SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/454861
THIS 800+ HP LEON PATTON UNLIMITED TROPHY TRUCK ENGINE FOR THE MCMILLIN RACING TEAM, DEMONSTRATES THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CLASSES. fuel and spins up to 6,600 rpm. This engine offers a broad torque curve, 430 horsepower at 5,900 rpm, and around 425 lb.-ft. torque at 4,500 rpm. Although the LS3 is a factory stock engine, it is built with reliable, high- performance factory parts at a cost of approximately $8,000 per engine, direct from Chevrolet. Unlimited Trophy truck No Engine Restrictions By contrast, Unlimited Trophy Truck engines are generating 800 horsepower and upward. They feed off of racing fuel only, and they are expensive to build. With this kind of performance, it's a trade off between horsepower and the durability of the engine parts, driveline/suspension/brakes/tires, and other components. Compared to the availability of aftermarket high-performance turn-key crate motors, there are only a handful of trusted engine builders that most trophy truck teams have building their race engines. Don't expect a bargain on this level of engine performance where even a rebuilt small-block will cost more than $35,000 a pop. And a race team always needs more than one race engine, just like every other spare part the truck will need for a season. When you compare the horsepower and torque of the TT Spec Chevy LS3 engine, you get a sense of the higher-order performance of an Unlimited Trophy Truck engine. For example, a small-block Chevy engine built by Leon Patton Racing Engines for the McMillin team a couple years ago registered 900 horsepower @ 6000 rpm, and 770 lb.-ft. torque @ 5,200 rpm on the dynamometer. What's the Point? It is apples and oranges when it comes to horsepower in these two classes of Trophy Truck. There's no comparison regarding straight line performance. Because TT Spec is a true Trophy Truck in every respect, except the engine, so are the costs to build them. The advantage of the TT Spec class is that the engine can last several races, as well as most of the major suspension and hardware components. Unlimited Trophy Trucks are extremely brutal on the entire machine under race 078 SCORE JOURNAL