How Much Boost Is Too Much?

Check out one of the most insane engine explosions out there. And while it may not be the actual explosion itself, the carnage left behind after the explosion is easily some of the most intense engine destruction we’ve seen! It’s certainly a shame to see this Holden Commodore Wagon lose its powerplant, but at least it did so in an awesome way. It puts on quite the show as it took its last breath around the 40’ mark.

If you look into the details of the build it becomes clear why the bottom end gave up the ghost. The engine was pretty much stock, so trying to cram enough boost into a 355” bottom end with nothing more than a stroker crank to give it a little more displacement. The pistons are still factory forged cast iron slugs, so the fact that this engine survived near the 1,200 estimated wheel horsepower is kind of its own miracle. The block is a factory two-bolt piece and when Andrew Darby, the car’s owner, tightens the screws on the wastegate just a little more to crank the boost just a little bit higher, the block itself decides to crack from the front almost all the way to the back.