for the 4" compstar crank and rod combination? I have a 408 going together soon and this would make a nice addition.
When do you expect the scrapers to be ready to ship for the 4" compstar crank and rod combination? I have a 408 going together soon and this would make a nice addition.
The Callies applications are the last ones we are still trying to finish off. We are waiting on some sample rods to come in from Callies so we can test fit the prototypes and verify fitment. Once that's done it will be about 4-6 weeks before they are ready to ship.
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
The Callies applications are the last ones we are still trying to finish off. We are waiting on some sample rods to come in from Callies so we can test fit the prototypes and verify fitment. Once that's done it will be about 4-6 weeks before they are ready to ship.
That's good to hear. I will have to pick one up for the 4" compstar crank and compstar 6.125 rods w/ stock pan for when I open this motor up and go forced induction.
Lunati Pro-Series
Billet Steel I-Beam / LTE9
6.125”
ARP/Lunati 0133
A: 3.286
B: 1.145
C: .6785 (Important note: These rods are not radiused on the corners at this point like many other manufacturers. They are square. I’m attaching a pic for reference. I can take more measurements for reference if necessary.
I hope that you make an application for the higher end Lunati Cranks/Rods, or at least keep them for reference to make me one for that application. I appreciate you offering a discount code, and I will use that to purchase one of these for my 418 Stroker.
Originally Posted by ImprovedRacing
Hey guys,
We have been working really hard on our new billet scraper and windage tray system, and it's very close to being ready for production.
We want to make sure we offer scrapers to fit as many different applications as possible and we need your help!
If you have aftermarket LS rods lying around and are feeling generous, please take the following measurements and message us with the following information:
Rod Make/Brand:
Rod Model/Part Number:
Rod Length:
Rod Bolts - Factory or ARP?:
Measurement A:
Measurement B:
Measurement C:
PLEASE take your measurements with a standard dial or digital caliper as shown in the photos. If you don't have a caliper, your measurements won't be precise enough to be helpful, so please don't send measurements taken with a ruler or measuring tape.
We have a few aftermarket rods here but would still like to get measurements for Callies Compstar, Wiseco, K1, Scat, Katech, etc.
The Callies applications are the last ones we are still trying to finish off. We are waiting on some sample rods to come in from Callies so we can test fit the prototypes and verify fitment. Once that's done it will be about 4-6 weeks before they are ready to ship.
How are the crank scrapers for a stock shortblock looking?
We are wrapping up the final design reviews now. Unfortunately we kept running into fitment issues with a particular oil pan or a particular application and have had to modify our designs multiple times, but we pretty much have everything sorted now and we are running through design reviews again. We will be making all of the different scrapers at the same time. I don't want to give a hard release date because things keep getting pushed back, but hopefully we are close!
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
Does anyone know if this effects oiling of the cylinder walls as I thought that a lot of the cylinder wall lubrication was from oil "flicking" up from the crank on to the cylinder walls but if this is scraping it off it would be less oil on the wall... unless I missed something with how the LS1 lubricates its cylinder walls.
Does anyone know if this effects oiling of the cylinder walls as I thought that a lot of the cylinder wall lubrication was from oil "flicking" up from the crank on to the cylinder walls but if this is scraping it off it would be less oil on the wall... unless I missed something with how the LS1 lubricates its cylinder walls.
Everything above the scraper will still get plenty of oil. Since it's not an issue with engines that have dry sump systems, it shouldn't be a problem when running a scraper either.
__________________ Call Us: 407-705-3054MON-FRI 10am-6pm EST
We expect to have the new scrapers in on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week (May 31 - June 1). We expect all pending orders to ship that week as well.
We apologize for the long delay with releasing the new scrapers and windage trays, but we wanted to get them right and make sure they were completely bolt-on for every common application. They are turning out really great and we think you guys will like them a lot.
We now have a lot more applications, and they are completely bolt-on for most common setups, including 4" strokers. If you are building a stroker, you no longer have to worry about modifying a factory windage tray to make it fit, bending the pickup tube, etc. You can just bolt one of these kits right up, make up to 2% more horsepower at the wheels, and reduce oil starvation.
Pre-order a scraper now and get a $50 discount!
The discounts are already reflected on the product pages. This offer expires as soon as we get the new scrapers in, so don't wait!
Features and Benefits
Guaranteed to increase horsepower by up to 2% at the wheels
Reduces oil starvation and aeration
100% bolt-on installation
Windage tray is secured with locking, vibration-resistant self-clinching nuts
Includes upgraded main cap stud lock nuts
Lighter and stronger than the factory windage tray
Lifetime Warranty
Made in the USA
Because there are a lot of part numbers now and it can be a little confusing, we put together an application table with a drop down filter that allows you to filter the parts by vehicle / oil pan, main stud type, stroke, etc. Here's the application chart: http://www.improvedracing.com/tech/c...ation-list.php
The application chart can also be found in the product listings. If you don't see your application, please contact us so we can figure out what you need. We will be adding more scrapers soon, starting with factory 3.622" stroke applications with aftermarket rods. If there are any other requests, let us know.
01-11-2016, 10:58 AM
