Oiling System Technology
Oil is the lifeblood of every engine. Any significant loss of oil pressure can destroy an engine in a split second so the oiling system must provide a constant supply of oil under all operating conditions. With performance engines, keeping the engine lubed with a steady supply of oil can be a challenge because
Racing Oils
Performance engines built for racing deserve the best possible lubrication. Ordinary street oils don’t cut it on a race track. By Larry Carley The latest API-certified SN and ILSAC GF-5 motor oils are fine for everyday driving in late model vehicles, but most off-the-shelf motor oils (even many synthetics) come up short in the anti-wear
Performance Gaskets & Surface Finishes
The most critical engine gaskets are the head gaskets since they have to withstand the heat and pressure of combustion. And unless the engine is a drag motor with a solid billet or filled block, the head gaskets also have to keep coolant out of the cylinders. Many performance engines are capable of making
Valve Seats & Guides
Most engine builders worth their salt know that with the components and technology available today, it’s not that difficult of a task to make horsepower. With the availability of so many performance parts – whether it’s from the OEM or the aftermarket – engine builders can pull from vast resources to achieve a balance between
Not Quite a Full Pull
In tractor pulling parlance, a “hook” is when you attempt a pull. A “full pull” is one in which you go the maximum distance of 300 feet. At Engine Builder, we’re mourning one of our own, who made the hook, but didn’t quite get the full pull. Jim Walbolt, who had been a contributor to
8th Annual Rev’ved Up 4 Kids Charity Car Show To Benefit the Edelbrock Family Foundation
On Saturday, May 4th, 2013, Edelbrock will once again be opening the doors of their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility to the public for free shop tours. Participants will partake in a guided tour of the research and development, manufacturing and quality control departments. This is a unique opportunity for automotive enthusiasts to see what
Tuning In To The EFI Market
There are many variables that need to be calculated and calibrated when it comes to electronic fuel injection (EFI), but simple fuel flow is just the beginning. EFI goes far beyond a replacement for a carburetor, and the electronic part of the equation is where these systems seem so complicated. Many EFI systems give you
HPBG: Choosing Aftermarket Cylinder Heads
If the performance business is about one thing – it’s about improving upon what comes in the door and making it better for your customer’s application, whether he’s racing down the quarter mile, hitting the twists and turns of a natural road course, or just driving it to the movie theater with his girl by
Livin
One of the only ways you can prove your worth as a race engine builder – besides on the racetrack, of course – is on a dynamometer. Being a shop without a dyno may be akin to running blindfolded: you can surely build a good engine, even a winning engine, but you probably won’t know
Team Motive Gear Wins ‘Showdown At SEMA’ Hot Rodders of Tomorrow National Championship
Loara High School Wins Their Third Straight National Championship Title Team MOTIVE GEAR – Loara High School from Anaheim CA. won the 4th Annual "Showdown at SEMA" their third straight, with the average time of 21:24 minutes. The top three teams were so competitive that they all ended up less than a minute apart! All
Hot Rodders of Tomorrow National Championship Coming to the PRI Show in 2013
The 26th Annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Florida, will host the final round of the nation’s premier engine build competition for young automotive talent, it was recently announced. Each year hundreds of automotive technology students from high schools across the country take part in regional competitions to determine which teams can disassemble
Trend Performance Seeking New Facility in North Carolina
Originally a plan was devised to open an office in the Asheville area, but when Chuck Jones, former general manager of the PPP Center, recently joined the company, more ambitious plans took hold. “I’ve always admired Chuck’s work ethic,” says Trend’s engineering director, Andy Anderson. “He works hard, he bites the bullet, and he still
Camshaft & Valvetrain Technology Overview
Camshaft and valvetrain technology is a topic we’ve written much about over the years. A rotating eccentric lobe on a camshaft still opens the valves. In the case of an overhead valve engine, the cam lobe pushes a follower or bucket tappet to open the valve. With a pushrod engine, the cam lobe pushes a
Power Adders: Turbos, Blowers and Nitrous
The engine can only inhale so much air because the atmospheric force that’s pushing air into the engine is only 14.7 lbs. per square inch at sea level. To make matters worse, atmospheric pressure decreases with elevation. Air density also decreases with temperature because hot air is thinner than cold air. Most stock naturally aspirated engines
SEMA Hall Of Fame Names Four New Members
Hundreds of industry professionals will gather and pay tribute to the new Hall of Fame members during the SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser, Friday, July 27, at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Convention Center in Pomona, Calif. Nick Arias Jr., Nick Arias Racing Components – Arias has been finding ways to make engines work
SEMA Holds First Town Hall Meeting of 2012
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) had planned for its first Town Hall in St. Charles, Ill., to kick-off a three-event schedule in 2012. And despite the inclement weather just before the event, everything went off as scheduled on Friday, February 24. The end result was a three-hour event that seamlessly weaved itself into the
Making Dollars and Sense Cleaning Blocks, Heads
Unless you’re starting with all new parts, cleaning is as important to your engine build as disassembly, inspection, machining and reassembly. Without taking the cylinder heads and engine blocks down to bare metal, you can’t properly inspect the castings for cracks, wear and other defects. For something so important, proper cleaning technique is often misunderstood, overlooked
A Conversation with the MAHLE Clevite Champion Technician Winner Dave Arce
Dave is the owner of Arce Engines in El Cajon, CA. He remanufactures engines, performs general installation and repair, does engine rebalancing and has quite a resume when it comes to high performance racing engines. Dave’s daughter Hollee nominated him for the contest and wrote an excellent essay about all of her dad’s accomplishments throughout
Designing and Building a World-Record Beating Porsche V8
We would build for the Blown Gas Modified Sports (BGMS) class where the record is currently 231.5 mph. Another record we were after was the Porsche marquee record for the 928 of 205.6 mph. Our math told us that – because we knew our final drive ratio, tire diameters and engine redline; and if our
A Million Here, A Million There
First, Fisher’s a former winning sprint car driver running with the top-gun World of Outlaws and All-Star groups. Then, there’s the fact that he’s got the mind of a skilled surgeon when he probes the innards of his engines looking for more performance. The guy is a graduate engineer (Ohio State – 1975), but his