Performance Parts News

Recent dyno testing at Adrenaline Autosports, in Chatsworth, CA, on a mildly built Ford 302, fitted with stock 289 heads, revealed incredible results. Baseline numbers with a 600-cfm Holley carb and no spacer produced 218.57 rear wheel horsepower at 5500 rpm with 252.97 ft-lbs. of torque. The carb was switched to a 680-cfm QFT street carb, manufactured with a Proform® carb main body, and one pull was made with each of the three variations of Proform 1-inch phenolic spacers supplied in their Trackside Carb Spacer kit.
The wide open spacer proved to be the most efficient for this engine, producing a whopping 244.62 rear wheel horsepower with 276.55 ft-lbs. of torque, equating to a 12% HP increase and , a 9% torque increase. That’s a gain of 26.5 horsepower and 23.58 ft-lbs. of torque with only a carb change and spacer install. We broke down the numbers for the spacer only, and this simple change resulted in an increase of 14 rear wheel horsepower and 9 ft-lbs. of torque. Incredible! and the 3-in-1 spacer kit is under $80. Now that’s a low cost power adder producing astounding results!

By simply changing the carb and adding the Proform 67160C spacer to this engine, we gained increased throttle response, realized the full power band of the engine, and at wide open throttle it felt like it would never stop pulling. That, coupled with the horsepower and torque increase, makes this combination a winner on street or strip.

Consumers are being hit with more marketing supporting nitrogen filling in tires. Is it truly beneficial in performance tires, including race applications? Most experts say yes, and many professional racing teams have made the switch.

Tires are typically filled with compressed air, which consists of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases by volume. So all tires are filled mostly with nitrogen. Filling your tires with pure nitrogen offers two primary benefits: First it replaces smaller oxygen molecules with significantly larger nitrogen molecules, reducing the rate at which compressed gas seeps through tire walls. The result is tires maintaining their original pressure longer. Keeping inflation constant is important in that performance tires need to minimize tire deflection to transfer power to the track. Tires deflect more at lower tire pressures, resulting in pooorer power transfer, more tire heat being generated and potentially inconsitent performance. Racing tires can be filled with nitrogen at the pressure you wish to have during the race because inflation pressure doesn’t increase quite so much as with air. While not generally a consideration to racers, steady pressure is also key to optimal fuel economy.

Secondly, it eliminates moisture, Water vapor (humidity) can make up as much as 5 percent of the volume of air under worst-case conditions. Air containing water vapor can increase the pressure in a tire three to seven psi as it is heated, depending upon driving conditions and ambient air temperatures. Because nitrogen contains basically no water vapor, the pressure build-up due to heat is minimized. Therefore the tire’s hot pressure is very similar to the cold-inflation pressure, with much less change due to driving conditions. That means racers can set a cold tire pressure and more accurately predict the hot pressures.

Crane Cams advises that IT IS NOT advisable to run mechanical lifters on a hydraulic camshaft. Although certain racing applications could benefit from the additional RPM potential of the mechanical lifters (and some racers do so), the ramp design of the hydraulic lobes is not designed for use with valve lash. The resulting harshness (as evidenced by valve train noise) will rapidly shorten the life of the camshaft and the lifters, and also the rest of the valvetrain components. Never run hydraulic lifters on a mechancial camshaft, as immediate lifter pump-up will occur, leading to a lack of performance and possible engine failure.

When it comes to picking a cam and a converter, there are a number of decisions to be made. Is the car really a racecar, or is it driven on the street 90% of the time? How hard do you want it to launch, what are the rear gears, engine cubic inch, weight of the car? All of these things directly relate to the stall and the cam(s) that you pick for your vehicle. The question really is: Where does the engine start making torque with the cam you have picked? Now, if you have already run your setup on the dyno, that would be the best indication as to what stall converter to run. If you already have a modified stall converter and now need a cam, you really want to know where that stall comes in, so you can get a cam that best matches that starting RPM range of your setup. Article courtesy of Crane Cams

SuperChips has posted the installation instructions for your Flashpaq, Max Tri-Tune, Max Dual-Tune Tuners (Ford application). These include instructions for SuperChips 1805 Flashpaq, SuperChips 1815 Flashpaq, SuperChips 1825 Flashpaq, SuperChips 1705 Max Tri-Tune, SuperChips 1715 Max Tri-Tune, SuperChips 1724 Max Dual-Tune, and SuperChips 1725 Max Dual-Tune and also SuperChips 1100 Module Ford Blue Unprogrammed:

• Ford DTC Code Manual
• SuperChips 1805 Flashpaq Tuner / 6.0L Powerstroke Diesel
• SuperChips 1815 Flashpaq Tuner / 2005-2006 Ford F150 / F250 Gas
• SuperChips 1825 Flashpaq Tuner / 2005-2007 Mustang, 4.0, 4.6 & 5.4L
• SuperChips 1705 Max Tri-Tune Micro Tuner / 7.3L Ford Powerstroke Diesel
• SuperChips 1715 Max Tri-Tune Micro Tuner / Ford Gas Pickups & SUVs
• SuperChips 1724 Max Dual-Tune Micro Tuner / 2004 Ford 4.6L Cars & 3.9 Mustang
• SuperChips 1725 Max Dual-Tune Micro Tuner / Ford 4.6L Cars
• Superchips Blue / Ford Modules

A complete list of Superchips products

SuperChips has posted instructions on how to download and program your flashpaq:

• Flashpaq Data Acquisition Instructions (DAQ)
• Flashpaq Data Acquisition Instructions (DAQ2)

If you’re wanting to get the most from your valvetrain, you’ll need to look at your rocker arm geometry (Stud Mount Rockers). When fine tuning your valvetrain, look for a pushrod length that leaves the roller tip of the rocker towards the intake side of the valve tip (NOT dead center of the valve) when the valve is closed. You will see that the pushrod side of the rocker will likely have to drop down, and the roller tip will then pull back toward the intake side. This can be accomplished with shorter length push rods, and will also increase power because the valve will be opening quicker. This will also leave the highest spring pressure load occurring with the rocker tip at the center of the valve at full lift, not off towards the exhaust side. Just be careful not to come in contact with the top of the retainer and the underside of the rocker arms when setting up this geometry.

Wrapping exhaust tubing, particularly headers, is a crucial and important step when controlling exhaust temperatures and reducing radiant under-hood heat by up to 50%. Keeping exhaust gases hotter within the exhaust system helps in decreasing density and as a result increases the flow of exhaust gases. This improves exhaust scavenging, which, in turn, reduces intake temperatures for increased horsepower gains. Also, limiting the radiant heat trapped inside the engine bay decreases heat absorption through the fire wall, which keeps dash components and cabin temperatures to a an absolute minimum.

Oftentimes, people are interested in exhaust wraps, but are afraid that the wrap may damage their pipes. No one is sure who started the rumor, but for some people this inaccuracy has become common knowledge. However, the truth is that wrapping your pipes will not damage them! It will not make the metal brittle or promote any enhanced corrosion. In rare instances, rust and corrosion may occur on lower grade metals. This can be avoided by using a silicone coating to repel water and debris.

Basically, every time you start up an engine, the exhaust system pipes heat up and undergo an aging process that is so nominal it would take 50+ years to actually see any kind of change in the composition of the metal. Exhaust wraps do accelerate the aging process, but even so, it could take up to 30+ years to see any real change in composition, and even that would be nominal at best. The same applies to ceramic jet coatings. So, you can wrap with confidence!

Crane Cams current dual valve spring, part Crane Cams 99893, is undoubtedly one of the most popular performance springs sold in the aftermarket today. However, higher performance requirements of ever-aggressive camshaft lobe designs have revealed some deficiencies in what Crane Cams calls “Ole Reliable.” To address these issues, the company has just released a new and improved variant, part Crane Cams 99892. This new design has much in common with Crane Cams 99893, but the slight differences make a significant improvement in performance and useful life! The Crane Cams 99892 is a dual spring without damper. It is also an excellent “total performance,” street performance or moderate racing spring for use with hydraulic roller camshafts or flat tappet cams (hydraulic and mechanical) with tall installed heights. Wire diameter and coil count changes to both the inner and outer springs greatly improve harmonic control throughout the operating range. Super-clean, high-tensile, chrome-silicon valve spring wire assures consistent loads through a long spring life.

Crane Cams 99892 New Dual Valve Spring

For more information, including other Crane Cam products, click here.

Something that many people take for granted is checking the camshaft end play (especially on flat-faced lifter camshafts) when assembling their engine.  In most instances, the lifters will bear against the taper that is ground into each lobe, locating the camshaft to the rear of the engine, as intended. However, there are a number of other factors that must be considered and should always be checked for good performance and longevity.

When building a fresh engine with new cam bearings, the cam end plug has been removed, and a new one should have been installed.  If the end plug is now located too far forward in the block, the end of the cam may now be bottoming out on the plug, causing the lobes to be improperly aligned with the lifters. It will also cause the timing sprockets to be out of line.  This will cause premature cam and lifter wear, and will damage the timing chain and sprockets. Make sure that the cam sprocket is able to ride against its correct thrust surface and that the cam and crank sprocket are in alignment when installed on your camshaft.  On engines that may have a cam thrust plate (Ford FE, Chrysler LA 273-360, etc.), clearance to the end plug must also be checked.  If the plug is too far forward when the plate is tightened, the back of the cam could now be forced against the rear plug.  Galling will occur, heat will be generated, and unhappy metal particles may be passing through your powerplant.  Also, camshafts from different manufacturers may have slightly different lengths, so don’t assume that if one cam fits properly, others will as well.

On thrust plate equipped engines, plates may vary slightly in thickness, and the steps on the cam and cam sprocket can also vary.  Make sure that you don’t have a stack-up of tolerances that could prevent the cam from rotating freely.  Install the cam, thrust plate, and sprockets without the timing chain to verify that nothing is in a bind.  You should have approximately .003-.005″ of end play to allow for thermal changes and to promote proper lubrication in the thrust area.  Engines that have roller camshafts installed (that didn’t originally have them) may require an aftermarket cam button spacer or some other type of device to keep the cam from moving forward (roller camshafts have no lobe taper).  A slight amount of end play is also required for proper function.  If possible, leave the cam end plug out until final assembly.  This way, you can check end play once the front cover has been installed, its gasket crushed, and all tolerances taken up.  With a dial indicator riding against the rear of the cam, reach through the lifter bores and move the cam back and forth.  The .003-.005″ end play dimension should be maintained.  When installing the cam end plug, be careful not to drive it in too far, undoing all of the work you’ve done up to this point.

There are many configurations and methods that manufacturers have used to locate their camshafts properly. It would be impossible to list all of them here.  Just be sure to check the basics of proper cam alignment, end play, and free rotation.  If you aren’t sure that what you have is correct, consult a shop manual, or someone familiar with your type of engine and application.