The curse of the round wire lock
By Bertie Scott Brown, January 28, 2015 When a round wire lock, the spring-loaded device that retains the piston pin within the pin towers, comes out while the engine is racing, it releases a frenzy, a chain of events that most engine builders describe as...
Nitrous: the race tuner’s biggest challenge
By Fergus Ogilvy, February 4, 2015 Starting a competition piston company in the second decade of this century could be a bleak proposition. Finding new customers isn't easy. Engine builders have a stubborn tendency to remain faithful to their existing suppliers,...
Hydraulic release bearings: operating with the correct gap.
By Alfie Bilk, December 5, 2014 Unlike OEM clutch release bearing mechanisms that operate in constant contact with the clutch diaphragm fingers, high-performance aftermarket release bearings function only when the clutch pedal is depressed. Typically, these release...
Key changes in high-performance diesel pistons
Written by Alfie Bilk September 8, 2014 Mentor, Ohio: Wiseco, the eminent high-performance piston maker established in 1941, is launching a new range of diesel pistons for Dodge Cummins, GM Duramax and Ford Power Stroke engines. Using technology that should make a...
How a clever pump design saves 4 to 6hp
Tumultuous change? Maybe not but KRC has uncovered significant power losses with unique new test equipment By Freddie Heaney, August 1, 2014, Photography Moore Good Ink Kennesaw, GA: Recently, Chant, the engineering authority in electronic-hydraulic control systems,...
Combine an electrified turbocharger with a battery pack, you’ll scarcely believe the effect!
By Freddie Heaney: If you reduce engine displacement by 50 percent, add an electrified turbocharger and connect it to an on-board battery pack what do you get? Amazingly…the same fast lap times while using 35 percent less fuel—and the elimination of turbo lag! We live...
First off-the-shelf asymmetrical pistons for LS high-performance engines:
By: Sam Logan Particularly effective on forced induction and longer stroke models JE, our largest indigenous racing piston maker, brought a fresh new presence to asymmetrical forged pistons when they began investigating their potential in race engines, particularly...
Six helpful tips on four-barrel carburetor tuning
1.) How do I select the right size of carburetor? Carburetor performance is largely based on the air-speed traveling though its venturis. If they are too big the air speed will be reduced, too small and vice-versa. Probably the best instruction on carburetor choice...
Competition Connecting Rods – Only the Strong Survive.
By Sam Logan: Nothing undermines the legitimacy of a connecting rod maker more than a deficient batch of rods. He agonizes constantly about heat treatments, high revs, heavy pistons, heavy pins, the number of race laps between rebuilds, but probably most of all...