Getting valve springs to live in a World of Outlaws sprint car engine - one that is 408-410 cu in and makes 850 hp (with more than 700 lb-ft torque at 6300 rpm) - is one of engine building’s black arts. At Shaver Specialties Racing Engines (SSRE) in Torrance, California, the challenge is to overcome the “voodoo of valve spring breakage,” according to Dennis Hardesty, right-hand man to owner Ron Shaver.
“For the past year-and-a-half, the majority of our racing Read more…
Known as ‘The Professor’ for his meticulous preparation and dedication to technological upgrades to his National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) engines, Warren Johnson continues to move forward in his quest to tune the best possible GM DRCE3 Pro Stock engine. Johnson figures he’s been working with this particular set-up for the past five years, and cites valve spring life as one of the larger challenges he faces on the 23-race tour.
“The revs on these engines has gone up, and trying to find the ultimate performance level of these things is Read more…
Esslinger Engineering of South El Monte, California, is primarily in the business of building midget engines based on Ford internals. The company has been in this line of work since 1990.
Because its engines are not based on pushrod designs, Dan Esslinger, president, says there are not very many valve-spring issues. “It’s just the design of the engine and the design of the camshaft,” he says. “Even though we turn a lot of rpms (in the neighborhood of 10,000), we are not cycling the kind of weight that a pushrod engine would, so the valve springs haven’t been nearly the issue they have been for some other builders.” Read more…
For Morgan Lucas Racing’s John Stewart, tuner for second-year NHRA Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon, the change from titanium valve springs to steel units was due to the cost. “A set of titanium springs is about $1500, and we can get a set of steel springs for about $500. They seem to last just as long,” Stewart says.
“With the economy and money as tight as it is, we’re trying to save as much as we can. The cost difference of $1000 is a big deal. You can buy a lot of sets of steel valve springs for the difference in cost.” Read more…
If a valve spring for a race engine is to survive a service life of 1400 race miles or 1600 absolute miles then it needs to be robust and reliable. In the Indy Racing League’s IZOD IndyCar Series, where the Honda Indy V8 is the sole motive power, Honda Performance Development (HPD) has gone with a steel, flat-top, double-valve spring without insert, to achieve the balance needed on road courses, street circuits, short ovals, speedways and superspeedways. Read more…
Starting the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Pro Stock season with a brand new Ford engine and car this year, veteran driver/tuner Larry Morgan faced many challenges. It’s been a trial-and-error situation for the Ohio-based entrant, particularly in the area of valve springs.
“I’ve been using PSI springs for over a year and I have to give those guys, particularly Larry and Steve, a lot of credit. They want to make the valve springs fit our engines and that is good; they Read more…
As the newest player in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup arena, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Costa Mesa, California is playing catch-up to manufacturers that have been in the sport for many, many years. According to David Currier, vice president of engine engineering for TRD, his company prefers to use multiple sources for its double-spring valve springs.
“Our biggest challenge with valve springs is making them survive with more lift and extra cam Read more…
Van Dyne Engineering of Huntington Beach, California keeps it local when looking for valve springs to fit their big block Chevrolet engines used for offshore racing.
Building for the American Power Boat Association’s (APBA) Super Cat two-time World champion and 11-time Western Division titleholder 36-foot The Renegade, driven by Garden Grove’s Craig Ferguson, Stewart Van Dyne II and Stewart Van Dyne III (Tres) specify Tool Room valve spring material by Isky Racing Cams from nearby Gardena, CA. Read more…
As the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series 24-race season wound to a close in early November, the Matco Tools Top Fuel team with driver Antron Brown, a group that had changed ownership twice over the off-season, did so again when it was sold to Don Schumacher Racing just before the penultimate round on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
That change will likely result in changes to parts distribution, as DSR campaigns two other T/F dragsters for [now] six-time consecutive champion Tony Read more…
What does it take to build a better valve spring for USAC National Midget use? Frank Honsowetz of Ed Pink Racing Engines (EPRE) in Van Nuys, California cites a long-term relationship with Steve Pound at PSI Springs as his great starting point.
“We use PSI springs in everything we do, not just in the Toyota midget engine,” he told me. “We have such a long relationship with them and we are able to work together to advance development of our springs. Read more…
