Dan Esslinger, President of Esslinger Engineering has been building Midget engines since 1990 - “So I guess we’re 20-ish years into this thing,” he says. In that time, Esslinger Engineering has gone through perhaps 30 iterations of pistons, “That’s been due to bore size change, different strokes, different rod lengths, valve locations, things of that ilk,” he says. “If you change one, it all changes.
“Typically we use JE three-ring pistons because they are local (less than an hour away from Esslinger’s shop) and they do an outstanding job. They work with us and turn stuff around in a hurry. We’ve found they make fewer mistakes than we do! Sometimes we ask for things we shouldn’t and they (the pistons) get stuck in engineering that way. JE generally gives us what we ask,” Esslinger says. Read more…
Getting long life from a racing piston that is subjected to 8000 hp is not easy. Every trip down the 1000-foot dragstrip used by NHRA’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series means a modicum of damage to an engine and, with the pistons, damage is a way of life.
When Honda Performance Development (HPD) began plans to enter the Indy Racing League in 2003 with the Honda Indy V8, it built an engine that would have a service life of 600 miles, made to last from Carburetion Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway through the Indianapolis 500.
The colours may have changed from red to blue (Budweiser to Copart) at Kenny Bernstein Racing, but the objective never alters. The objective is to build bullet-proof engines that can go down the 1000-foot dragstrip quicker and faster than the car in the other lane.
Toyota Racing Development’s MAHLE Motorsports pistons are somewhat similar to the 2618 material typically used in NASCAR Sprint Cup applications, according to Brad Green at MAHLE’s Fletcher, North Carolina American headquarters. As TRD continues to try and gain performance edges while having to deal with shrinking budgets - as everyone does these days - using exotic materials just isn’t the route to take.
One benefit to building a maximum 510-cubic inch big block Chevrolet engine for American Power Boat Association (APBA) offshore racing, is the cooling. Because cold water constantly throbs through the block and cylinder head, there is very little fall-off in performance and very little micro welding in the ring lands to deal with.
When it comes to prepping pistons for their NHRA Top Fuel rail, Don Schumacher Racing’s Antron Brown-driven team relies on co-tuner Rob Wendland. This year, the team led the ‘regular season’ of 18 races and finished third in the point standings, 49 behind six-time consecutive champion (and teammate) Tony Schumacher.
Keeping a piston’s top ring land from experiencing critical wear is a problem that every engine builder experiences, particularly in the hard fought world of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Dr Andrew Randolph of Earnhardt Childress Racing (ECR) Engines has worked endlessly to remedy the problem.
For John Force Racing co-crew chiefs Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli and Ron Douglas, the 2009 Funny Car season has been all about consistency. Include the selection of Venolia pistons in that mix because, as Antonelli points out, “In our current configuration, the pistons are relatively the same on all eight cylinders. They may vary from cylinder to cylinder, depending on the distribution of air coming out of the blower,” he allowed.
Mark Smith’s PME Engines of Mooresville, North Carolina powers the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (CWTS) entries of Ron Hornaday Jr and Matt Crafton, currently first and second in points as the campaign hits its home stretch.
