Honing Stones & Equipment
The finish on the cylinder walls is critical for proper piston ringlubrication and sealing. The bore geometry is also important, and mustbe round, cylindrical and straight for optimum sealing and minimumblowby. The equipment used to hone cylinders has changed in recent years as thedemand for better surface finishes, faster cycle times and lowerproduction costs have
Fast Lane: New Markets Could Give Your Business Hope For Survival
[email protected] Although some automotive machine shop owners believe that – with engine life measured in six figures – the good days are over, the shops that continuously seek out new markets that parallel their talents and abilities will continue to survive. Those shops willing to invest the time and effort to find those markets will
Machine Maintenance: The Flywheel Grinder – Getting To Know Your Shop Profit Pal
[email protected] In the last edition of “Machine Maintenance” I challenged you to tell me who introduced the first portable boring bar to the automotive aftermarket. I must admit that I was impressed by the number of responses I received. Here’s the answer: Rottler Manufacturing from Kent, WA.It seems that the founding father of Rottler was
Final Wrap: A New Year And Some Brand Spankin’ New Technology
Happy New Year! As you undoubtedly realize, this is the time of year when magazine editors typically write their columns on one of three subjects: How bad the last year was and assurances that THIS year will be better. How great last year was but expressing concern that the bottom will drop out soon. Or,
Performance Notes: Cashing In On Power Adders: Blowers, Turbos, Nitrous
The demand for high performance vehicles has never been stronger. A good indicator is that automakers are turning out more powerful models with each successive new car introduction. Remember when 500 horsepower was a pretty good number for a race motor? Today you can purchase a number of vehicles that eclipse 500hp, from a Z06
Coretalk: New Brochure, Poster And Web Site Promote The Benefits of ‘Repowering’
Limited quantities of the “Serious Engine Trouble?” brochure are available to industry professionals by contacting ERC at [email protected]. “The new brochure encourages motorists to talk with their automotive technician and consider all of their options when faced with major engine trouble,” said ERC Chairman Tom Schrader. “Often times, choosing to repower the current engine is
PERA President Mark Fellanto
On the surface, you might suppose that Mark Fellanto, incoming president of the Production Engine Remanufacturers Association (PERA) is a pretty simple fellow. You can set your watch by his daily routine. Even he admits that if someone was looking to do him in, he wouldn’t be hard to track down. Fellanto rarely veers from
Performance Drag Racing Heads
A quarter-mile strip of asphalt is not a great distance. But drag racing isn’t about distance. It’s about time. The car that reaches the finish line first wins the race. But the car that wins isn’t always the fastest car or the quickest car. It’s usually the car that runs with the most consistent elapsed
Balancing Equipment: a weighty matter
Everybody knows what balance is, right? You maintain your own balance by centering your body mass over your feet. If you lean too far forward or backward, or too far to the left or right, you’ll lose your balance and fall unless you grab hold of something or reposition your feet. Moving your center of
Head and Block Resurfacing
Resurfacing cylinder heads and engine blocks is an essential aspect of engine building today, whether the work is being done by a production engine rebuilder, a high performance specialist or small custom shop. Bimetal engines, multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets and tighter assembly tolerances make accurate surfacing more critical than ever before. The key to
Cutting Edge Tooling – Superabrasives in the Shop
The need for faster production speeds and higher quality surface finishes has made superabrasives almost mandatory for most resurfacing, honing and grinding operations. What makes these materials so indispensable for engine building today? Their superior hardness is a major factor because it provides outstanding tool life that far exceeds conventional abrasives. A set of metal
February 2006 Tech Solutions Guide
FORDsponsored by CHRYSLERsponsored by GMsponsored by IMPORTsponsored by DIESELsponsored by
Coretalk: Tony Stewart Motorsports To Headline SME Show
Stewart’s personal race team, which is a passion for the versatile NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC champion, will be featured on the show floor on January 24-25 at the Performance Theater. “The competition level is so tight right now – any extra bit of speed or performance you can squeeze out of your car can be
Tech Notes
Engine Builders: The AERA Technical Committee offers the following information on coolant loss on 2001-2004 GM 6.6L diesel VIN 1 engines. Some owners may comment on engine coolant loss with no visible leaks. Excessive white smoke or a coolant type odor coming from the exhaust pipe, along with low coolant levels, may indicate coolant entering
Cylinder Head Crack Repairs
It seems as if many cylinder heads are doomed to crack from the very start because of their lightweight construction and design. Aluminum overhead cam (OHC) heads, in particular, are often found to be warped as well as cracked. But so too are many pushrod cast iron heads. One of the causes of cracking in
Coretalk: Pentagon 9/11 Survivor To Keynote PERA Convention
After American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, very close to his second floor office, LTC Birdwell was thrown to the ground and engulfed in flames. Of the burns that consumed 60 percent of his body, nearly half were third-degree burns. With more than 30 operations and months of multiple skin grafts and burn
Machine Maintenance, Make the Most of Your Crank Grinder: Maintain It
Your crankshaft grinder probably represents one of the single biggest investments you’ve made for your shop. Most of you purchased your grinder to ensure quality, delivery and to enhance your shop’s ability to be self-sufficient. Hopefully you and your employees are taking good care of this sophisticated and expensive machine. To help you out, here
Performance Pistons
Piston manufacturers are introducing new performance pistons for all of these applications as well as refining existing piston designs to reduce weight, and improve strength, durability and ring sealing. Piston design and manufacturing used to be a relatively low-tech process. Now, with the aid of finite element analysis and other computer modeling techniques, many aftermarket
Coretalk: AERA EXPO 2005 Set For Las Vegas Hilton In April
The EXPO will showcase leading edge technology with live, operating demonstrations of equipment, tools, supplies, parts and services. Exhibits will be open on Thursday, April 28, from 10:30 am-6 pm; Friday, April 29, from 10:30 am- 6:30 pm; and Saturday, April 30, from 10:30 am- 2:30 pm. EXPO will include a keynote address from NASCAR
PERA’s Core Corner: Solving The Riddle Of The V10 Chrysler Cylinder Head
In this month’s Core Corner, we ask the question: “When is something you know not what you think you know?” Sounds like a mystery, doesn’t it? For example, when is a car not a car? When it turns into a parking lot! I know, I know – don’t quit my day job. But that really