Calculation Formulas
Stock Briggs & Stratton 5 hp. specifications:
Deck height: 6.2835"
Rod length: 3.8750"
Compression height: 1.1900"
Rod bore (crank): 1.0010"
Rod bore (wrist pin): .4910"
Cylinder bore: 2.562"
Stroke: 2.4370
Measuring Stroke
Stroke is measured from the center line of the crank bearing journal to the center line of the rod journal multiplied by 2.
Measuring Deck Height
Deck height is measured from the center line of the crankshaft bore to the deck of the block.
Measuring Compression Height
Compression height is measured from the center line of the wrist pin bore to the top of the piston.
Calculating Cubic Inch Displacement (cid)
To calculate cubic inch displacement (cid):multiply bore x bore x stroke x .7854example: 2.562 x 2.562 x 2.437 x .7854 = 12.5633 cid
Rod Length & Compression Height - Made Simple
Calculating Rod Length
To calculate rod length:subtract deck height - (stroke divided by 2) - compression height.example: 6.2863 - (2.437 / 2) - 1.190 = 3.875 rod length
Calculating Compression Height
To calculate compression height:subtract deck height - (stroke divided by 2) - rod length.example: 6.2835 - (2.437 / 2) - 3.875 = 1.190 compression height
Wednesday, November 11, 1998
Does It Matter? A common sense approach to engine building.
Historically, human nature has taught us two basic things about the question "Does It Matter ?"
1 - If a problem exists, and we have the capability to correct it, we tell the world "It Does Matter".
2 - If we don't have any interest or desire to correct a problem, we either keep our mouths shut or simply say "It just doesn't matter".
PREFACE
This article could have been greatly expanded into a full length novel but would have gotten boring with illustration on top of illustration.What's written here is not fiction, and mixed with a bucket full of common sense and imagination, you will run faster and longer.If you disagree with our opinions, let us know. We can learn too.If you have any questions or problems, send us an e-mail or call 1-800-521-3560. We'll be here if you need us.
DOES IT MATTER
If the base of a block is not perfectly flat and true ?If the surface of a motor mount that accepts the base of a block is not true and flat ?Through no fault of the chassis builder, it’s virtually impossible to have the mounting rails for the motor mount perfectly aligned.Does the weight of the driver flex or move the motor mount rails on the chassis ?Do the motor mount rails move and flex during a race ?
In other words, can you take a perfectly good motor, bolt it to a motor mount and then to the chassis and totally mess it up ? And the answer is - YES !
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TEST RESULTS
We took a block and precision align bored it perfectly round and straight from top to bottom and bolted it down to a rigid, perfectly flat surface plate. Under one corner we put a .050 shim. This shim could now represent a distortion caused by any one of or combination of the problems mentioned above.Next, we took a good tenth (.0001) reading dial bore gauge to examine the bore. Looking at the top of the block, and considering between the two valve seats would represent 6 o’clock, we took 2 readings. One aimed at 11 o’clock and one aimed at 1 o’clock. Starting at the top of the bore we moved down a ½ inch at a time. As we moved down the once perfectly round bore, it started taking the shape of an egg.The distortion was .002.
This test was performed on a Kool bore motor bored .030 over.The crankshaft bores had also moved and were slightly tighter in the DU bushing.A dual bearing block is more forgiving when this happens but either way it is a problem.The deck of the block also moved and became distorted.
Here’s a shocker:Before we did the test, we bolted a side cover on the block without a gasket and could see day light between the two surfaces. Then we took feeler gauges and it was easy to find where a .002 gauge would fit but we also got a .004 gauge to fit in one place.
Have you ever wondered why sometimes you have problems with oil leaks and blown side cover gaskets ?
These are some problems that can happen because of this:
• Scuffing or galling pistons.
• Abnormal wear in the cylinder wall.
• Rings not seating.
• Loss of compression.
• Loss of horsepower.
• Increased blow by in the crankcase.
• Oil consumption.
• Oil contaminating the fuel charge.
• Engine life short lived.
• Blown head gaskets.
• Side cover gaskets leaking.
• Blown side cover gaskets.
• Blocks cracking because of stress.
The question is: DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER ?
The answer is: ABSOLUTELY...
OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT (and remember)
Briggs blocks are not equal and will vary from block to block.Kool bore blocks will distort more than IC blocks.Big overbores will distort more than stock bores.Pre-Raptor motors, with thinner castings, will distort more than the current castings.Large overbores for sleeves and then boring the sleeve for large pistons will distort even more.Over a period of years we have heard the following question asked several times a week from our customers:"I built two identical motors, 1 runs super and the other is a real dog, what’s wrong" ?or "I dyno tested this motor and it was great, then put it on the chassis and it wouldn’t fall out of a tree by itself. Why" ?
I wonder if anything we have discussed so far would shed any light on this subject ?
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
To solve one of the problems, the base of the block must be surfaced perfectly flat. The side cover must be on the block when it is surfaced. If you ever change side covers you must check the new one and make sure it does not stick down below the base surface of the block. If it does grind this material away.
The two drain plugs should be installed in the block TIGHT before it is surfaced. The reason here is that the drain plugs swell the block and create a knot on the base surface. Either before or after surfacing the base, with the drain plugs installed, take a die grinder and remove about .050 of material. The area to work on is 1 inch to the right and the left, and into the center of the block from the drain plug.
One last important thing:You must change your habits because you never thought about protecting the base of the block before.A special fixture (part number 7718) for milling or grinding the base of the block is available from ARC. This fixture also aligns the crankshaft parallel with the base of the block and aligns the existing bore 90 degrees with the base front to rear and is also excellent for use prior to boring a block on a vertical mill.
THE CYLINDER WALL • DOES IT MATTER ?
Ask yourself this question. Would you go to a race and add some oil to your fuel and loosen your spark plug just a little so you would have less compression? Obviously not. But you might be accomplishing the same thing and here’s how.Remember this rule of thumb. For every .001 wear on the diameter of the rings, and or the cylinder wall, the end gap of your rings grow by .003.
The following are some common examples of imperfect cylinder bores:
THE BARREL BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top and the bottom of the bore but it is .004 bigger in the middle.You set the end gap of the rings at the top of the cylinder correctly but the end gap of the rings open up an additional .012 when they get to the middle of the bore.
THE UPSIDE DOWN FUNNEL BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top of the bore but is .006 bigger at the bottom.You set the end gap of your rings at the top of the cylinder correctly but when the piston gets to the bottom of the stroke, the end gap opens up an additional .012.These examples may or may not be exaggerated, but its all relevant.
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY
The end gap of the rings and the correctness of the bore is a very controllable loss of compression to the crankcase and oil is being forced past the rings to dilute the fuel charge. ITS JUST HORSEPOWER BEING WASTED. Now stir this problem in with the first problems of distortion and you might as well call in the dogs.
Two more examples of imperfect bores:
THE FUNNEL BORE
The cylinder measures the correct size at the top but is .006 smaller at the bottom.
THE HOUR GLASS BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top and bottom of the bore but is .004 smaller in the middle.You set the end gap of your rings at the top of the bore correctly but as the piston gets to the middle of the bore we have what is known as a CRUSHED END GAP. The cylinder wall galls, heat builds up and rings lock onto the piston. Need I say more.
WHAT IS GOOD ENOUGH IN A CYLINDER BORE
Perfection in any area is highly improbable but, as a rule of thumb, it should be within (.0005) ½ of a thousands. Holding the tolerance to less than this is certainly possible, so never give up trying at perfection.You should own a very good dial bore gauge that reads at least in the ½ thousandths (.0005).
When a motor is ready to compete in a race, the cylinder wall should be as perfect as possible. The bore should be round, straight from top to bottom and aligned exactly 90 degrees form the crankshaft. The cylinder wall should be as slick as possible with the rings already seated to the cylinder wall. The ring end gap should be at a minimum of .004 to .005" and the clearance between the piston and the cylinder wall (depending on preference) can be between .004 and .008.
ENGINE BREAK-IN • AN ELECTRIC RUN-IN STAND vs. LIVE RUNNING
There are many methods and theories on breaking in that new motor. The end result is that all the parts, especially the rings and cylinder wall, must wear a small amount to become compatible. WE MUST SEAL THE CYLINDER. Anything that is moving inside the engine is going to wear to some degree. During this break in period, all the metallic debris is being splashed back on these new parts causing more wear.
The big difference between these two methods:An engine running under power is under far more stress because of the pressures created by combustion. Therefore the metallic debris is under more pressure as it circulates over the moving parts. Fuel contamination of the oil is another problem. Fumes and noise are certainly a negative. Depending on motor design, engine RPM is sometimes hard to control. Ring end gap must be set at .004 to .005 because of the combustion heat. When the rings and cylinder wall have seated the end gap on the rings will now be .008 to.009.
An engine running on an electric motor run in stand is not under the stress of compression because we are running without a spark plug. At approximately 900 RPM we have a much more friendly environment to allow these parts to seat in. We are developing heat in the motor and it can run for several hours unattended with no noise or fumes. You can stop and change oil conveniently. The motor can even run without the valves, camshaft or lifters.The biggest benefit: Your engine can run with the ring end gap set at .001" which allows the rings and cylinder wall to wear and seat with a final end gap of about .004 to .005".
As you can see, by now, we believe that ring end gap is very important. Some of you are going to take issue with us and say that it should be .007 to .008 or more.The only thing that you have to worry about when you have the end gap at .004 is, MAKE SURE YOUR MOTOR IS AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE BEFORE YOU RACE OR LOAD THE MOTOR. Ring end gap is a controllable leak of compression.
Lets stop here and discuss a very important process.
PLATEAU HONING – WHAT IS IT?
After you finish hone your block to size with a nice cross hatch pattern and could look at it under a magnifying glass, you would see little peaks and valleys.These sharp peaks are going to be scraped of very quickly when the motor is first run. All of this metallic debris is going to be circulated through the engine.
Plateau honing is nothing more than wrapping a fine piece of wet or dry sand paper around your hone and with very light pressure make 2 passes from top to bottom. We now have Plateaus and valleys.
This is really important if you are using cast iron rings. These rings are porous and softer than chrome rings and the fractured material coming off the cylinder wall will become imbedded in the ring. When this happens it becomes increasingly difficult to seal the cylinder. Chrome rings are not effected by this material.In any event, plateau honing is well worth the time and in fact should be done on every motor.
Another subject worth mentioning:
JUST WHAT IS CLEAN?
Most parts will come clean enough in a good solvent bath. THE DEFINITION OF CLEAN FOR A CYLINDER WALL IS, A BUCKET OF HOT SOAPY WATER AND A SCRUB BRUSH. Then when you think you have it clean take a white rag dampened in solvent and wipe the bore. Now, is it clean?
THE SUBJECT OF RING SEATING
As we have discussed earlier, seating happens when the cylinder wall and the ring wears enough to seal the bore. If you inspect the bore after this has happened you will find that the cross hatch pattern has partially worn away and the bore is a lot slicker and the rings are polished the full 360 degrees.
CAST IRON RINGS vs. CHROME RINGS
Cast iron rings are easier to seat, are porous and will retain oil.Your final honing should be done with 320 grit stones and plateau honed with 600 grit sandpaper.Chrome rings are harder to seat and the surface finish will not retain oil.Your final honing should be done with 280 grit stones and plateau honed with 600 grit sandpaper. It may take a little longer run in time to seat them also.
FIGHTING FRICTION
The rings have already done a good job of reducing friction, but we can take this a little further. This, however, is another one of those subjects that there are many opinions on and we are probably going to step in you know what. But here goes…
As we stated earlier, chrome rings will not retain oil on their surface but cast iron rings will. So it is imperative that the cylinder wall has a texture that will hold oil.
In theory, after the rings are seated there should never be a metal to metal contact between the rings and the cylinder wall. It takes a thin film of oil between the cylinder wall and the rings to maintain the seal and keep the two parts from wearing. If this doesn’t happen, you can call in the dogs, the hunt is over.
A SECOND HONING PROCESS
Take a piece of 600 grit sandpaper and wrap it around your hone and with very light pressure, hone the block. This should only take a couple of minutes. The cylinder wall should remain bright and shinny. If you use to much pressure, or spend to much time in the bore it will start to look dark and you are now burnishing it. That finish will hurt oil retention.THIS FINAL PROCESS CAN ONLY BE DONE AFTER THE RINGS ARE SEATED.
IMPORTANT: WHEN YOU ARE BREAKING IN THE MOTOR NEVER USE YOUR RACING OIL. USE YOUR FAVORITE OIL THAT YOU PUT IN YOUR CAR OR TRUCK.
BREAKING-IN A MOTOR
We are going to use an electric motor run in stand, a leak down tester and a crankshaft locking bar.First, assemble all the internal parts in the motor, set the proper valve lash and install a breather plate. Do not install the cylinder head at this point.Fill the motor with your favorite engine oil.Secure the motor on an electric motor run in stand, bring the piston to top dead center and install the crankshaft locking bar.Install the cylinder head. Install the Leak Down Tester.
What we are going to do is a leak down test before we ever run the motor and document the results. Now as we go through the break in we can test periodically and measure our progress.
Remove the leak down tester and the crankshaft locking bar.Do not install the spark plug.Set the timer on the run in stand for 1 hour.
Now, make another leak down test and document your results.Run for another ½ hour, test and document your results.At some point, there will be no improvement and its time to stop.
The documentation will be a handy reference for future testing.
Now its time to disassemble the motor and do our final honing for friction. After that is done the parts need to go through the cleaning process and be reassembled for the final run in test.
Repeat the previous run in test (it should only take about half the time).
Document the results for future reference.
LEAK DOWN TEST RESULTS
The following is a good rule of thumb:
8 % - Something is really wrong
5 % - Just OK
4 % - Good
3 % - Very good
2 % - Excellent
1 % - Unbelievable
0 % - Almost impossible
This break in process can be done without the leak testing and for that matter without the cam and lifters. Your first run should be about 3 hours and the second about 1 ½ hours.
A BORING & HONING STRESS PLATE • DOES IT MATTER?
This subject is probably one if the most misunderstood areas we can discuss, and some will take us to task for our theory and opinions but here goes…Most people think a stress plate bolted to the top of a block pulls and distorts the cylinder bore, this is not quite true. However there is one exception were it possibly can, and this is on a very wavy and untrue deck surface. Were not going to build a motor with this kind of problem anyway, so it really doesn’t matter.
I KNOW, YOU’RE READY TO ARGUE, BUT I DID GET YOUR ATTENTION.NOW LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY DOES MATTER.
When a head bolt penetrates the threaded area of the block nothing happens until it is tightened down to the proper torque specifications. What happens then is a knot or swelling occurs in the bore of the block at the exact depth of the head bolt. And that’s all there is to it. Simple right, not quite.
Equal bolt penetration and torque on the bolts moving from the stress plate to the cylinder head should be a good match and this is the key.Quite naturally, all blocks are not equal and the amount of swelling into the bore is different. Kool bores, IC blocks, old style blocks, overbores and sleeved blocks are all going to react differently.Clean, undamaged bolt holes and bolts are also important.If you don’t have a stress plate, you can use a short piece of tubing and head bolts to accomplish almost the same swelling, but a stress plate is the best.
USING A STRESS PLATE DOES MATTER !
One last thing on stress plates. There are a number of people who won’t grind the valve seats without a stress plate on the block. My opinion is that it does no good.
THE SUBJECT OF CYLINDER HEAD STUDS
This is another subject that is controversial and I’m sure there will be some disagreement on our opinion.I do not like studs and can see no benefit from using them. Plus, they can cause a lot of problems.While there are many illustrations I could give you, the following is a classic one.You have a block ready to build and, for whatever reason, you decide to use studs.The block has been bored and honed properly - and it is perfect.
Now, you install a set of studs and tighten them down. If you stop just when they run out of threads, and they are nice and snug, you probably have already pushed a knot in the top of the bore. This lump only goes down about .125 but it is different than the one caused by the head bolts. This one is caused by the tapered conclusion of the threads ending on the stud.
Lets assume the piston fits and this goes unnoticed. The head is installed, and the proper torque is applied, but the stud decides to turn a little more and push’s more metal into the cylinder wall. No need to go further because this ball game is over.I could give many more illustrations, but I hope you got the message.
IF YOU FEEL YOU MUST USE STUDS, FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE
Before you do any boring or honing:
• Clean the threads in the block and the studs with alcohol and let dry.
• Screw the studs in with a good coat of Lock-Tite. (it can take up to 24 hours for the Lock-Tite to cure)
• Now, using a stress plate, do your boring and honing.
VALVE GUIDES • DO THEY MATTER?
The valve guides that come in a new Briggs block are loose and sloppy and one thing is for sure, the valve will never stick. It is not uncommon to find them misaligned with the lifter bore. This can cause abnormal wear and valve seating problems. As far as using them for a racing engine they certainly come up short.
A full length brass guide is better, such as stacking 2 Briggs guides on top of each other. However the full length phosphorus bronze guide from ARC is the best.The ARC Bronze guide can be run with .0015 clearance on the exhaust, .001 on the intake and out last several sets of valve stems.A must with either brass or bronze guides is a smooth finish on the valve stem.
There are many people who feel a loose valve guide is the best because it reduces friction, but an ARC Bronze guide properly fit at the above tolerances will have little or no friction.Remember: Loose valve guides will contribute to oil contamination in the fuel charge which reduces horsepower.
The biggest problem with a loose valve guide is the poor little valve trying to find the seat at high RPM. Think about this: at 6000 rpm a valve must find the seat and seal it perfectly 50 times a second. Seems to me it needs all the help it can get.
ARC has complete valve guide installation equipment available that’s quick and easy, and also corrects any mis-alignment between the lifter bore and the valve stem.
SOME WORDS OF WISDOM AND CAUTIONS
Leak down testing is a very handy tool to use for determining if you have a problem with a motor or if it is still race worthy.
The compression ratio of an average stock Briggs motor is about 6.02 to 1, it would be very hard to increase it much with out killing flow and flame travel.
If cranking compression (with an electric starter) is 150 psi, on a great running motor, the compression at 6000 rpm will only be about 20 psi (or less).
Without a sealed cylinder, compression will just disappear at high rpm and guess what, the motor slows down.
If your motor is not running up front, and you make a header change, gear change, carburetor change and nothing seems to help. Do a leak down test and you’ll probably find the problem.
When you drive a new valve seat into your block, you will distort the top of the bore.
The average racer spends much more time tweaking and worrying with a camshaft than he does with sealing and maintaining the cylinder. The cylinder should come first and foremost.
A ball hone should only be used for freshening up or re-ringing a motor.
Be careful of "trick of the week" parts that claim to perform magic. They just don’t work.Just remember Kart Racing can make you moderately wealthy, if you start out filthy stinking rich
1 - If a problem exists, and we have the capability to correct it, we tell the world "It Does Matter".
2 - If we don't have any interest or desire to correct a problem, we either keep our mouths shut or simply say "It just doesn't matter".
PREFACE
This article could have been greatly expanded into a full length novel but would have gotten boring with illustration on top of illustration.What's written here is not fiction, and mixed with a bucket full of common sense and imagination, you will run faster and longer.If you disagree with our opinions, let us know. We can learn too.If you have any questions or problems, send us an e-mail or call 1-800-521-3560. We'll be here if you need us.
DOES IT MATTER
If the base of a block is not perfectly flat and true ?If the surface of a motor mount that accepts the base of a block is not true and flat ?Through no fault of the chassis builder, it’s virtually impossible to have the mounting rails for the motor mount perfectly aligned.Does the weight of the driver flex or move the motor mount rails on the chassis ?Do the motor mount rails move and flex during a race ?
In other words, can you take a perfectly good motor, bolt it to a motor mount and then to the chassis and totally mess it up ? And the answer is - YES !
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TEST RESULTS
We took a block and precision align bored it perfectly round and straight from top to bottom and bolted it down to a rigid, perfectly flat surface plate. Under one corner we put a .050 shim. This shim could now represent a distortion caused by any one of or combination of the problems mentioned above.Next, we took a good tenth (.0001) reading dial bore gauge to examine the bore. Looking at the top of the block, and considering between the two valve seats would represent 6 o’clock, we took 2 readings. One aimed at 11 o’clock and one aimed at 1 o’clock. Starting at the top of the bore we moved down a ½ inch at a time. As we moved down the once perfectly round bore, it started taking the shape of an egg.The distortion was .002.
This test was performed on a Kool bore motor bored .030 over.The crankshaft bores had also moved and were slightly tighter in the DU bushing.A dual bearing block is more forgiving when this happens but either way it is a problem.The deck of the block also moved and became distorted.
Here’s a shocker:Before we did the test, we bolted a side cover on the block without a gasket and could see day light between the two surfaces. Then we took feeler gauges and it was easy to find where a .002 gauge would fit but we also got a .004 gauge to fit in one place.
Have you ever wondered why sometimes you have problems with oil leaks and blown side cover gaskets ?
These are some problems that can happen because of this:
• Scuffing or galling pistons.
• Abnormal wear in the cylinder wall.
• Rings not seating.
• Loss of compression.
• Loss of horsepower.
• Increased blow by in the crankcase.
• Oil consumption.
• Oil contaminating the fuel charge.
• Engine life short lived.
• Blown head gaskets.
• Side cover gaskets leaking.
• Blown side cover gaskets.
• Blocks cracking because of stress.
The question is: DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER ?
The answer is: ABSOLUTELY...
OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT (and remember)
Briggs blocks are not equal and will vary from block to block.Kool bore blocks will distort more than IC blocks.Big overbores will distort more than stock bores.Pre-Raptor motors, with thinner castings, will distort more than the current castings.Large overbores for sleeves and then boring the sleeve for large pistons will distort even more.Over a period of years we have heard the following question asked several times a week from our customers:"I built two identical motors, 1 runs super and the other is a real dog, what’s wrong" ?or "I dyno tested this motor and it was great, then put it on the chassis and it wouldn’t fall out of a tree by itself. Why" ?
I wonder if anything we have discussed so far would shed any light on this subject ?
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
To solve one of the problems, the base of the block must be surfaced perfectly flat. The side cover must be on the block when it is surfaced. If you ever change side covers you must check the new one and make sure it does not stick down below the base surface of the block. If it does grind this material away.
The two drain plugs should be installed in the block TIGHT before it is surfaced. The reason here is that the drain plugs swell the block and create a knot on the base surface. Either before or after surfacing the base, with the drain plugs installed, take a die grinder and remove about .050 of material. The area to work on is 1 inch to the right and the left, and into the center of the block from the drain plug.
One last important thing:You must change your habits because you never thought about protecting the base of the block before.A special fixture (part number 7718) for milling or grinding the base of the block is available from ARC. This fixture also aligns the crankshaft parallel with the base of the block and aligns the existing bore 90 degrees with the base front to rear and is also excellent for use prior to boring a block on a vertical mill.
THE CYLINDER WALL • DOES IT MATTER ?
Ask yourself this question. Would you go to a race and add some oil to your fuel and loosen your spark plug just a little so you would have less compression? Obviously not. But you might be accomplishing the same thing and here’s how.Remember this rule of thumb. For every .001 wear on the diameter of the rings, and or the cylinder wall, the end gap of your rings grow by .003.
The following are some common examples of imperfect cylinder bores:
THE BARREL BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top and the bottom of the bore but it is .004 bigger in the middle.You set the end gap of the rings at the top of the cylinder correctly but the end gap of the rings open up an additional .012 when they get to the middle of the bore.
THE UPSIDE DOWN FUNNEL BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top of the bore but is .006 bigger at the bottom.You set the end gap of your rings at the top of the cylinder correctly but when the piston gets to the bottom of the stroke, the end gap opens up an additional .012.These examples may or may not be exaggerated, but its all relevant.
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY
The end gap of the rings and the correctness of the bore is a very controllable loss of compression to the crankcase and oil is being forced past the rings to dilute the fuel charge. ITS JUST HORSEPOWER BEING WASTED. Now stir this problem in with the first problems of distortion and you might as well call in the dogs.
Two more examples of imperfect bores:
THE FUNNEL BORE
The cylinder measures the correct size at the top but is .006 smaller at the bottom.
THE HOUR GLASS BORE
This cylinder measures the correct size at the top and bottom of the bore but is .004 smaller in the middle.You set the end gap of your rings at the top of the bore correctly but as the piston gets to the middle of the bore we have what is known as a CRUSHED END GAP. The cylinder wall galls, heat builds up and rings lock onto the piston. Need I say more.
WHAT IS GOOD ENOUGH IN A CYLINDER BORE
Perfection in any area is highly improbable but, as a rule of thumb, it should be within (.0005) ½ of a thousands. Holding the tolerance to less than this is certainly possible, so never give up trying at perfection.You should own a very good dial bore gauge that reads at least in the ½ thousandths (.0005).
When a motor is ready to compete in a race, the cylinder wall should be as perfect as possible. The bore should be round, straight from top to bottom and aligned exactly 90 degrees form the crankshaft. The cylinder wall should be as slick as possible with the rings already seated to the cylinder wall. The ring end gap should be at a minimum of .004 to .005" and the clearance between the piston and the cylinder wall (depending on preference) can be between .004 and .008.
ENGINE BREAK-IN • AN ELECTRIC RUN-IN STAND vs. LIVE RUNNING
There are many methods and theories on breaking in that new motor. The end result is that all the parts, especially the rings and cylinder wall, must wear a small amount to become compatible. WE MUST SEAL THE CYLINDER. Anything that is moving inside the engine is going to wear to some degree. During this break in period, all the metallic debris is being splashed back on these new parts causing more wear.
The big difference between these two methods:An engine running under power is under far more stress because of the pressures created by combustion. Therefore the metallic debris is under more pressure as it circulates over the moving parts. Fuel contamination of the oil is another problem. Fumes and noise are certainly a negative. Depending on motor design, engine RPM is sometimes hard to control. Ring end gap must be set at .004 to .005 because of the combustion heat. When the rings and cylinder wall have seated the end gap on the rings will now be .008 to.009.
An engine running on an electric motor run in stand is not under the stress of compression because we are running without a spark plug. At approximately 900 RPM we have a much more friendly environment to allow these parts to seat in. We are developing heat in the motor and it can run for several hours unattended with no noise or fumes. You can stop and change oil conveniently. The motor can even run without the valves, camshaft or lifters.The biggest benefit: Your engine can run with the ring end gap set at .001" which allows the rings and cylinder wall to wear and seat with a final end gap of about .004 to .005".
As you can see, by now, we believe that ring end gap is very important. Some of you are going to take issue with us and say that it should be .007 to .008 or more.The only thing that you have to worry about when you have the end gap at .004 is, MAKE SURE YOUR MOTOR IS AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE BEFORE YOU RACE OR LOAD THE MOTOR. Ring end gap is a controllable leak of compression.
Lets stop here and discuss a very important process.
PLATEAU HONING – WHAT IS IT?
After you finish hone your block to size with a nice cross hatch pattern and could look at it under a magnifying glass, you would see little peaks and valleys.These sharp peaks are going to be scraped of very quickly when the motor is first run. All of this metallic debris is going to be circulated through the engine.
Plateau honing is nothing more than wrapping a fine piece of wet or dry sand paper around your hone and with very light pressure make 2 passes from top to bottom. We now have Plateaus and valleys.
This is really important if you are using cast iron rings. These rings are porous and softer than chrome rings and the fractured material coming off the cylinder wall will become imbedded in the ring. When this happens it becomes increasingly difficult to seal the cylinder. Chrome rings are not effected by this material.In any event, plateau honing is well worth the time and in fact should be done on every motor.
Another subject worth mentioning:
JUST WHAT IS CLEAN?
Most parts will come clean enough in a good solvent bath. THE DEFINITION OF CLEAN FOR A CYLINDER WALL IS, A BUCKET OF HOT SOAPY WATER AND A SCRUB BRUSH. Then when you think you have it clean take a white rag dampened in solvent and wipe the bore. Now, is it clean?
THE SUBJECT OF RING SEATING
As we have discussed earlier, seating happens when the cylinder wall and the ring wears enough to seal the bore. If you inspect the bore after this has happened you will find that the cross hatch pattern has partially worn away and the bore is a lot slicker and the rings are polished the full 360 degrees.
CAST IRON RINGS vs. CHROME RINGS
Cast iron rings are easier to seat, are porous and will retain oil.Your final honing should be done with 320 grit stones and plateau honed with 600 grit sandpaper.Chrome rings are harder to seat and the surface finish will not retain oil.Your final honing should be done with 280 grit stones and plateau honed with 600 grit sandpaper. It may take a little longer run in time to seat them also.
FIGHTING FRICTION
The rings have already done a good job of reducing friction, but we can take this a little further. This, however, is another one of those subjects that there are many opinions on and we are probably going to step in you know what. But here goes…
As we stated earlier, chrome rings will not retain oil on their surface but cast iron rings will. So it is imperative that the cylinder wall has a texture that will hold oil.
In theory, after the rings are seated there should never be a metal to metal contact between the rings and the cylinder wall. It takes a thin film of oil between the cylinder wall and the rings to maintain the seal and keep the two parts from wearing. If this doesn’t happen, you can call in the dogs, the hunt is over.
A SECOND HONING PROCESS
Take a piece of 600 grit sandpaper and wrap it around your hone and with very light pressure, hone the block. This should only take a couple of minutes. The cylinder wall should remain bright and shinny. If you use to much pressure, or spend to much time in the bore it will start to look dark and you are now burnishing it. That finish will hurt oil retention.THIS FINAL PROCESS CAN ONLY BE DONE AFTER THE RINGS ARE SEATED.
IMPORTANT: WHEN YOU ARE BREAKING IN THE MOTOR NEVER USE YOUR RACING OIL. USE YOUR FAVORITE OIL THAT YOU PUT IN YOUR CAR OR TRUCK.
BREAKING-IN A MOTOR
We are going to use an electric motor run in stand, a leak down tester and a crankshaft locking bar.First, assemble all the internal parts in the motor, set the proper valve lash and install a breather plate. Do not install the cylinder head at this point.Fill the motor with your favorite engine oil.Secure the motor on an electric motor run in stand, bring the piston to top dead center and install the crankshaft locking bar.Install the cylinder head. Install the Leak Down Tester.
What we are going to do is a leak down test before we ever run the motor and document the results. Now as we go through the break in we can test periodically and measure our progress.
Remove the leak down tester and the crankshaft locking bar.Do not install the spark plug.Set the timer on the run in stand for 1 hour.
Now, make another leak down test and document your results.Run for another ½ hour, test and document your results.At some point, there will be no improvement and its time to stop.
The documentation will be a handy reference for future testing.
Now its time to disassemble the motor and do our final honing for friction. After that is done the parts need to go through the cleaning process and be reassembled for the final run in test.
Repeat the previous run in test (it should only take about half the time).
Document the results for future reference.
LEAK DOWN TEST RESULTS
The following is a good rule of thumb:
8 % - Something is really wrong
5 % - Just OK
4 % - Good
3 % - Very good
2 % - Excellent
1 % - Unbelievable
0 % - Almost impossible
This break in process can be done without the leak testing and for that matter without the cam and lifters. Your first run should be about 3 hours and the second about 1 ½ hours.
A BORING & HONING STRESS PLATE • DOES IT MATTER?
This subject is probably one if the most misunderstood areas we can discuss, and some will take us to task for our theory and opinions but here goes…Most people think a stress plate bolted to the top of a block pulls and distorts the cylinder bore, this is not quite true. However there is one exception were it possibly can, and this is on a very wavy and untrue deck surface. Were not going to build a motor with this kind of problem anyway, so it really doesn’t matter.
I KNOW, YOU’RE READY TO ARGUE, BUT I DID GET YOUR ATTENTION.NOW LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY DOES MATTER.
When a head bolt penetrates the threaded area of the block nothing happens until it is tightened down to the proper torque specifications. What happens then is a knot or swelling occurs in the bore of the block at the exact depth of the head bolt. And that’s all there is to it. Simple right, not quite.
Equal bolt penetration and torque on the bolts moving from the stress plate to the cylinder head should be a good match and this is the key.Quite naturally, all blocks are not equal and the amount of swelling into the bore is different. Kool bores, IC blocks, old style blocks, overbores and sleeved blocks are all going to react differently.Clean, undamaged bolt holes and bolts are also important.If you don’t have a stress plate, you can use a short piece of tubing and head bolts to accomplish almost the same swelling, but a stress plate is the best.
USING A STRESS PLATE DOES MATTER !
One last thing on stress plates. There are a number of people who won’t grind the valve seats without a stress plate on the block. My opinion is that it does no good.
THE SUBJECT OF CYLINDER HEAD STUDS
This is another subject that is controversial and I’m sure there will be some disagreement on our opinion.I do not like studs and can see no benefit from using them. Plus, they can cause a lot of problems.While there are many illustrations I could give you, the following is a classic one.You have a block ready to build and, for whatever reason, you decide to use studs.The block has been bored and honed properly - and it is perfect.
Now, you install a set of studs and tighten them down. If you stop just when they run out of threads, and they are nice and snug, you probably have already pushed a knot in the top of the bore. This lump only goes down about .125 but it is different than the one caused by the head bolts. This one is caused by the tapered conclusion of the threads ending on the stud.
Lets assume the piston fits and this goes unnoticed. The head is installed, and the proper torque is applied, but the stud decides to turn a little more and push’s more metal into the cylinder wall. No need to go further because this ball game is over.I could give many more illustrations, but I hope you got the message.
IF YOU FEEL YOU MUST USE STUDS, FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE
Before you do any boring or honing:
• Clean the threads in the block and the studs with alcohol and let dry.
• Screw the studs in with a good coat of Lock-Tite. (it can take up to 24 hours for the Lock-Tite to cure)
• Now, using a stress plate, do your boring and honing.
VALVE GUIDES • DO THEY MATTER?
The valve guides that come in a new Briggs block are loose and sloppy and one thing is for sure, the valve will never stick. It is not uncommon to find them misaligned with the lifter bore. This can cause abnormal wear and valve seating problems. As far as using them for a racing engine they certainly come up short.
A full length brass guide is better, such as stacking 2 Briggs guides on top of each other. However the full length phosphorus bronze guide from ARC is the best.The ARC Bronze guide can be run with .0015 clearance on the exhaust, .001 on the intake and out last several sets of valve stems.A must with either brass or bronze guides is a smooth finish on the valve stem.
There are many people who feel a loose valve guide is the best because it reduces friction, but an ARC Bronze guide properly fit at the above tolerances will have little or no friction.Remember: Loose valve guides will contribute to oil contamination in the fuel charge which reduces horsepower.
The biggest problem with a loose valve guide is the poor little valve trying to find the seat at high RPM. Think about this: at 6000 rpm a valve must find the seat and seal it perfectly 50 times a second. Seems to me it needs all the help it can get.
ARC has complete valve guide installation equipment available that’s quick and easy, and also corrects any mis-alignment between the lifter bore and the valve stem.
SOME WORDS OF WISDOM AND CAUTIONS
Leak down testing is a very handy tool to use for determining if you have a problem with a motor or if it is still race worthy.
The compression ratio of an average stock Briggs motor is about 6.02 to 1, it would be very hard to increase it much with out killing flow and flame travel.
If cranking compression (with an electric starter) is 150 psi, on a great running motor, the compression at 6000 rpm will only be about 20 psi (or less).
Without a sealed cylinder, compression will just disappear at high rpm and guess what, the motor slows down.
If your motor is not running up front, and you make a header change, gear change, carburetor change and nothing seems to help. Do a leak down test and you’ll probably find the problem.
When you drive a new valve seat into your block, you will distort the top of the bore.
The average racer spends much more time tweaking and worrying with a camshaft than he does with sealing and maintaining the cylinder. The cylinder should come first and foremost.
A ball hone should only be used for freshening up or re-ringing a motor.
Be careful of "trick of the week" parts that claim to perform magic. They just don’t work.Just remember Kart Racing can make you moderately wealthy, if you start out filthy stinking rich
Thursday, August 20, 1998
The Art of Design & Production
By: Randy Amundsen Date: August 20, 1998
We probably have 20 calls a week from customers who are full of ideas and thoughts about designing or re-designing our products or someone else's product. Some have a brand new idea that they would like us to manufacture. We like to hear new ideas and sometimes we can react and sometimes not. Bringing a new idea to market is a very complex task and very time consuming.
Several months ago we received our first BlockZilla blocks and right away we saw the need for a better side cover and a market for it.
What do you do, you have no drawings, all you have is a shape.
The first thing we did was to mount the block on a rotary fixture in one of our Haas Machining Centers in a horizontal position with the crankcase opening up. The block had to be perfectly square with the table. Now we are not talking just close, but within tenths of thousandths.
Now the block can be digitized. This is a process of converting shape into numbers.
Using the crankshaft center line as the starting reference, the crankshaft bearing pocket, the camshaft bore, bolt holes and dowel pin holes are located. Now the inside of the casting, as well as the outside, must be traced taking readings every .100" in the straight areas and sometimes every .020" in the curvature areas. We now have pages of reference point measurements. This process takes about 6 hours.
These numbers are now transferred to a CAD system and a simple drawing is now created. From this, we now make a template side cover to test all the measurements. This is checked and rechecked for accuracy and how it fits the block. The crankshaft and camshaft must be installed and checked.
The process has been simple so far and now the time consuming work begins.
Designing is a true art form that takes a lot of talent, imagination and patience.
You must have a superb knowledge of what this part plays in the function of the engine. Are there improvements to be made over the original and other designs ? If so, will the improvements make the part better ? We ask for input from engine builders and our racing customers. Many hours are spent in round table discussions.
You first must address the structural integrity of the part. Where does it need to be strong and where can you remove metal to make it light ? After all of this is done, then you design in the cosmetic enhancements.
While you are working your way through this process, you are also selecting the tooling such as end mills, drills, taps etc., that you will need to do the different holes, cuts, pockets and contours. Your goal is minimum tool changes because this is time consuming in a production environment. This will cause you to re-think some of the shapes and modify the program.
This is a very time consuming process and one is sometimes tempted to cut the cosmetics a little short. If you have ever seen anything we produce, you know we don't cut anything short.
Holding fixtures are the next most important project. There is an old saying in this industry, "If You Can Hold It - You Can Make It". To hold a part in one position and finish the product is simple. To hold a part multiple times, in different positions, is another art form in itself. When a part is moved to a different fixture, it must be precise and sometimes the accuracy must be held in the tenths of thousandths.
Now the holding fixtures must not only be accurate, they must be durable enough to withstand production. Are we going to make 100, 1,000 or 10,000 or more of these parts ?
We are now ready to make our first part. This is done slowly so that each part of the program can be checked. Like it or not, there are errors and adjustments are made as we go.
We now have our first side cover and it must be evaluated on a test motor. After very extensive testing, we are now satisfied with the product.
We now enter the final stage of cosmetic programming. This is where spindle speeds and feed rates are adjusted and different tooling is experimented with.
The finished product must be free of tool marks and should have a polished look right out of the machining center.
Overall time for this project was about 1 month with at least 100 hours spent on computer design, programming and machine time. Hope you like the product.
We probably have 20 calls a week from customers who are full of ideas and thoughts about designing or re-designing our products or someone else's product. Some have a brand new idea that they would like us to manufacture. We like to hear new ideas and sometimes we can react and sometimes not. Bringing a new idea to market is a very complex task and very time consuming.
Several months ago we received our first BlockZilla blocks and right away we saw the need for a better side cover and a market for it.
What do you do, you have no drawings, all you have is a shape.
The first thing we did was to mount the block on a rotary fixture in one of our Haas Machining Centers in a horizontal position with the crankcase opening up. The block had to be perfectly square with the table. Now we are not talking just close, but within tenths of thousandths.
Now the block can be digitized. This is a process of converting shape into numbers.
Using the crankshaft center line as the starting reference, the crankshaft bearing pocket, the camshaft bore, bolt holes and dowel pin holes are located. Now the inside of the casting, as well as the outside, must be traced taking readings every .100" in the straight areas and sometimes every .020" in the curvature areas. We now have pages of reference point measurements. This process takes about 6 hours.
These numbers are now transferred to a CAD system and a simple drawing is now created. From this, we now make a template side cover to test all the measurements. This is checked and rechecked for accuracy and how it fits the block. The crankshaft and camshaft must be installed and checked.
The process has been simple so far and now the time consuming work begins.
Designing is a true art form that takes a lot of talent, imagination and patience.
You must have a superb knowledge of what this part plays in the function of the engine. Are there improvements to be made over the original and other designs ? If so, will the improvements make the part better ? We ask for input from engine builders and our racing customers. Many hours are spent in round table discussions.
You first must address the structural integrity of the part. Where does it need to be strong and where can you remove metal to make it light ? After all of this is done, then you design in the cosmetic enhancements.
While you are working your way through this process, you are also selecting the tooling such as end mills, drills, taps etc., that you will need to do the different holes, cuts, pockets and contours. Your goal is minimum tool changes because this is time consuming in a production environment. This will cause you to re-think some of the shapes and modify the program.
This is a very time consuming process and one is sometimes tempted to cut the cosmetics a little short. If you have ever seen anything we produce, you know we don't cut anything short.
Holding fixtures are the next most important project. There is an old saying in this industry, "If You Can Hold It - You Can Make It". To hold a part in one position and finish the product is simple. To hold a part multiple times, in different positions, is another art form in itself. When a part is moved to a different fixture, it must be precise and sometimes the accuracy must be held in the tenths of thousandths.
Now the holding fixtures must not only be accurate, they must be durable enough to withstand production. Are we going to make 100, 1,000 or 10,000 or more of these parts ?
We are now ready to make our first part. This is done slowly so that each part of the program can be checked. Like it or not, there are errors and adjustments are made as we go.
We now have our first side cover and it must be evaluated on a test motor. After very extensive testing, we are now satisfied with the product.
We now enter the final stage of cosmetic programming. This is where spindle speeds and feed rates are adjusted and different tooling is experimented with.
The finished product must be free of tool marks and should have a polished look right out of the machining center.
Overall time for this project was about 1 month with at least 100 hours spent on computer design, programming and machine time. Hope you like the product.
Monday, July 20, 1998
By Design
By: Carl AmundsenDate: July 20, 1998
ARC Racing, by design, will not be the first to the market place (at least not very often) with new, earth shattering ideas or products. We're not slow by any means, we just want to bring you, our customers, a well thought out product that has been thoroughly engineered and tested. We won't take an idea, make the part, then sell it to you for our testing purposes.
When we test a part, a motor is built and then run under the most undesirable conditions. We literally try to break it and, if we fail to break it, we try again.When testing the different alloys for our connecting rods, we even conducted the "Dirt Road Red Neck Test". This is done by taking rods of different designs and alloys and putting them in a vise and using a pipe to see how far they would bend before breaking, and we did break a few.
For the most part, when you buy an ARC Racing product it will be stronger, lighter and cosmetically more appealing than our competition offers and you'll be proud to own it.
We have never - and will never advertise that "this part will give you one more horsepower", or "this part will shave another seven tenths" and so on. The parts you buy from us are true racing parts and in the proper combination (with a little common sense) will make you go fast and, with a little luck added, maybe faster than everybody else.
ARC Racing, by design, will not be the first to the market place (at least not very often) with new, earth shattering ideas or products. We're not slow by any means, we just want to bring you, our customers, a well thought out product that has been thoroughly engineered and tested. We won't take an idea, make the part, then sell it to you for our testing purposes.
When we test a part, a motor is built and then run under the most undesirable conditions. We literally try to break it and, if we fail to break it, we try again.When testing the different alloys for our connecting rods, we even conducted the "Dirt Road Red Neck Test". This is done by taking rods of different designs and alloys and putting them in a vise and using a pipe to see how far they would bend before breaking, and we did break a few.
For the most part, when you buy an ARC Racing product it will be stronger, lighter and cosmetically more appealing than our competition offers and you'll be proud to own it.
We have never - and will never advertise that "this part will give you one more horsepower", or "this part will shave another seven tenths" and so on. The parts you buy from us are true racing parts and in the proper combination (with a little common sense) will make you go fast and, with a little luck added, maybe faster than everybody else.
Saturday, July 18, 1998
Rod Length Ratios
There are as many theories about rod lengths as there are any other subject that deals with racing.
As strokes get longer, rod lengths get shorter and at some point in time, this will create a problem. We don't know if we've crossed the line yet, but we're definitely leaning on it. At the same time, there's a point where rod lengths can get too long for a particular stroke and we're leaning on that line also.
Rod length ratios are calculated by dividing the rod length by the stroke.Example: a 5.000" rod length divided by a 3.000" stroke equals a 1.67 rod ratio.
For a good illustration of what increasing the rod length does for an engine, we'll use a 350 Chevy.A stock 5.7" rod divided by a stock 3.480" stroke gives us a 1.637 rod ratio.Now, put a 6.00" rod in it with the same stroke and the ratio increases to 1.724 and the engine produces more power and rpm.. This is a known fact that's been around for some 25 years.
A stock, 5 hp. Briggs & Stratton engine uses a 3.875" rod and has a 2.437" stroke which equals a 1.59 rod ratio.We know that by changing the rod to 4.475" and using the same stroke, the ratio increases to 1.863 and the engine produces more power and rpm.
The most important thing that a longer rod does is increase the dwell time of the piston when it's at top dead center (TDC) and this will make more power.The second most important thing is that it improves the leverage the piston exerts on the crank journal and this also increases power.
Another feature of using a longer rod is that it creates a much friendlier environment for the piston, cylinder and crankshaft to operate in.Consider this: The piston is moving up and down in the cylinder trying to make a crankshaft rotate in a circle. When the piston is in a down stroke, the resistance of the crankshaft is trying to push it out the front of the block and in an up stroke, with the resistance of compression, the crankshaft is trying to push it out the back of the block.Our recent test engine had a 4.225" rod with a 3.000" stroke equaling a 1.408 rod ratio and we believe we may have gone beyond the short rod ratio limit but, the engine made a bucket full of power and survived even at 9,300 rpm.
Rest assured that one day we'll reach the point of sheer stupidity.
As strokes get longer, rod lengths get shorter and at some point in time, this will create a problem. We don't know if we've crossed the line yet, but we're definitely leaning on it. At the same time, there's a point where rod lengths can get too long for a particular stroke and we're leaning on that line also.
Rod length ratios are calculated by dividing the rod length by the stroke.Example: a 5.000" rod length divided by a 3.000" stroke equals a 1.67 rod ratio.
For a good illustration of what increasing the rod length does for an engine, we'll use a 350 Chevy.A stock 5.7" rod divided by a stock 3.480" stroke gives us a 1.637 rod ratio.Now, put a 6.00" rod in it with the same stroke and the ratio increases to 1.724 and the engine produces more power and rpm.. This is a known fact that's been around for some 25 years.
A stock, 5 hp. Briggs & Stratton engine uses a 3.875" rod and has a 2.437" stroke which equals a 1.59 rod ratio.We know that by changing the rod to 4.475" and using the same stroke, the ratio increases to 1.863 and the engine produces more power and rpm.
The most important thing that a longer rod does is increase the dwell time of the piston when it's at top dead center (TDC) and this will make more power.The second most important thing is that it improves the leverage the piston exerts on the crank journal and this also increases power.
Another feature of using a longer rod is that it creates a much friendlier environment for the piston, cylinder and crankshaft to operate in.Consider this: The piston is moving up and down in the cylinder trying to make a crankshaft rotate in a circle. When the piston is in a down stroke, the resistance of the crankshaft is trying to push it out the front of the block and in an up stroke, with the resistance of compression, the crankshaft is trying to push it out the back of the block.Our recent test engine had a 4.225" rod with a 3.000" stroke equaling a 1.408 rod ratio and we believe we may have gone beyond the short rod ratio limit but, the engine made a bucket full of power and survived even at 9,300 rpm.
Rest assured that one day we'll reach the point of sheer stupidity.
What is Safe Peak Power RPM for an engine?
This is a question that is rarely asked before an engine blows, but always asked after the second one is in a basket.
The formula is simple: divide 22,000 by the stroke.Why 22,000 you ask ?Well, the automotive industry came up with this number after decades of engineering research using literally hundreds of stroke lengths - and we believe it's probably correct.Example: The engine we just finished testing had a 3.000" stroke so 22,000 divided by 3 equals 7,333 safe peak power rpm (which we slightly exceeded for our test).
Now that you know - just keep on truckin.
The formula is simple: divide 22,000 by the stroke.Why 22,000 you ask ?Well, the automotive industry came up with this number after decades of engineering research using literally hundreds of stroke lengths - and we believe it's probably correct.Example: The engine we just finished testing had a 3.000" stroke so 22,000 divided by 3 equals 7,333 safe peak power rpm (which we slightly exceeded for our test).
Now that you know - just keep on truckin.
The 10,000 rpm Bomb
Several times a week we get calls from people that have just exploded their engine and, for the most part, they're looking for answers as to why it happened. On occasion, they'll send us some of the parts (or the whole mess) for evaluation hoping that we can shed some light on the problem. Well - sometimes we can and sometimes we can't.
Lets take a moment to consider where it all started and where we are now.We took a 5 hp. lawnmower motor that was designed to turn a maximum of 3,600 rpm then bored, stroked, welded, ground, filed, polished, fitted, crammed, invented and generally violated the entire book on common sense and ended up with a remanufactured 10,000 rpm BOMB and all of this was done in the name of fun. Well, of course it is.
We just finished testing an engine with a .174 overbore and 3.000" stroker crank and at 9,000 rpm this is what was happening inside that engine:1. The valves were opening and closing 150 times per second.2. The crankshaft rod journal was traveling 79.8 mph in a 3" diameter circle.3. The piston & rod moved, stopped then changed direction 18,000 times per minute (300 times per second).
Think about this:The piston is at top dead center (TDC) in a momentary stop position, we've already had combustion, the piston travels down the cylinder 1.3671" reaching a top speed of 84.3 mph. while the crankshaft has rotated 75° and all of this has only taken 1/720th of a second to happen.
Another way to look at it:The piston and rod start and stop 300 times per second reaching 84.3 mph. between each cycle.
Now, we ask the $ 64,000 question:Could anything go wrong in this kind of environment ?The answer is - Everything.It's truly an engineering miracle that this (or any) engine ever gets to 9,000 rpm just once let alone sustaining it.
Lets take a moment to consider where it all started and where we are now.We took a 5 hp. lawnmower motor that was designed to turn a maximum of 3,600 rpm then bored, stroked, welded, ground, filed, polished, fitted, crammed, invented and generally violated the entire book on common sense and ended up with a remanufactured 10,000 rpm BOMB and all of this was done in the name of fun. Well, of course it is.
We just finished testing an engine with a .174 overbore and 3.000" stroker crank and at 9,000 rpm this is what was happening inside that engine:1. The valves were opening and closing 150 times per second.2. The crankshaft rod journal was traveling 79.8 mph in a 3" diameter circle.3. The piston & rod moved, stopped then changed direction 18,000 times per minute (300 times per second).
Think about this:The piston is at top dead center (TDC) in a momentary stop position, we've already had combustion, the piston travels down the cylinder 1.3671" reaching a top speed of 84.3 mph. while the crankshaft has rotated 75° and all of this has only taken 1/720th of a second to happen.
Another way to look at it:The piston and rod start and stop 300 times per second reaching 84.3 mph. between each cycle.
Now, we ask the $ 64,000 question:Could anything go wrong in this kind of environment ?The answer is - Everything.It's truly an engineering miracle that this (or any) engine ever gets to 9,000 rpm just once let alone sustaining it.
Rod Length Ratios
There are as many theories about rod lengths as there are any other subject that deals with racing.
As strokes get longer, rod lengths get shorter and at some point in time, this will create a problem. We don't know if we've crossed the line yet, but we're definitely leaning on it. At the same time, there's a point where rod lengths can get too long for a particular stroke and we're leaning on that line also.
Rod length ratios are calculated by dividing the rod length by the stroke.Example: a 5.000" rod length divided by a 3.000" stroke equals a 1.67 rod ratio.
For a good illustration of what increasing the rod length does for an engine, we'll use a 350 Chevy.A stock 5.7" rod divided by a stock 3.480" stroke gives us a 1.637 rod ratio.Now, put a 6.00" rod in it with the same stroke and the ratio increases to 1.724 and the engine produces more power and rpm.. This is a known fact that's been around for some 25 years.
A stock, 5 hp. Briggs & Stratton engine uses a 3.875" rod and has a 2.437" stroke which equals a 1.59 rod ratio.We know that by changing the rod to 4.475" and using the same stroke, the ratio increases to 1.863 and the engine produces more power and rpm.
The most important thing that a longer rod does is increase the dwell time of the piston when it's at top dead center (TDC) and this will make more power.The second most important thing is that it improves the leverage the piston exerts on the crank journal and this also increases power.
Another feature of using a longer rod is that it creates a much friendlier environment for the piston, cylinder and crankshaft to operate in.Consider this: The piston is moving up and down in the cylinder trying to make a crankshaft rotate in a circle. When the piston is in a down stroke, the resistance of the crankshaft is trying to push it out the front of the block and in an up stroke, with the resistance of compression, the crankshaft is trying to push it out the back of the block.Our recent test engine had a 4.225" rod with a 3.000" stroke equaling a 1.408 rod ratio and we believe we may have gone beyond the short rod ratio limit but, the engine made a bucket full of power and survived even at 9,300 rpm.
Rest assured that one day we'll reach the point of sheer stupidity.
As strokes get longer, rod lengths get shorter and at some point in time, this will create a problem. We don't know if we've crossed the line yet, but we're definitely leaning on it. At the same time, there's a point where rod lengths can get too long for a particular stroke and we're leaning on that line also.
Rod length ratios are calculated by dividing the rod length by the stroke.Example: a 5.000" rod length divided by a 3.000" stroke equals a 1.67 rod ratio.
For a good illustration of what increasing the rod length does for an engine, we'll use a 350 Chevy.A stock 5.7" rod divided by a stock 3.480" stroke gives us a 1.637 rod ratio.Now, put a 6.00" rod in it with the same stroke and the ratio increases to 1.724 and the engine produces more power and rpm.. This is a known fact that's been around for some 25 years.
A stock, 5 hp. Briggs & Stratton engine uses a 3.875" rod and has a 2.437" stroke which equals a 1.59 rod ratio.We know that by changing the rod to 4.475" and using the same stroke, the ratio increases to 1.863 and the engine produces more power and rpm.
The most important thing that a longer rod does is increase the dwell time of the piston when it's at top dead center (TDC) and this will make more power.The second most important thing is that it improves the leverage the piston exerts on the crank journal and this also increases power.
Another feature of using a longer rod is that it creates a much friendlier environment for the piston, cylinder and crankshaft to operate in.Consider this: The piston is moving up and down in the cylinder trying to make a crankshaft rotate in a circle. When the piston is in a down stroke, the resistance of the crankshaft is trying to push it out the front of the block and in an up stroke, with the resistance of compression, the crankshaft is trying to push it out the back of the block.Our recent test engine had a 4.225" rod with a 3.000" stroke equaling a 1.408 rod ratio and we believe we may have gone beyond the short rod ratio limit but, the engine made a bucket full of power and survived even at 9,300 rpm.
Rest assured that one day we'll reach the point of sheer stupidity.
Wednesday, July 8, 1998
Discovery by Fatality
Re: Crankshaft flex and side covers
By: Lynn Cooley Date: July 8, 1998
We all are aware that a crankshaft will flex and bend. What we don’t know, or should I say didn’t know, is how much. We also didn’t know what kind of specific problems the flexing would create.
Obviously the .875" journal crank could flex more than the 1.000" journal crank but there is not as much difference as you might think.
As a lot of you already know, we have been conducting tests on our new .875" stroker rods. This has been ongoing for about 6 months and we've tried several engineering designs along with different alloys and finally arrived at the ultimate design and alloy. Now let the serious testing begin.
We have a dynamometer but felt that real testing is accomplished on our adult fitted Jr. Dragster and a custom built Kart.
Our first test engine was built using a Raptor block, .140" overbore, 4.225" ARC stroker rod with .875" bearing, 3.000" forged stroker crankshaft, ARC head, ARC flywheel and ARC billet side cover.
This engine assembly was carefully balanced by us.
Now, to be fair and honest, our goal from the get go was to break the rod. We really abused this engine. Our RPM limit was 9000, but we did hit 9300 a couple of times.
The first problem was a high RPM miss and then coil failure. The clearance between the flywheel and the coil was set at .020. When the flywheel rubs the coil the first thing that happens is an interruption of the magnetic field and the coil misfires. The next thing is that friction creates heat and fries the coil.
The flywheel was checked and was running true and the coil was not slipping on its mount. We finally had to set the air gap on the coil at .030 to keep it from contacting the flywheel. This seemed strange and, little did we know, our next lesson would teach us a lot.
About 10 more minutes on the Kart and we blew that sucker all to pieces. The only parts that survived were the carburetor and the ARC cylinder head. The ARC stroker rod looked like it had been through a war but survived - unbroken.
The crankshaft had broken straight down at the radius of the rod journal. This is exactly were it would and should break if the crankshaft bends and flexes. Incidentally this crankshaft is one of, if not the best on the market.
The first symptom of this flex problem was the high speed miss and then the coil failure. By examining where the flywheel had rubbed the coil the hardest, we determined that most of the flex occurs at BDC (bottom dead center). The second place was just after combustion or TDC (top dead center), both of which really make sense.
Think about it - cylinder pressure is at its highest just after combustion and when the piston reaches the bottom, there is no resistance to cushion the abrupt change in direction of the reciprocating weight. As the piston travels upward, it has compression to offer resistance in one stroke and exhaust gases to offer some shock absorption on the next.
On the same note, have you ever wondered why additional deck clearance is needed the more you increase engine RPM? Most engine builders think of rod stretch the same as you do in automotive.
In a Briggs application, crankshaft flex is the main problem. In fact, we checked every rod we had tested and didn't find any permanent stretch.
Our next test engine was built using a BlockZilla block, .174" overbore, 4.225" ARC stroker rod with .875" bearing, 3.000" forged stroker crankshaft, the new ARC BlockZilla head, ARC flywheel and a billet side cover (no name mentioned). The ARC side cover was still working its way through engineering.
With the air gap set at .030" between the coil and the flywheel, we ran the engine very hard for 10 minutes, stopped and immediately tore it down. The temperature of the crankshaft got our attention real fast. After 45 minutes the crank was still to hot to handle (have you ever bent a piece of wire back and forth and felt the temperature just before it broke?). We felt that if we had run it any longer, we would have broken another crankshaft.
One other problem that showed itself on the billet side cover (no name mentioned) was that the 0-ring seal had scuffed and chaffed itself almost into nonexistence along the top of the cover. Along the bottom and up each side seemed to be OK (remember, this was only a 10 minute run).
THE PROBLEM
Ball bearings, by nature, have a certain degree of self-alignment built in. The inside dimension between the 2 ball bearings in the block is 3 ½ inches. It's not hard to flex the shaft .020" in one direction and still have a free spinning shaft. This translates to at least .040" total flex in the shaft and could probably go to as high as .050" and still free spin.
To add insult to injury, the manufacturer of the forged cranks we tested leaves entirely to much clearance on the slip fit bearing area on the shaft. This dimension should be .9995" not .998". This sloppy fit can allow another .015" flex and still free spin. Remember this lesson if you ever have to slip fit a bearing on a stock Briggs crankshaft.
To summarize all of this, it's no wonder the flywheel rubbed the coil and that the crankshaft broke.
THE SOLUTION
Since the ARC BlockZilla side cover was still in the engineering stage, we added a second ball bearing to it and held them in place with 3 recessed button head screws. This created the first DUAL BEARING SIDE COVER.
After installing our new duplex bearing side cover on the same BlockZilla block with .018 clearance between the coil and the flywheel, we had no problems. The engine was run hard for 20 minutes then disassembled and with a shorter cool down period, the crankshaft was noticeably cooler. This was a huge improvement even though the crankshaft had the sloppy slip fit on the bearings.
One other plus over the (no name mentioned) side cover that we tested, is that the ARC BlockZilla side cover is truly light weight, and the ribbing supports on the outside of the cover and, more importantly, the outer perimeter ribbing reduce flex.
Our 0-ring seal showed just a slight sign of scuffing.
The testing was so successful, we decided to use this same technology on our Raptor side covers, and they will be available by the time you read this.
You should see a longer life of the Raptor blocks as well.
The primary reason for all of this testing was to see if our new stroker rod design would live, and IT DID. Both sizes are now in production and available.
See our "Product Showcase" for details of these and other new products.
SPECIAL NOTE:
We try very hard to keep our prices competitive, so look closely at what is furnished with this new ARC side cover design :)
By: Lynn Cooley Date: July 8, 1998
We all are aware that a crankshaft will flex and bend. What we don’t know, or should I say didn’t know, is how much. We also didn’t know what kind of specific problems the flexing would create.
Obviously the .875" journal crank could flex more than the 1.000" journal crank but there is not as much difference as you might think.
As a lot of you already know, we have been conducting tests on our new .875" stroker rods. This has been ongoing for about 6 months and we've tried several engineering designs along with different alloys and finally arrived at the ultimate design and alloy. Now let the serious testing begin.
We have a dynamometer but felt that real testing is accomplished on our adult fitted Jr. Dragster and a custom built Kart.
Our first test engine was built using a Raptor block, .140" overbore, 4.225" ARC stroker rod with .875" bearing, 3.000" forged stroker crankshaft, ARC head, ARC flywheel and ARC billet side cover.
This engine assembly was carefully balanced by us.
Now, to be fair and honest, our goal from the get go was to break the rod. We really abused this engine. Our RPM limit was 9000, but we did hit 9300 a couple of times.
The first problem was a high RPM miss and then coil failure. The clearance between the flywheel and the coil was set at .020. When the flywheel rubs the coil the first thing that happens is an interruption of the magnetic field and the coil misfires. The next thing is that friction creates heat and fries the coil.
The flywheel was checked and was running true and the coil was not slipping on its mount. We finally had to set the air gap on the coil at .030 to keep it from contacting the flywheel. This seemed strange and, little did we know, our next lesson would teach us a lot.
About 10 more minutes on the Kart and we blew that sucker all to pieces. The only parts that survived were the carburetor and the ARC cylinder head. The ARC stroker rod looked like it had been through a war but survived - unbroken.
The crankshaft had broken straight down at the radius of the rod journal. This is exactly were it would and should break if the crankshaft bends and flexes. Incidentally this crankshaft is one of, if not the best on the market.
The first symptom of this flex problem was the high speed miss and then the coil failure. By examining where the flywheel had rubbed the coil the hardest, we determined that most of the flex occurs at BDC (bottom dead center). The second place was just after combustion or TDC (top dead center), both of which really make sense.
Think about it - cylinder pressure is at its highest just after combustion and when the piston reaches the bottom, there is no resistance to cushion the abrupt change in direction of the reciprocating weight. As the piston travels upward, it has compression to offer resistance in one stroke and exhaust gases to offer some shock absorption on the next.
On the same note, have you ever wondered why additional deck clearance is needed the more you increase engine RPM? Most engine builders think of rod stretch the same as you do in automotive.
In a Briggs application, crankshaft flex is the main problem. In fact, we checked every rod we had tested and didn't find any permanent stretch.
Our next test engine was built using a BlockZilla block, .174" overbore, 4.225" ARC stroker rod with .875" bearing, 3.000" forged stroker crankshaft, the new ARC BlockZilla head, ARC flywheel and a billet side cover (no name mentioned). The ARC side cover was still working its way through engineering.
With the air gap set at .030" between the coil and the flywheel, we ran the engine very hard for 10 minutes, stopped and immediately tore it down. The temperature of the crankshaft got our attention real fast. After 45 minutes the crank was still to hot to handle (have you ever bent a piece of wire back and forth and felt the temperature just before it broke?). We felt that if we had run it any longer, we would have broken another crankshaft.
One other problem that showed itself on the billet side cover (no name mentioned) was that the 0-ring seal had scuffed and chaffed itself almost into nonexistence along the top of the cover. Along the bottom and up each side seemed to be OK (remember, this was only a 10 minute run).
THE PROBLEM
Ball bearings, by nature, have a certain degree of self-alignment built in. The inside dimension between the 2 ball bearings in the block is 3 ½ inches. It's not hard to flex the shaft .020" in one direction and still have a free spinning shaft. This translates to at least .040" total flex in the shaft and could probably go to as high as .050" and still free spin.
To add insult to injury, the manufacturer of the forged cranks we tested leaves entirely to much clearance on the slip fit bearing area on the shaft. This dimension should be .9995" not .998". This sloppy fit can allow another .015" flex and still free spin. Remember this lesson if you ever have to slip fit a bearing on a stock Briggs crankshaft.
To summarize all of this, it's no wonder the flywheel rubbed the coil and that the crankshaft broke.
THE SOLUTION
Since the ARC BlockZilla side cover was still in the engineering stage, we added a second ball bearing to it and held them in place with 3 recessed button head screws. This created the first DUAL BEARING SIDE COVER.
After installing our new duplex bearing side cover on the same BlockZilla block with .018 clearance between the coil and the flywheel, we had no problems. The engine was run hard for 20 minutes then disassembled and with a shorter cool down period, the crankshaft was noticeably cooler. This was a huge improvement even though the crankshaft had the sloppy slip fit on the bearings.
One other plus over the (no name mentioned) side cover that we tested, is that the ARC BlockZilla side cover is truly light weight, and the ribbing supports on the outside of the cover and, more importantly, the outer perimeter ribbing reduce flex.
Our 0-ring seal showed just a slight sign of scuffing.
The testing was so successful, we decided to use this same technology on our Raptor side covers, and they will be available by the time you read this.
You should see a longer life of the Raptor blocks as well.
The primary reason for all of this testing was to see if our new stroker rod design would live, and IT DID. Both sizes are now in production and available.
See our "Product Showcase" for details of these and other new products.
SPECIAL NOTE:
We try very hard to keep our prices competitive, so look closely at what is furnished with this new ARC side cover design :)
Thursday, July 2, 1998
Remove 400 lbs. from your crankshaft!
How - you ask ? With an ARC billet connecting rod.Compared to some connecting rods that are on the market today, the ARC rod produces 400 lbs. less centrifugal force (on the crank journal end) at 9000 rpm.That's a lot of unnecessary pressure on the rod, rod bolts, bearings and crankshaft.
Have you ever wondered why additional clearance is needed in the air gap between the coil and flywheel and piston to head clearance on a high rpm race engine ? Crankshaft flex !The less weight the crank rod journal "feels" the less flexing, fatigue, wear and breakage you'll encounter.
How can a part be lighter, smaller and stronger ?After numerous hours of research into the physical properties, force, inertia, elasticity and extensive dyno pulls of connecting rods, we found that attention to details such as shape, type of material, size and weight are extremely important to the structural integrity of a connecting rod.
Just one more plus of the ARC billet connecting rod is that when it's used with most Briggs & Stratton crankshafts, the engine is better balanced. This is very important for the Kart classes that don't allow modifications to the crankshaft :)
Have you ever wondered why additional clearance is needed in the air gap between the coil and flywheel and piston to head clearance on a high rpm race engine ? Crankshaft flex !The less weight the crank rod journal "feels" the less flexing, fatigue, wear and breakage you'll encounter.
How can a part be lighter, smaller and stronger ?After numerous hours of research into the physical properties, force, inertia, elasticity and extensive dyno pulls of connecting rods, we found that attention to details such as shape, type of material, size and weight are extremely important to the structural integrity of a connecting rod.
Just one more plus of the ARC billet connecting rod is that when it's used with most Briggs & Stratton crankshafts, the engine is better balanced. This is very important for the Kart classes that don't allow modifications to the crankshaft :)
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