Valve springs are often the most highly stressed parts in any race engine. While some types of race engine don’t have valve springs – two-stroke, Wankel, four-stroke desmodromic or four-stroke with pneumatic valve return – most of the race engines we encounter will be equipped with some form of wire spring. For modern engines valve springs will generally be the familiar helical spring. In their unending quest to make the engine perform better through improved breathing,...
In the previous article on the advances in rapid prototyping materials and methods, some possible applications were mentioned, especially for exhausts. Laser-sintered exhaust components have been displayed at trade shows for several years now and there are exhaust companies who have used the method to produce real parts for a few years in both high-temperature materials such as Inconel but also titanium. There are of course other applications for this technology and the increasing range of...
It seems that there is no middle ground as far as hybrid systems are concerned. They are applied to some of the world’s most mundane passenger cars, where the drivers are so careful in their driving habits that they are unlikely to reap maximum benefit, and they are a must-have in some of the more exotic race cars. Formula One, Le Mans, ALMS, LMES, WEC and JGTC have all taken advantage of the benefits of hybrid technology. In terms of the exact technologies applied to racing hybrid...
As a general rule the most critical part of the lubrication system in any race engine is perhaps the big-end bearing. To ensure that this big-end bearing remains fully lubricated, the oil pump delivery pressure has to be such as to have overcome all the (pressure) losses down the line, as well as that necessary to overcome any centrifugal effects of the crankshaft. For this pressure to be maintained, the flow from the oil pump needs to make up for the losses through bearing leakage around...
In a recent poll of Britain’s sexiest fictional characters, despite it being dominated almost exclusively by men, the top slot was, unsurprisingly, James Bond. The creation of author Ian Fleming, Bond could handle multiple, often complex situations and therefore, it is thought, being in control of the situation, endeared himself to the opposite sex. Described as a ‘smooth operator’ this is indeed the description any designer would wish also to be applied to the profile of...