Innovation is the lifeblood of motorsport – or used to be. These days though, with the introduction of all manner of spec formulae with single supplier engines, the emphasis would seem to be more on the sport element than that of the motor, and anything even slightly outside the ‘spirit’ of the regulations (whatever that is) is deemed unacceptable. But it wasn’t always that way. Even as recently as 10 years ago, major factory teams would take a somewhat liberal...
In a previous RET-Monitor we looked at the basics that go into producing modern racing oils, particularly the base oil stocks from which they are formulated. Although the base oils, particularly the highly refined PAO and ester-based oils, used in most motorsport applications have excellent inherent lubrication characteristics, oil manufacturers will invariably add other chemicals to tailor the oil for specific purposes and improve lubrication performance. These additives allow the...
Diamond-like carbon, the initials of which are used to describe the ubiquitous DLC coating, has found very wide acceptance in motorsport, especially in engines. Initially, it was suitable only for steels with relatively high tempering temperatures – high process temperatures would have led to many steels being ‘over-tempered’, losing strength and durability. However, in recent years much work has been done to reduce process temperatures, and this has meant that DLC coatings...
Where aluminium components might be subjected to wear in a race engine or transmission, hard anodising is often specified as a surface treatment. This process converts the existing surface to a thick oxide structure; the main difference between decorative anodising treatments and hard anodising is the thickness of this oxide layer. The anodised layer thickness may be specified and there is a ‘half and half’ rule that can be used to predict component growth. Half of the oxide...
Traditional flow benches for measuring cylinder head port flow rates are a useful tool for determining how efficient a particular port design is in terms of basic airflow characteristics. However, they are limited in that they do not show how a particular geometry affects other factors such as mixture suspension or distribution within the port. Aspects such as these can be investigated using modern CFD techniques, although this is still a very specialised field and an avenue not available...