by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | Press Releases |
By Sam Logan: MasterShift, a Fallbrook, California company won this year’s SEMA Best Engineered New Product award for their innovative manual electronic paddle/bump-shifter system. These systems operate on most vehicles particularly street machines, track-day cars, road race and drag race vehicles. The system MasterShift displayed at the 2012 exhibition was designed for the new Tremec T-56 Magnum. In bump-shifting, which is described as sequential electronic shifting, the driver simply pulls a lever backwards to up-shift or pushes it forward to downshift. According to Louis Zember, head of MasterShift, “This concept, which uses the clutch pedal to activate the shift, appeals to those who enjoy reaching forward and grabbing a lever.” In contrast, the higher-tech paddle shifter replaces the gear lever, which is removed entirely, and the gear changes are performed on the steering wheel. The chief advantage is obvious: it allows drivers to maintain both hands on the wheel at all times. It also performs gear shifts on manual and automatic transmissions faster. The average shift time is 250 milliseconds (one quarter second) to 350 milliseconds, and because it is electronically controlled it always shifts to the correct gear. Like the bump shifter, the paddle mechanism relies on clutch operation with each shift. The installation usually involves placing the electronic controller like Microplex in the trunk away from any heat source and running the cables from it to the shift lever on the transmission. The controller contains the electronics and the gear-driven motor. Automatic transmissions use a smaller controller with one motor. Manual transmissions use two motors to power the gear selection longitudinally (through the fore and aft gates)...
by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | Press Releases |
Written by Moore Good Ink Jackson, WY: Experience tells us that to acquire commercial success nothing trumps a good idea. This was never more conclusively demonstrated than when Winslow S. Bent hit a home run with startling sales of his Dodge Power Wagon. In 2009 Winslow Bent formed Legacy Classic Trucks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a vintage truck restoration business specializing in the development and refurbishment of the Power Wagon. Three years later he has engaged 14 employees, he has sold 25 machines and he has orders pending on a further twelve. Depending upon their specification these remarkable and immaculate trucks cost anywhere from $110,000 to $185,000. In addition to domestic sales the Power Wagon can be found in foreign lands as close as Canada and as distant as New Zealand. Originally made legendary by the US military, particularly by the enthusiasm exuded by US troops returning from overseas following the end of World War II, the Dodge Power Wagon was the first of its kind. It was a four-wheel-drive machine with two power-take-off points: one at the rear and another at the front which invariably powered a winch. It was used in forestry and to till fields and plant telephone poles, to lay railroad tracks and pull stumps from the ground. When surveyors needed a 4-wheel-drive vehicle to move equipment across the desert during early oil exploration in the Middle East, it was the Dodge Power Wagon that flourished. It handled its duties startlingly well even in the most hostile environments. Ranchers used them in the American West to transport feed to their cattle and horses. With plow...
by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | Press Releases |
Written by Moore Good Ink This year every car in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series has been running the billet version of Holley’s new EFI Terminator throttle body. Though the Cup cars run multi-port injection while Holley’s new Terminator runs an innovative annular-discharge injection, both systems share the same patent-pending air entry contours, a creation from the fertile brain of the Bowling Green engineers in Kentucky. The Terminator’s new patent-pending device operates through 32 discharge holes in a 950cfm throttle body—each of the four barrels ejecting from 8 tiny ports in a 360-degree discharge ring. Controlled by a self-tuning ECU and equipped with serviceable sensors and 80lb/hr injectors, the Terminator installs on any standard 4150-style intake manifold. The ECU is fully potted and protected from vibration, dust and moisture. The sensors are integrated into the throttle body and pre-wired for convenient connections while the injectors support engine power from 250-600hp. Easy to install with no computer experience necessary and consisting of a throttle body, ECU, and hand-held tuner, this new Holley system boasts an impressive array of unique features. In addition to its advanced self-learning attributes, the ECU also accepts communications from laptops. The Terminator, which was first revealed at the 2012 SEMA exhibition, will again be on show at PRI (booth 3769, Nov 29-Dec1) and IMIS (booth 343, Dec6-8). Production of Holley’s Terminator is expected around April 2013. For further information contact: Holley Performance Products (270) 781-9741...
by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | Press Releases |
Written by Moore Good Ink ATI Performance Products won this year’s SEMA award for Best New Performance Racing Product. Company spokesman, Randy Bruette, said “Under the stresses of drag racing the stock Turbo 400 transmission case has a tendency to break, usually in the bell housing area or intermediate lug area.” When ATI identified the weak areas they designed their new aftermarket unit as a two-piece replacement: a transmission casing with separate bell housing. As the company already has separate bell housings for their competition Powerglide transmissions they simply modeled the front end of their new Turbo 400 SuperCase to accept their existing interchangeable bell housings. Cast in 356-T6 aluminum and constructed to meet SFI 4.1 standards, this new award-winning transmission fits Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar, or Toyota-powered vehicles. In addition it accepts most of the popular valve bodies on the market today and uses 99 percent of Turbo 400 replacement parts. Though the case was instigated by drag racers, who were asking for a strong 3-speed transmission to replace the 2-speed, it was off-road racers and desert racers who further changed the course of its development. When they noticed the prototype they asked if the rear end could be beefed-up to solve their problems. “Off Road racers, especially four-wheel-drive racers who propel the trucks over the jumps tend to break the tail end of the transmission case,” said Bruette. “So we strengthened it while maintaining the original bolt pattern, permitting all of the four-wheel-drive cases available to attach to it.” This year ATI scored the ultimate triumph with the SEMA judges. Their new designs are deemed to be strong...
by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | News, Press Releases |
Written by Moore Good Ink Dart Machinery sprung a last-minute surprise at this year’s SEMA show when they revealed their LS Next block. To the racer, the transition from GM’s much-loved light, compact, street-performance block to the stronger Dart replacement promises much. Their list of upgrades is long: • Reduction in crank bay windage reveals significant horse power gains • OEM holes in main webs and main caps banished as block acquires unmatched stiffness with sturdy main webs and splayed-bolt main caps • Lengthened cylinder barrels achieved by sensible crankcase revisions. Fuller piston-to-cylinder engagement, invaluable for 4in stroke arrangements • Priority-mains oiling introduced with provisions for wet- or dry-sump lubrication • Deck material increased to 5/8in prevents head gaskets leaking under high boost • Siamese cylinders add to block rigidity • Six 7/16in head bolts per cylinder ensure adequate clamping power • Large cam journals accommodate 60mm babbitt or 55mm roller bearings • Constructed from cast iron or aluminum the LS Next block will become available late spring 2013 “The stock LS engine is a modern-day good engine,” commented acclaimed builder Ken Duttweiler, “but for guys wanting to make between 1,500 and 2,500hp having access to a block with a conventional bottom end will be a great improvement.”Introduced in 1996, the LS engine with its symmetrical-port heads and shallow valve angles performed well in the street-performance markets, whose enthusiasts had become attracted to it around 2005. But as engine speeds increased windage troubles in the crankcase contributed to significant power losses. According to Dart the engine lost 35hp at 6,000rpm and 70hp at 8,500rpm. In their new design, which...
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