Archive > camshafts

In the OE roadcar business, where noise and cost of ownership are major barriers to many prospective buyers, the hydraulic tappet has much to recommend it. But in the world of motorsports, where lightweight and efficient valvetrains are most desirable, their use is generally viewed with disdain - or so I thought until recently when, via the industry bush telegraph, I heard of a particular race team owner actually specifying hydraulic tappets in his latest engine. To recap, a hydraulic...

The surface of a camshaft or its associated follower can fail in a number of ways. Adhesive wear leading to abrasive wear, and corrosive wear, are perhaps the most common but another type of wear - surface fatigue - is sometimes perhaps harder to understand. Adhesive/abrasive wear tend to be lubricant-based issues. Poor lubrication or an incorrectly specified lubricant - it amounts to the same thing - will cause the oil film to break down under extreme loads, producing metal-to-metal...