In the last article, the author looked briefly at the kinds of materials that we might use for high specific output applications such as supercharged or turbocharged engines. In the article we mentioned a couple of the popular ’superalloys’ which are used for poppet valves, namely ‘Nimonic’ and ‘Inconel’ alloys. Although not as widely used as the Nimonic materials, Inconel is used in the same sorts of applications, and Wayne Ward recently discussed its use as a valve material with Californian-based Supertech, a leading valve manufacture specialist who uses this material. Read more…
Archive for March, 2010
Valve Materials for Extreme Applications (2)
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010Valve spring life and reliability are key
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
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…
Improving Surface Finish
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
In the last article on the subject of surface finish, we looked at some of the important reasons for providing a good level of surface finish. On surfaces involved in sliding contact we can help to ensure that the lubricant film maintained by the basic geometry of the components and their motion is thick enough to keep the high-points or asperities of the two surfaces apart by providing a smoother surface with less peaks, and also peaks which are of a lower height. We also noted that the basic endurance limit of a material is increased Read more…
“Rings of Fire”
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
What better way to introduce the subject of fire rings than to refer to the song by the late Johnny Cash? But apart from the imagery it produces, sadly it would seem to give little further insight into the subject of sealing technology. However, the joint between the combustion chamber and the cylinder cannot be disregarded in the same off-hand manner. Differing materials and new methods of construction have all enabled the traditional cylinder head gasket to progress over the years, but when combustion pressures get higher and / or Read more…
All of a Flutter
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
A phenomenon rarely heard of these days, is that of ring flutter. Manifesting itself in the form of unusual wear characteristics and possibly high exhaust gas blow-by, particularly at light load conditions, ring flutter if left unchecked, can even cause pre-ignition/detonation of the incoming fuel-air charge, eventually leading to piston failure. The solution however, is not always that obvious.
You may always hear that the root of the problem is all to do with the acceleration and deceleration Read more…
Tool steel for pushrods adds strength and reliability
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
A strong and stable valvetrain is essential to power an NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel rail down the 1000-foot dragstrip. For that reason, teams are always looking to improve stability of the pushrod.
For a long time, Kenny Bernstein Racing used only hollow pushrods - and purchased those exclusively from Manton Pushrods in Lake Elsinore, California. While the Top Fuel team continues to work with Terry Manton for its pushrods, the specification Read more…
Using tractive effort curves to analyse gearing
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
In the last edition of Monitor we introduced the concept of ‘Tractive Effort’ curves plotted against road speed to analyse performance.
Most ‘racers’ are familiar with using the traditional straight line plot of road speed against engine rpm as a method of choosing ratios. Whilst this gives an indication of maximum speed in each gear and helps to assess the drop in engine rpm associated with changing up into the next ratio, its use is otherwise limited. In particular it does not
Piston strength wins races
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
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.
For co-crew chiefs Rob Flynn, Mike Guger and Todd Smith (who came over from Don Prudhomme’s Snake Racing after that outfit closed operations at the end of the 2009 season), the objective is to fit the strongest piston available. Read more…
A load of hot air
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
It has often been said that I talk an awful lot of hot air. This comment, I hasten to add, is one more frequently voiced from members of my immediate family but this month, somehow and when associated with lube oil systems, the phase has much more of a resounding ring. This month therefore, I want to talk about the scavenge pump in a dry sump system and how big does it really need to be? The answer, as you might expect, is not that simple but let us look at what we are asking the scavenge pump to do. Read more…
KERS lives on…
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
While KERS has been banished from Formula One for the 2010 season, there are many in the paddock that have seen its worth in racing and relevance to modern road cars. Therefore, there is the plausibility that this item could return in 2011.
In sports car competition, Zytek produced a hybrid system that was used by the Corsa Motorsports team in the latter stages of the 2009 American Le Mans Series, albeit to a mere fraction of its potential. Read more…
