When Oil and Water Mix – The Marine Engine Market
For those unfamiliar with marine engines, there is a common misconception that these are highly unique devices. This simply isn’t the case. If you can rebuild an automobile engine, you can rebuild a marine engine. If you can build a solid, reliable drag or circle track engine, you can build, or rebuild, a marine performance engine. The key to success is understanding the subtle differences and being able to recognize the pitfalls.
Losing a National Treasure – True Craftsmanship
No, this isn’t an adventure story about great works of art or even our national monuments – it’s even more dramatic. I’m referring to the GREAT ones: the machinists we all know who have been around far longer than these fancy new CNC machines. I’m talking about the true craftsmen that built this industry long before many of you were born.
Chicago Pneumatic Workshop Equipment Line
Chicago Pneumatic has launched a new line of workshop equipment for the professional automotive and heavy fleet maintenance industries. Expanding on an already diverse tool and compressor line, these essential vehicle shop components are designed with high quality and durability.
Hand Stuff Reparative Hand Balm
The “Hand Stuff” is designed to nourish and replenish the skin of dry, cracked, chapped, and damaged hands, extending the life of the hands. Comprised of all-natural ingredients (shea butter, coconut oil, vitamins A and E, and lanolin).
PRW Welcomes Jim Trent as New National Sales Manager
PRW Industries Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance engine components for hot rods and race cars, welcomes Jim Trent to join the PRW team as our new National Sales Manager. Jim is a 20-plus-year veteran of the aftermarket in performance, traditional hard parts, tools and equipment.
High Performance Diesel Crankshafts, Connecting Rods & Pistons
Most stock Cummins, Duramax and Power Stroke engines can safely handle cranking up the turbo boost to produce 500 to 600 or more horsepower. But once you get to get up around 700 to 800 horsepower in an otherwise stock motor, things start to break and upgrades will be necessary.
Shop Solutions June 2015
In our shop we do a variety of cylinder heads for late-model diesel trucks. On jobs like 6.0L Fords, 5.9L Cummins or 6.6L Duramax diesels our customers often install ARP studs as an improved fastener. ARP highly suggests that the studs be re-torqued after the engine is run for the first time.
Engine Shops Are Cleaning Up
We’re engine builders and we live to get a little grease on our hands, right? While this is true, there is no harm in keeping your shop clean. In fact, there are numerous benefits to keeping your shop organized and clean. It makes a direct impact on efficiency, morale, the environment and most importantly, the customer.
Fourth Annual Performance Engine Builder of the Year Contest Now Open
What do Ed Pink Racing Engines, Kroyer Racing Engines and NVR Racing all have in common? They are past winners of Engine Builder’s Performance Engine Builder of the Year Award. The contest returns again this year looking to crown a fourth winner of the award sponsored by Speed-Pro POWERFORGED Pistons.
How Not to Lose the Race to the Bottom
You know how it feels when you explain something over and over and the person just doesn’t seem to get it? Some seven years ago I broke into the pages of Engine Builder with an article about dealing with what I called walk-in parts. Off and on again I’ve gotten back on that bandwagon because the topic just keeps getting more and more relevant.
Free or Cheap Websites Help Competitors Eat Your Lunch
When it comes to web-hosting and website creation, there is a lot of advertising and marketing pushing free services or services that are so inexpensive that they aren’t representative of the true marketplace. Mark Claypool explains why its best to pay for a professional website.
Accel Expands Line of High Performance SuperCoils
ACCEL, a leading manufacturer of high performance fuel and ignition system products, has announced the availability of more than a dozen new applications for its line of high performance coil-on-plug SuperCoils for European, import and domestic cars and trucks.
Epicor Automotive Aftermarket eCatalog Surpasses 10.7 Million Part Numbers
Epicor Software Corporation, a global leader in business software solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, has announced that the Epicor PartExpert automotive replacement parts database has surpassed 10.7 million part numbers.
Mr. Gasket Micro Electric Fuel Pump
Performance automotive manufacturing company, Mr. Gasket, has introduced a line of Micro Electric Fuel Pumps for a wide range of import and domestic gasoline, diesel, ethanol, methanol and E85 fuel applications. These electric fuel pumps provide auxiliary fuel flow for carbureted engines.
Federal-Mogul Motorparts Set to Launch ‘Garage Gurus’
Independent automotive repair providers throughout the U.S. will soon be able to tap into an extensive network of technical training and product support resources designed to help enhance their competitiveness in an age of increasingly complex vehicle technologies. “Garage Gurus,” a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive technical education platform from Federal-Mogul Motorparts, will debut in April.
Turning Over Industrial Engine Business
Engine builders today are diversifying their businesses in order to maintain a healthy, steady stream of business and cash flow. One such area of opportunity lies within the industrial engine market. Industrial engines are a broad category that essentially covers any off road engine. Read how your shop can get in on the action.
New Engines Force New Pistons
As engines get smaller, motorists expect the same performance as a larger V6 or V8 but with the fuel economy of a four cylinder. Turbocharging makes little engines breathe big, but it also increases the load and temperature the pistons have to endure. This, in turn, requires pistons made of alloys that can withstand higher temperatures and combustion pressures. Yesterday’s castings won’t cut it for these kinds of applications.
Rebuilding Tips on the ISX
Each newer version of the Cummins ISX 15 engine gets more fuel-efficient as the technology keeps advancing. Cummins has stated that the newest ISX 15 delivers more horsepower than older ISX engine models, ranging from 400-600 hp with 2050 lb.-ft. of peak torque. So what do diesel engine builders need to remember when working on the ISX?
Consider a Dyno/Flow Bench for Your Shop
Any engine builder that is doing performance work or high volume engine building can benefit from owning an engine dynamometer. A dyno is not just a tool for plotting horsepower and torque curves. It’s also a tuning tool for plotting and adjusting fuel mixture and ignition calibration, a quality control tool to assure proper engine break-in, valvetrain adjustments and to verify compression, ring seating and gasket sealing. It can also be used as a performance and/or durability research tool.
It’s December – Are You Prepared for 2015?
With the winter here and the holidays upon us, there’s a lot going on these days. But as a business owner, you need to consider that 2015 is right around the corner. The better you prepare now, the more successful you will be in the New Year and beyond.
