107: Billet Isn’t Everything — The Rise of Aftermarket Cast Engines. [#PODCAST]

Over the last few years, we’ve seen a massive increase in the availability of ultra-high-performance billet parts — especially blocks and heads. This week’s guest, Chris Smith of @crestcnc7744, was one of the pioneers of this practice in the import category, but now he’s branching out from the 5-axis CNC and heading to the foundry to produce cast engine parts — we find out why.

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Chris Smith came up in the trade as an engine reconditioner, before buying his first CNC mill and starting on a career path that would eventually see his business become the go-to supplier of billet blocks and heads for some of the world’s fastest racers, as well as the odd OEM manufacturer.

This week’s conversation first jumps into the ins and outs of metallurgy and tribology (which, by the way, is the study of interacting surfaces in motion). We learn the difference between various materials commonly used in high-end performance applications — like 6061 and 7075 aluminium, for example — as well as the pros and cons of different 3D scanning tools, coordinate measuring machines, and CAD software.

The conversation then steers itself towards the weaknesses of both Nissan’s VR38 and Subaru’s EJ motors, delving into how failures occur and how Chris addressed them with his billet block and head offerings. While on the subject, Chris also goes into detail on the advantages and disadvantages of wet and dry cylinder sleeves, as well as the reliability and maintenance requirements of billet engines.

This naturally brings us to the elephant in the room — why a billet engine specialist is now offering aftermarket cast engine products. Chris lays down the reasons why it’s a good idea, and takes pains to explain how aftermarket cast is very different from the cast blocks and heads that come off an OEM manufacturer’s production line.

Are aftermarket cast engine parts the way of the future? Listen to this episode with Chris Smith of Crest CNC and come to your own conclusion.

Follow Crest CNC here:
FB: CREST CNC PTY. LTD.
TIKTOK: @Crest_CNC

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TAGS:
#crestcnc #ej25 #ej20 #vr38dett #highperformanceacademy #buildtunedrive #learndriveoptimise #motorsport #learntotune #enginebuilding101 #datanerd #gofasterwithdata #racecraft #auto #carmods #automotive #motorsports #racing #dragracing #endurance #circuitracing #roadracing #boost #subaru #boxerengine #billet #cnc #cncmachine #casting

[mranderson]

Casting from crestcnc, cast RB blocks from PRP, cast EJ blocks from IAG, cast 2JZ blocks from Dart, the legendary engines will live on, cast all the things!

[martinrodger]

Cast ain’t fast… to market. Great insight from Chris across many topics. Many thanks for your time, experience and clarity in answers.

[bigbothoee]

The content is superb i learn so much from you guys thank you all of hpa team for keeping it going and the detail thanks guys

[punisha]

Great interview as usual andrew. Love the infomation that was shared, however it was a bit of a shame that for whatever reason chris seemed reluctant to want to get into the weeds of his passion. I have noticed some engineers and craftsmen seem to think that people will lose interest in the details or that its not relevant because others dont might not understand, but personally I find that information to be golddust. All in all it was a great interview. Keep up the great work

[alexudolkin]

Is there a timeline for the cast EJ block and heads?😬

[gerrywhelan]

Great interview Chris & Andre!
#castisfast

[phlthyvision]

Dude, I cant understand Imperial units. Im an American and a career mechanic. It is completely abysmal how the units relate to one another. If only there were a unit set defined by a universal constant like properties of water. It would never catch on here anyway, we are too busy deciding if our siblings are hot or how distant really is our geneology to a first cousin. Love the pod Andre! Thank you!

[bigbothoee]

One of my sleeves dropped I always knew it was machining but never went back lol when u guys talk about torque plate u mean the sump side ?

[justRD]

American here. In day to day activities we are more or less forced to use imperial measurements to conform with the environment around us.

But just as you pointed out, when I work with my CNC mill or my 3d printers I'm working strictly in metric. My brain cannot even process imperial measurements on a computer.

[awdboosted]

Awesome stuff!! We need 4G63 Stuff. Evo 9 heads and 4G blocks! Wink wink, nudge nudge.

[NoSleepRacing]

Sooo...could they just cast some of these out of iron or steel as well like a cast iron/steel ej. I feel like it would be amazing as a drag racing platform but don't know the thermal or structural issues you would get when swapping to iron instead of aluminum.

[MrTerror]

Can someone please make a cast VQ block. VR38 performance for cheap

[albertt]

Subaru's have been great platforms for generating plenty of extra business for engine workshops, manufacturers, sellers, etc. 🤣