These comments this week have been wild about Steve and I. For one Steve and I are great friends before and after any engine issues. We both understand racing breaks engines… whether it’s my fault or his we don’t really care we just do what we both agree is best. I maintenance these engines according to what he wants… we don’t slack on it. However, we rev the SMX higher than he likes, but he’s told me it’s fine. He also told me to send on 7 cylinders before I did it. We both didn’t care what happened to the engine at that point. Steve knows that SMX has been problematic for me on street drives. It’s never ever broken on a track day. I will only switch back to the big block to get street reliability back. It sucks to lose all the horsepower head room we get with the billet engine, but If you haven’t noticed Mullet can’t handle the torque and power of the SMX. The OG big block was the perfect engine for that car, and that’s why I’m going back. All of you who are getting offended on the behalf of me or Steve just know we really don’t care and we’re gonna keep working together regardless!
Yep, Cleet is right in here. I think Cleet has been very good about it all. He could have gone off the rails like people that do not understand, but obviously he did not. Cleet understands what all these engines are and can do and can happen. Whether it is Texas Speed, TKM, Pete, or Fast Forward. Crap Happens, None of us are building your moms Toyota Camry engines here.
Angry Cops said if you put a squad of Marines inside a padded room with a big rock, the rock would either be broken into a hundred pieces or pregnant. I feel the same could be said about the Cleetus clan.
Remember when Steeve said he re-designed his main caps with a corner radius to eliminate potential cracks, that's exactly where the crack started. He wasn't wrong.
And remember, these main caps are four years old. Two years running in the wagon until new rods came in that just turned to dust, and then two of years abuse in Cleetus' hands.
would be nice to see a cleetus seasoned test of high strength billet steel main caps in the smx , yeah aluminum is good enough for top fuel one pass , and they are changed out .
For 99% of the people watching this and knowing that we could never afford to buy one of these engines it's a true testament to the pride Steve has in these. He has always been open about them and will show you ever aspect of the build and or the repair . He's not afraid for people to see what happened and tell them why it happened no matter who's fault it may be. Other engine builders has all this top-secret stuff going on while Steve is completely open about it . I'm 77 years old and I still learn from watching his videos. Now how cool is that and Thank You for being you Steve. It's a pleasure to view these
I whole hardly agree that Steve is putting out an engine that he has the right to be very proud of and backs it up with full support that can not be beaten.
Cleetus’s face when George said “it tickled the limiter the other night” hahaha. Barely tapped it. Right. Accidentally set rpm limiter to the moon. Like 9400 rpm lol
Yeah cleetus said very clearly he sent it to the moon twice. That motor had problems in mullet from day one. It is what it is man theres nothing but love for both if these guys
Don’t think steve is too concerned about the rpm and rev limiter stuff. (He has a video of him hitting a 9500rev limiter with 55psi boost on the dyno in his wagon.) Hard on the rod, but seems like the broken springs really did the damage.
@@philb5593 That was not with this engine. This engine is a 572. The engine in the wagon is a 540. And he did not hit 9500, he hit 9000. The only SMX engines hitting 9500 are the 525's. Hitting 9650 with a 4.5 inch stroke, is a lot and that is what Garrett did.
That "HP to Destruction" chart 😆. I could feel the frustration you must've had reading/hearing comments from people that think a 3000 hp motor should last as long as their "Camery". Don't worry Steve, some of us get it.
100% Just look at some of the old, legendary "bullet proof" engines such as Ford 300 6cyl or Plymouth slant 6, etc. The main reason these engines have such longevity is that they were deliberately under powered. An engine can only deliver so much power over its lifetime. It can either deliver it slowly for a long period of time, or quickly for a short period of time. It is basic physics...
100% agree. We used to race waterski boats (I was the skier, dad was the driver/owner). People would ask how much HP the boat had. (~750hp, 6lt, carby, naturally aspirated) and how much it cost to build). Usually followed by comments of "by my friends uncles mothers brother has a 1000hp *insert car* for $20k, how could your engine have cost 3x that. Thats great mate, now tell them to hold that car at 6800rpm, loaded up in 4th gear for 50 minutes without letting off. Let me know how many minutes you get in before it explodes. The fact that it needs to be explained that the more power you run (or more to the point, the more power you run in excess of what that engine would usually be capable of in stock form) the less time it can run before re-build/pull down, the higher chance of catastrophic failure and the more maintainance required. The internet has bred a whole bunch of people with unlimited access to information and no idea how to apply it to reality.
I agree. Cleet doesn’t seem to understand that. Making 3500+ HP means more maintenance, an in-frame tear down after every race week, checking bearings, etc., checking bolts for tightness like on McFlurry.
one of my favorite jobs when I worked at Cosworth Engineering was fitting seats and guides. One perk in the winter was working next to the cylinder head oven, lovely and warm it was a vertical rotating oven with maybe a dozen or so heads inside. One fun part was the heads were in the oven with the combustion chamber uppermost. The 4 valve chamber was perfect shape for sitting a steak or chicken pie in for lunch. So if I timed it right putting the pie in an hour before lunch the pie would rotate around the oven and be ready to grab and eat at lunch.
@@realMaverickBuckley yeah the side of Coswotth that made the road car cylinder heads. So I worked on the YBB, YBG and YBP Sierra, Sapphire and Escort heads. Also the KBA Opel/Vauxhall head and the V6 FBA/B Granada Heads. Sometimes rework on the Mercedes 2.3 16v head, I forget the code designation for that one. I was there early 90's. Was a great job, very rewarding. We didn't have anything to do with the F1 racing engines that was at another location.
I gotta say, for a scratch & dent beater engine, this sumbitch sure did take some abuse without grenading. Steve's design is flat stout. The way Cleetus and crew abuse it is proof it's a monster! I can't imagine cracked main caps still running.
Yeah, I was rather pissed when he said “ever since we got the SMX we’ve been out 4 straight drag and drives”, alluding to the fact it was the engines fault.
Steve has shown the main caps have had this issue in the past. That's why he did the redesign and has the c2 main caps that don't have the sharp cuts. He said in the old video that the sharp edges create a fault line so that's where the cracks extend from.
This is some of the funniest shit i seen Cleets crew say lmaoo: 1. George: it was beaten harder than a rented mule 2. Zaks face when he brings two different sized prybars, followed by "thought so" when steve grabbed the massive one Im barely into the video 😂😂
Steve . 95 % of people get it. Your program is mint. Racing is Rand D . Utilising Cleeter as an RnD division is genius as his form of destructive testing is priceless . Thankyou for all your awesome content and ignore the people that don't realise a 6 sec car that drive 100s of kays to next track to run a 6 is physics defying stuff
Cleet’s testing is probably some of the most valuable in the industry I feel by how hard he pushes things. If it will break he will find the weak point and highlight it. Steve is good at it too lol
Yuuup. Cleet breaking things, Steve and MotionRaceWorks redesign, send new design to Cleet to see if he can break it now,... if it survives, on the shelves for customers it goes. Just like over at the Space Coast, "Test To Destruct" means you know where the limit is, so can rate the product to a lower limit. Same goes with cages - an 8.5 cage will handle the loads of an accident at speeds below what's needed to run 8.5 second quarter, but sure won't handle the loads of a 6 second crash.
He's literally seen everything. What's the point in losing patience, when he's got the drive to continuously improve. I think he's having a blast growing his brand and watching these guys dare to break his shit.
Thank you for taking the time to show all of this detail and for explaining the how/why things are built or break. Been around it my whole life with my dad grinding crank and cam shafts, so its really cool to see your extreme performance end of the spectrum. Must appreciated!
Who doesn't like knowing there is a CEO who actually knows his business? Who also can do and does all the jobs from sweeping the floors to programming CNC machines and all the way to hand fitting parts. On top of all that, he even goes out of his way to help his customers and friends. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
As a machinist and a car guy, I frickin love this channel. As a GM, I love seeing how much Steve stands behind his product and the support. Appreciate the content guys 🤙
@@Nick210 Yeah there's always one of you in the crowd. Of course he goes above and beyond for the marketing and building the channel/brand, that's just a no brainer. I'm referring to all of the guys that run an SMX that have nothing but good things to say. Just a tip, when you use quotations, you are quoting the exact wording. Nice try though, proud of you.
@@Nick210 Dude, You better talk smack about the Aussie boys engine jackstand sent to scrap yard, and all the gearboxes and mechanical stuff that breaks with cleet, the dude is jock of cars, forgets maintaince beats on them till they break, and it done for content, this drama brings the views..
A lot of people don't understand that when you're living on the edge of what parts can do, you're going to break stuff. That's just part of going that fast.
Dude you know everything when it comes to engines. Blows my mind watching you off in it like that. People handing you tools just like you are doing a brake job. That’s good stuff right there. Can’t put a price on the amount of knowledge you have.
Easy to kill when you dont do the maintenance or inspections before a big race event. Over revving an engine more than once will also do that. Having to much money enables "corner cutting" unfortunately.
@@tabbott429 "Horsepower breaks stuff" Cleetus is known to not shy away from pushing an engine to its limits. He likes to win, to win you have to push the horsepower however possible. No one shits on PFI/Boosted bois when they do the same thing, like Kyle did beating mullet - blew up a BILLET block, threw all the power at it and boom. I wouldnt say its "Too much money" as he makes it obvious he doesnt want to destroy an engine - hes not Whistlin Diesel now - its more of wanting to win, to prove you can do it. If he wanted to cut corners or blow up engines, he wouldve continued with that broken main cap, but thats not the point, the point is to win, it was day 2. If it was the last race? He prolly wouldve ran it with the broken cap if he knew he had a shot at winning
@@tabbott429 So they wasnt Corner cutting anything, if youd watched Cleetus' Video, the Trans lost 2nd, and they dont know when. 99% of the time, if its working dont fuck with it, cause putting it back together can fuck something help, Yes, checking, and maintaining things is key, But again "If it aint broke, dont touch it"
Traction control at 200+ ... skipping second for however long.. in a car that isn't handling the power correctly... THEN run 7 cylinders for a day.........No telling what tunes were being thrown at it to make up for the second gear issue........ That is some amazing testament to the engine.
@@jimmylarge1148 I break stuff when I race too. But that tune had to be hot to skip second gear.. is my guess.. The point is a lot of combinations equal an amazing piece of engineering broken. Yet it still ran. Not Pete's fault at all. Steve is a mad scientist is all.
I mean, how many people are gonna build a motor, run a seven second pass (spinning tires) on seven cylinders, drive the car to a shop afterwards with a broken main cap and have things still work after slamming the rev limit among other things?? they’re not.. that’s the general answer lol But man, you have a phenomenal program and I so much appreciate the stuff that you put out. I don’t think you hide anything with your program, there’s a reason why your motor went five seconds after 1400 miles!!
Really cool to see a humble professional show everyone the amount of time and experience it takes to properly machine an engine. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely fantastic to watch Steve and his team at work. These engines are incredible. Looking forward to seeing the rebuilt motor on the dyno running sweet. Great job fellas 👏 👌 👍 🙌
I love to see people learning new things and better ways to get something done. Steve you Sir are always learning and sharing this info for the world, that is awesome. Thanks.
Glad cleetus bought your engine and showed us your products. You're a very smart man who builds great, powerful engines. I just learned you built the develsixteen engine. That's crazy.
I could watch Steve explain and show all the extra things that go into making a HP monster like his engines all day long. I'm not smart enough to understand everything but i love to hear from someone who has so much knowledge and experience and such a proven track record. Steve, thank you for showing what really goes into making one of your engines breathe fire like they do 👏👌
Same thing with Texas speed performance. Outside the application limits. No warranty on racing engines especially when taken to the limit and then some. Same for any equipment eventually all the extra margin is eaten up from poor operating practice and maintenance then it fails..
As a former machinist in Australia, worked on race stuff, mainly open wheel formula classes, Cosworth, Judd, etc and race engines for everything else too. This video brings back many memories of cylinder head work. As you mentioned back in the 80's and 90's we would always pre heat the head before welding, took forever and led to all the other extra work like having to straighten warp, re align cam tunnels in OHC heads, etc etc. Also back then I would always weld the inserts to remove them, its how we did it down here, quick, easy and zero affect on the seat bore. Have been subbed for ages and always enjoy your content, especially these more technical episodes. Keep doing things the way you do Steve.
Cleet showed everyone the screen on the laptop, I saw 9650. Any engine of that horsepower and displacement turning close to 10k rpm is going to grenade no matter who built it.
@@54racemanThat's a lot of RPM no matter what engine you're running, with the possible exception of an F1 engine with OHC and extremely short stroke. Even those cars get brand new engines every 500 miles, if it makes it that long
It is obvious that this time it is Cleetus’s fault that the SMX failed. He was unaware that his transmission had no second gear and had done several test passes while over revving the engine. Then, when the engine lost a cylinder, he continued to give it a hard time until it failed. I am sure that when Steve dismantles and examines the engine, he will find that it failed from abuse and not from parts failure.
Yeah, but don't forget, Steve told him it was fine to do a pull on 7 cylinders. I think Steve's exact words in the previous video were "The SMX will do sixes on 7 cylinders all day long"
I remember Steve saying something like, it'll hold up....IF ...you play by the rules....We know how Ole Cleet likes to break rules. That's how research happens.
At the end of the day the SMX is one of just a couple engines that can make over 3,000hp on a drag and drive. A few push that 3,500 mark, but the SMX is 5,000hp capable. Everything breaks when you go past 3,000hp, and Cleet’s lack of mechanical sympathy doesn’t help.
It appears that Steve's customer base are guys with decades of engine knowledge. Zach is a smart guy, but he's still a kid. Jackstand is a guy that has knowledge but I doubt he has the kinda knowledge Cleetus needs for an SMX type engine. If you watch Cleetus' channel stuff is ALWAYS loose. Bolts/nuts are always coming loose. Nobody in his shop has that much attention to detail to maintain the engines. Could be they're just spread to thin with all the projects going on.
awesome video to learn from... so impressed how you handled the situation. You dropped everything to take care of your customer and did you best to get him set up. Unfortunately, this time it was too late. I hope cleetus sees how dedicated you are to your products and clients and that he continues to utilize your stuff. You are an amazing dude, and cleet is lucky to have you as a friend.
I’m really enjoying this more in depth content. I’m a Machinist myself. I really like seeing how other people approach issues as they arise. You never stop learning in that trade!
I can’t remember the numbers Cleetus was running with the big block Chevy. It wasn’t in the 6’s. Once you reach this level it gets harder and harder on everything. There is a reason they rebuild a nitro engine after each run. That and the amount of weight they are sending down the track with mullet makes it even more difficult. Once you get to a certain level of quickness it’s going to be harder on everything requiring more maintenance. Until they come out with depleted uranium crank shafts, cam shafts, main caps and sleeves come up with a maintenance schedule and keep with it.
Cleet ran a 6.47 at 222mph on the old big block. Steve said the safe zone is 40psi, but Cleetus pushed it to 50psi. Cleetus ran 3 drag and drives with the big block. They didn’t have it fully figured out so averaged 7.3s on Midwest drags and RMRW. Then at Sick week they blew it up running 50psi trying to run 6.4 to keep up with the green mustang.
Loved the video Steve, how you fixed a damaged block/heads was really cool. Also not sure it's quite clear enough but i know folks are coming to your defense. At the HP levels of mullet and the weight of that car, there needs to be a serious maintenance regime, which is not the case with Garrett and crew. They drive it hard, put it away wet and then a few months later, they change the oil, adjust the valves and send er again. Definitely something they will have to learn, is these cars will need constant maintenance, big hp, requires serious maintenance!!
What is the maintenance procedure on main caps ? You gunna magnaflux them for cracks every race? They were an Inferior design & have since been changed. (They were going to break eventually)
I am so glad that I'm able to help allow for these kinds of shenanigans to be something people can laugh about and then bring the fun back ASAP. Pretty friggin cool.
Twice 9k+ never over 10k and it was because the trans didn’t have second that it revved that high it’s not like they were just purposely revving that high without second 😂
Steve your commitment and dedication to your craft is a beautiful thing to watch .. You are one busy many .. Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing in the detail that you do 💪
We’ve been defending you Steve you make one hell of a engine cleet just need to up his preventative maintenance program and not just send it till it breaks 😂
That inferior main cap design was going to break with or without maintenance. How you gunna service main caps? That's why steve changed the design on the following SMX mains.
@@aaronpreston47the rods were an inferior design. Engine had nothing to do with it. That’s why he won’t use them anymore. It’s all on video if you paid attention. The “scratch & dent” everyone keeps referring to… good lord do you really thing Steve didn’t make the block & crank 100% before he sold it??? Or used those rods again?
@@stevemccauley5734 Man, I’m not throwing shade at Steve or anything. And I didn’t need that condescending snark. Just pointing out that this engine has been through abuse long before Garrett got his hands on it. He doesn’t use inferior rods, just like he doesn’t use inferior main caps anymore.
As a professional welder-I thank you for wearing your safety gear.I HATE seeing vids where people weld sans PPE.Aside from the operators safety-it cheapens welding as a “skilled trade. I love the vids. Keep up the great work.👍
25:05 that buzzing sounds exactly like the drill my dentist was using this morning to cut out an old crown. I love watching Steve Morris videos, but today’s episode makes my mouth (& wallet) ache.
Long-time cnc machinist, and now I've rotated into mostly developing a dummy free process for aerospace production parts. I want to say I enjoy watching the old-school tool maker work that you broadcast. That's what got me into this field of work. Having to be hands-on, I'm so jealous. Keep it up, sir!
The one lesson missed in the youtube engine building qualifications is the if you want huge horsepower you WILL break stuff. Oh and I think the Camery to Nitro break line definitely isn't linear, she is a big ol hockey stick
Agreed - so many people just don't understand that when you're making big power even the best parts in the world have a lifespan and a limit, no matter how much money you spend.
No! Its that Cletus sucks! That’s why it’s broke. 😂 People in these comment sections act like a racers never broke parts before it’s hilarious! Thanks for actually knowing what your talking abt unlike these other fools.
Steve, I think you are the man and appreciate that you stand by your products and business. Of course it's why you are successful, hope you only continue to grow the biz.
@Togo-420 what are you talking about. Cleetus and Steve both got long form videos from that burnout with an audience that has been waiting for this one to drop. I guarantee there were thousands of people just like me waiting for this one from Steve's end.
@manuelpiston then how do I know about it? I watched it as content all 4 & a half seconds of it. He only showed that much because he thought it would have been much cooler, but the motor is only designed to put out 3k hp for 10 seconds at a time, not sustained for minutes especially after a drag run. In that configuration.
I can't thank you enough Steve for taking the time and filming and going into depth on how stuff works and is made repaired ext always learning from your channel
The pride steve takes in these engines is unparalleled, plus i agree with most of you guys that Cleet could break a rock with a bar of soap, that smx has probably had more passes than any other SMX motor out there, and running on that edge just proves the point on how stout it is compared to the big block that scattered itself.
Cleetus was like o idk didn't have these issues with the big block....Steve said not to go over the Rev limiter but I got it to almost 9500 idk why I keep having issues....My trans was broke for 20+ passes going 1st to 3rd hitting a steady 9500 almost every pass and I have no idea why I keep breaking stuff......
The boat guys call it Horsepower Hours, the harder you lean on it the less time you get out of an engine. Watched when Gerrit turned off the traction control and turned it up, I knew that was a bad plan.
Steve, it’s good to see you doing the work that’s made you famous! Your MO is talking and 2nd guessing yourself and the labor required for success. You knowing your stuff is never a question, you actually doing stuff is an anomaly. Er …that didn’t sound right!your welding work is beautiful!
34:47 it’s crazy you have to explain this simple fact to people. The faster you go, the more HP you make, the more parts you break, the more maintenance matters, and the more the little things matter. I wish Garrett would be more serious in his racing program.
Did they tie the valves open on the dead cylinder? If not, I bet that’s what broke the main cap. Temperature differences, unbalanced detonations and continually compressing that dead cylinder.