Simply mention the words 'engine knock' to any aftermarket EMS supplier and I almost guarantee that the conversation will cease albeit perhaps only briefly. But safe to reiterate that 'knock' or more precisely detonation, should be avoided at all costs and that the engine should be mapped sufficiently away from these borderline conditions, the conversation will no doubt continue along the original lines. And in truth for the vast majority of race units, particularly naturally...
Ever since the dawn of mass manufacturing, engineers have been preoccupied with shape and position but it is only in comparatively recent times that this has been formalised into a geometrical standard. The language of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, GD&T to you and me, consisting of rules, symbols and conventions, was designed to ensure parts could be made anywhere in the world and put together with the highest confidence to produce a fully functional product or assembly....
With a greater emphasis on waste and recycling in our private lives, is it no wonder that the ethos is now beginning to spill over into the world of competition. While once engine component parts might have been discarded in favour of new replacements, today, where possible, they may be reclaimed to race another day. No better example of this is the re-plating of aluminium motorcycle engine barrels; particularly those that tend to suffer most distress - those of two-stroke engines. The...
What better way to introduce the subject of fire rings than to refer to the song by the late Johnny Cash? But apart from the imagery it produces, sadly it would seem to give little further insight into the subject of sealing technology. However, the joint between the combustion chamber and the cylinder cannot be disregarded in the same off-hand manner. Differing materials and new methods of construction have all enabled the traditional cylinder head gasket to progress over the years, but...
In previous articles, Wayne Ward looked at processes by which we might produce bends with different geometry than we can form using simple tube bending techniques, and here we briefly covered hydroforming and the manufacture of pressed bends. If we really need to cram an exhaust into a very tight space, these might offer us some advantage by allowing a very tight bend. However, we should question whether gaining this advantage comes at a cost. In some circumstances the answer to this...