High-performance racing engines create a hostile environment with the presence of extreme temperatures and aggressive fluids. The polymers used for rubber seals and mouldings are often extremely costly, where even a simple O-ring can cost upwards of £35. However, recent advances in rubber compounding offer some lower cost alternatives. For many years, automotive seals were manufactured from nitrile rubber because of its excellent resistance to mineral oils and petroleum solvents and...
The modern racing engine, benefiting from many hours of dyno development time and a great deal of simulation, should at least have a well-optimised exhaust system in terms of length. When compared to a Formula One car, sports cars have a lot of room in which to lay the exhaust system out without requiring extremely tight bends. In Formula One however, there are much tighter constraints on the exhaust, particularly in view of the dominant position of aero in the overall design of the car....
I have little doubt that, for many of you reading it, much of this short article and those that follow will be a case of ‘teaching Granny to suck eggs’. However, for those who are involved in engine design, possibly as beginners, an understanding of how a fastener develops load via the application of torque is a useful lesson. These articles don’t pretend to be a full guide to fastener and joint design (there are some very authoritative books on the subject), but will help...
It has been almost twenty years since the European Union introduced the world to E numbers. Initially seen as a somewhat crude attempt to control the use of artificial additives in food, the automatic reaction from the public was to label anything with an E number as being bad. This despite the fact that many well-known and healthy foodstuffs (for example Vitamin C – E300), are essential requirements in a well-balanced diet. Today in the motoring and motor sports world we have our own...
The oil pump in any engine has been likened to the human heart. At the core of operations it provides the essential life-giving fluid to all the other components and surfaces in the system. And while there are many other similarities, unlike the human heart, the oil pump seems to be accepted as some form of necessity but given very little attention thereafter. In part I guess this attitude stems from our road-going transport habits. Buried away deep inside the power unit and out of sight,...