When we look at a bespoke fastener for a race engine, it is often clear that a great deal of thought has gone into its design, and considerable effort into its manufacture. Fasteners for use in race engines typically see much higher stresses than a typical production engine fastener, and they also tend to accumulate stress cycles at a much faster rate than in most other applications. We should not therefore be surprised that a lot of attention is paid to fastener design, especially with...
We live in interesting and uncertain times - that much at least is certain. The world may be hovering on the point of economic disaster but in 2011, despite the proliferation of other types of fuel (such as ethanol, methanol, CNG or diesel) the performance fuel of choice is still gasoline. A mixture of up to several hundred types of hydrocarbon chains of varying length and shape, gasoline can be tailored more specifically to the precise characteristics of an internal combustion engine than...
In the rarefied atmosphere of Formula One, engineers are often given the resources to investigate engineering issues that would be beyond the scope of other racing organisations. With the regulations limiting engineering freedom to an extensive degree, teams will go to great lengths to gain any advantage. One example of this is the development work undertaken by the now defunct Minardi team in the production of a new gearbox for the 2005 Formula One season. The team had been working on its...
Tony Gentilozzi is the sole engine builder for RSR Jaguar, running the combined GT class in American Le Mans Series (ALMS) competition. He's racing against other factory teams that have far more resources than he does and, in many instances, far more cars from which to learn. The Jaguar XKR engine is a 5 litre of about 500 hp, using a pair of air restrictors (29.92 mm) that keep his useable revs to 7000 rpm. Gentilozzi uses two different manufacturers' pistons as he zeroes in on the...
The technology of the piston ring is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Required to seal the gap between the piston and the cylinder wall, yet at the same time minimise the overall friction throughout the engine cycle at high temperatures and speeds of up to 4000 ft per second for long durations, if it works then don't fix it. Eventually, however, as engineers we will demand just that little bit extra - greater combustion pressures, smaller piston top lands, higher heat transfer...