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One thing that keeps me from being a fanboi of Jake is when he remarks that he wishes he patented something he has no intention of using.
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I never had that attitude until we developed things that didn't work, and then someone else would do the same thing and market it as the next best thing. They never knew (and still haven't learned) what the negatives of the technology were/ are, because they haven't replay paid attention to the engine.
I've learned the hard way that we have to Patent the good ideas, and the bad ones. This has occurred not once, or twice, but now 3 different times with two different engine families. Its our fault, because we never dreamed that someone would sell a bad idea.
Learning something, knowing that it could be used by someone else and not protecting the invention is almost like handing the enemy some ammunition, cocking his weapon and just handing it to him. I promise not to let life be easy for these guys anymore; because it damn sure hasn't been easy for us. They should have to expend the same mega figure per year that we do on development to play this game.
Where we goofed up was not patenting the entire procedure of IMS retrofit along with the system of tools and procedures used a decade ago. The business of invention is quite interesting, and today I practice it most everyday.
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Crushing competition doesn't mean crushing innovation.
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Crushing is too humane, I'd rather make them bleed continuously with a debilitating wound, but maybe thats just the Marine in me again. Best friend or worst enemy- their choice.
Oh, as far as innovation goes, well the other guy has the same chance that we have to be first at the game and develop the best mouse trap. It his own damn fault if he buys parts from LN for 5 years before he copies someone else's ideas and brings them to market. Maybe they'll learn to start sooner, think harder, and fight harder. I doubt it; because that costs real money and takes real time, and it damn sure isn't easy as failure is the norm.
Thats why we bought a 9a1 powered Cayman and took the engine apart for no reason, just to see what made it tick... Then developed that into a 4.2 liter, we made every part including a billet crankshaft, and did it before some people had ever changed the oil in a DFI Porsche engine.
BTW- Best of luck for a solid engine build. Nothing like that chill up the spine when it starts for the first time. I still get it, if I ever lose it, its time to quit.