In the pushrod section of RET-Monitor the reader has been given an insight into the different aspects of pushrod design. Much information has been shared on the specifics of the pushrod concerning its shape, material and contact area of cup and/or bowl. The specifics of the connection between the either hollow or solid centre part of the pushrod has been briefly touched on. In this article the different concepts of connecting the pushrod ends to the centre part are explored further. In...
Esslinger Engineering of South El Monte, California, is primarily in the business of building midget engines based on Ford internals. The company has been in this line of work since 1990. Because its engines are not based on pushrod designs, Dan Esslinger, president, says there are not very many valve-spring issues. "It's just the design of the engine and the design of the camshaft," he says. "Even though we turn a lot of rpms (in the neighborhood of 10,000), we are not...
So far in Race Engine Technology's coverage on valves, there have been a number of articles on valve materials for the more extreme applications, specifically pieces on Inconel valves and Nimonic materials used for turbocharged endurance applications. There have also been articles on the lightweight valves, made from low-density materials such as titanium and titanium aluminide.Valves made from these materials are expensive for various reasons, some to do with the price of the raw...
In our May issue, we spoke about the challenges of pushrod fitment issues and how to find the proper avenues for combating strength and lightness problems. Beyond fitment though, there are the closely linked issues of pushrod adjustment and the inevitable challenge of cost. Fine adjustment will always be needed in the valvetrain to allow for manufacturing and assembly tolerances of such a long chain of interacting components. Typically for pushrods, much more adjustment than that is...
For Morgan Lucas Racing's John Stewart, tuner for second-year NHRA Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon, the change from titanium valve springs to steel units was due to the cost. "A set of titanium springs is about $1500, and we can get a set of steel springs for about $500. They seem to last just as long," Stewart says. "With the economy and money as tight as it is, we're trying to save as much as we can. The cost difference of $1000 is a big deal. You can buy a lot of sets...