Pistons and Pins: What’s New
Asking piston manufacturers “what’s new” reveals a number of trends that are reshaping the piston business today. One is that there’s no longer a time lag of three or four years for aftermarket piston suppliers to tool up for the latest piston applications. Production engine remanufacturers (PERs) and custom engine rebuilders (CERs) are asking for
Balancing Equipment: a weighty matter
Everybody knows what balance is, right? You maintain your own balance by centering your body mass over your feet. If you lean too far forward or backward, or too far to the left or right, you’ll lose your balance and fall unless you grab hold of something or reposition your feet. Moving your center of
Head and Block Resurfacing
Resurfacing cylinder heads and engine blocks is an essential aspect of engine building today, whether the work is being done by a production engine rebuilder, a high performance specialist or small custom shop. Bimetal engines, multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets and tighter assembly tolerances make accurate surfacing more critical than ever before. The key to
Cutting Edge Tooling – Superabrasives in the Shop
The need for faster production speeds and higher quality surface finishes has made superabrasives almost mandatory for most resurfacing, honing and grinding operations. What makes these materials so indispensable for engine building today? Their superior hardness is a major factor because it provides outstanding tool life that far exceeds conventional abrasives. A set of metal
Valve Selection: Hot Valve Materials for Hot Engines
Are stock valve materials good enough, or do you need to upgrade to valves that are made of a more durable alloy? If so, what kind of alloy? These are questions every engine builder must answer when selecting valves for performance engine applications. To the naked eye, most valves look pretty much the same. Unless
Which Cranksfaft Meets Your Racing Needs Best?
There are a lot of racing crankshafts in the automotive aftermarket today. You’ll find a wide variety of styles, strokes, weights and price ranges from which you can choose. The question you need to be asking is which crank is “right” for the engine you’re building? The answer to that question depends on several things
Cylinder Head Crack Repairs
It seems as if many cylinder heads are doomed to crack from the very start because of their lightweight construction and design. Aluminum overhead cam (OHC) heads, in particular, are often found to be warped as well as cracked. But so too are many pushrod cast iron heads. One of the causes of cracking in
Today’s Machining Centers Offer More Bang for the Buck
More bang for the buck. That’s what many machine shop owners say they’re looking for when considering a major equipment purchase. Because today’s machine shops are fewer in number and often smaller, it’s important for them to have as much capability as possible in every piece of equipment to maximize the return on investment, utilization
Engine Parts Coatings
Lubricity, heat management, corrosion protection and cosmetics. These are the main benefits that coatings can provide when applied to the surface of various engine parts. But there are different coating materials for different purposes, so the key to maximizing engine durability and performance with coated parts is using the right coating materials in the right
Perfect Engine Sealing Starts With Proper Head Bolt Use
How important are the various fasteners in an engine? Consider this: the head bolts have to withstand tremendous loads to keep the cylinder head sealed tightly against the head gasket and block. In an engine with four inch cylinder bores and peak combustion pressures of around 1,100 pounds per square inch, each cylinder exerts about
Performance Pistons
Piston manufacturers are introducing new performance pistons for all of these applications as well as refining existing piston designs to reduce weight, and improve strength, durability and ring sealing. Piston design and manufacturing used to be a relatively low-tech process. Now, with the aid of finite element analysis and other computer modeling techniques, many aftermarket
Coretalk: Female Engine Builders, Hear Them Roar
Clevite Engine Parts has sponsored the Clevite Engine Builder Challenge Series since 1990 and has hosted the event at industry trade shows, conferences, race tracks and open house events for customers – but this was the first build to feature women only. Sandi Holder, of Holder Automotive Machine, and Becky Tardif, of Accurate Cylinderhead Service,