Today’s Performance Connecting Rods
The crank and rods handle all the stresses of converting up and down motion to reciprocal motion. And when you are building a performance engine, those stresses are much higher and consequences of a failure are much greater. Therefore, selecting the right parts for your build is critical to the success of your engine and
Recent Advancements in Racing Oils
The racing oil community has been very busy this past year. This is much more satisfying to an old “oilhead” who has seen years where there were no new racing oil developments. Racers and engine builders traditionally focus more on improvements in hard parts, because that’s what they understand best. However, recent successes in racing
Engine Options Abound In The Street Rod Market
The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) provides the best definition of what street rods are all about. “By definition a street rod is an automobile of 1948 or earlier manufacture which has undergone some type of modernization to include any of the following; engine, transmission, interior refinements, and any other modifications the builder desires. In
Champion Racing Oils to Sponsor Hearn in Super DIRTcar Nationals
The season starts for Brett Hearn during the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified portion of the DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 22-25 at Volusia Speedway Park, FL. Hearn’s big-block 467 cid has over 850 horsepower and weighs only 2,500 lbs. including the driver. Hearn, who lives in Sussex, NJ, is a winner of a
HPBG: Engine Builder Fuel Injection Maintenance
The fuel system of a modern computer-controlled fuel injected engine is so reliable that it seems to be almost maintenance free, but these modern fuel injected engines have injectors that become flow restricted or “dirty” with use. This means that if you expect the engine you build to perform like it should, the fuel injectors
2011 LS Engine Parts Buyers Guide
This directory is composed of companies who told us they supply various parts for the LS?engine. You’ll want to check with them for their latest offerings. This isn’t an exhaustive list – only companies who responded to our survey (or our advertisers) were included. For more company contact information, visit our exclusive online resource,
Diesel Engine Oils: Today and Tomorrow
Why are diesel engine oils different than any other engine oils? The Lubrizol Corporation, the world’s largest oil chemistry supplier, just created an excellent website (www.hddeo.com) that explains diesel engine oil composition very well. Diesel fuel combustion (or incomplete combustion) is accompanied by the production of soot (unburned carbon). Prior to exhaust emissions legislation this
Racing Oils
As a motorhead physicist, I get to look at engine lubrication from theviews of both an oil formulator and an engine failure analysis expert.Since I used nitromethane fuels when I raced funny cars, I’ve seen morethan my share of engine failures. I’ve also formulated oils for usewith alcohol and nitro burning engines, but let’s leave
Performance Lifters, Pushrods and Valve Springs
Low friction roller lifters replaced flat tappet lifters many years ago in stock production engines, but there are still plenty of hot flat tappet cams bumping the valves open in vintage muscle cars, street rods and race cars. Even NASCAR is still using flat tappet cams to actuate the valves. The advantage of flat tappet
Advances in Engine Component Surface Finishes
For their part, parts suppliers are often sympathetic to the concerns of engine builders. Alan Davis from Eagle Specialty explains: “There have been a lot of ‘snake oils’ and ‘voodoo’ in the past. Any results you can’t quantify by obvious results on the dyno or by other tests are risky at best.” Anyone who has
Selecting The Right High Performance Rocker Arms
The rocker arms in a pushrod engine serve two purposes. The rockers serve as fulcrums to redirect the upward motion of the lifters and pushrods into downward motion to open the valves. The lift ratio of the rockers also serves to multiply the amount of valve lift generated by the cam lobes. Stock rocker arms
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
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: July 2010
Use New Head Bolts In Your Rebuilt Engines How much pressure is exerted on a head bolt? In a typical V8 engine, peak combustion pressures could be around 1,100 psi, which means each cylinder exerts about 14,000 lbs. of pressure on the cylinder head at full throttle. In fact, each head bolt may have to
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: May 2010
Don’t Just Absorb Incidental Charges There are lots of bad habits that machine shop owners get into over the years that can suck the profit out of a job. One bad habit is quoting a job and forgetting about the extra costs that are typically absorbed. Many shops do not charge for incidental charges that
High Tech Cleaning Options
Yet while machining tolerances and performance expectations have changed dramatically over the past few decades, when it comes to getting parts clean, many of those high-tech shops struggle with the same technology they used 30 years ago. The simple fact is, times have changed for parts cleaning, and so have the methods. Engine builders have
Street Performance Valvetrains
Street performance requires everyday driveability and reliability. A good street performance engine should have a broad torque curve, plenty of low end power and a reasonable amount of intake vacuum at idle, especially if the engine is backed with an automatic transmission. A street engine also has to be capable of lasting tens of thousands
Performance Valve Springs and Retainers
Old school thinking on these matters has usually been to increase spring pressure as much as possible by using the stiffest dual or triple springs that can be installed in the engine. But that kind of thinking is changing, thanks to improvements in spring technology. Stiffer springs are obviously needed if you are building a
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: December 2009
Keeping Your Parts Washer Clean I was having difficulty keeping my parts washer clean, and the fluid/solvent was not lasting long enough. By utilizing an old oil filter housing from a 390 Ford motor, I found a way to keep the parts washer clean and increase the longevity of the washer fluid. I keep my 390
Crankshafts and Bearings for Street Performance and Racing
Most engine builders have strong opinions and brand preferences when it comes to choosing a crankshaft and bearing combination for a performance engine application. Their preferences (and prejudices) are usually based on years of experience, both good and bad. Many subscribe to the philosophy that “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!” Consequently, if they
Chevy LT1 Engine and Reverse-Flow Technology
The Chevrolet LT1 5.7L V8 engine that was produced from 1992 to 1997 has some significant differences compared to the previous small block Chevy it replaced, and the third generation LS1 small block that later replaced it. The most obvious difference that distinguishes the LT1 from these other engines is the front-mounted Opti-Spark ignition system.