Engine Awards
When we launched the Performance Engine Builder of the Year competition in 2012, we looked at it as a chance to celebrate the unsung heroes of the racing world.
Ford’s EcoBoost Engine: Big Power with Fuel Efficiency – Opportunity or Challenge for You?
In 2009, a 3.5 liter twin turbocharged V6 engine was offered as an option in the Ford F-150. It was badged with the name EcoBoost and has since been a strong competitor in terms of torque and horsepower for a full sized truck.
Assembly and Fastening Lubes: Don’t underestimate the importance of proper lubrication
This month let’s cover two different lube topics. I think we can help everyone better appreciate what goes into both of these lubes and how important they are to the success of your engine building operations.
MLS Gasket Update 2017: Is there anything the MLS gasket can’t do?
Sometimes, the less you know the better. I’ve spent the last 50 or so years punishing all types of engines with insane compression ratios, huge doses of nitrous oxide, and virtually every type of supercharger I could get my hands on.
The Other Machines in Your Shop
In the last couple of years we have discussed the various maintenance requirements for your big machines – surface grinders, crank grinders, cleaning machines, etc. Let’s not forget those other devices that play a pretty important part in your continued effort to build the best engines you and your employees can offer to your valued customers.
Is the End in Sight for the Internal Combustion Engine?
My wife has a weekly subscription to a London-based magazine called The Economist. The magazine has been around since 1843 and exists to take part in “a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.”
Core Sourcing Heads & Blocks
Cores are the heart and soul of the engine rebuilding business. If you don’t have a core, you don’t have an engine to rebuild. The challenge is getting the right cores that are in demand, and at a price that you and your customers can afford.
Solving Gasoline Direct Injection Issues: The facts and fictions of GDI
Gasoline Direct Injection or GDI has seen rapid adoption by the automotive industry over the last several years in lieu of multipoint fuel injection systems due to advantages in fuel efficiency and reduced emission levels.
Join the Marines: Why Engine Builders Need to Change Course for the Marine Market
Not all engines are created equal – even when they’re using the same basic block. It’s the application that makes the difference, especially when we’re talking about marine instead of automotive. For this article, we’ll be focusing on inboard and stern-drive engines, as outboards are a separate, small-engine category.
Understanding Ignition Timing: Making Maximum Power Means Knowing the Science
In a spark ignition internal combustion engine, the purpose of advancing the timing of the engine spark is to get past ignition delay. Ignition delay occurs during the time that it takes to fully ignite the mixture with a spark plug.
Building Better Cylinder Heads for Harley-Davidson’s Big Twin Engines
The Harley-Davidson cylinder head aftermarket is broad and deep with offerings from mildly modified stock castings to all-out racing billets. We see the whole range of this market on a daily basis here at GMS.
Final Wrap: History Lesson
Retired engine builder and mechanical engineer Bill Hancock sent me a curious picture the other day, one that points out how far we’ve come – and, how we may not really know what we think we do about this industry.