There are a plethora of different kinds of nuts on the market, and many are aimed at the racing market. Most of these will have been designed originally for the aerospace sector, and here we benefit from the exceptional quality control that the aerospace industry demands. Despite this range of good quality proprietary parts being available to us, there are also a considerable number of racing engine manufacturers who have bespoke nuts manufactured to their own designs. These might be to...
Mention the word bioethanol to most people, even the ones who have little interest in our industry, and the chances are they will at least know that you are talking about alternative fuels. Added to gasoline fuel in amounts up to 98% of the total, the process of adding ethanol derived from bio sources to spark ignition fuels can reduce the so-called 'carbon footprint' making our sport, or so we try to convince others, more politically acceptable to all. The real benefit to us...
Rather like the blood circulating around our bodies, the lubricating oil in an engine is fairly critical to its well being. For most of the time we don't give it a second thought but it is only when things go wrong that people start paying attention. And for most of these the first thing they will notice is a reduction in oil pressure. Low or no oil pressure at all is a common enough problem and while the obvious (to some) culprit might be the oil pump, in 999 cases out of 1000 this...
One benefit to building a maximum 510-cubic inch big block Chevrolet engine for American Power Boat Association (APBA) offshore racing, is the cooling. Because cold water constantly throbs through the block and cylinder head, there is very little fall-off in performance and very little micro welding in the ring lands to deal with. According to Stewart Van Dyne II and Stewart Van Dyne III (Tres) of Van Dyne Engineering in Huntington Beach, California, "We tend to like pistons with...
The UN summit meeting in Copenhagen, COP 15, has come and gone. A meeting whereby 192 or so countries met together to fudge some kind of global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions yet again attracted that section of the environmental lobbyists who seem to be determined to press their cause via mayhem and violence. It is little wonder therefore that the authorities seeking to maintain law and order, and according to journalist types, threw a 'ring of steel' around the venue...