Understanding
The light turns green and the truck bellows out a plume of black smoke and in a flash all you see are the taillights. You’re struck that diesel trucks have really made an improvement over the past fifteen years. It’s amazing when you realize that a Corvette would have a hard time keeping up with
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
Subaru WRX Engine Mods & Dyno Testing
Balancing ultimate performance within legal parameters and practicality is what Z Sport (www.zsport.com) is all about. I spent several hours being shown their clean and well-equipped shop in Everett, WA. Manager Charles Damewood and Owner Gary Watts both were very helpful in explaining what it is that Z Sport does, and how their shop makes
Pump Gas Nailhead Build Takes Innovative Engineering Skill
The nailhead has more in common with a pair of four-cylinder engines than a V8. Like a four, the nailhead is a torquey motor, making all its torque at idle and then, as the rpms go up, the torque goes down and the horsepower rises. Engine builder Guy Henson recently did a custom, high-tech build
Competing for Diesel Dollars with OEM?Dealers
About 13 years ago we – like many members of this industry – our business was struggling because our focus was only on machine work – our sales basically imploded and we needed to change. In our internal discussions, we put this dramatic change to two things: First, efficient engine design (including things like electronic
Build With Bolt-On Horsepower, But Proceed With Caution
Whether the speed equipment is old school hardware or electronic in nature, you can be sure it is designed to turn automobile engines into more efficient air pumps. “Because the engine really is an air pump, I tell my customers one of the biggest things they can do is bolt on a different exhaust system,”
Rebuilding International DT466 Engine
There are not many of anything that you can call a Legend but the Navistar/International DT466 diesel engine has to fall into that category. If the 466 is not enduring I don’t know what is. The fact that you can bolt almost any part from a 466 built ’78-’93 or ’94-2004 on to one another
Trial and Error Can
Sometimes, owners with tuners or power enhancers have the capabilities to read trouble codes if something happens. But this may or may not point them in the right direction. A great example is one that came by the shop the other day. The owner had an ’03 6.0L Power Stroke that had lost power. When
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
Common Failure Modes
For years, B&G Machine had been a diesel machine shop serving Seattle and the upper Northwest part of the U.S. To address certain market conditions in the mid- to late-’90s, we began building diesel engines. In doing so, we tried to identify the engines that would best serve a captive market – markets that would
Exhausting Emissions Questions
It’s kind of funny because 20 years ago, no one wanted a clacking bucket of bolts, let alone have to work on one of these diesel engines. That was simply how the diesel engine was viewed. Now, mid-size trucks offer reliable power, awesome torque, quiet engines and decent fuel economy from a vehicle that can
Cultivating Diesel Success Using Unconventional Approaches
While most of Osborne’s customers never even come through the Liverpool, NY shop’s door, their continued patronage has pushed Syracuse Crank to record sales figures over the past few years, he says. “We were at 31 percent growth last year over the year before, and the year before last we were 26 percent higher. Our
Updating The Late Model Hemi
At the time of our build a new 6.1L was around $1,000 from Mopar. This is definitely reasonably priced but we really planned to stick to a budget and did not know what we would be up against. One thing that really threw a wrench into things was – just for giggles – we entered
Getting Into The Niche: Engine Builders Corner Their Markets
In our industry, specialty niche markets can also be the key to steadily growing your business. Motorsports is a very broad market but when you drill down into the various categories of racing, there are many smaller markets that make up the sport. Drag racing and circle track markets may be among the most recognized
Can Diesel Performance Help Boost Your Business?
Most people associate diesel engines with truck and tractor pulling events, not traditional motorsports. There are no diesel-powered NASCAR races or Indy cars. But diesels are making inroads in other types of racing. Diesel-powered race cars and trucks are setting land speed records at Bonneville, winning endurance races at LeMans, and running over 200 mph
Diesel Performance: Camshafts, Lifters and Valvetrain
Diesel performance is nothing new. What is new is the level of interest in diesels for all kinds of racing; everything from traditional truck and tractor pulling to drag racing, even sports car and endurance racing. Diesel engines are a different type of animal when compared to gasoline engines. While both use the same four-stroke
Caterpillar 3508, 3512 and 3516 Engine Updates
This series of engines fall into various models that each include their own updates, those models are: 3500A / 3500B / 3500C One of the most significant changes in the diesel applications was in the method of fuel delivery systems from: Mechanical Unit Injection (MUI) To Electronic Unit Injection (EUI)
Cackling or Knocking Noise Complaints on Ford 7.3L Diesel Engine
This noise may sound like a rod knock, but it is intermittent and it increases in intensity as the engine warms up to operating temperature. The "cackie" noise may by caused by pressure variation within the fuel rail and in virtually all instances is attributed to cylinder #8 (driver side rear). The "cackle" noise does
GM Northstar 4.6L V8 Engine
Initially rated at 295 horsepower, the Northstar V8 has grown over the years to an incredible 469 hp at 6,400 rpm (STS-V Supercharged Northstar engine). In 1995, the engine was ranked as one of the “10 Best Engines in North America” by Ward’s Auto World. It repeated the honor in 1996 and 1997, but it
The Evolution of Diesel Piston Designs
Traditionally, diesel engines are known for their long life, fuel economy and efficiency in getting large loads from place to place. Diesel engines are equal to gasoline engines in horsepower per cubic inch, and they have double the torque of gasoline engines and can achieve up to 40 percent better fuel economy, making them ideal