The El Mirage July race event was cancelled last weekend due to excessive heat, but we made lemonade out of that lemon by still having our own testing day.
Overview of the Instruments
The Red Baron instruments tell the story of a land speed racing run from start to finish, if you know what you're looking for. Here's my first video introducing the different instruments and narrating our record-setting run from July 2017. https://youtu.be/Vgu2WjiFPk0 It wasn't a perfect run - the rear cylinder got uncomfortably hot, the engine … Continue reading Overview of the Instruments
VJs: All about Valve Jobs
I like this trio of videos because Smitty makes all the little details of valve design, maintenance, and performance modifications come together so simply. The goal for engine valves is to be air tight. Specs for Air Tight Valves Smitty walks through the essential specs of poppet valves in most engine today, for both intake … Continue reading VJs: All about Valve Jobs
Deep Dive: Enlarged Exhaust Ports
The Red Baron seemed to be stuck at 115 MPH during the 2015 and 2016 race seasons, regardless of fueling and boost changes. We knew that the exhaust valves and ports were quite small compared to the intake, and appeared to be the limiting factor to processing more air and fuel to make more power. … Continue reading Deep Dive: Enlarged Exhaust Ports
Deep Dive: Racing Cam for High RPM Power
The Red Baron seemed to be stuck at 115 MPH during the 2015 and 2016 race seasons, regardless of fueling and boost changes. We suspected choke conditions at the exhaust ports. We modified the timing of the exhaust valve opening and closing events by designing a custom camshaft that would allow for greater air flow, … Continue reading Deep Dive: Racing Cam for High RPM Power
Leak-down test & pressure-loss calculation
When turning the crankshaft on an internal combustion engine, you can feel an increase in resistance caused by generating a vacuum or building compression when the valves are closed. This indicates that the piston rings are holding a seal with the cylinder walls. Smitty noticed that we were not holding compression pressure, particularly in the … Continue reading Leak-down test & pressure-loss calculation