Smooth Moves: Today’s Surfaces Often Demand Different Finishes
When multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets became commonplace a number of years ago, there was a lot of concern that aftermarket surfacing procedures might not be able to reproduce the mirror-like finish that the vehicle manufacturers said was absolutely necessary to seal MLS head gaskets. The challenge was to duplicate the factory finish using out-dated
Inside Flat Tappet Camshaft and?Lifter Technology
Roller cams have a couple of advantages over traditional flat tappet camshafts: they reduce friction, and they can be ground with more aggressive cam lobe profiles to make more power. You can also swap roller cams without having to replace the lifters. But the roller cam’s main disadvantage compared to flat tappet cams is its
Cleaning Cylinder Heads and Blocks
The cleaning process should remove all of the dirt, grease, oil, rust, scale and carbon deposits that have accumulated over the years. With painted castings, the old paint also has to be stripped away so the surface can be repainted. Even if you’re working with brand new castings, a final cleaning is still necessary after
UTI Students and Instructors Featured in High-Octane MTV2 Reality Show
Ushering in a new class of reality show, Burnout is a nine-part MTV2 reality series that follows two teams of students and instructors from Universal Technical Institute (UTI) as they battle against each other in a test of skill, persistence and dedication to see who can build the fastest drag car with just 100 hours
Three Reasons to Wear a Coat
What’s not usually as well known is the incredible versatility that coatings have in dealing with a huge range of problems. The number of uses for various coatings in performance applications is mind-boggling and nearly limitless, but in order to keep the possibilities cost effective and manageable it’s useful to think about it in terms
Dyno Decisions Depend on Business Model
If you need a dyno only three or four times a year, you’re probably better off renting dyno time from another facility. If you build race engines for a living, an engine dyno is an essential part of how you do your job and ultimately the value you provide to your customer. So what are
Balancing And The Bottom Line
Balancing, once considered to be important in this industry only to performance engine builders, has lately become a sought-after service in some segments you may never have considered. Yet good-old-fashioned engine balancing remains an important profit center in many machine shop operations. If the engine components (pistons, rods and crankshaft) aren’t in balance you’ll experience
Understanding Today
Metallurgy is one of the oldest sciences in the world it’s a history that can be traced back to the beginnings of civilization. It’s hard to believe that in the thousands of years since the discovery of gold and silver there have only been 84 new metals discovered. In fact, when the automobile was
Performance Seminar To Put Power In Your Hands
This seminar, sponsored by the University of Northwestern Ohio and supported by Engine Builder magazine will teach you to find additional output from high performance and competition engines by dealing with the concepts involved in a way unique to David Vizard. In a word, says the presenter, it’s about combinations. So what qualifies David Vizard
Ohio Technical College Announces The Edelbrock Academy
Ohio Technical College (OTC), a leading automotive training school, recently announced a new partnership with Edelbrock, LLC to create the Edelbrock Academy, a program designed to give students a solid foundation in the building and tuning of American muscle cars and performance vehicles. The Edelbrock Academy at Ohio Technical College will provide students with
Bedplates Have Presence In Today
One of the technologies that has been implemented for many of theengines today is the configuration of the block. Many of today’sengines are using “bedplates” (see Figure 1).The block is split at the main bearings or the crankshaft centerline sothere are two distinct pieces to the block; an upper part that housesthe cylinders and the
Timing Chains, Sprockets and Gears
Look back at the events in your life an examine how timing has played a part in the outcome. When you showed up at party and met the girl who would eventually become your wife? When you stayed late at work and missed the 18-car pile up on the interstate? Even without realizing it, your
Dynos and Test Stands: Profit Center or Business Black Hole?
Dynamometers allow an engine builder to test, tune and tweak his engines before giving customers the opportunity to do something foolish with them. In a recent poll on Engine Builder’s website, we asked our readers how important a dyno is to their business. According to our (admittedly unscientific) results, 44 percent of Engine Builder readers
2010 PRI Trade Show Offers Variety of Business Profit Opportunities
“It has the latest racing components from 1,100 racing industry suppliers on display in 3,200 booths in Orlando,” said PRI producer Steve Lewis. “In short, the PRI Trade Show is massive. All of the great brand names in race engine components are there, plus over 100 manufacturers of precision machining equipment with their shop machinery
Team MSD Takes Division 4 of
Team MSD of Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr., Choctaw, OK, took first place with a time of 60 minutes and 15 seconds. The 8 teams were made up of invited auto technology classes from local high schools. Each team consists of five students and the instructor/coach. The individual schools set standards and guidelines for
Opinions And Outlook From An Industry Veteran
The following interview with Comp Cam’s Paul "Scooter" Brothers recently appeared on CPGNation.com. We have posted an excerpt of the story below. To view the original posting, please visit http://www.cpgnation.com/forum/scooter-brothers-opinions-outlooks-industry-veteran-3245.html. With Scooter Brothers’ outstanding automotive aftermarket credentials, we thought it would be fascinating to get his take on some current topics. So wespoke with Brothers
Team Edelbrock Wins Division 7
With a blistering time of 36 minutes and 18 seconds, Team Edelbrock North Orange County ROP from Anaheim CA took first place at the Division 7” Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge” Championship Hosted by Edelbrock’s 5th annual ”Rev’ved up 4 Kidz” charity car show Sunday April 25th, 2010 at Vic’s Garage Edelbrock’s
Fremd High School’s Team PRW Wins Division 3
Fremd High School from Palatine, IL. sponsored by Performance Racing Warehouse (PRW) took first place with the fastest time of 44 minutes and 15 seconds and will be representing Division 3 at the National Championship dubbed “Showdown at SEMA” at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November. There, they will be competing against
What’s New with Oil Pumps, Pickups and Pans
The two greatest concerns from a lubrication standpoint are dry starts and loss of oil pressure while the engine is running. Dry starts are more of a worry in engines that have front-mounted oil pumps with relatively long pickup tubes, which includes such popular engines as the GM 3800 V6, Chrysler 3.5L V6, etc. as
Boosting Performance – Nitrous, Superchargers and Turbochargers
From the budget six-cylinders that get 300 hp and 28 mpg for less than $25,000 to the 600 hp Viper V10 to the 630 hp Corvette ZR1 for just over $100,000, the performance market is deep and wide. “It’s amazing, the horsepower potential that these cars are coming with off the factory floor,” says Frank