After a successful weekend of racing during the opening rounds of AMSOIL Championship Snocross over Thanksgiving weekend, AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports driver Lincoln* Lemieux made the Pro Open final on Sunday.
Lemieux fought his way into the top-three and was running strong. But, about 14 laps into the 20-lap race, he started slowing down and losing power. He pulled off the track and drove back to the trailer.
“Everything was just hot.”
When team owner Steve Scheuring arrived, the heat from Lemieux’s Ski-Doo* RS600 engine was overwhelming. “There were parts of the engine that melted,” said Scheuring. “You could smell that antifreeze had gotten hot. Everything was just hot. That’s the best way I can describe it. Just hot.”
$1 Hose Clamp Ends Race
The crew opened the engine panels and noticed a $1 clamp had broken, separating the coolant lines and causing the engine coolant to pump from the system. Further inspection revealed intense heat had melted the exhaust power valve covers. The rubber O-rings that separate the cylinder from the head also melted, which caused the engine to lose compression and power.
“There were a few other gaskets that actually melted inside the motor,” said Scheuring.
Extreme Heat Stresses Engine
In stock condition, the engine produces about 130 hp, but the team relies on piping, clutch, carburetion and other modifications to increase power by 20%. “We can’t do anything to the internals of the motor, so we need to take every one of the options we have and bring them right to the edge,” said Scheuring. The modifications and lack of coolant exposed the engine to intense heat “well in excess of beyond operating temperatures,” Scheuring said.
“In a normal situation when something like this happens, the motor will lock up because of the high temperatures. The rings will stick to the piston. The pistons will score the cylinder walls. There’s a good chance the crank bearings will seize,” said Scheuring.
“In my opinion, I believe 100% the reason that motor lived was because of the AMSOIL products.” – Steve Scheuring, owner of Scheuring Speed Sports
AMSOIL DOMINATOR® Synthetic 2-Stroke Racing Oil Saves Engine
Instead, the rings and pistons were still free and the crankshaft still turned freely. “We saw some minor [piston] scuffing,” said Scheuring, “and it was like, ‘this is crazy how well the inside of this motor looks.’”
Each one of Scheuring’s Ski-Doo engines makes up a big portion of a race sled’s high cost. “We could take this motor, put new gaskets in it, put new exhaust valve covers on it and go racing,” said Scheuring.
“We go above and beyond the capabilities of these motors. If they fail, they cost us money, they cost us time and they cost us races, and we can’t afford to lose any of those.”
Scheuring credits AMSOIL DOMINATOR Synthetic 2-Stroke Racing Oil with saving his engine. “We’ve worked with AMSOIL the last 20 years developing two-stroke oils for our race sleds,” said Scheuring. “In my opinion, I believe 100% the reason that motor lived was because of the AMSOIL products.”
Watch the video.
Video transcript: Scheuring Speed Sports Testimonial
My name is Steve Scheuring. I’m the owner of the AMSOIL Air Force Snocross Race Team. We race the Ski-Doo* RS600 coming right out of the production box. It’s about 130 hp.
I need 25 more hp to be competitive in the pro open circuit. I need to take every one of the options that we have and bring it right to the edge. We build above and beyond the capabilities of these motors. If they fail, it costs us money and it costs us time.
So, on Sunday in Duluth, Lincoln made the final. He was running in the top three. Well, 14 laps into the 20-lap final he slowing down, losing power, pulled off the track and drove back to the trailer. When we went back to the trailer to see what happened, we could smell hot.
There were parts of the engine that had melted. A $1 clamp had broken and separated the coolant lines and all the antifreeze had pumped out. The motor got so hot it actually melted the rubber O-rings that separate the cylinder from the head, which caused it to lose compression. The exhaust valve covers actually melted right off, and there was a few other gaskets that actually melted inside of the motor.
So it was well in excess of — beyond operating temperatures. When we opened it up, it was crazy. The rings were still free. The pistons were still free.
Everything turned free. We saw some minor scuffing, and I was like, this is crazy how well the inside of this motor looks. We could take this motor, put new gaskets and new exhaust valve covers on it and go race it. We’ve worked with AMSOIL for the last 20 years developing 2-stroke oil for our race sleds, and I believe hundred percent the reason that motor lived was because of the AMSOIL products.
We expect the best from AMSOIL, and they expect the best from us. And here’s proof that they’ve delivered.
This is one of our AMSOIL Customer Stories — real-world results from the people who put AMSOIL products to work every day. Read more customer stories.
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