Scat 9000 opinions

Looking for opinions on running a 4.5" Scat series 9000 Lightweigt crank.  Whatever your opinion may  be.  So lets hear them.  Planning to run drag week with a mid to low 9 second car.  Also run some NMCA Open Comp races.  Probably look to sell it at end of season so resale opinions would be good.  I am somewhat new to the forum.  I have read a lot but not posted very much.  This has been a great place for tech info and others experiences.  Looking forward to hearing thoughts.  TKS

Also I am looking for some 4.42 forged flat tops to go with 4.5" crank and 6.7" rods if anyone has some.

csdrag wrote:Looking for opinions on running a 4.5" Scat series 9000 Lightweigt crank.  Whatever your opinion may  be.  So lets hear them.  Planning to run drag week with a mid to low 9 second car.  Also run some NMCA Open Comp races.  Probably look to sell it at end of season so resale opinions would be good.  I am somewhat new to the forum.  I have read a lot but not posted very much.  This has been a great place for tech info and others experiences.  Looking forward to hearing thoughts.  TKS

Also I am looking for some 4.42 forged flat tops to go with 4.5" crank and 6.7" rods if anyone has some.

The weight of the reciprocating assembly and the peak RPM level will determine whether or not it is adequate to do the job.

I'm thinking the 9000 series cranks are cast. A forging would serve you much better.

That crank is "lighter" but not a "lightweight" as in pendulum cut , etc. Like Randy cautioned, under 7,000 rpm and around 700 or so HP would get it through a season. If it were a "keeper" I'd do like Lem says and go forged. Cheap can often cause expensive repairs later.

It's a cast crank, and may require heavy metal to balance internally, which will make it more expensive than a good forged unit.

Just get yourself a Lunati forged.  It'll probably last longer than you, or the car.

Hello Lem. I looked at this because I have been told that there are people out there making 800 hp plus on these without troubles and I am building something different for the following year and this crank will not be part of the equation. I have read through a number of your posts and see that you are very knowledgeable to say the least. Do you not think to much of these cranks? Is it not worth the savings on a budget build? Resale is of consideration here as well.

Lem Evans wrote:I'm thinking the 9000 series cranks are cast. A forging would serve you much better.

The Lunati is my first choice. Just crunching the budget and taking all things into consideration.

Carl wrote:It's a cast crank, and may require heavy metal to balance internally, which will make it more expensive than a good forged unit.

Just get yourself a Lunati forged.  It'll probably last longer than you, or the car.

csdrag wrote:The Lunati is my first choice.  Just crunching the budget and taking all things into consideration.  

Carl wrote:It's a cast crank, and may require heavy metal to balance internally, which will make it more expensive than a good forged unit.

Just get yourself a Lunati forged.  It'll probably last longer than you, or the car.

Three things to consider imho.

1. 4.500 stroke is going to be the weakest of the commonly available variants (4.150, 4.300, 4.500), because it has the least journal overlap. If you want to push the limits of the material, a shorter stroke is going to be stronger.

2. How much is the couple hundred saved going to be worth when it's scattered all over the track....if it's cheaper at all. Heavy metal ain't cheap. Been there, done that. You could easily end up spending more in a cast crank with mallory than a forged crank without.

3. Resale on a cast crank that's been pushed within an inch of it's life isn't going to be much. Forged will be far greater.

csdrag wrote:Hello Lem.  I looked at this because I have been told that there are people out there making 800 hp plus on these without troubles and I am building something different for the following year and this crank will not be part of the equation.  I have read through a number of your posts and see that you are very knowledgeable to say the least.  Do you not think to much of these cranks?  Is it not worth the savings on a budget build?  Resale is of consideration here as well.

Lem Evans wrote:I'm thinking the 9000 series cranks are cast. A forging would serve you much better.

I ran a lot of stuff that was 'pushing it' when there was not much available for less than a king's ransom. @ ~ $825 for a Lunati forged unit & damn sure gonna bal. w/o heavy metal.....there is no reason to put a cast crank in an racing engine. Shine & show would be a different matter.

I have the same crank, cast 9000 4.5" Scat, and was thinking of building a 545/557 for my Ford truck. Not a racing engine by any means, but more for torque and heavy towing, but I don't care for external balancing personally, so I wonder how much more it would take to convert it to internal balance.
If its gonna be too much, I'll just go with external, but I like to know my options!!

Lem Evans wrote:

csdrag wrote:Hello Lem.  I looked at this because I have been told that there are people out there making 800 hp plus on these without troubles and I am building something different for the following year and this crank will not be part of the equation.  I have read through a number of your posts and see that you are very knowledgeable to say the least.  Do you not think to much of these cranks?  Is it not worth the savings on a budget build?  Resale is of consideration here as well.

Lem Evans wrote:I'm thinking the 9000 series cranks are cast. A forging would serve you much better.

I ran a lot of stuff that was 'pushing it' when there was not much available for less than a king's ransom. @ ~ $825 for a Lunati forged unit & damn sure gonna bal. w/o heavy metal.....there is no reason to put a cast crank in an racing engine. Shine & show would be a different matter.    

Yes I agree. A Lunati was my plan. Its helpful to get input on thoughts. Thanks for responding. I am interested in good used parts or parts someone has on a shelf the have not used. Just need a few more things for the build. I have one more question for you. I have a set of still new B Ford Motorsport heads. Am I correct that they are just an early A head not opened up.

Carl wrote:

csdrag wrote:The Lunati is my first choice.  Just crunching the budget and taking all things into consideration.  

Carl wrote:It's a cast crank, and may require heavy metal to balance internally, which will make it more expensive than a good forged unit.

Just get yourself a Lunati forged.  It'll probably last longer than you, or the car.

Three things to consider imho.

1. 4.500 stroke is going to be the weakest of the commonly available variants (4.150, 4.300, 4.500), because it has the least journal overlap.  If you want to push the limits of the material, a shorter stroke is going to be stronger.

2. How much is the couple hundred saved going to be worth when it's scattered all over the track....if it's cheaper at all.  Heavy metal ain't cheap.  Been there, done that.  You could easily end up spending more in a cast crank with mallory than a forged crank without.

3. Resale on a cast crank that's been pushed within an inch of it's life isn't going to be much.  Forged will be far greater.

I will forgo the cast crank. Sounds like you have been there. I didn't give much thought to how much it might take to balance it. I would have thought at this point in time they could do better with their castings. Thanks for the input.

BBFTorino wrote:I have the same crank, cast 9000 4.5" Scat, and was thinking of building a 545/557 for my Ford truck. Not a racing engine by any means, but more for torque and heavy towing, but I don't care for external balancing personally, so I wonder how much more it would take to convert it to internal balance.
If its gonna be too much, I'll just go with external, but I like to know my options!!

I have to admit the balancing cost wasn't on my radar. Can't remember the last time I put a cast crank in something. If it took a lot of mallory you could easily have into it what you would spend on a forged crank.

csdrag wrote:

BBFTorino wrote:I have the same crank, cast 9000 4.5" Scat, and was thinking of building a 545/557 for my Ford truck. Not a racing engine by any means, but more for torque and heavy towing, but I don't care for external balancing personally, so I wonder how much more it would take to convert it to internal balance.
If its gonna be too much, I'll just go with external, but I like to know my options!!

I have to admit the balancing cost wasn't on my radar.  Can't remember the last time I put a cast crank in something.  If it took a lot of mallory you could easily have into it what you would spend on a forged crank.

Yes, that's what I want to avoid!!

Thank you all for your thoughts. Got a new 4340 crank