Review: Charlotte's ScienceOfSpeed's 3.5L Stage 3 Twin Turbo Stroker At 60,000 Miles

Charlotte hit 325,000 miles tonight, meaning that her SoS built incredimotor now has 60,000 completely issue free miles on it.




Not a drop of fluid leaked, not a misfire, not a failure to start, nothing, nada. At 60,000 miles I now have to replace the spark plugs and have the valve clearance checked. Big whoopdie doo! I'll take this rare opportunity when the car is in the shop for more than 20 minutes and have the valve and intake manifold covers powder coated. Their coat of red high temp "wrinkle" paint has long ago given up the proverbial ghost.

For those of you unfamiliar with Charlotte's internals, a picture is worth 666 words....



If you were expecting a drama filled review documenting dozens of visits to the shop, exploding head gaskets, and countless emails sent with no reply then you've clicked on the wrong link. If you want a motor powerful enough to power a battleship, eviscerate anything else with a license plate on a regular basis and as reliable as a round cut diamond, give Chris or Wade a call.

When the valve covers and spark plugs are yanked I'll post some pics, so consider this review a work in progress.

Hugh said:

At 60,000 miles I now have to replace the spark plugs and have the valve clearance checked

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Hugh, I am curious, does the engine have any faint rattle or ticking that would indicate the need for a valve clearance? Thanks..

nikey22 said:

Hugh, I am curious, does the engine have any faint rattle or ticking that would indicate the need for a valve clearance? Thanks..

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Nope. Chances are the clearances are fine. Before the Stage 3 install at 265,000 miles, they never needed adjustment at each recommended check interval. But check I will since it has been strict adherence to the factory service intervals that has helped this car be as trouble as it is. Besides those valve and intake manifold covers really look like shit. Even though I could give a shit about the aesthetics of the engine bay, these things are ghetto and need a refinishing.

Hey Hugh .. I hear that the new about to be revealed McLaren 675 is supposed to be 666 rwhp .. you were so ahead of the curve. And I bet not a single one will ever reach 60k

This is outstanding. Testament to doing it right from the start!
Whats the eta for half a million miles?

Great review. A few questions. How is your clutch and axles holding up? Do you regularly run it in high boost or low boost?

You should take it to Power by the Hour's Dynojet in Boyton Beach. I just took my car there. We can overlay

kookoo4nsx said:

Great review. A few questions. How is your clutch and axles holding up? Do you regularly run it in high boost or low boost?

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When I first got the car back with the built motor, it was running the SoS/RPS twin carbon clutch. It started slipping at 7,000 miles. RPS determined the clutch was defective due to an improperly machined part inside. A new one was promptly provided under warranty by SoS which starting slipping at exactly 7,000 miles. At this point I determined that the RPS clutch was simply poorly designed and lost faith in the product. In went a Carbonetic triple carbon that has been trouble free from 279K miles to the present. (326K miles).

I never launch the car from a standing car under high boost because I know I will vaporize the driveshaft. Roll-ons are a different matter altogether. Thecar is always in high boost mode.

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stuntman said:

You should take it to Power by the Hour's Dynojet in Boyton Beach. I just took my car there. We can overlay

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Do they have a really really good AEM tuner there Billy? The only change to the setup since new was the replacement of the factory fuel pump and regulator with a Walbro 400lph pump and an Aeromotive FPR. Chris keeps telling me the thing needs to be re-tuned because of the new fuel flow specs. I'm afraid to let anyone who isn't an AEM guru touch the car. Do you know how to get in touch with Lance by the way? He is supposed to be the shit.

Lance who? PBTH's tuner seems to be on top of things, I'll ask if he does AEM.

Low boost? What's that?

stuntman said:

Lance who? PBTH's tuner seems to be on top of things, I'll ask if he does AEM.

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Lance is a mythical figure in the South Florida tuning community. I have heard he is of Jamaican descent but other than that, you need to know a guy that knows a guy that knows Lance to get an appointment with him.

Look forward to hearing back regarding the PBTH guy. Thanks!

Just heard back PBTHs tuner does not. However my motorsports engine calibrator/tuner has a lot of nsx experience and tunes a ton of high level racecars and he could do it later next month in Orlando or he recommended John at Titan Motorsports whose schedule is more open.