engine builder, october 2012

2012OCTOBER

EngineBuilderMag.com

SERVING ENGINE BUILDERS & REBUILDERS SINCE 1964

>Engine Bearings >Oil and Lubricants >Performance Rings

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2 October 2012 | EngineBuilder

ENGINE BUILDERfounded Oct. 1964Copyright 2012 Babcox Media Inc.

ENGINE BUILDER (ISSN 1535-041X)(October 2012, Volume 48, Number 10): Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Peri-odical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ENGINE BUILDER, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333.A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to individuals who meet the qualification requirements. Call (330) 670-1234, Ext. 275, to speak to a subscription servicesrepresentative or FAX us at (330) 670-5335. Paid Subscriptions are available for non-qualified subscribers at the following rates: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada: $89 for one year.Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via air mail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to ENGINEBUILDER, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. VISA, MasterCard or American Express accepted. Publisher reserves the right to reject any subscription that does not conform tohis standards or buying power coverage. Advertising which is below standard is refused. Opinions in signed articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of this magazine or itspublisher. Diligent effort is made to ensure the integrity of every statement. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by return postage.

COVER DESIGN BY NICHOLE ANDERSON

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Features ON THE COVER

Takin’ It To The StreetWhether you build hopped-up Hondas or muscle-powered Mopars, the street performance market hassomething for everyone’s taste. And with the SEMAShow just around the corner, Senior Executive EditorBrendan Baker gives us a SEMA Product Preview ....30

30

Getting Your BearingsSenior Executive Editor Brendan Baker speaks to engine bearing manufacturers to find out what direction technology isheading regarding bearing materials and design, as well ashow engine builders can better understand which bearings touse in specific applications ..................................................22

Crack Detection and CorrectionIf you understand how to find and fix them, cracks don’t necessarily have to spell the end of an engine component’slife. Editor Doug Kaufman examines detection and repairmethods available for today's engine builder ....................46

Performance Piston RingsRings run the gamut from cast iron to ductile iron to steel, withvarious dimensions, edge profiles and wear coatings. Thereare a lot of choices available and a lot of questions to answer.Some piston sets come with rings while others do not, leavingthe choice up to you. Tech Editor Larry Carley looks at whatkind of piston rings you should use when you’re building aperformance engine..............................................................52

Columns

Diesel Dialogue ............................16By Contributor Bob McDonaldUnderstanding the Importance of Today’s Common Rail Injection Systems

Profitable Performance ................19By Contributor Bill HolderDeveloping Engine Building Experiences in School Starts With Instructors

DEPARTMENTSEvents ..................................................................4

Industry News......................................................6

Shop Solutions ....................................................12

2012 Supplier Spotlight ........................................61

Classifieds/Cores/Ad Index ..................................66

Final Wrap............................................................68

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Events

Industry EventsNovember 26-2823rd AETC ConferenceOrlando, FLaetconline.com or 866-893-2382

November 29- December 1Performance Racing Industry ShowOrlando, FLperformanceracing.com/tradeshow or 949-499-5413

December 6-8International Motorsports Industry ShowIndianapolis, INimis-indy.com or 317-429-1004

January 21-23 2013Heavy Duty Aftermarket WeekLas Vegas, NVhdaw.org or 708-226-1300

February 2-3V-Twin ExpoCincinnati, OHvtwin-expo.com or 877-889-4697

February 22-24Race and Performance ExpoSt. Charles, ILraceperformanceexpo.com or 630-584-6300

March 14-16Hot Rod and Restoration ShowIndianapolis, INhotrodshow.com or 800-576-8788

March 21-23Mid-American Trucking ShowLouisville, KYtruckingshow.com

May 1-3AAIA Spring Leadership DaysBonita Springs, FLaftermarket.org or 301-654-6664

Circle 12 for more information


For more industry events, visit our website at

enginebuildermag.com or subscribe to

aftermarketnews.com

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VISIT US AT PRI IN BOOTH 3785 OR AT IMIS IN BOOTH 2231


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NPW Acquires Sacramento-Based Motor WarehouseNational Performance Warehouse(NPW) Companies has announcedthe addition of its ninth location as aresult of its acquisition of MotorWarehouse in Sacramento, CA. Thisis NPW’s second acquisition in 30days. In September, the company an-

nounced that it had purchased Kar-belt Warehouse in Ajax, Ontario.

Larry Pacey, company presidentand CEO, had these remarks: “Wesaid we would grow by acquisition.We stated we have a lot of irons inthe fire, and this is one of those ex-amples of the timing being right andwe used one of the irons. MotorWarehouse specializes in engine

parts so whether your LS-6, Hemi,Coyote, Cummins or ’29 Caddyneeds an overhaul, we can providethe parts and the expertise. Whereelse can you buy an engine kit for aModel T? We are excited about thescope of the engine parts businessthis lets us specialize in.”

Motor Warehouse will maintainits current staff and management

team. The company has been inthe engine parts business since1933.

David “DK” Kenmonth, MotorWarehouse’s previous owner andpresident, has been named thenew vice president of engine com-ponents of NPW’s Motor Ware-house. “The Motor Warehouseteam is proud of what this familyowned and operated business hasdone since our founding in the’30s,” said Kenmonth. “I am ex-cited about having the resources ofNPW to grow and expand beyondour historic footprint. With ourproud heritage, we are very ex-cited about being the engine partprofessionals of the National Per-formance Warehouse Companiesfamily.”

Crane Cams Named As2012 ‘Florida Companyto Watch’ Award Winner

Crane Cams has been recognizedas a recipient of the 2012 FloridaCompanies to Watch award, anhonor presented by the FloridaEconomic Gardening Institute(GrowFL) at the University of Cen-tral Florida.

Florida Companies to Watch isan awards program that celebratesprivately held second-stage com-panies headquartered in the state.Award winners are selected fordemonstrating the intent and ca-pacity to grow based on employeeor sales growth, exceptional entre-preneurial leadership, sustainablecompetitive advantage, outstand-ing corporate culture, inspiredcommunity giving and other no-table strengths.

“We’re extremely honored to berecognized by the GrowFL organi-zation as a Florida Company toWatch,” said Sean Holly, president

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of Crane Cams. “We’re solidly committed to American man-ufacturing and to be recognized for that, and our efforts togrow manufacturing jobs here in Florida, is extremely re-warding.”

Crane Cams was founded in 1953 and has grown to be aninternationally respected leader in the manufacturing ofhigh performance camshafts, valve train and ignition com-ponents. Today, Crane Cams is owned by George and KenSmith, who have achieved global recognition for their lead-ership of S&S Cycle, as well as their passion for racing andhotrods.

Crane Camshas significantmanufacturing re-sources to rely on,including state-of-the-art CNC ma-chining centersand Spintrons.The company hasthe ability to pro-duce fully digi-

tized camshafts using Landis CNCequipment, as well as grinding cams viatraditional methods using productionmasters. The company also says it hasthe industry’s largest camshaft database,which exceeds 80,000 grinds.

Rick Morley of Michigan Wins$20,000 Race Engine fromEngine Pro

It takes a lot of skill and the right equip-ment to win big at the drag strip. But alittle luck doesn't hurt either. This year’sEngine Pro race engine giveaway washeld during the Funny Car Nationalsevent at US 131 Motorsports Park inMartin, MI.

Rick Morley of Allendale, MI hadplenty of luck on his side when he wonthe $20,000 race engine at the Fifth An-nual Engine Pro/Dart/Performance En-gineering Engine Giveaway.

Jim Sebright of Holland, MI was therunner-up. Sebright won an intake man-ifold courtesy of Profiler Performance.Kalamazoo driver Christine Vander-Sloot walked away with a six-switchpanel with pig tails courtesy of R&RWireloom. Mark Boardman won valvecovers powder coated from Pro FinishPowder Coating.

Participating sponsors of the enginegiveaway include Engine Pro, Perform-ance Engineering, Melling Engine Parts,Hastings Manufacturing, Pro-Finish andAERA. In addition, many manufactur-ers contributed parts for the engine in-cluding Icon Forged Pistons, CompCams, Ferrea Racing Components,Oliver Connecting Rods, PRW Perform-ance Products and Victor Reinz Gaskets.

Last year’s engine winner, Rick Baadof Mattawan, MI is the newly crowned2012 Top ET Track Champion.


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Rick Morley of Allendale, MI was the winner of the race engine from Engine Pro




MAHLE Clevite ChampionTech Contest to Reward Talented Engine Specialist

MAHLE Clevite Inc. recently an-nounced the second annual MAHLEClevite Champion Technician Contest,a contest designed to honor the skillsand experience of engine techniciansand specialists nationwide. Through ashort essay submission, a winner willbe determined and receive a VIP trip tothe 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesChampion’s Week in Las Vegas, NV.

“Coming off the success of lastyear’s contest, MAHLE Clevite wantedto celebrate the passion, hard work anddedication of today’s engine techni-cians throughout the country for thesecond consecutive year,” said TedHughes, manager – marketing forMAHLE Clevite. “The ChampionTechnician contest is just one of themany ways we observe and salutethose who support us day in and dayout.”

In order to enter, participants mustsubmit a maximum 250-word essaythat describes how the engine techni-cian or specialist demonstrates success,creativity and furthers the field of en-gine development, showcases theirpassion for engines and engine build-ing, and describes the skills and talentsthe individual exemplifies to categorizethem as a “champion” in every aspect.Participants can either submit an entryabout themselves, or on behalf of thenominee. Applications can be down-loaded at championtechnican.mahlecle-vite.com and submitted via [email protected] until 11:59p.m. ET on Nov. 2, 2012.

The grand prize winner will re-ceive a trip to Las Vegas Nov. 28 toDec. 1, 2012, including coach airfarefor two, a three-night hotel stay, aspecial meet-and-greet with aNASCAR personality, MAHLE Cle-vite VIP dinner for two at a five-starLas Vegas restaurant, two tickets toNASCAR Victory Lap and NASCARAfter The Lap, as well as tickets to

the NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesAwards and the NMPA Myers Broth-ers Awards Luncheon, a feature onMAHLE’s website and social net-working sites, and a commemorativeplaque.

For more information on the con-test and the rules, visit Championtech-nican.mahleclevite.com.

Variety of Key PerformanceSpeakers Slated for 2012AETC in Orlando, FLHundreds of race engine builderswill arrive early in Orlando the weekof the Performance Racing IndustryTrade Show to attend the three-dayAdvanced Engineering TechnologyConference (AETC) that begins onMonday, Nov. 26, and runs throughWednesday, Nov. 28.

It is the oldest and most respectedrace engine conference in the world,and will feature a broad spectrum ofspeakers this year.

With more speakers yet to be an-

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Industry NewsTHIS ISSUE: PG 22 >> Engine Bearings PG 30 >> Street Performance PG 64 >> Product Spotlights



nounced, the current list of AETC speakers includes BradGreen, Mahle; Chris Brown, ARP Fasteners; Tim Ander-

son, Racepak; Billy Godbold, Comp Cams; Mark Cron-quist and Scott Diehl, Driven Racing Oil; Mike Oster-haus, Melling; Bob Sturk, Federal-Mogul; and Dr. RobertPrucka and Justin Callies from Clemson University Inter-national Center for Automotive Research.

“It’s one of the most important weeks of the year foranyone in the business of building race engines,” saidJohn Kilroy, producer of the PRI Trade Show. “The AETCprovides plenty of insight into the cutting-edge of raceengine technology today.”

For more information, and to register for the AETC(there is a fee to attend), visit aetconline.com.

Calico Coatings Moving to New, Larger Consolidated Facility in North Carolina

Calico Coatings has moved its operations from twobuildings (9,000 sq. ft. total) in Denver Industrial Park toits newly constructed 20,000 sq. ft. location on BalsomRidge Road in Denver, NC, effective Oct. 1.

“We have been planning this move for more than ayear now,” said Calico Coatings president, Tracy Trotter.“We’re having our best year since we’ve been in businessand it was crucial that we completed this expansion inorder to keep up with current demand and accommodatefuture growth opportunities.”

Headquartered in the Denver area, Calico Coatingswas recently honored by the Lincoln Economic Develop-ment Association (LEDA) for 15 successful years in busi-ness in Lincoln County. A staple business in the Denvercommunity, Calico currently has 24 employees and esti-mates adding nine more over the next three years. Thecompany says it will also be purchasing new equipmentand adding a third shift in the fourth quarter of this yearto meet the growing demands of its customers.

Calico Coatings is a performance coatings applicatorthat works with race teams, enginebuilders, the military, firearm and nu-merous other industries that have is-sues with friction, wear, heat,corrosion and fuel consumption. Cal-ico Coatings specializes in ceramicthermal barrier, Teflon, DLC, dry filmlubricants, phosphate, powder andPVD/PECVD coatings that increaseperformance by reducing friction,heat, drag, wear and corrosion.

For more information, visit Calico-coatings.com.

Engine Rebuilders Councilto Co-host Reman Section at AAPEX in Las Vegas

The Engine Rebuilders Council (ERC),along with the Motor & EquipmentRemanufacturers Association(MERA), will co-host the 8,000-square-foot Remanufacturing Sectionat the Automotive Aftermarket Prod-ucts Expo (AAPEX), Oct. 30 - Nov. 1.

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This new section will be centrallylocated on the main show floor andwill focus on the economic, environ-mental and product performancebenefits of remanufactured motor ve-hicle components.

ERC also will co-sponsor an en-gine repower demonstration areaalong with the Engine Builders Asso-ciation (AERA), Production EngineRemanufacturers Association (PERA)and MAHLE Clevite, which will fea-ture live engine rebuilding demon-strations by Hendrick Motorsportstechnicians, as well as informationon the benefits of repowered en-gines. Demonstrations will occurtwice daily, at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.,on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs-day, Oct. 30 - Nov.1.

“We are honored to co-host thenew Remanufacturing Section aswell as co-sponsor the engine re-power demonstrations at AAPEX,”said Ken Carter, chairman of the En-gine Rebuilders Council. “These twonew featured areas will allow us tomeet with the industry firsthand tofurther educate members about themany economic and environmentalbenefits provided by a remanufac-tured/rebuilt engine.”

For more information about theEngine Rebuilders Council, visit En-ginerebuilder.org or Facebook.com/ En-gineRebuildersCouncil.

Hot Rodders of TomorrowNational Championship ToBe Held at PRI in 2013

The 26th Annual Performance Rac-ing Industry Trade Show in Orlando,FL, will host the final round of thenation’s premier engine build com-petition for young automotive talent,it was recently announced.

Each year hundreds of automo-tive technology students from highschools across the country take partin regional competitions to deter-mine which teams can disassembleand reassemble a small-blockChevrolet engine with aftermarketcomponents in the fastest time, withthe top scorers advancing to the Na-tional Championship.

In 2013, a select group of teamswith the best time will be invited tocompete for scholarship money andindustry recognition.

Since its inception in 2008 at theRace and Performance Expo in St.Charles, IL, the Hot Rodders Of To-morrow Engine Challenge has seenexplosive growth in the number ofcompeting teams. The competitionhas been seen by more than 760,000people, and has raised over $6 mil-lion in scholarship money donatedby OTC, SAM and UNOH over thelast four years.

For more information about HotRodders Of Tomorrow, visit HotRod-dersofTomorrow.com. ■


Industry News


More Industry News & Info At Our Website

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Submit your news and events to:

[email protected]


Intake Manifold CleaningCaution - Ford 4.6L VIN ‘W’Engines (1991-’98)If piston failure occurs in this engine, itis possible for broken pieces of pistonto end up in the intake plenum. This isdue to the design of the engine, whichhas tuned runners with the plenum lo-cated below the runners. The pistonpieces may be ingested into the engineif they aren’t removed during clean-ing. Failure may not occur immedi-ately, as it may take wide open throttleoperation to create enough turbulenceto ingest the pieces.

To properly clean this manifold re-quires removal of at least one of thelarge core plugs from the bottom ofthe manifold. This cleaning processmust be properly and thoroughly per-formed to avoid catastrophic enginefailure.

Competition EnginesEagen, MN

Moveable Multi-Use Shop HoistWe use an A-frame hoist that canspan an entire machine shop, movingblocks and other parts to all locationsin the shop. One end rests in a trackrunning along one wall. Interlockingwheels are mounted to the oppositecorners of the A-frame keeping thehoist square and on a path parallel tothe wall. The frame is welded using 'I'beam angle-iron, and can lift up to2,000 pounds.

Will SchallerAg & Industrial Engine MachineNorfolk, NE

Removing Crankshaft Pilot Bearings - Method 1When removing crankshaft pilot bear-ings I have found the easiest way is to

use toilet paper! Soak the paper inwater and stuff it into the hole, andthen drive it in with a bolt or othertight fitting tool. Keep cramming inmore wet toilet paper until the bear-ing pops out.

In my experience, this method ismuch quicker than using bearing re-moval tools and is way cleaner thanusing grease.

Arus KinneyAustin-Jordan EnginesWyoming, MI

Removing Crankshaft PilotBearings Revisited(The previous Shop Solution was publishedin April ’08. Not long after, we received an-other alternative.)When removing a crankshaft pilotbearing, the easiest way is to usemodeling clay or Play-Doh. Pack theclay into the hole first by hand, andthen hammer it in with a tight fittingbolt or blunt chisel. It doesn't takemuch force to make the bearing popout. There is no mess, and the claycan be used over and over again.

We have been removing pilot bear-ings this way ever since there werepilot bearings. We all got a laugh outof your April edition where a readersuggested using wet toilet paperrather than grease. We already haveclay around to balance crankshafts,

and it just seems like the thing to use.Wet TP – HA HA HA!

Ray CrowleyRay’s Precision EnginesTaylor, MI

Oil Leaks? Try Putting theSilicone Away!Many times oil leak comebacks arecaused by the use of silicone or someother type of sealant coating that isused with the gasket.

Newer, high-tech gaskets, in manycases today, require no sealer at all,just a clean dry surface, proper torqueand good mating surfaces. Intakemanifold applications may require avery thin layer of RTV sealer aroundthe cooling passages if they are pitted.

Cork gaskets may also require asmall amount of RTV sealer to makeup for imperfections in the sealingsurfaces. In the old days guys putcork gaskets in warm water to makethem swell a bit before installation.Just remember: don’t over torque!

Urethane steel reinforced gasketsshould not be used with any sealers.Just torque to manufacturer’s specs,and if the parts and sealing surfacesare clean and not damaged, you’llhave a good seal.

Bill WilliamsBeaver Ridge AutoFairplay, CO

Avoiding Flat Cam SyndromeAlong with the use of assembly lubes,break-in oils with ZDDP (Zinc DialkylDithiosphate), and a lifter bore groov-ing tool our shop does this; on all flattappet cam engines our shop hasadded one step before final assembly.

With the block in a bare and cleanstate we’ll put in the two end cam


This month marks the 5th Anniversary of Shop Solutions. And to celebrate this milestone, Engine Pro is offeringprizes for the “Top 5 of the Past 5.” Prizes will be awarded to authors of the Top 5 Shop Solutions: 1st Place -$1,000 cash; 2nd - $250 Visa gift card; 3rd, 4th, 5th - $100 Visa gift card. Five additional $100 Visa Gift Cards will beawarded to VOTERS. To vote for your favorite Solution, e-mail the title and issue date to [email protected]. Shop Solutions can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/TgCfge. Submit votes by 12/31/12. A randomdrawing of all voters will be held on 1/1/13. Winners will be announced in the January issue of Engine Builder.

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bearings and install the cam withonly light oil. Next we install thelifters with only light oil. Install abolt in the front of the cam and spinit quickly clockwise with a speedhandle and observe each lifter’sspinning action when the engine isrunning. You can use a felt pen tomark the lifters so it’s easier to seethem spinning. If you find any ofthe lifters not spinning, this couldbe a potential problem if it leavesyour shop like that. Lifter bore oreven cam bore alignment could bethe problem.

Many times the cam bearingbores get closer (fall) towards thecrank centerline going front toback, (especially on BB Chevys)which in turn causes the taper onthe cam lobe to be lessened to-wards the back of the motor. Zeroor too little taper can keep the lifterfrom spinning, and this can cause

the cam to failshortly after fire-up.

To remedy this prob-lem without reboring lifteror cam bores check locallistings or the internet undercustom cam grinding to havethe cam reground with moretaper grind into the lobes. Afterregrinding we do the test again.We’ve had great luck and no flatcams when all of the lifters spin be-fore we fully assemble the engine,even with today’s lousy oils! Yesthis will cost more, but what willreally cost more – an extra camgrind, or a flat cam, or a comebackand angry customer? Thanks andgood luck. ■

Norm JohnsNorm’s Auto MachinePetaluma, CA


Shop Solutions –The Power ofKnowledge

Engine Builder and Engine Pro present

Shop Solutions in each issue of Engine

Builder Magazine and at enginebuilder-

mag.com.

The feature is intended to provide ma-

chine shop owners and engine techni-

cians the opportunity to share their

knowledge to benefit the entire industry

and their own shops.

Those who submit Shop Solutions that

are published are awarded a free one

year membership to the Engine Re-

builders Council and a prepaid $100

Visa gift card.

Engine Pro is a nationwide network of

distributors that warehouse a full line of

internal engine components for

domestic and import passenger car,

light truck, heavy duty, industrial, ma-

rine, agricultural and performance ap-

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They also produce engine parts under

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If you are observant of your surroundings on your dailycommute, you may notice something missing: you rarelysee diesel engines emitting nasty black sooty smoke any-

more. It seems that there have been some improvements indiesel injection technology that have allowed some “clean -up” work on the diesel exhaust system, and I think we allcan appreciate the change.

Even though some may feel the need to complain aboutthe increased use of electronics and how the government iscracking down by adding more emissions components onengines that may give you trouble down the road, thingsmay not be all that bad. It’s worth asking this question: if theold-school mechanical indirect-injection technology was sogood, then why did the manufacturers convert to commonrail? Let’s face it, the use of electronics has made the samediesel engine more powerful, more efficient and cause lesspollution. The true cold hard fact is that nothing is going tochange back to the way things used to be, and the electronicsin diesel engines are only going to continue to evolve.

Why is there a need for common rail injection in dieselengines? In order to explain common rail, we need to startwith a brief description of mechanical fuel injection. Thebasic layout of a mechanical injection system starts with theinjection pump. The injection pump is ruggedlydurable, driven by the gear train of the engine andusually housed in the front cover of the engine.Fuel is generally supplied to the injection pump bya mechanical engine driven fuel pump actuated bythe camshaft or an electric pump mounted some-where on the vehicle. As the injection pump isturned by the engine’s gear train, which is verysimilar to the distributor of a gasoline engine, fuelenters a delivery chamber inside the pump at aspecific time. The fuel is then com-pressed and sent out through a hardmetal line that leads to the injector atthe cylinder head. So the injectionpump not only compresses fuel to aspecific pressure, but also serves as atiming device for when the fuel willbe compressed inside the pump.

When the pressurized fuel reaches the injector,the pressure of the incoming fuel opens the pintleinside the injector and fuel is delivered through

the injector’s nozzle and enters the combustion chamber in avery fine mist. The pistons inside the engine are unique indesign by having what is generally known as a pre-ignitionchamber, a small bowl-shaped area inside the piston dishwhich helps compress the fuel to help ignite the mixture asthe piston moves close to the top of the bore.

Fuel pressure in a mechanical system will vary by themanufacturer of the pump, but usually will be in the neigh-borhood of around 1,800 to 3,000 psi. This amount of pres-sure is needed to lift the injector’s pintle off the seat to allowfuel to be sent through the injector’s tip. Most injectionpumps are sealed and cannot be tampered with, so what-ever the injection pump delivers to the injector is what thecylinder is going to receive.

Even though these systems worked well and were typi-cally trouble-free, they were very inefficient. This predeter-mined, metered amount of fuel may not always be enoughor sometimes was too much. Either way, these diesel enginesdid run and often performed flawlessly and went manymiles before servicing.

However, a better system that seemed to change the waywe looked at diesel engines was developed. You have toadmit that today’s diesel engines are much quieter than the


Common RailInjection

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Robert [email protected]

Understanding its importance totoday’s diesel engines

Die

sel D

ialo

gue

This injector is being removedfrom a 2002 Duramax. Thehigher the pressure at whichdiesel can be injected, the moreefficient it will burn.

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older ones. A friend of mine recentlydrove up in a 2011 Ford F250 with a6.7L diesel engine and I thought thatthe truck was outfitted with a gasolineengine. It was so quiet and smooth thatI could not hear the engine run.

This quiet and smooth operation isthanks primarily to common rail injec-tion. How does common rail differfrom the old mechanical injection sys-tem? To give a basic understanding ofcommon-rail, think of it this way: thehigher the pressure at which dieselcan be injected, the more efficient itwill burn.

The common rail system consists ofa high-pressure pump, high-pressurefuel rail, fuel lines, and in-jectors. The high-pressurepump is driven by the en-gine much the same wayas the mechanical injec-tion pump. Fuel is gener-ally supplied to thehigh-pressure pump; inthe case of the Duramax, the high-pres-sure pump is also the supply pump. Asthe engine turns the high-pressurepump, fuel inside is pressurized toaround 5,000 psi, the amount of pres-sure that most common rail systemmanufacturers select for proper idle.This 5,000 psi of pressure is consideredto be the “threshold” at which the en-gine will fire – if a high-pressure com-

mon rail pump does not reach the5,000 psi threshold it indicates thatthere may be a problem in the systemand the engine will not run.

As the fuel is being pressurized, itis then delivered to a high-pressurefuel rail, often called a fuel log. Thehigh-pressure fuel rail also has thehigh-pressure fuel lines connected toit, which deliver fuel to the injectors.This fuel rail is the storage center forthe pressurized fuel and the deliveryunit that supplies the injectors. Oncepressurized fuel reaches the injectors,the injectors are commanded by in-puts to the computer that tell the injec-tor when to open. Pressurized fuel can

then be sent tothe cylinder at

a precise time and with the preciseamount.

Now, for the common rail to func-tion properly, there are various sen-sors and actuators that must beutilized in the electronics outlay of thevehicle by the manufacturer for thehigh pressure fuel actuation. The elec-tronics help dictate how and whenfuel is delivered, based on engine loadand operation.

Great caution must be taken whenservicing common rail systems be-cause pressures can reach as high as28,000 psi under wide-open throttle.In the next Diesel Dialogue, the com-mon rail components will be ex-plained and detailed with theoperation of the engine. ■


Diesel Dialogue


The high pressure fuelrail (this one is on the passengerside of a Duramax) is often calledthe fuel log. It’s the storage centerfor the pressurized fuel.

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Though many high school auto-motive programs have beencut or reduced in recent years

due to funding, community collegesand technical schools are seeingsteady enrollment in their automo-tive programs.

For some older technicians andmechanics, servicing vehicles andtearing down engines was some-thing learned on the job. For others,automotive skills were developedthrough an automotive program at ahigh school or technical college.

According to an employment fore-cast from the Bureau of Labor Statis-tics (BLS), between 2010 and 2020,the nation’s workforce will add posi-tions for 124,800 automotive servicetechnicians and mechanics. The BLSexpects the nation will add another32,700 automotive body and glass re-pairers and 13,800 painting and coat-ing workers in those 10 years.

While some may say that growthrate is not explosive, the labor depart-ment foresees steady employment forthose with training and certification.

And though many high school au-tomotive programs have been cut orreduced due to funding, communitycolleges and technical schools are see-ing steady enrollment in their auto-motive programs. In fact, AutomotiveTechnology is one of the big names ofthe game at Sinclair Community Col-lege in Dayton, OH.

Sinclair has been entrenched in thatdiscipline since the 1970s, but its au-tomotive training actually stretchesback to earlier in the 20th century.

Currently, there are some 530 stu-dents in the Auto Technology pro-gram. A majority of them are striving

for associate degrees in one of fourprograms: the General Motors ASEPProgram, the Chrysler CAP Program,the Honda PACT Program and theComprehensive Program, which cov-ers automotive service for all brands.

There are also two one-year certifi-cate programs that include the FordMLR (Maintenance Light Repair)and the High Performance Program.

And it’s that latter program that willbe addressed in this article.

Fully accredited by the NationalAutomotive Technicians EducationFoundation (NATEF), the automo-tive technology degree program at Sinclair Community College pro-vides hands-on, certified automotivetraining for skilled entry-level posi-tions in automobile dealerships,


Profitable Perform

ance

Career Building

Developing engine building experiences in school starts with instructors

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bill HolderPHOTOGRAPHY BY Phil Kunz

Circle 19 for more information Circle 16 for more information

19-20 Prof Performance 10/17/12 10:52 AM Page 19

independent garages, and motorsports and other auto-re-lated industries. Its auto department is highly recognized asa leader in training for automotive mechanics and techni-cians in the industry, and provides a substantial advantageto its graduates in seeking employment, as well as the inde-pendent shops hiring them.

The High Performance program, which was developedby Professor Mike Garblic, covers a complete school yearof three quarters. The professor of thecourse is Blaine Heeter (seen at right), whohas been assisted by Kevin Smith and JimButts.

Engine building, though, goes far beyondjust the teaching hours at Sinclair asboth Garblic and Heeter are involvedwith high-performance engines afterhours.

Garblic, a longtime vintage drag rac-ing fan, has been heavily involved inbuilding of functional replicas of twodragsters of former NHRA superstarArnie Beswick, including a PontiacTrans Am-based “Boss Bird” Funny Car.

Heeter serves as a crew chief for alocal Ford drag racing team, tending toa 427-powered Falcon, along with a 408cid Fairmont and an ’83 Mustang.

The prime purpose of Heeter’s courseinvolves the build-up (from scratch) of ahigh-performance powerplant.

There is no assigned engine type ormodel from the instructor; it is thechoice of the student. It is also the re-sponsibility of the student to provideall the parts and pieces for his particu-lar build-up. The students explainedthat sometimes the parts cost up to$5,000-$6,000, but nobody’s complain-ing here. It’s definitely a once-in-a-life-time opportunity!

Needless to say, the starting point forthese build-ups is quite different. Someof the build-ups start off with newparts and pieces, while others show upwith old, and sometimes rusty, junk-yard parts.

It’s a laid-back atmosphere duringthe nine months of the build-up. Andthere is a close relationship with the in-structors. Surprisingly, the age range ofthe students in a recent class varied be-tween 19 and 65.

You can read more about some of thestudents who are participating in theprogram at Sinclair Community Col-lege by reading two case studies – thatof 19-year-old Kasey King and his 454GMC pickup-engine-turned-drag-race-motor and 42-year-old Dave Lemke’s500 hp 5.3L LS-1 – both featured onlinein the enhanced version of this story atenginebuildermag.com. ■

Performance


Circ

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Sinclair Community Collegehigh performance instructorBlaine Heeter

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21 AMJ_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:08 AM Page 21

Engine bearings have a toughjob to do for such a small com-ponent. They must support big

loads on a thin film of oil (between.0001-.0004˝ thick) between them-selves and the crankshaft journals toprevent metal-to-metal contact.

One of the biggest causes of bear-ing failures is dirt and debris thatenters into the oil pan and getssucked between the bearing surfaceand the crankshaft, interrupting thatthin film of oil, creating a metal-on-metal contact. From that moment,various engine applications andbearing materials may react differ-ently but the end result is usuallystill the same – a wiped bearing.And no engine builder or bearingmanufacturer wants that.

We spoke to bearing manufactur-ers to find out what direction tech-nology is heading regarding bearingmaterials and design, as well as howengine builders can better under-stand which bearings to use in spe-cific applications.

“As engines have developed, ‘de-sign’ and ‘manufacturing’ have be-come increasingly important terms,”says Mike Scott of ACL Bearings.“This is predominantly driven bythe increase in engine efficiencies re-sulting in higher bearing loads andhigher bearing operating tempera-tures while utilizing lower viscositylube oils.”

The result, accordingto Scott, has been gener-ally decreasing oil filmthicknesses betweenjournal and bearing.“As minimum oil filmthicknesses can be less

than .0004˝, the shape (design) andmanufacturing precision are key toassisting the generation of stable oilfilms and ensuring shaft-to-bearingseparation under all operating con-ditions,” he explains.

Although quality bearings haveinherent properties that compensatefor a degree of misalignment (whatbearing engineers refer to as con-formability) and provide protectionfrom hard contaminants within theoil (embeddability), engine builderscan do a lot to ensure bearing dura-bility by paying close attention tocrankshaft preparation and overallcleanliness of the build. In fact, a sig-nificant percentage of bearing fail-ures can be traced back directly tothe assembly process, so it is a goodidea to keep it as clean as possible.

“What is most important for in-stallers is cleanliness in the assem-bly,” says Federal Mogul’s BobSturk. “Everything must be as spot-less as possible. Dirt is the numberone killer of bearings. When wehave failures it’s always, by a vastmajority, from debris and embeddeddirt.”

Echoing Sturk’s cleanliness com-ments, MAHLE Clevite’s BrettDayringer says that thoroughlycleaning the block after machining isthe best way to prevent dirt and de-bris getting into the oil system aftera rebuild.

“Using hot soapy water and agood selection of bristle brushes isthe best method for cleaning cylin-der blocks, crankshafts and other en-gine parts before reassembling theengine,” says Dayringer. “Remem-


Getting Your BearingsEngine bearing suppliers talk about materials, selection and more

Feat

ure

Engine bearing design and de-velopment have become moreimportant in the quest for in-creased efficiency and perform-ance. (Photo from ACL)

SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brendan [email protected]

22-28 Bearings 10/17/12 10:51 AM Page 22


23 Mahle_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:08 AM Page 23

ber, any debris remainingafter a rebuild will bepicked up by the oil sys-tem and make its way tothe bearings.”

Another important considerationwhen working with your enginebearings to pay attention to is thatthe wall sizes are consistent so thatyou can set the clearances withouthaving to go through and measureseveral bearings for the right fit.

From a manufacturer's perspec-tive, King’s Ron Sledge says theyrecognize that bearing sizes and ap-plication-matched materials are veryimportant to the installer and enduser. “The installer wants very con-sistent bearing wall sizes to easilyzero in on his desired clearance,”says Sledge. “His cranks are sup-plied with a consistent size, so hewants the bearings to measure con-sistently also. He can also save timeand money not having to measuredifferent bearing shells to get thecorrect one to achieve his clearance.”

ACL’s Scott says that his com-pany’s solution, similar to King’s,has been to enhance their precisionin the manufacturing process. “Wehave a portfolio of bearing materialswith proven robustness across therange of engine applications,” hesays. “This provides the enginebuilder with the basic confidence ofoperating capability. The enhancedprecision, particularly over bearingwall thickness, provides additionalconfidence that optimized bearingclearances will be achieved resultingin: optimized high pressure oil filmgeneration for better load support;increased durability; more pre-dictable oil pressure and flow ratesto ensure constant supply through-out the engine; and adequate bear-ing cooling under all operatingconditions.”

Materials MatterThe selection of the right bearingmaterial is vital to a trouble free per-formance with any application. Themost commonly used materials incrankshaft bearings are aluminum,copper, lead and tin. Obviouslythere are others, say experts, butthese are the primary elements thatare used. And they are all, on a com-

parative basis, much softer than theiron and steel crankshafts that runagainst them.

“Bearing materials are called onto satisfy many different conditionsin the engine including load, embed-dability and seizure resistance, justto name a few obstacles that theymust overcome,” says Sledge.

Luckily, say manufacturers, yearsof research and testing have devel-oped different material solutions foreverything from street duty use toultra high performance to optimizebearing performance in the after-market.

As most engine builders know,modern engines (late ’90s andnewer) use bi-metal aluminum bear-ings, but each manufacturer has itsown recipe for the construction andcharacteristics they are looking for.The basic construction is a steel backwith a layer of silicone-aluminumfacing the crankshaft.

If you are doing a stock rebuild,Federal-Mogul’s Matt Barkhaus saysthat it is very simple to choose theright bearing from the catalog,which will list all the specs and vari-ous sizes available.

Barkhaus says that on their bi-metal bearings the IDs are bored sothe debris is flushed out instead ofbeing embedded. “That’s one of thereal benefits of it,” he says. “Theother benefit of bi-metal is the wear-ability. They will last virtually for-

ever, as long as you keep the oilchanged and the engine is run in afairly normal operating condition.”

Aluminum bearings can lastmuch longer in mild load applica-tions because of the wearability andthe hardness of the silicon compositethat actually polishes the crankshaftand wipes any nodes or debris outof the way or flushes it out,Barkhaus continues.

“OEMs have moved to bi-metalbearings because they are lead-free,economical to manufacture, and areextremely hard, which allows themto perform a very long time in pas-senger car applications,” saysMAHLE Clevite’s Dayringer. “Aswe’ve all seen, it is not uncommonfor modern engines to run 150,000miles or more on the original bear-ings.”

Virtually all performance bear-ings today are constructed using atri-metal construction. Tri-metalbearings have the same steel back asa bi-metal bearing, a copper-lead in-termediate layer, and a surface layerof soft material like Babbitt.

“Tri-metal bearings work verywell on race and performance en-gines because they are more forgiv-ing, which allows for betterembeddability than a harder bi-metal bearing,” says Dayringer.

Bearing materials are, in someways, the hidden secret of bearingdesign, according to our experts. The


Bearings

Experts say that polymer coated bearings are thenext big thing and can increase bearing life bymore than five times in extreme applications.(Photo from Federal-Mogul)

22-28 Bearings 10/17/12 10:51 AM Page 24

“hidden” aspect of bearing materialcapability is in the design of the met-allurgical properties embodied inthe alloys. So, while all tri-metalsand all bi-metals might look aliketheir properties and abilities can besignificantly different.

“While proper fitment providesthe basis for bearing system opera-tion the materials provide the basisfor system durability,” says ACL’sScott. “To operate successfully, bear-ings require a range of attributesthat, in terms of material properties,require a degree of compromise. Forinstance, the strength required totransmit high cyclic loads has to bemoderated in order to provide goodseizure resistance. How this balanceis achieved is different for each bear-ing’s material/alloy combination.The clearest example is the compari-son of properties between aluminumbase ‘bi-metals’ and copper-leadbased ‘tri-metals.’”

What are the primary differencesin hardness, strength and embedda-bility between today’s aluminum

and tri-metal bearings?“Generally aluminum bearings

offer greater embeddability and con-formability while tri-metal bearingsoffer greater fatigue strength andhardness,” says Sledge. “The alu-minum alloy layer on top of a steel

back is a minimum .012˝ thick andcan embed particles larger than.0005˝ in dia. The overlay thicknesson tri-metal bearings range from.0005˝-.0008˝ therefore allowing lessembeddability.”

Federal-Mogul’s Sturk says thereare basic differences in the hard-nesses of the two bearings as well assome other differences in strength

and embeddability. “In my view,embeddability isn’t really that big ofa problem. I think today’s aluminumbi-metal bearings can handle a rea-sonable amount of debris. But ifthere are excessive amounts, that’swhere the tri-metal bearings are bet-

ter. The over-plate embeddability al-lows them to handle debris a bitbetter. If it’s a reasonable amount, ifoil has been properly maintained, Idon’t really worry about the alu-minum’s embeddability.”

If you are looking to extract morepower, experts say the copper/leadbearings are likely the optimalchoice. Sturk explains that bearing


BearingsTHIS ISSUE: PG 46 >> Crack Detection PG 52 >> Piston Rings PG 61 >> Product Spotlights


“Luckily, say manufacturers, years of researchand testing have developed different materialsolutions for everything from street duty useto ultra high performance to optimize bearingperformance in the aftermarket.”

22-28 Bearings 10/17/12 10:51 AM Page 25

engineers are primarily concernedwith unit load as opposed to horse-power numbers in order to rate thestrength of a specific bearing or ma-terial. Unit loads come from thecylinder pressures that are devel-oped above the bearings in thecombustion chamber.

It’s hard for an engine builder toestimate combustion pressure with-out a lot of expensive testing equip-ment that an OEM or bearingmanufacturer would have, so Sturksays it’s probably best to go with atri-metal bearing for any upgrade,just to be safe.

There is just a big difference inthe wear rates of the copper/leadtrimetals and aluminum bimetalbearings, say experts.

The copper lead tri-metal bear-ings are still the strongest materialsavailable today, says Sturk. He saysif you are upgrading or adding asupercharger or using other meth-ods to extract more horsepower, itusually puts higher loads on thebearings. “In that case,” he says,“the tri-metal bearings will handlemuch higher loads. Our H14 mate-rials (copper/lead) will handle unitloads up around 15,000 psi. Thealuminum will handle much less,around 8,000-9,000 psi. It’s a big dif-ference in strength characteristics,”he notes.

According to Dayringer, race andperformance engines see morecrankshaft deflection, rod housingbore distortion, and thinner oil film

thickness compared to passengercar engines and therefore require adifferent material and constructionthan bi-metal aluminum bearings.“The softer Babbitt facing allowsthe bearing face to ‘move’ slightlywith the crankshaft to avoid seizureduring high load and rpm situa-tions, which makes tri-metal bear-ings the preferred choice forperformance and race enginebuilds,” he explains.

The attributes that a bearingneeds to have can be compared to atightrope because on the one handyou need hard fatigue strengthcomponents for durability and loadcarrying capacity, but on the otherhand you need soft phase character-istics for conformability (whenthings are out of alignment), em-beddability and sliding properties.When manufacturers select a bear-ing material, they look at the engineapplication and try to determine themost important thing the engineneeds and then design the bearingaround that.

Today’s bimetals contain a mixof other materials such as silicon,which is a hard particle that isadded for increased durability.They have tin which is considered asoft face metal that is for the em-beddability and conformability as-pect, so today’s aluminumbi-metals have alloying elements inthem to address those issues. Butstill, not all alloys are the same.

While all tri-metals and all bi-

26 October 2012 | EngineBuilderCircle 26 for more information

Performance coated bearings are sprayed with a dry lu-bricant that acts as a protective barrier in a dry run situ-ation. These are made specifically for Nitro drag racingwhere there isn’t enough time to develop an oil wedge.(Photo from MAHLE Clevite)

22-28 Bearings 10/17/12 10:51 AM Page 26


27 Fel Pro_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:07 AM Page 27

metals might look alike their proper-ties and abilities can be significantlydifferent. Bearing material capabilityis in the “hidden” part of the designof the metallurgical properties em-bodied in the alloys.

“The differences get down toalloy composition, casting condi-tions, bonding methods and heattreatments for bi-metals,” says Scott.“And for tri-metals, it’s the alloycomposition, sinter/casting condi-tions and electroplating/coatingtechnologies that account for anydifferences.”

All these factors give the bearingmanufacturers a great deal of free-dom to tailor materials, and it can beconfusing for engine builders tryingto understand how appropriate thematerials are for their specific appli-cation. Because the quality of thematerial may not be clearly apparentit is also hard for engine builders tomake a judgment between compet-ing products.

Different suppliers materials dobehave differently, and within eachfamily of materials there is a substan-tial range of capability. It is nearlyimpossible for a rebuilder to judge,on face value, how any brand ofbearing is going to perform across abroad range of characteristics, so ex-perts say it is best to rely on bearingsfrom reputable, established brands.

When bearings are found to be

damaged or show unusual or un-even wear, it typically indicatesother problems that need correcting,problems that if left uncorrectedmay cause the replacement bearingsto suffer the same fate. ■

Special thanks to MAHLE Clevite,King Engine Bearings, ACL and Federal-Mogul for their input into this article.


Bearings


Tri-metal bearings typicallyare made of the higheststrength material for fa-tigue resistance. (Photofrom King Engine Bearings)

22-28 Bearings 10/17/12 10:51 AM Page 28


29 Durabond_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:07 AM Page 29

Back in the old days, the late’90s, when the economy wasstrong and incomes were high,

people had a lot more money to puttoward their favorite hobby, whichfor many was a souped up car thatcould be driven on the street butmaybe also a little on the track aswell.

Today, the economy may not be asstrong as it was then, but that hasn’tchanged the appetite consumershave for performance goods. Why isthat, you may ask? There seems to bea couple of factors. One is that manyof us have the desire to build some-thing unique or own our dream ridefrom the past. Thankfully, the auto-mobile is still a top obsession in thiscountry and the street performancemarket can serve two purposes:transportation and entertainment.

Judging by the latest MachineShop Market Profile, a survey thatwe have been doing for more than 20

years, the majority of shops work onperformance engines (86 percent, up6 percent from the previous year).And of those shops that do thiswork, it accounts for approximately20 percent of their business. It’s a sig-nificant number and a lot of the in-dustry’s ups and downs are tied tothe health of this important market.

Whether you work on perform-ance diesels, domestic iron or high-revving sport compacts, the marketfor performance engine modifica-tions is far reaching. There are sev-eral small markets within this nichemarket so finding what works foryour shop is usually tied to what youenjoy doing the most.

With the 2012 SEMA Show at theend of the month, we thought wewould use this space to showcasesome of the hot products in the streetperformance category. And if you’reattending the show, be sure to stopby and visit some of your favoriteengine part suppliers that we’vehighlighted here, and then stop byour location in the Central Hall atbooth 23428.

GM LS-Series CylinderHead Guide from CarTechThe GM LS-Series V8s are easily themost popular engines in the after-market right now. They have provento be full of power potential and arereadily available in either new orused condition in a wide range ofdisplacements. Choosing the best-possible cylinder head to match therest of the package is key to making

any LS-based project engineperform to its highest poten-tial.

This book reviews every readilyavailable factory and aftermarketcylinder head designed for GM LS-Series engines, and delivers the factsabout each in an easily comparableformat. It includes the basic dimen-sions of each head, along with theirclaimed airflow rates. Also includedis information on interchangeability,combustion chamber sizes, compres-sion ratios, applications, perform-ance characteristics, helpful tips, andeven a chapter on intakes.

Whether you re a budget enthusi-ast looking for the best-possible fac-tory head to top your specificcombination, an engine swapperlooking to modernize your vintagemuscle car, or an engine builderlooking for the best-flowing head outthere, High-Performance GM LS-SeriesCylinder Head Guide is essential foraccomplishing your goals.

The book is available fromCarTech for $24.95 plus $6.95 ship-ping and handling and may be or-dered by visiting cartechbooks.com.

Performance-Prepped Engine Blocks from Atech MotorsportsBuild a strong foundation for a smallblock Chevy, small block Ford, or

Takin’ It ToThe StreetFrom Imports to American Iron, street performancehas something for every engine builder

Feat

ure


SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brendan [email protected]

CarTech’s LS Cylinder Head Guide isa good resource for engine builders

Summit Racing’s performancesmall block Chevy cast iron block

30-38 Street 10/17/12 10:49 AM Page 30


31 EQ_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:06 AM Page 31

GM LS at a great price with a fullyprepped Summit Racing Remanufac-tured Cast Iron Engine Block.

Summit Racing Engine Block for Chevy 350 - Ideal for building a383 stroker engine, Summit Racingtakes a 1996-2000 4-bolt main blockand does all the machining and prepwork, including a .030˝. overbore,proper clearances for stroker cranks,and H-beam rods, machined decksurfaces, line honed mains, and linebored cam bearings. (p/n: SUM-150100)

Summit Racing Engine Block forFord 302 - Turn a 302 into a 347! The2-bolt block has a .030˝ overbore,proper clearances for a 3.400˝ strokercrank and H-beam rods, machineddeck surfaces, line honed mains, andline bored cam bearings. (p/n: SUM-150110)

Summit Racing Engine Block forGM LS 6.0L - Summit Racing’s castiron 6.0L LS block can be used tobuild a 408 cubic-inch stroker engine

and is capable of handling over 1,400horsepower. This seasoned 6-boltblock is CNC-machined for preciseclearances, and features a finished4.030˝ bore and a 9.240˝ deck height.(p/n: SUM-150105)

For more information about AtechMotorsports, call 800-517-1040 orvisit AtechMotorsports.com.SEMA Booth 24529

ARP Introduces StrongerRod Bolts For DieselsIndustry leader ARP has introducedPro Series rod bolt kits for Ford,

Chevy/GM and Dodge/Cumminsdiesel engines. Forged from propri-etary ARP2000 material, the pre-mium grade fasteners are nominallyrated at 220,000 psi tensile strengthand are substantially stronger thanthe OEM fasteners.

Given the increased loads placedon rod bolts – typically the weakestlink in an engine – by engine modifi-cations, ARP’s new rod bolts are im-portant reliability “insurance” forowners of performance-enhanceddiesel trucks.

In addition to being made from


Performance


GM LS 6.0L Block from SummitSummit Racing Ford 302 Block

30-38 Street 10/17/12 10:49 AM Page 32

superior material, ARP rod bolts arethread rolled after heat-treating,which adds significantly to their fa-tigue strength. All manufacturingoperations, including forging, heat-treating, machining and finishing,are done entirely in-house at ARP’sCalifornia facilities to stringentAS9100 and ISO-9001 quality controlstandards.

ARP rod bolts are available for theFord 6.0L/6.4L Powerstroke (p/n250-6301). Chevy/GMC 6.6L Dura-max (p/n 230-6301), Dodge/Cum-mins 5.9L (p/n 247-6303) and1999-2001 Ford 7.3L Powerstroke(p/n 250-6302).

For additional information callARP’s tech staff at 800-826-3045 orvisit its dedicated diesel website,ARPdiesel.com. SEMA Booth 22549

CP-Carrillo Pro-H Rod andPiston for Suburu BRZ/ScionFR-S FA20 EngineCP-Carrillo has released its new Pro-H profile connecting rod for the newSubaru BRZ/ Scion FR-S FA20 en-gine. Forged from a proprietary4330M steel alloy for strength, fullymachined, and shot peened for stressrelieving, these connecting rodscome bushed with premium silicone

bronze bushings for full floating pinsand top of the line CARR multiphasefasteners. This design retains the fac-tory eighteen degree split line anglefor proper ease of assembly.

CP-Carrillo also introduced a newline of low compression 2618 alloyforged pistons for the new SubaruBRZ/Scion FR-S FA20 engine underp/n SC7402. These pistons will in-clude CP-Carrillo’s 51 series wrist

pins, Sure-Lox’s, and premium CPNring set which includes a gas nitridesteel top ring, taper hook groove sec-ond ring, and low tension oil ring.

For more information about CP-Carrillo, visit cp-carrillo.com. SEMA Booth 23128

New Calibration Kit forStreet Demon Carburetors Demon Carburetion has released anew calibration kit (p/n 1921) that en-ables engine tuners to dial-in exactair-fuel ratios for each specific engine.


PerformanceTHIS ISSUE: PG 39 >> Oil & Lubricants PG 46 >> Crack Detection PG 68 >> Final Wrap


ARP Performance Diesel Rod Bolts

Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S Connect-ing Rod for FA20 Engine

Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S Piston

Calibration Kit for Street Demon Carbs

30-38 Street 10/17/12 10:49 AM Page 33

34-35 Packard_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:06 AM Page 34


34-35 Packard_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:06 AM Page 35

Whether additional fine-tuning isprecipitated by altitude, exotic cam,high-compression, or engine dis-placement, or uneven distributionfrom an intake manifold at differentengine speeds, this new calibrationkit will fine-tune the fuel curve.

It provides four different sizes ofprimary jets, six different sizes ofmetering rods, four different weightsof metering rod springs, and two dif-ferent sizes of secondary jets. Allcomponents are supplied in pairsand all jets and needles are stampedfor easy identification.

Generally, the metering rods arechanged to adjust air-fuel ratios infiner increments; the jets are changedto adjust air-fuel ratios in larger in-crements. The tuning kit eradi-cates eye-watering exhaustfumes or puffs of smoke underacceleration. At the chassis dy-namometer it enables the tuner toaccomplish maximum efficiency.

The Street Demon calibration kitis priced at $54.95. For more infor-mation about Demon Carburetion,visit demoncarbs.com. SEMA Booth 22525

EVO 4G63 H-Beam Billet Connecting RodRace Engineering has re-engineeredits 4G63 H-Beam billet rod to incor-porated massive 7/16˝ ARP 2000capscrews, instead of the more com-mon 3/8˝ bolt. No other rod in theindustry has this. There is a tremen-dous increase in strength withoutany added cost. Applications in-clude EVO 1-8 and all second gener-ation engines. Perfect for severely

boosted motors. Dealer pricing isavailable. For more informationabout Race Engineering, visitraceeng.com or call 561-533-5500.

Billet Main Caps For 2JZToyota EnginesRace Engineering offers CNC ma-chined main caps from 4140 billetsteel and carefully heat treated. Nomodification needed to install thrust(like competing designs). Dealer pric-ing is available. Visit raceeng.com orcall 561-533-5500.


Performance


EVO 4G63 H-Beam Rod

Toyota 2JZ Billet Caps

30-38 Street 10/17/12 10:49 AM Page 36


37 Atech_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:06 AM Page 37

New Pipe Wrap & Stainless Steel Locking Tie KitDesign Engineering, Inc. (DEI) has long been recognizedas a top manufacturer of thermal pipe wrap; used forstreet, track, marine and powersport applications to reducethe transfer of heat. Excessive under the hood heat can robhorsepower, affect exhaust gas velocity and reduce cabincomfort causing stress and fatigue. Now this proven andversatile pipe wrap is available in a new cost savings kitthat includes one roll of 2” x 25’ thermal pipe wrap andfour 8” stainless steel locking ties. The combination kit en-

sures a secure fit regardless of use. For more in-formation, go to designengineering.com.SEMA booth 20113

High Inertia Series FlexplatesDesigned for use with Turbo350/400 and GM 4L60E, 4L80E &4-L85 transmissions including11.5˝ 6-Bolt Torque Converter.This plate is SFI 29.1 certifiedwith a 4-5 mm thick core. Con-structed from cold-rolled pre-mium steel and has a long lastingwhite zinc finish that helps pre-vent rust. For more informationabout PRW, visit PRW-USA.com.SEMA booth 23217

LS Engine Swap Headers and Swap MountKit and for S13/S14 Nissan 240SXHooker Headers recently released their new Engine Swap

Headers and EngineSwap Mount Kit, al-lowing installation

of GM’s LS engineinto the S13 and S14Nissan 240SX chassis(1989-1998 year mod-els). For more infor-mation, visitholley.com. SEMA booth 22667

EngineQuest Releases New Big BlockChevy Replacement Cylinder Heads

EQ’s BBC replacement cylinder heads surpass any produc-tion unit by producingoutstanding horse-power and torqueimprovements forvirtually all BigBlock Chevy en-gines from a mild454 to a super-charged 572. Formore information, visit enginequest.com.

For more SEMA Show Products, stay tuned to our websiteand social media during the show. ■

Performance


DEI’s Thermal Pipe Wrap Kit

PRW’s High Inertia Flexplates

LS Swap Headers for Nissan 240SX


EngineQuest’s BBC Cylinder Head

30-38 Street 10/17/12 10:49 AM Page 38

Before we begin discussing as-sembly lubes and break-inoils, I would like to empha-

size that no one factor is responsiblefor racing success (or failure). It’slike an algebraic equationwith a lot of variables, allof which must be ad-dressed. The same is trueof engine assembly andbreak-in. You must utilizeonly those parts whichhave worked best for youand machine componentssuch as cylinder walls to the properspecifications before you considerwhether or not to use specificbreak-in oils and assembly lubes. Asignificant mistake in any of theseareas, and the game is over. I saythis, because I’ve discovered the ‘fa-tigue limits’ of a number of enginessimply by not paying attention toALL the variables. That’s called ex-perience, and most of us gain it thehard way.

To illustrate this point, look at

the accompanying photos (page 40and 42) provided by Jerry McLainof McLain’s Automotive MachineShop in Cuba, MO. This small blockwas completely worn out after only

a few hundred miles. Upon tear-down and inspection, Jerry noticedthat the cylinder walls had receivedonly a light honing after the boringbar passed through the bores. Do


Heavy greases offer the bestprotection for cam lobes andflat tappets in new engines.Grease will stay on a cam lobeindefinitely, and oil will be re-leased from the grease onlywhen it is required.

Breakin’-In isHard to DoHow break-in oils are different thanthe rest and why you need them

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR John [email protected]

Feature

39-44 Oils 10/17/12 10:46 AM Page 39

not shortcut the honing process. Jerrysays the better engine builders spendhours honing a block, not minutes.Or, as he puts it, “Honing is also partof the break-in process.”

Jerry says after every machiningoperation, the parts must be meticu-lously cleaned to remove aggressivemetal shavings and abrasive grindingstone debris. I once inspected an en-gine that was totally worn out in 90miles. The engine builder had glassbeaded many parts including the in-take manifold, but he failed to re-move the tin heat shield on thebottom of the intake to remove all theglass beading debris. When the en-gine was started, the vibrationcaused debris to fall out of the intakeinto the crankcase. Abrasive debrissuch as this doesn’t care what it cuts– it will cut piston rings just as fast asanything else.

Years ago, racers could only usethose engine oils that were providedby the major motor oil marketers.

Since racing was such a small por-tion of their overall businesses, oilmarketers seldom provided anyspecialized products. When they did

Oil & Lubricants


Do not shortcut the honing process oryour great engine just won’t last. No-tice that there are still marks from theboring bar in the worn portion of thecylinder walls

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41 Amsoil_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:05 AM Page 41

those products usually weren’tbased on sound research and devel-opment.

We now have a plethora of racingoil suppliers, and considerable re-search and development has beenperformed to determine exactly whatoil characteristics racing engines pre-fer. Let’s eliminate blown alcohol andnitro methane fueled engines fromthis discussion, because their majorissue is durability, not the productionof horsepower. Those engines requirevery different properties from theirlubricating oils.

Gasoline and naturally aspiratedalcohol-fueled engines have two dis-tinct lubrication requirements thatseparate them from typical passengercar engines. Racing engines need ad-ditional protection from cam andlifter failures and optimized pistonring and cylinder wall sealing.

Cam and lifter protection is prima-rily needed by these racers runningflat tappet camshafts. Roller cams aremore forgiving if their needle bear-ings are properly lubricated, but ex-treme cam profiles have been knownto burn up pushrod tips on roller camengines if sufficient EP lubricationwasn’t available. The main things toremember here are that flat tappetcams and lifters (and pushrod tips)essentially need three things from alubricant:

• First, cam lobes and lifters (androller bearings) must never be al-lowed to run dry. As soon as metal-

to-metal contact occurs, a part is for-ever altered, and destruction is theend result. Early cam and lifter lubeswere liquid because cam manufactur-ers only wanted one product for bothcam and lifters and cam bearings. Oc-casional cam and lifter failures wereobserved when cam lobes eitherweren’t adequately lubricated or en-gines were stored for considerablelength of time. Remember, establish-ing oil pressure throughout the en-gine prior to first startup doesnothing for most cam lobes andlifters, because they are usually lubri-cated by splash only after the engineis operating above idle speeds.

Heavy greases offer the best pro-tection for cam lobes and flat tappetsin new engines. Grease will stay on acam lobe indefinitely, and oil will bereleased from the grease only when itis required. Remember, grease is es-sentially oil encapsulated in a soapmatrix to keep the oil from flowingaway from the part being lubricated.When the grease gets hot enough, itwill release the oil to flow to the partand lubricate it. Cam journals are, ofcourse, lubricated by pressurized oil.

• Second, cam lobes and flat tap-pets need sufficient zinc dithiophos-



Remember, honing is also part ofthe break-in process. This smallblock was completely worn outafter only a few hundred miles.Honing was insufficient to removeboring bar marks

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phate (ZDP or ZDDP) in the oil toform a sacrificial film on the lifter andcam lobe surfaces preventing metal-to-metal contact with extreme valvespring pressures (EP protection).Modern passenger car engine oilscontain less than half as much ZDPas is needed. Racing oils utilize in-

creased ZDP levels in their formula-tions. You can add ZDP to your exist-ing oil, but how do you know you’readding the right amount at the righttemperature?

• Third, cam lobes and flat tappetsneed oil to allow only sufficient wearto remove roughness inherent to ma-chining practices and properly matethe surfaces to each other. Flat tap-pets are machined slightly convex(the center is highest) and cam lobesare machined slightly tapered tocause the lifters to rotate. Excessivewear causes these surfaces to flatten,and lifter rotation stops. When liftersdon’t rotate, they soon fail.

Mineral oil-based racing oils do agood job of providing a reasonablewear rate to facilitate break-in. Syn-thetic oils, however, sometimes tendto slow the break-in rate because oftheir inherently lower friction. To en-sure that break-in is being accom-plished quickly and safely, I use onlybreak-in oils.

Now to the production of horse-power! Ask any competent enginebuilder, and he will tell you that opti-mum ring and cylinder wall sealingis essential to the production of max-imum horsepower. Notice how manyserious racers check cranking com-pression pressures and cylinder leak-down rates prior to that big race.When I was doing R&D for severalhead engine builders in NASCARand NHRA, I was often asked,“What can you do with the oil to im-prove piston ring sealing?” The en-gine builder can do everything heknows how to do to have the perfect

surface finish on the cylinder walls,but the piston rings must correctlymate to those walls to optimizecylinder sealing.

To optimize ring and cylinder seal-ing as rapidly and safely as possible,use break-in oils specifically formu-lated for this purpose. Break-in oilsare formulated to allow more rapidmating of the rings to the cylinderwalls. Sure, you can break the ringsin without using break-in oils, but itwill take longer to do it. Remember,the better the oil is for durability, theworse it should be for break-in. Alsoavoid highly friction-modified oilsuntil after the engine is completelybroken in. We will discuss the horse-power benefits of highly frictionmodified oils at another time.

A few years ago Daimler-Benzwas having trouble breaking in theirlarge diesels when using very highlycompounded synthetic diesel engineoils. We tore down and inspectedsome of these engines after a fewhours of operation and observed a“glazing” of the cylinder liners mid-way down the bore where pistonspeeds were highest. The rings wereliterally sliding over the tops of thehoning pattern and not removing as-perities. Metal filings and other de-bris were literally filling in the lowspots. The solution was to provideeach Mercedes factory with a break-in oil designed to be used for the firstoil change interval.

In conclusion, I use break-in oils toseat piston rings and cams and liftersas quickly as possible without enginedamage. I realize we’ve all done itother ways in the past, but now wehave the technology to do it correctlyand safely. ■

John Martin is a “motorhead” physi-cist who worked for Lubrizol for 25years, and before that he worked forShell. He has formulated and testedracing oils for NASCAR and NHRA ProStock engines for decades. He has 22patents to his credit through his workon engine and driveline testing andoptimization. He is currently building afuel-injected 692 big block Chevy forhis street rod.


Oil & Lubricants



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45 Sardello_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:04 AM Page 45

First off, let’s get one thing per-fectly clear – there’s no suchthing as “flawless.” Like those

shocking tabloid photos of that Holly-wood actress who gets blindsided be-side a bistro, even the mostconscientious engine builder some-times has to deal with surprising sur-face imperfections.

And just as she has paparazzi to ex-pose the damage and makeup artists tocover it up, today’s engine builders cancall on a number of state-of-the-arttools and techniques to locate, identifyand remediate cracks and other dam-age in a variety of engine components.

Without excellent crack detectionand repair methods, what you can’t seecan most definitely hurt you.

Crack DetectionDepending on their locations, crackseverity will vary. They tend to form,spread and get worse as heat, thermalstress, heavy loads, repeated bendingand flexing, metal fatigue, poundingand vibration take their toll on a part.Cracking is an indication that an area isexperiencing more stress than it canhandle.

Finding those cracks will enable youto determine whether you should re-pair or replace those parts. You simplycan’t afford to spend a lot of time ma-chining or reconditioning cores or usedparts that may be destined for failure.

With hard-to-find and high valuecores and parts, the decision may hingeon the extent of the damage. If the partcan be repaired economically and witha high degree of success, then it’s prob-ably worth fixing. But if it can’t, you’llhave to factor in the cost to replace it.

Never assume a part or a casting is

okay just because you can’t see any vis-ible cracks. Always assume there maybe cracks – although, because engineparts are made of so many differentmaterials these days, finding them maybe a challenge.

Magnetic Particle InspectionMagnetic particle inspection is mostoften used to inspect cast iron or steelalloys that are “ferromagnetic” and canbe temporarily magnetized for suchthings as surface cracks in and aroundthe cylinder head combustion cham-bers and for inspecting crankshafts,camshafts and connecting rods. But thetechnique can also be used to checkgears, shafts, axles and steering andsuspension components for cracks, too.

Magnetic particle inspection won’twork on nonferrous metals such as alu-minum, magnesium, titanium, non-magnetic alloys of stainless steel orplastic.

A magnetic field created in variousways causes tiny iron oxide particlesthat are sprayed or brushed on the partto reveal any cracks. If there are anycracks in the surface of the part, theywill disrupt the magnetic field and actlike a pole to attract the iron particles.

The iron particles (sized between.125” and 60 microns), may be appliedin a dry powder or a wet solution.They can be dyed yellow, white, red,gray, black or other fluorescent colorto improve their visibility against themetal background. With the fluores-cent particles, an ultraviolet blacklight is required to make the particlesstand out.

The wet particle detection method ismore sensitive than the dry method forfinding very small cracks, but dry par-

ticles are better for finding cracks thatmay be just under the surface (subsur-face flaws).

The light, size of the particle andeven the type of electrical current yourequipment can produce can impactyour ability to find cracks and otheranomalies. The training of the operatoris imperative, and so is part cleanliness.Sometimes, casting lines or a roughsurface finish on the component that’sbeing inspected can hide cracks. That’sone of the reasons parts should have beas clean as possible with no dirt, oil,grease or carbon on the surface. Partscan be chemically cleaned, spraywashed or baked in an oven, but don’tshot blast them prior to inspection be-cause blasting may peen shut smallcracks that could reopen later.

Experts say one of the most impor-tant parts of magnetic particle inspec-tion comes after testing has beencompleted: demagnetization. There arevarious ways to ensure the magnetismhas been eliminated but don’t take itfor granted. Parts should be checkedwith a Gauss meter to make sure thereis no residual magnetism.

Dye Penetrant InspectionAnother method for finding surfacecracks and flaws is to use a penetratingdye. Though used mostly on alu-minum parts, this technique alsoworks well on cast iron, steel, compos-ite materials and even plastic.

The theory behind this technique isthat a very light oil will wick into acrack. It’s the same idea as using pene-trating oil to loosen a fastener exceptthat the oil contains a dye. If the oilfinds its way into a crack, the dyeshould then make the crack visible.

Crack Detectionand CorrectionCracks don’t necessarily have to spell the end ofan engine component’s life

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EDITOR Doug [email protected]

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Some penetrating dyes use fluorescentdyes and a black light to make thecracks stand out, while others use achemical developer to make the dyemore visible.

Several different styles of penetrantsare available, depending on yourneeds. If you’re using a UV light andfluorescent dye, a shroud that blocksambient light will make it easier to seethe cracks. Cracks will glow greenunder the black light. With ordinarydyes, no special light is needed. Cracksusually stand out as a stark red lineagainst the bright aluminum metal.

Multi-stage penetrating dyes typi-cally use a three-step process to high-light cracks. The advantage of thisprocess is that it is simple to do and canbe used with non-ferrous metals. How-ever, the drawbacks to the process arethat it can only locate cracks or defectsthat break the surface of the part, itmay be less sensitive than some othermethods, it uses a relatively largeamount of solution and may take extratime to complete testing.

While magnetic particle inspectionand penetrating dyes can do a good jobrevealing surface cracks, neither tech-nique can effectively look below thesurface or find damage hidden inside acasting. In this case, pressure testingcan help you see what’s going wronginside the engine. It is often used inconjunction with these other methodsof crack detection to check the integrityof the cooling jackets in the cylinderhead and block, to find leaks othertechniques can’t (such as porosity leaksin aluminum castings) and to see if vis-ible cracks are really leaking or not.

Vacuum TestingVacuum testing is the same basic ideaas pressure testing, except in reverse.Instead of using air pressure to test thecooling jackets for leaks, vacuum isused on a head or block after the wateroutlets have been plugged. If the cast-ing holds vacuum, there are no leaks.But if it doesn’t, you’ve found a leaker.

Unfortunately, this technique doesnot use water or dye to pinpoint theleak so you still have to use one of theother techniques to find the leak. It’smostly a quick check for verifying theintegrity of a casting.

Ultrasonic TestingMore commonly used in industrial andaviation applications, ultrasonics canalso be used to find internal flaws incastings and other parts. The technol-ogy uses sound waves to find cracks. Atransponder generates an acoustic sig-nal (up to 25 MHz) that passes into andthrough the part. Cracks or flaws willreflect some of the sound waves backto the detector, which allows the infor-mation to be displayed on the tester.

The best applications for ultrasonictesting include heavy castings, largeshafts and expensive parts that may beused for racing or extreme-duty serv-ice. Ultrasonics can also be used tocheck the integrity of welds andwelded castings. They can also be usedto check for the integrity of cylinderwall thicknesses before or after boring.

You can find a lot more detail abouteach of these crack detection methodsonline at enginebuildermag.com or in theSeptember 2006 issue of Engine Buildermagazine.

Crack RepairAccording to Engine Builder’s 2012Machine Shop Market Profile (pub-lished in the July issue and availableonline), cylinder head work remainsone of, if not the biggest part of manymachine shops’ production. Thoughproduction numbers have shownsome declines, cylinder heads con-tinue to be profitable in gas and dieselrebuild facilities.

Yet despite our industry’s tradi-tional ability to get the most out of itscomponents, we learned that fewercylinder heads are being repaired. Wefound that nearly 26 percent of dieselheads and nearly 30 percent of alu-minum heads are being scrapped, bothnumbers significantly higher than lastyear. Obviously, part of this can be at-tributed to the low cost alternativesavailable in the aftermarket. But incases of value or scarcity, parts are re-paired and many shops do the workthemselves. How they do it dependson what it is.

Apparently, the mystery of alu-minum welding is less frightening be-cause an increasing number ofrespondents say they weld crackedaluminum cylinder heads. Welding isused nearly 83 percent of the time, upfrom 77 percent last year. For dieselheads, welding is performed 25 per-cent of the time. Pinning remains themost-often used method for repairingcast iron cylinder heads, and hasopened up a huge lead over welding.

“With later model heads, we findmany cracks are caused by design is-sues,” says Gary Reed, of Lock-N-Stitch. “These may be related to lightercastings, 3- and 4-valve heads with


Crack Detection



seats nearly touching each other andeverything else from too few headbolts to induction hardened valveseats in cast iron heads. Compared toengines manufactured 30 or moreyears ago, the cracking rate is muchhigher now.

Reed classifies all cracked castingsinto two categories: those that crackeddue to an accident or incident like im-pact, freezing or overheating and thosethat cracked during normal operatingconditions, which indicates a designissue or usage beyond the design capa-bilities.

Within aluminum cylinder heads,Reed finds stripped sparkplug threadsand other threaded bolt holes, cracksbetween valve seats and corrosion dueto lack of coolant maintenance are fre-quent complaints. With cast iron heads,he says induction hardened seats willeventually result in cracks across theseats but cracks in the combustionchambers due to poor cooling causedby design or maintenance issues is stillthe biggest problem. Small diesel heads

that frequently crack in areas with littleor no coolant exposure have becomecommon. Valve seat insert bores thatare too close together often don’t haveenough strength to support the press fitof the seat inserts.

Most of the cracking issues with en-gine blocks are related to cylinder wallthickness…or to be more precise, thin-ness. “Core shift has always been anissue but in today’s blocks the dramaticthinning of the walls often leads tostrain cracks,” Reed says.

Other problems are seen with mainand head bolt hole cracks due to thedamaging radial forces exerted formthe threads when torqued. Freezingstill occurs but not as often as earlierblocks. Light marine blocks alwaysprovide a great source of revenue andprofit due to the increased value overautomotive blocks of the same design.

“Diesels seem to crack more thangas engines mostly due to their lifecycle,” Reed says. “Also, more dieselsare made from cast iron now while gasengines see a higher number of alu-

minum components. In diesel blocks,connecting rod failures are fairly com-mon and remain some of the easiestand most lucrative to repair.”

Pinning is the most commonly usedtechnique for repairing cracks in castiron heads because it’s fast, reliable andcheap. It can also be used to repair alu-minum castings, too. Pinning is a rela-tively easy technique to learn and use,doesn’t require any special tools otherthan a drill, guide fixture and tap, anduses no heat.

The technique involves drillingholes in both ends of the crack to keepit from spreading, then drilling holes atvarious intervals along the length ofthe crack, installing overlapping pinsto fill the crack, then peening over thepins with an air hammer to seal andblend the surface. Either tapered pinsor straight pins may be used.

If a crack is along an outside edgeor corner that requires support to holdthe sides of the crack together, or if thecrack is in an area that would open upor pull apart when the casting is


Crack DetectionTHIS ISSUE: PG 52 >> Performance Rings PG 61 >> Product Spotlights PG 68 >> Final Wrap



under load or gets hot, ordinary pinswon’t work. One solution is to use“locks” to hold the two sides of thecrack together, and/or to use specialpins that have a “spiral hook” or “re-verse pitch” thread pattern. Thesepins can actually hold a crack togetherrather than just fill it.

Cracks in thin areas of a casting(thinner than 1/8˝) can be difficult torepair because the metal isn’t thickenough to support the threads on astandard pin. For these applications,very small pins must be used to fillthe crack.

On some applications, the crack be-tween the valve seats can often be re-paired with a single soft steel pin thathas a countersunk shoulder. A steel pinworks best in this application becauseit can withstand heat better than a castiron pin. After the crack has been fixed,the seats can be remachined. Thereshould be no need to cut the head to

accept valve seat inserts.Welding is another exceptional

method of repairing damaged compo-nents, says Karl Hoes, instructor at Lin-coln Electric’s Motorsports WeldingSchool. Welding techniques vary, butthe basic idea is to melt the surround-ing metal and fill the crack with moltenmetal and filler rod. An experiencedwelder can even “recast” a badly dam-aged area, saving a head that wouldotherwise be junk. The strongest weldsare achieved by using a filler rod that’sthe same alloy as the head, or veryclose to it.

Hoes says there are many ways torepair aluminum and cast iron compo-nents with welding. While none ofthem are easy, exactly, experience andskill can allow you to repair manyparts you might have trashed before.

“With aluminum cylinder heads, forexample, TIG welding is commonlyused. But heads are a really thick mass,

and can be hard to weld on. Typically,we would weld aluminum on AC, al-ternating current. What we’ve beenseeing is guys going to DC on alu-minum heads,” explains Hoes. “Theyuse straight helium gas, which allowsthem to get the heat into it veryquickly. The helium adds a lot of heatto the arc.”

Aluminum is a superhighway forheat, says Hoes, conducting heat rap-idly away during the welding process.“To get the aluminum to melt, you’vegot to get it up to 1,200 degrees F. Youmay have a 10,000 degree F arc but thathuge chunk of aluminum is pulling itaway as fast as you’re putting it in.And it’s expensive to use helium in-stead of argon to TIG weld. But some-times you have to add helium to thegas just to get more heat into the workfaster.”

Hoes points out that size does mat-ter, especially when it comes to weld-ing equipment. “These guys are usinglarge machines. A lot of hobbyists haveTIG machines at home – but they don’thave the equipment needed to do thiskind of work. It’s definitely not hobbyequipment for a professional engineshop. You just won’t get good results.You may be able to fool yourself intothinking you’re doing the work, butyou won’t fool the metal.”

It is true for aluminum, that youhave to have advanced welding skills.You have to know how to TIG or MIGweld to repair aluminum blocks. Forcast iron, you have to understand a lit-tle bit about metallurgy. There’s moreinvolved than just running a nice bead.It’s understanding what happens tothat steel when you weld on it, thatyou’re likely going to harden it up andmake it brittle.

You need to remember that fillermaterial makes a huge difference, saysHoes. Depending on the materialsyou’re trying to weld, their application,the desired sheer strength or ductilityand many other factors, filler materialswil be very different case-to-case.

“But while welding does take a cer-tain skill set, as far as it being a profitcenter, yeah, it is,” says Hoes. “Becausewhen it takes more skill or specialequipment to do something, there’s notas many people willing to do it.” ■


Crack Detection





51 Motorstate_Layout 1 10/17/12 11:03 AM Page 51

When you’re building a per-formance engine, whatkind of piston rings

should you use? Rings run the gamutfrom cast iron to ductile iron to steel,with various dimensions, edge pro-files and wear coatings. There are alot of choices available and a lot ofquestions to answer. Some piston setscome with rings while others do not,leaving the choice up to you.

The type of rings that are “best”for any given engine will depend onhow much power the engine willhopefully make, the kind of fuel itwill use, and the kind of racingor performance environment inwhich it will operate. An enginethat is being built for a street per-formance application will not ex-perience the same kind of loadsand conditions as an enginethat’s being built to run on a dirttrack, a drag strip or in a boat.Whatever type of rings youchoose, they should provide thebest combination of sealing control,durability, heat resistance and oilcontrol.

Ring MaterialsGenerally speaking, steel pistonrings are more durable than ductileiron rings, and ductile iron ringsare more durable than cast ironrings. For the past decade moststock production engines havebeen factory equipped with steeltop compression rings to handlethe higher operating temperaturesand loads of today’s higher outputengines. Yet many Top Fuel drag-

ster engines still run ductile ironplasma moly faced rings. Why? Be-cause the moly rings provide thesealing and lubrication required inthis extremely demanding applica-tion. Of course, the rings are changedafter every run – which is somethingthat would not be a practical optionfor most other types of engine appli-cations.

Ductile iron moly faced rings arestill the best choice for many tradi-tional types of street and strip per-formance engines. They are the mosteconomical choice for a typical natu-

rally aspirated SB/BB Chevy or Fordengine, and can safely handle com-pression loads of up to about twohorsepower per cubic inch. Poweradders such as nitrous oxide, a tur-bocharger or supercharger increasethe heat load in the combustionchamber significantly, which also in-creases the risk of ring-damagingdetonation. For higher output per-formance engines, moving up to astronger steel ring is highly recom-mended.

Grey cast iron is a fragile materialwith very little tensile strength com-pared to either ductile iron or steel.Cast iron rings are less expensivethan ductile iron or steel, and are per-fectly adequate for relatively stock tomoderate performance engines. But


PerformancePiston RingsThere are a lot of choices availableand a lot of questions to answer

Feat

ure

The top ring is first and foremost a compres-sion sealing ring. Its sole job is to seal thecombustion chamber and prevent blowby.The second compression ring backs up thetop compression ring from a sealing stand-point but primarily functions as an oilscraper.

TECHNICAL EDITOR Larry [email protected]

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as an engine’s power output goes up,cast iron rings soon reach their limit.

Ductile iron is a strong ring materialand has been utilized in both perform-ance applications and in diesel enginesfor many years. Ductile iron rings aretherefore a good upgrade over greycast iron rings in higher output en-gines. Steel rings, however, can providea 20 percent or more improvementboth in tensile strength and fatigue

strength compared to ductile cast iron. One of the reasons why more and

more rings are now made of steel is be-cause of the narrower face widths thatare now being used in so many ringsets (both original equipment and af-termarket). Thinner, low tension ringsreduce friction and are more conforma-ble to the cylinder wall. Consequently,they provide better sealing and lessblowby. A traditional 5/16˝ compres-

sion ring may generate 7 to 8 poundsof tension compared to maybe half apound of tension in a 0.7 mm compres-sion ring in a NASCAR engine. That’sa significant reduction in friction anddrag. But it also requires a stronger,more durable ring material.

According to one ring supplier weinterviewed, there are two basic typesof steel rings being manufactured forthe performance aftermarket. One iscarbon steel, which is used in ring setsfor both performance engines and latemodel OEM replacement sets. It is 35percent stronger than grey cast iron,can be coated with moly, chromeplated or run unplated in the bore. Theother type of steel is stainless, which isthe material of choice for NASCAR,NHRA Pro Stock and other high endapplications running rings as narrowas 0.7 mm. Stainless steel rings cannotbe run in a cast iron bore without sometype of surface treatment such as gasnitriding or PVD (Physical Vapor Dep-osition) with an alloy of titanium orchromium.

Ring CoatingsRings are available with no coating(plain faced), moly faced or with sometype of PVD surface treatment (tita-nium, chromium or ceramic). Tita-nium nitride is a very popular surfacetreatment for high performance steelrings in high end racing engines be-cause it reduces friction and improveswear resistance. Chromium nitridering treatments offer many of thesame advantages and are typicallymore popular for street performanceengines and even many stock produc-tion engines. Chromium nitride is alsoa popular coating for rings that gointo dirt track engines because dirtwon’t stick to chrome and scour thecylinders. But as another ring supplierpointed out, moly rings work just aswell in dirt track engines provided theengine has good air filtration thatkeeps the dirt out.

Chrome nitrided PVD rings are notthe same as traditional chrome-platedrings. The surface treatment on PVDchrome nitrided rings adheres to thering very well and won’t crack andflake off like electroplated chrome ringscan under adverse operating condi-tions. Chrome rings have been aroundsince World War II and are made byelectroplating chrome onto the surface


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of the ring. Chrome rings became apopular choice for off-road and dirttrack engines because of their ability toresist abrasion caused by airborne con-taminants. However, chrome ringshave about 1,000 degrees F less resist-ance to scuffing than moly coatedrings. Since heat is a prime considera-tion in almost every performance ap-plication, moly has been the ring facecoating of choice for many years.

Moly faced rings typically bed-infaster than chrome, reaching full seal-ing capacity more quickly, while pro-viding significantly higher scuffresistance. Some ring suppliers im-prove the abrasion resistance of theirmoly coatings by combining it with anickel chrome alloy (which increasesface life by 65 percent compared toconventional moly faced rings). Theonly disadvantages with moly is thatthe facing material can be damaged bysevere engine detonation, and it maybe incompatible with some bore coat-ings such as nickel/carbide or alu-minum based alloys. For such

applications, a PVD coated steel ringwould be the right choice. Some ringsuppliers also do not recommendusing moly rings in engines where al-cohol based fuels are used for extendedperiods of time.

Ring ProfilesPiston rings are available with all kindsof edge profiles including square face,taper face, center barrel, offset barreland napier. The top compression ringwill usually be some type of barrel face,while the second ring will often be ataper face or napier face ring. The rea-son for the different profiles is to opti-mize the performance of the ring forthe job it has to perform.

The top ring is first and foremost acompression sealing ring. Its sole job isto seal the combustion chamber andprevent blowby. The top ring receivesthe brunt of the heat and compressionloading so it has to be strong anddurable. A barrel faced top compres-sion ring usually provides the bestcombination of sealing ability and

wear resistance. A square faced ringseals well but eventually develops abarrel-like profile from ring flex as thepiston moves up and down. Giving thering a barrel profile to begin with re-duces ring wear for longer ring life.

The second ring’s job is usuallyabout 80 to 90 percent oil control and10 to 20 percent sealing. The secondcompression ring backs up the topcompression ring from a sealing stand-point but primarily functions as an oilscraper. A slight taper is applied to theface of the second ring (2 to 4 degrees)so it will scrape oil off the cylinder wallwhen the piston moves down. Under-cutting the bottom edge of the 2nd ringface to create a groove (hook groove ornapier profile) improves the oil scrap-ing ability of the ring even more, espe-cially in naturally aspirated engines.The groove also provides a relief areaunder the ring face for blow-by gasevacuation. Because of this, a napierstyle second ring is usually the bestchoice for oil control.

An important point to note is that


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the second ring is obviously a directional ring and must be in-stalled with the correct side up, otherwise it will pump oil inthe wrong direction and increase oil consumption.

For engines running volatile fuels like nitromethane andengines running large amounts of boost like blown alcoholand diesel pulling trucks and tractors, napier style secondrings are NOT the best choice. These type of engines run suchhigh cylinder pressures that the second ring is forced to dealwith substantially more gas pressure blowby. Consequently,many blown alcohol engines run a ductile iron reverse twiststyle second ring or use a top ring in the second pistongroove. Some also use a Dykes style ring with a barrel facedductile iron plasma moly ring in the second groove.

The third ring is the oil ring, typically a 3-piece designwith a pair of thin chrome faced or nitrided steel oil rails sup-ported by an expander. Advantages of the three piece designare: low cost, good conformability to the cylinder bore, easeof installation and the ability for the ring manufacturer tomodify the oil ring tension as demand requires. The 3-piecedesign is widely used in both OE and performance ring ap-plications. The general consensus is that the traditional 3-piece oil ring design works great so why mess with it? The3-piece oil ring provides good oil drain back, good side seal-ing of the oil groove and allows the two rails to seal againstthe cylinder bore independently of each other, something aone-piece oil ring cannot do. A 3-piece oil ring also has lessmass which reduces inertia forces for better ring stability es-pecially at higher engine speeds.

One piece oil rings are used in many low rpm diesel en-gines and in some European gasoline engines, but are rela-tively uncommon here in performance applications.However, they do exist and are successfully used in a varietyof F-1, NASCAR and NHRA Pro Stock engines. The one-piece oil rings are available on special order, are very expen-sive and are quite different than a traditional 3-piece oil ring.But they do have their advantages. According to one supplierof these rings, their one-piece oil ring in a 4.180˝ cylinder borewith a 1.5 mm oil ring groove in the piston exerts only about10 Newtons of load against the cylinder bore.

Of course, conventional 3-piece oil rings have also gottenthinner to reduce tension and friction. A traditional 3-piece,3/16˝ thick oil ring that used to create 20 lbs. of tension hasnow been replaced by smaller, thinner 3-piece oil rings thatgenerate only 3 to 4 pounds of tension. Less tension meansless friction and more horsepower.

Ring GapsRegardless of what type of rings you choose for an engine,the ring end gaps have to be right for the application. Themore power an engine makes, the more heat it generates inthe combustion chamber and the more the top ring ex-pands in response to all that heat. As the ring expands, thedistance between the ends of the ring in the ring gap nar-rows. Hopefully, there’s enough clearance so the ends ofthe ring don’t overextend and butt up against each other,causing the ring to scuff.

Engines with power adders such as nitrous oxide, a tur-bocharger or blower obviously create more heat the combus-tion chamber than most naturally aspirated engines, sorequires more end gap clearance when the rings are installed.

A rule of thumb for the top compression ring is .0045˝of end gap per inch of bore diameter for a naturally aspi-


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rated engine, and .006˝ for a poweradder application. What’s more,many ring suppliers recommendopening up the second ring .005˝ to.010˝ more than the top ring gap innaturally aspirated engines to pre-vent gas build up between the topand second rings. This can cause thetop ring to flutter or bounce and loseits seal. But in a boosted engine, thesecond ring is exposed to moreblowby and should be gappednearly the same as the top ring.

Piston ring manufacturers pub-lish end gap recommendations intheir catalogs and on their websites.Always refer to these recommenda-tions as they will vary from onemanufacturer to another dependingon the type of rings used, what therings are made of (cast iron has ahigher rate of thermal expansionthan steel), and the application.

Final Thoughts On Ring SelectionThough books have been written on

this subject, we can boil it down tothe following points:

1) What is your total enginebudget, and what percentage of thatbudget can you spend for rings? Forexample, if you buy a set of exoticone-piece oil rings that cost almost$600 for a V8, the rings alone mightcost more than the pistons! Such anexpensive outlay for a set of ringswouldn’t make much sense for atypical street/strip engine, but itmight be justified for a high dollarPro Stock engine.

2) Are you building a naturallyaspirated engine or one that will bejacked to the max with nitrousoxide, a turbocharger or blower? Thehigher the power output, thestronger the ring material that willbe needed to handle the heat andpressure.

3) How will the engine be used?Drag racing, truck pulling, circletrack, marine, street driven, etc. Ifthe application is a street perform-ance engine, how much time realisti-

cally will it actually spend at fullthrottle? Choose a ring facing thatprovides the kind of durability thatmatches the application.

4) How often will the engine berefreshed? Will the rings have to lasttens of thousands of miles (as theydo on the street) or will they be re-placed every season?

5) What type of rings are othersusing in similar applications? If acertain type of ring or facing mate-rial is working great for everybodyelse, trying to be a pioneer mayprove to be expensive!

6) What kind of rings are availablefor the engine’s bore size and pistonconfiguration? For some applications(like engines with unusually largebore diameters or extremely shortlightweight pistons), this may limityour options quite a bit. ■

We thank the following ring suppliersfor their input to this article: FederalMogul/Sealed Power, Hastings,MAHLE, NPR and Total Seal.


Piston Rings


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Dec. 6-8 2012IMIS 2012, held December 6-8 2012 in In-dianapolis, IN, is your destination to ex-plore the newest equipment andinnovative technology in the motorsportsindustry. World-class exhibitors, technicalseminars, endless networking, banquets,special events, and much more promiseto make your visit to this year’s IMIS100% hardcore.

International Motorsports Industry ShowPhone: (317) 429-1004www.imis-indy.com

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10W-30 Synthetic Diesel Oil

New AMSOIL OE 10W-30 SyntheticDiesel Oil provides outstanding fueleconomy benefits for applications requir-ing an SAE 30 or 10W-30 diesel oil. Thenew addition to the company’s OE lineoffers high-quality protection and per-formance for manufacturer-recom-mended drain intervals at a veryattractive price point.

Amsoil Inc.www.amsoil.com

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Stock Replacement Gaskets from Engine ProEngine Pro has added to its line of stockreplacement gaskets, with full sets andhead sets now available. All gasket com-ponents are produced to OE standardsand are ISO 9001:2000 certified. Cylinderhead gaskets have an exclusive perfo-rated steel core to resist scrubbing, spe-cial aluminum sealing compound forbetter load spread, and Teflon-graphitecoatings for better heat resistance andmore effective sealing. Go to goengine-pro.com for your local Engine Pro Dis-tributor.

Engine ProPhone: 1-800-ENGINE-1www.goenginepro.com

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Web Valvetrain PartsCatalogSBI has released a Web-based version ofits acclaimed catalog in order to provideusers with real-time updates on additionsto the company’s line of replacement val-vetrain parts for close to 3,000 applica-tions divided among late-model domesticand import passenger car, light truck,performance, marine, agricultural, heavy-duty and forklift/industrial. The catalogalso features listings of K-Line BronzeBullet-brand valve guide liners and mis-cellaneous K-Line tooling stocked by SBI,Exclusive Master Distributor for K-Line.Based on SBI’s CD-ROM catalog, the SBIWeb-based catalog allows the user tosearch the database by part type/partnumber, vehicle type, engine manufac-turer, or specific engine and make codes.

S.B. InternationalPhone:1-800-THE-SEATwww.sbintl.com

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Stock-AppearingPerformance

Nitrided Rocker ArmsElgin® PRO-STOCK® Nitro™ rockerarms look just like stock replacementcomponents but feature a nitrided, case-hardened metallurgy that is significantlymore resistant to wear. These exclusiverocker arms are ideally suited to applica-tions with high valve spring pressure andwhich are raced in classes/series requir-ing stock-appearing parts. For more in-formation, please contact your ElginPRO-STOCK supplier, visit www.el-ginind.com or call 1-800-323-6764.

Phone:800-323-6764www.elginind.com

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MaxDry STL IntakeManifold Gaskets

Magnum Gaskets offers MaxDry STL™steel-carrier gaskets for the most de-manding intake manifold applications.They feature super premium FKM syn-thetic rubber, precision-molded ontocorrosion-resistant aluminized steel car-riers. They offer maximum protectionfrom exposure to harsh chemical envi-ronments and extreme operating condi-tions, including extended-lifeanti-freeze, known as OAT (OrganicAcid Technology) coolants.

Magnum Gaskets, an MSI brandPhone: 847-580-6110magnumgaskets.com

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Simply the Best Lists:Automotive Aftermarket

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What Type of Direct Marketing

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Advertiser IndexCOMPANY NAME PAGE # CIRCLE #American Gasket 10 10Amsoil Inc 41 41Atech Motorsports 37 37Brad Penn Lubricants 4 4Cam-shield Lubricants 44 44Centroid Corp. 55 55Cloyes Gear & Products Inc. 47 47Dakota Parts Warehouse 50 50Dart Machinery Ltd 9 9Darton International 4 12DNJ Engine Components 1 1Driven Racing Oil, LLC C2 2Dura-Bond Bearing Co 29 29Edelbrock Corp 32 32Elgin Industries 42, 43 42, 43Engine Parts Group 13 13Engine Parts Warehouse C3 71Engine Performance Warehous 57 57EngineQuest 31 31ESCO Industries 20 20Evans Cooling Systems 8 8Federal Mogul/Fel Pro 26, 27 26, 27GRP Connecting Rods 28 28IMIS 7 7Injector Experts 44 34King Electronics 10 62Liberty Engine Parts 5 5Los Angeles Sleeve 39,65 39, 130Mahle Clevite 23 23Melling Engine Parts 25 25Magnum Gaskets 53 53Moroso Performance Products 40 40Motor State Distributing 51 51Mr Gasket Performance Group 8 78NPR of America, Inc. 60 60Packard Industries 34, 35 35PAI Industries Inc 18 18Performance Trends 50 52PRI Show 11 11Pro-Filer Performance Product 38 38PRW Industries 33 33Quaker City Castings 49 49Quality Power Products 17 17Ross Racing Pistons 58 58Rottler Manufacturing C4 72Safety Auto Parts Corp 59 59Sardello, Inc 45 45SB International 3 3Scat Enterprises 14, 15 15Schaeffler Group USA 19 16T & D Machine Products 36 36United Engine & Machine 56 56Vibratech TVD 48 48Wiseco Piston Inc 6, 54 6, 54

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PublisherDave Wooldridge, ext. [email protected]

Associate Publisher/EditorDoug Kaufman, ext. [email protected]

Senior Executive EditorBrendan Baker, ext. [email protected]

Graphic DesignerNichole Anderson, ext. 232 [email protected]

Tech EditorLarry [email protected]

Advertising ServicesTina Purnell, ext. 243 [email protected]

Director of DistributionRich Zisk, ext. 287 [email protected]

Circulation ManagerPat Robinson, ext. 276 [email protected]

Sr. Circulation SpecialistEllen Mays, ext. 275 [email protected]

Sales RepresentativesBobbie [email protected], ext. 238

Roberto [email protected], ext. 233

David [email protected] ext. 210

Don [email protected] 330-670-1234, ext. 286

Karen [email protected], ext. 295

Dean [email protected]

Dean [email protected], ext. 225

Jim [email protected], ext. 280

Tom [email protected], ext 224

Glenn [email protected], ext. 212

John Zick [email protected] 949-756-8835

enginebuildermag.com3550 Embassy ParkwayAkron, OH 44333-8318

FAX 330-670-0874

330-670-1234

Babcox Media Inc.Bill Babcox, President

Greg Cira, Vice President, CFOJeff Stankard, Vice President

Beth Scheetz, Controller

In Memoriam:Edward S. Babcox (1885-1970)

Founder of Babcox Publications Inc.

Tom B. Babcox (1919-1995)Chairman

Okay, so saying “I have to playgolf when I’m at the PERAAnnual Convention” doesn’t

sound like the toughest way to spendan afternoon. But when you’re A; notmuch of a golfer (me), B; teamedwith some industry bigwigs (PeterButterfield of LKQ, Ken Carter ofMAHLE Clevite and RobertYarbrough of Bishop International)and C; expected to contribute some-thing to a scramble foursome, thestress level can start to rise.

Luckily, we found Bubba.Bubba happens to be a buckeye,

which also happens to be the OfficialTree of the Great State of Ohio fromwhich Mr. Carter and I both hail.Bubba became, after a mediocre firstfew holes, our team mascot and pro-pelled us to first place in last month’sAnnual PERA Golf Outing in Seattle,WA.

It’s probably more accurate to saythat the efforts of Messrs. Yarbrough,Carter and Butterfield did more tocontribute to our victory than myfinding the lucky buckeye did, but

we’ll just give credit to Bubba.Obviously, giving credit where

credit is due is important, and I’d liketo heap some praise on someone elsewho may feel that she’s treated like anut, Engine Builder graphic designerextraordinaire, Nichole Anderson. Asyou’ve no doubt noticed by now, En-gine Builder has undergone a fairlysignificant redesign. We think it’s acleaner, fresher and more contempo-rary look, and we owe much of it toNichole.

While I hope that working with meisn’t as frustrating as golfing with me, Iwill admit that things don’t always goas smoothly as I (or anyone else)would like. Thanks to the great effortsof the crack team of Senior ExecutiveEditor Brendan Baker, Ad ServicesQueen Tina Purnell and the aforemen-tioned Designer Par Excellence Ander-son (in addition to a few others), myfalse swings and failings never got thechance to derail this project.

We hope you like the design andpromise even more improvements inthe months ahead, both in print, on-

line and in various other formats. En-gine Builder will continue to addressthis industry’s changing needs andwe appreciate your comments onhow we’re doing.

For me in Seattle, the challenge oftrying to golf in the presence of great-ness paled in comparison to thechance to talk openly about the chal-lenges we face. As we all know, thingsaren’t easy in this industry. But asthose of us who participated at thePERA Convention can attest, there’s agreat network of support for all of us.

Gone are the days when industrymembers operated on an island –today, teamwork is much more evi-dent. Remanufacturers and suppliersalike were readily exchanging ideas,questions and solutions.

Certainly, business is still businessand healthy competition will be nec-essary for the continued survival ofour industry. But we’re all in this to-gether and whatever skill set youhappen to bring to the party, knowthat your contributions will be appre-ciated by the rest of the team. ■

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Doug Kaufman

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Doug [email protected]

Butterfield,Bubba and MeHow Seattle’s skyline provided agreat backdrop to industry talk

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