Mention the word ‘filter’ and I guarantee that most people will think immediately of either the oil or air filter – very few, I am sure, will mention the fuel filter. Nevertheless, as important as both air and oil filters would seem to be, I might argue that for motorsport applications the fuel filter is perhaps the most important of all. Let me explain. If an engine is designed and carefully assembled according to well-defined procedures and then generously run-in to...
In the inexorable search for increased power with efficiency, engine manufacturers are looking more and more towards the turbocharger in its various forms. Twin-turbo engines, sequential turbos and even engines using dual boost systems – two compressors and one turbine on the same shaft – are becoming more common, and because of this the engine tuning industry is having to understand the limits to these units much more precisely. The accepted limits on the operation of a...
It is easy to forget that not all modern race engines are double overhead camshaft, lightweight alloy wonders. There are still many series, notably in the US, that rely on the use of pushrod-actuated valvetrains and solid mechanical valve lifters, the most high profile of these being the NASCAR Cup championship. This presents some unique challenges from a lubrication perspective, not least in the area of oil selection. Modern emissions legislation has seen the make-up of engine oils change...
For those who don’t follow motorcycle racing or development, there may be interesting things – quite aside from the racing – which you are missing out on. However, even engineers who have a veritable aversion to motorcycles must have tried hard, if they were working in the 1980s or early 1990s, not to notice the development of the Honda oval-piston motorcycles. The top class of motorcycle racing had for some time been dominated by two-stroke motorcycles. The capacity limit...
The benefits of the nitriding surface treatment process have been discussed in previous surface treatment articles in RET-Monitor. While the process gives a significant increase in hardness, it is also used to provide a useful degree of residual compressive stress. Carburising can provide the same benefits, but the temperatures involved mean significant distortion is more likely to occur through the carburising process than in nitriding. Such advantages make nitriding a popular choice for...