Revolution Racing engines recently concluded Dyno testing of the RRE ST2 ECOtec Midget engine. The original, Stage I RRE ECOtec has proven itself to be an extremely economical, reliable and surprisingly competitive short track engine, and the ST2 was developed to offer a fully competitive product while still retaining the lowest cost of purchase and operation in the industry.

Improvements to the package include a CNC ported head, with a ported and matched RRE intake manifold. Stiffer valve springs are fitted, and an additional .025" was removed from the deck for added compression. All off the head work is in support of special camshafts designed specifically for the RRE ST2 ECOtec by GM Racing. These cams were designed to take full advantage of the ECOtec's unique Variable Valve Timing, which allows each cam to be independently modulated up to 40 degrees by the electronic control unit. No other Midget engine offers this feature, and it accounts for an incredibly broad torque curve. The ST2 ECOtec remains within 90% of maximum Torque from 3800 to 6800 rpm.

In addition to the head work, RRE replaced the stock internal balance shafts with special 'dummy' shafts in order to eliminate some parasitic losses. The original, Direct-driven mechanical fuel pump and power steering pump have been replaced by an in-line electronic pump and belt driven power steering pump. This change was made neccesary due to the higher rpm range accomplished on the ST2, as the direct-driven pumps would be stressed beyond design limits.

The original RRE ST1 ECOtec developed an impressive 214 ft/lbs of torque at 3600 rpm. A primary objective of the ST2 was to move that torque farther up the rpm range and this was accomplished. The ST2 develops 240 ft/lbs of torque at 5200 rpm, and offers what we believe is the broadest torque curve in all of midget racing. Regarding power, our original engine recorded 235 hp at 6300 rpm. The ST2 improved to 290 HP at 6700 rpm. Another very bright spot regarding power was a suprising 'plateau' once the engine reached maximum output. From peak power at 6700 the engine remained quite stable all the way to 8200 rpm, where it actually began producing more power. Due to design limitations on the lower rotating assembly we did not examine output beyond 8200, and will limit rpm to ~8100 for the time being.

Certainly, the RRE ECOtec has still more power on tap. However, this additional power would come at significant additional cost and with reduced durability. Our over riding objective with this engine is to offer something that is affordable and makes sense. We believe this package will compete favorabley at the average dirt or paved short track and will do so for perhaps 3-4 seasons with no required maintenance. Cost of a brand new, complete RRE ST2 ECOtec including all fuel, air, oil and engine management systems plus motor plate and u-joint hub is $14,995.00 Kits are available for those who wish to supply their own engine, and a standard RRE ST1 ECOtec can be upgraded for under $5,000.00. If you would like to see graphs showing our dyno results and comparing them to the Stage I ECOtec, please call us or email a request. Finally, if you have further questions about our program, please feel free to call me directly M-F, 9-5 Pacific time.

Good Luck!
Keith Iaia
Revolution Racing Engines
805-238-3930
keith@revolutionracingengines.com

Sounds like you've found out what I had suspected, the counter balance shafts are only used to keep from shaking the mirrors off, in a passenger car, and in your application, you seldom run in that range anyway, or are thru it fast enough, it isn't an issue, is my "theory" correct? If you'll recall, the Vega had a "bob weight" attached to the transmission, which eliminated their vibration harmonics. Thanks! Bob!

Are there any ecotech cars in Indiana? I wonder how they would do at montpiller

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Yep, those balance shafts make the engine as smooth as a sewing machine in the street car version. The nice thing about going to the trouble of doing balance shafts is that you dont have to deal with a balancer out on the end of the crank. We don't care if it shakes a little - even without the shafts its still way smoother than any other Midget engine.

As far as Montpelier goes, we intend for this engine to be fully competitive at ANY short track with ANY club. We already have several top 5's out here with the Stage I engine and we expect to gather wins with Stage II. I'm kind of looking for somebody I can work with out in the midwest so pass the word.

Just waiting on stage IV. Billet crank, Ti rods and valves, fixed cam timeing, and electronic Shower injectors. Realy forty degrees of cam movement seems just a bit much for most midgets. They run in about a 3500 to 4000 rpm speed range on the track.

Now if we work on a mower deck set up where we could race on Saturday nights and cut grass on Sunday morning with the same car I could see a use for that cam movement. I would make a much better sell for "momma" . Look sweet heart it's a lawn mower too.

I just spent days tweeking over 6 degrees of cam timeing just to keep the valves and pistons apart. With 40 degrees I would go plum crazy.

I am really am proud of you guys. You are doing a service for the sport of racing. If there just weren't so many things in your way. You have the right idea and platform. Just get the right people on your side, and don't get greedy. Be there with the first but not the only engine package.

Honest Dad himself

Just to be clear, with this platform we have up to 40 degrees of cam timing AVAILABLE. We don't actually USE all of that, it's just what is possible. I will say, that after a LOT of time messing with cam timing, it still comes in 3rd after fuel and spark on the list of important things to look at on dyno day. We've learned that cam timing does just about nothing for peak power - thats a function of CFM and AFR. However, it does allow you to move the torque curve around some and we find this very advantageous...

But really, its just a small part of a much bigger story. The awesome GM controller that allows us to manipulate cam timing also allows us to control Air/Fuel ratio in one hundredths of a point increments, by 100 rpm increments. I think back to the days of two bypasses, a barrel valve and a main jet and just smile... We control how many times we fire the injectors per stroke and for how long each time. We control how many times we fire the plugs per stroke and exactly when. We even programmed an enrichment loop so that if water temp exceeds 230 we add a little fuel. We add even more below 3500 rpm in so that on yellows we can help cool it off, but once we go green we're back to full power. Other race cars would have a fan for this purpose, but we are able to maintain really good temperature control without sacrificing power.

I appreciate the input. we are trying to do something good for the sport out here....

For the cost concious people out there (you guys are just making racing more expensive) this super computer probably cost less than a good mechanical injector fuel pump. The secret to these motors is valve spring pressure. Springs last forever if you keep the pressure down. Four little valves flow much more than two great big ones and it don't take much spring to close them. Lets get out of the past.

Honest Dad himself

Dad you are exactly right. The cost on this controller - programmed and out the door - is less than half of what you would pay for the stand-alone ignition I used to put on the Ford Focus engines. and, this thing does the complete job, it runs the whole engine!

But its not just the up-front cost savings. I seem to be having a hard time fully explaining how much money this system saves the average racer on a week-to-week basis but those ongoing expenses are what can really drag a program down. First off, think in terms of rebuilding your engine once every 3-4 years instead of what you are doing now. That right there is huge. Then on top of that, our rebuild costs are less than half of what the average convetional engine is (heck you can get a brand new long block for ~ $3k...) Finally things you would not normally think about like fuel and oil actually save you quite a bit with this engine. Oil is expensive these days, and instead of changing it every race, we use good oil and tun it 6,8 or more races. That saves hundreds of bucks right there. And fuel - it's $5 a gallon out here - the same good engine maagement that keeps methanol out of your fuel also creates a more efficient engine that consumes far less fuel than conventional engines.

I really feel like this program is the best kept secret in Midget Racing. And I'd sure like an opportunity to show more folks what this thing can do because engines like this one will be what saves the sport IMO.

All you guys need is a little more exposure. It would be great if a group like PowerI would allow them to run. All I could see is much larger car counts for that group. It's a shame most people tend tothink in the past.

The argument is what are we going to do with all the old engines we have running now. Well after a few 3 or 4 thousand freshen up's they might decide to go fishing and use them as boat anchors. Or they might come out of the darkness of the past into the brave new world with electronics and multi valve motors.

We can't afford the Echotec motor either but we do race motorcycle engines in midget chassis's. We have an 05 motor that has been in the car for better than 6 years now (knock on wood). We run it on the rev limiter up to 13500 rpm's and it still leaks 3 and 4 percent. It is bone stock except for switching it to alchol 3 years ago. Try that with a MoPar or Eslinger.

Honest Dad himself

Dad - we ARE legal with POWRi. A guy by the name of Richard Kriesel out of Warsaw, MO. has one and will be running it with them this year.

Most of the clubs across the country have either already approved the package, or are just waiting for one of their own members to bring it to them for approval. I'm really not getting that much push-back from sanctioning bodies on this, especially once I get them to really have a look at it and understand it a little.

We just need a few more guys - especially in the midwest and east - to try it.



Keith Iaia
RRE
805-238-3930
keith@revolutionracingengines.com