When it comes to carburettors there are essentially two types each working on differing principles – the constant depression device or that of the fixed venturi, sometimes referred to as fixed jet. Because of their simplicity and ease of setting up, many vehicles in the past have been fitted with constant depression-type units, but where ultimate performance is required and although difficult to ‘tune’ – or as we now say, calibrate precisely – the choice is...
At a time when many if not most high-performance road vehicles have some kind of variable geometry intake manifold, it seems absurd to ban such systems for the latest breed of Formula One machines. Originally outlawed in the mid-2000s on the grounds of spiralling development costs, but rumoured to be reinstated again in 2015, this will add yet another layer of complexity to the modern Formula One powertrain. Although rare back in 2005, variable geometry intake manifold systems for Formula...
In last month’s article we looked at the work by the Honda Formula One team in developing the pressure feed pump for its V8 engine. However, this was only half the challenge when it came to developing a reliable oil supply system for its car, so it is worth examining the development of the scavenge side of the system as well. As its name suggests, the primary role of the scavenge system is to scavenge oil from the engine and pump it to the oil tank, ready to be pumped back into the...
In most cases, piston pins are retained with some form of clip. There are occasions when people have preferred to use plastic buttons that can contact the cylinder bore, but these are really a niche product. Buttons were covered in a previous article. From motorcycles to freight trucks, for road transport and racing, circlips of one form or another reign supreme, at least in terms of numbers used. In many instances, piston pins are kept in their intended position with round-wire clips of...
The use of strong acids is commonplace in industry in the manufacture of many components, and they have a number of purposes that might be useful in the context of race engines and transmissions. Although not widely used for this purpose, there are applications where precision pickling produces tight-tolerance final dimensions on components, owing partly to the simultaneous effects of improvement of surface finish (roughness reduction) and removal of burrs from production that would...