| BSM's Tim Embleton is currently rebuilding this Ferrari V12 engine for a well known Sydney Ferrari enthusiast and parts supplier. In these engines the bearings survive quite well. However piston rings and bores are a different matter.
Part 1: The block
The engine in a Ferrari Daytona has a very strong bottom end, with a good dry sump system, a massive double scavenge pump, a 12 litre oil reservoir and oil heating/cooling through the car’s radiator. Barring maltreatment or a lack of oil, crankshafts last forever and they seldom even need a regrind.
THE PROBLEM
However the engine does have some weak points:
1. The standard compression ratio of 8.8:1 was adopted when cars ran around on the old super fuel, but the ratio is a little low for use with modern premium unleaded fuel which burns slower and colder than the old super.
2. The standard pistons are heavy by today’s standards and have too many iron nodular piston rings, which cause wear in the bores and excessive friction.
3. The original piston rings break with monotonous regularity. Upon disassembly, few engines are found to still have an intact set of original rings.
4. The original cast iron liners are quite soft and, due to the number and tension of the piston rings, the bores wear.
As a result of these problems, Daytona engines will usually only do 100,000 km before oil consumption becomes an issue.
THE SOLUTION
To combat these problems, we are upgrading a customer’s Daytona engine to 21st Century specifications, by: adopting a compression ratio of 10:1, using high silicon content J&E forged pistons, running just two compression rings and one oil ring and (in what we believe to be a first for a Ferrari engine in Australia) we've had the liners coated with Nickasil.
For many years, Nickasil technology has only been available to large manufacturers (and has been used on Ferrari 328s and subsequent models). However Nickasil is starting to find its way into engine reconditioning workshops, so we decided to give the Daytona engine a treat.
The Nickasil coating is about 4 thou thick; it is ten times harder than the original iron liner and it will last considerably longer. [Nickasil treated Porsche engines we’ve rebuilt in our workshop often show no measurable wear even after 200,000 km!]
With these modifications, the reliability of this Daytona engine should be exceptional. Look out for Part 2 of our Daytona engine report featuring the work undertaken on the heads.
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