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...
In previous articles, Wayne Ward looked at processes by which we might produce bends with different geometry than we can form using simple tube bending techniques, and here we briefly covered hydroforming and the manufacture of pressed bends. If we really need to cram an exhaust into a very tight space, these might offer us some advantage by allowing a very tight bend. However, we should question whether gaining this advantage comes at a cost. In some circumstances the answer to this...
In the previous article on thread inserts, Wayne Ward briefly discussed some of the reasons why people might choose to specify a thread insert and looked in a little detail on one of the types of insert which find common use in current racing engines. There is one further reason why a wire insert may be an advantage and that is in improving the fatigue life of the bolt installed therein, or of the female threaded component. Previous articles that I have written on the subject of fasteners...
Maybe I'm getting old but when I see racers the world over spending thousands of pounds (or dollars) on their winter engine rebuilds and then running them on ordinary pump fuels, I simply begin to wonder. By the time they have prepared the car, transported it to the circuit, paid the entry fee and fed and watered their little army of helpers, with any of the budget still remaining, you would have thought that they would have planned to fuel the engine on something just a little bit...
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...