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DOES OIL NEED TO BE ADDED TO MY NEW ENGINE?
YES! ALL OF OUR ENGINES ARE SHIPPED WITHOUT OIL AS IT IS CONSIDERED HAZARDOUS WASTE. EVEN OUR DYNO-TUNED ENGINE HAVE THE OIL DRAINED PRIOR TO SHIPPING. REFER TO OUR NEW ENGINE START-UP PROCEDURE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAIL. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO ADD OIL, PLEASE MAKE YOUR PURCHASE ELSEWHERE.
WHAT PARTS COME IN YOUR STROKER KITS?
YOU GET THE CRANKSHAFT, CONNECTING RODS, PISTONS, PISTON RINGS, ROD AND MAIN BEARINGS
DO I NEED TO BALANCE MY STROKER KIT?
YES. ALL ROTATING ASSEMBLIES NEED TO BE BALANCED.
CAN I USE MY 350 CHEVY HARMONIC DAMPER ON MY 400 CHEVY?
NO MOST 350 CHEVY'S ARE INTERNAL BALANCED WHERE MOST 400 CHEVYS ARE EXTERNAL BALANCED.
IS MALLORY METAL INCLUDED IN THE INTERNAL BALANCE LABOR PRICE?
NO, MALLORY METAL IS A SEPERATE CHARGE AT $60.00 PER OUNCE.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLYWHEEL AND A FLEX PLATE?
A FLYWHEEL IS USED WITH A MANUAL TRANS, AND A FLEXPLATE IS USED WITH A AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION.
HOW DO I MAKE MY BIG CAM'D ENGINE IDLE SMOOTHER?
AN ENGINE WITH AN AGGRESSIVE HIGH RPM CAMSHAFT INHERENTLY HAS A LOT OF VALVE OVERLAP FOR EFFICIENT SCAVENGING AND CYLINDER FILLING AT HIGH RPM.
THESE ENGINES IDLE ROUGH AND LACK LOW END TORQUE BECAUSE THE DYNAMIC COMPRESSION IS REDUCED IN THE CYLINDER AND BY DILUTION OF THE INTAKE CHARGE WITH BURNT EXHAUST GASSES. REMEMBER, THE COMPRESSION STROKE DOES NOT START UNTIL THE INTAKE VALVE IS CLOSED. THE EXHAUST GAS MIXTURE CAN BE VERIFIED BY FORCING OPEN THE EGR VALVE ON ANY ENGINE SO EQUIPPED AND NOTING THE IDLE QUALITY!
WITHOUT CHANGING THE CAM, IDLE QUALITY AND LOW END TORQUE CAN BE IMPROVED BY GIVING THE ENGINE MORE INITIAL TIMING. THIS WILL "LIGHT THE FUSE" SOONER SO THE SLOWER BURNING COMBUSTION RATE IS MORE COMPLETE BY 23 DEGREES ATDC. THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN A VACUUM ADVANCE CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTOR BY ATTACHING THE LINE TO A MANIFOLD VACUUM INSTEAD OF PORTED.
MANIFOLD VACUUM PORTS HAVE HIGHEST VACUUM SIGNAL AT IDLE THEN DIMINISHING AS THE THROTTLE BLADES ARE OPEN WIDE. PORTED VACUUM PORTS HAVE NO VACUUM SIGNAL AT IDLE BUT PROVIDE SUCTION AS THE THROTTLE BLADES ARE TIPPED OPEN THEN DIMINISHING AT FULL THROTTLE.
MECHANICALLY CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTORS CAN BE ADJUSTED TO PROVIDE MORE IGNITION TIMING AT IDLE BUT REMEMBER TOTAL TIMING SHOULD NOT EXCEED 36 DEGREES. PREIGNITION AND DETONATION CAN RESULT IN AN ENGINE WITH TOO MUCH INITIAL TIMING.
RE-BALANCING THE IDLE FUEL MIXTURE SCREWS AFTER MAKING THIS CHANGE WILL ENHANCE THE EFFECT AS THE ENGINE CAN NOW HANDLE MORE FUEL.
HOW DO I KEEP MY CAR FROM STALLING WHEN I GO INTO DRIVE?
ENGINES WITH LARGE OVERLAP CAMS ARE DESIGNED TO BE MOST EFFICIENT AT HIGH RPM'S. ANY ENGINE SO EQUIPPED IS INHERENTLY LAZY AT LOW RPM DUE TO LOW DYNAMIC CYLINDER PRESSURE AND EXHAUST DILUTED INTAKE CHARGE.
STALLING CAN BE OVERCOME WITH A PROPERLY MATCHED STALL TORQUE CONVERTER. THE CONVERTER ALLOWS THE ENGINE TO RISE IN RPM SLOWLY TAKING ON FULL VEHICLE WEIGHT AND PROVIDING ACCELERATION. THE RULE OF THUMB IS TO
CHOOSE A STALL SPEED 400 RPM ABOVE WHERE THE ENGINE BEGINS RAM-PING UP THE TORQUE CURVE. TYPICALLY WE USE A 2,400 TO 2,800 STALL WITH MOST OF OUR STREET ENGINES. STALL SPEED CONVERTERS IN EXCESS OF 3000 RPM ARE DIFFICULT TO DRIVE ON THE STREET AND CAN RESULT IN OVER HEATING AND EXCESSIVE FUEL CONSUMPTION. DO NOT USE A LOCK UP CONVERTER WITH THE LOCK UP RPM POINT
BELOW THE TORQUE CURVE OF THE ENGINE.
NOTE, MANY OF OUR ENGINES HAVE SUGGESTED STALL CONVERTERS COVERING TYPICAL VEHICLE WEIGHTS. IF YOU NEED FURTHER HELP, FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL OR CALL US.
DETONATION & OCTANE REQUIREMENTS FOR PERFORMANCE ENGINES
A) NEXT TO CUBIC INCH, THE EASIEST WAY TO BOOST POWER IS BY INCREASING CYLINDER PRESSURE. CYLINDER PRESSURE IS PRIMARILY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY DETERMINED BY THE STATIC COMPRESSION RATIO. OUR EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN CUSTOMERS TEND TO BE TOO CONSERVATIVE WITH COMPRESSION WHEN DESIGNING A PERFORMANCE ENGINE FEARING EXPENSIVE FUEL COST OR ENGINE DAMAGING DETONATION. A GOOD RULE OF THUMB WE'VE SEEN IN CONDUCTING DAILY DYNO TESTS OF SIMILAR BUILT ENGINES IS APPROXIMATE 10$ CHANGE IN HORSEPOWER FOR EVERY 1 POINT CHANGE IN STATIC COMPRESSION, EVERYTHING ELSE HELD EQUAL. HIGH COMPRESSION ENGINES ARE MORE EFFICIENT AT RELEASING THE CHEMICAL ENERGY FROM THE COMBUSTIBLE AIR/FUEL MIXTURE. IT IS SQUASHED INTO A DENSER MASS RESULTING IN A QUICKER BURN RATE. THIS INHEIRANTLY RELEASES MORE HEAT TO DRIVE THE PISTONS, YET IMPARTING LESS HEAT LOSS INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER SURFACES DUE TO BETTER FLAME PROPOGATION. WE CAN DEMONSTRATE THIS PRINCIPLE BY STUDYING THE CONVERSE. REMEMBER BACK IN THE 70'S WHEN MANUFACTURERS REDUCED NOx POLLUTANTS BY DROPPING COMPRESSION RATIOS? THE ENGINES OCTANE REQUIREMENT WAS ACTUALLY RASIED BECAUSE OF ADDITIONAL COMBUSTION CHAMBER CLEARANCE VOLUME. THE SLOWER THE BURN RATE RESULTED IN COMBUSTION STILL OCCURING AS THE PISTON DECENDS PAST THE OPTIMAL 23 DEGREES ATDC. VARIOUS VACUUM CONTROLLED TIMING KITS WERE INSTALLED TO COMPHENSATE FOR THIS DEFICIENCY. THIS RESULTED IN ELEVATED EXHAUST TEMPERATURES AND OVER-STRESSED COOLING SYSTEMS. ONLY NOW THROUGH THE USE OF PRECISE FUEL INJECTION CONTROLS ARE TEH MANUFACTURERS ONCE AGAIN RAISING COMPRESSION RATIOS FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY.
B) COMBUSTION BEGINS NORMALLY WITH THE FLAME FROM BURNING SMOOTHLY THROUGH THE AIR/FUEL MICTURE, WHEN SUDDENLY AS CYLINDER PRESSURE & TEMPERATURE RISE THE REMAINING GASES EXPLODE VIOLENTLY ALL AT ONCE. THIS RESULTS IN DAMAGED ROD BEARINGS, BROKEN RINGS OR PISTONS, AND BLOWN HEAD GASKETS. ANOTHER FORM OF ABNORMAL COMBUSTION IS PRE-IGNITION IN WHICH THE AIR/FUEL MIXTURE IS IGNITED BY SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE IGNITION SPARK. SHARP EDGES, OVER-HEATED PLUG ELECTRODES OR GLOWING COMBUSTION DEPOSITS CAN ALL CAUSE THIS TO OCCUR. PRE-IGNITION STARTS COMBUSTION TOO EARLY RESULTING IN OVER-HEATING THE PISTON CROWN, POWER LOSS, RISING TEMPERATURES AND ROUGHNESS EVENTUALLY DEGRADING INTO DETONATION. SOME PERCEIVE TWIN FLAME FRONTS AS ALSO BEING DETERIMENTAL TO THE ENGINE BUT IN FACT MULTIPLE FLAME FRONTS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN USED WITH THE HEMI AND ROTARY DESIGNED ENGINES. OUR OWN DYNO TESTING HAS SHOWN TORQUE INCREASES BY INITIATING A SECOND SPARK 4 CRANK DEGREES AFTER THE FIRST TO COMPLETE COMBUSTION. HOWEVER, IN DESIGNING YOUR OWN HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINE, WE ARE NOT LIMITED TO HOLDING ALL THINGS EQUAL AND CAN COMBINE PROPERLY MATCHED COMPONENTS TO REDUCE AN ENGINES OCTANE REQUIREMENT EVEN WITH HIGHER STATIC COMPRESSION.
C) SINCE VALVE TIMING CONTROL DYNAMIC CYLINDER PRESSURE, WE CAN USE THE CAMSHAFT TO LOWER THE OCTANE REQUIREMENT. ENGINE DAMAGING DETONATION TYPICALLY OCCURS AT LOW RPM. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE COOLING EFFECT FROM INCREASED CYLINDER ACTIVITY ABOVE 2,800RPM. THIS IS WHY WE USE CAMS WITH 240+ DEGREES DURATION @ .050" ON 110 LOBE CENTERS WITH 2,400 TO 2,800 STALL CONVERTERS TO SUCESSFULLY RUN ENGINES ON PREMIUM PUMP FUEL AT 11.0:1 COMPRESSION.
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