The strongest, most reliable engine for your car is our goal at Enders Racing Engines. All you should worry about is chassis set up and getting the power to the ground.
Improving the performance of racing engines is an ongoing and continuous process. While all engine builders look for the competitive edge, we think that racing engine development is where we outperform our competitors.
Over the years, we've learned that improving an engine's performance rarely comes from just one component. The days of simply bolting on performance parts to an engine and expecting results are gone. Today, it's about finding the right combination of components and building reliability into every engine. Creating more torque and horsepower are part of this equation, of course, but torque and horsepower curve shapes are just as important.
This is what makes engine development so important. With racing engines already at such high levels of performance, there are no silver bullets that will substantially increase results. Today, performance increases come in the details. And there's nobody that can match Kevin in this category. He spends endless hours reviewing dyno tests, communicating with customers, talking to vendors, reviewing driver and owner feedback and studying reports and reviews, all of which enable him to prioritize the areas where improvements can be made.
For example, we are currently working on combinations of camshafts, cylinder heads, intake manifolds and exhaust headers, combinations that produce user friendly horsepower and torque curves. We have found that horsepower and torque curve shapes are as important as any peak output. How the power is delivered has become our primary focus of engine development.
We have found that several combinations of subtle modifications to the upper end of an engine can produce the horsepower and torque curves that make our customers happy. It's a never-ending process. We understand that there's always more to learn, there's always room for improvement. After years of successfully building racing engines, we are still learning how to make them better.
Camshafts play a role in the engine development process. Understanding that a properly-designed camshaft should fit with the engine, Kevin is now designing and grinding his own camshafts. he has the ability to further enhance his modifications via custom grinding cams for specific cylinder head and manifold combinations.
During the offseason, the Enders Racing Engines team will be conducting extensive dyno testing with the next generation of camshafts, cylinder heads and manifolds. It may not be glamorous, but the results speak for themselves. Our customers get engines that win for them.
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TIt’s been a long, cold, snowy winter. While you were shoveling out from blizzards and snowstorms, your engine was in hibernation.
Just like you, your engine doesn’t want to “jump right out of bed” after all that inactivity, but the race season will be underway in just a few short weeks. If you want to start your season off right, you need to plan ahead and ease it back into things by following some simple recommendations.
Before you even get your engine out of your race shop:
1. Remove and replace the sparkplugs
2. Make sure that carburetor is clean and working properly
3. Check the valve lash
4. If you backed-off the rockers for the winter, readjust the rockers to original settings
5. Start the engine
6. Set the timing.
Now your engine is ready for daylight, but it still needs to adjust to racing conditions. Before you put the engine through its paces for the first time, it is imperative that you warm the oil (see the Running Hot and Cold section of our feature story on oil). Use an oil heater to bring the oil up to temperature, take slow laps for the first couple of practice laps, and then gradually bring up the RPM’s to allow the oil time to flow through the engine. This is actually something we highly recommend doing before every race.
Once the engine has been raced and you need to bring in the engine for rebuild, repair, or even just a check-up. There are a few steps that need to be followed for the best results.
1. All engines that leave Enders Racing Engines, Inc. are equipped with exhaust covers, lift plates on the intake manifold and transportation stands. Put each of these parts in a safe place. It would also be a good idea to mark your name or engine serial number on them. When the engine is ready to return to Enders for a rebuild or check-up, reinstall the exhaust covers, lift plate and transport the engine on the stand. This will keep the engine safe and protected.
2. Clean your engine before sending it in for rebuild or repair; it should be free of any dirt and oil. It only takes a few moments to clean the engine once it has been removed from the car but, it will save you time and money at Enders.
3. Return the engine with the ignition (magneto or distributor) and the carburetor. By sending these parts with the engine, we are able to properly test and tune the engine. If your carburetor settings are too lean or too rich, we can adjust them to the proper settings, which saves considerable time and aggravation at the racetrack. When carburetors and ignitions aren’t returned, we have no choice but to test the engine with our components. This could affect the accuracy of the testing because we would be testing the engine with our parts. The engine could perform differently with your carburetor and/or ignition. This way we are able to avoid any tuning issues and you are able to spend your valuable practice time on chassis issues.
4. By following these steps you will increase engine reliability and your racing experience will be much more enjoyable! Good Luck and have a great race season.
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If you've asked yourself this question, you're not alone. And depending on your circumstances, you might be considering one of the smartest moves in racing.
"Most of the racers who buy used engines are guys having engine troubles" explains master engine builder Kevin Enders. "They're always looking for an engine because they don't properly maintain their equipment, so they buy another motor and blow that up too. It's usually not the engine's fault, it's theirs.
"The guys for whom a used engine really makes sense are beginners, teams on a budget and someone who wants a reliable spare. If you buy the right one, a used engine is an excellent value."
"Our used motors are great for beginners" offers Eckerd 200 winner Tim Fuller. "You can buy a good used big block for $10-12,000 that might be lacking 10 or 20 horsepower but a beginner doesn't need that anyway. It'll be a reliable, top of the line motor they won't have to take back until the end of the year. That's what you need when you're starting out. You don't need motor bills, you need to spend your time and money
on the car and learning how to race."
The key, according to Enders, is knowing what you're getting before you sign the check.
"If you buy a reputable builder's engine that's been maintained properly, it's just as good as a new engine. Most of the professional teams like to turn their equipment over after two or three years. They want new stuff because they're racing for a living. And they're usually the best at maintenance because they hate to drop out of races.
"You need to talk with the builder and, if he's on top of his business, he'll have complete records for that particular engine. And I don't mean off the top of his head. He should have written records of what has been done to that engine, when it was done and a close estimate of how much time is on it."
"A team without a lot of money can buy from a top shelf team who's taken care of the motor correctly for about half price" adds Jody Gable, owner of the Budweiser #1 that Brett Hearn drove to the Lebanon Valley Speedway title in 2004. "People come to us because Brett wins a lot, they know we take care of our motors and because it was an Enders to begin with."
And while motors used by such high-profile Enders customers as Hearn, Fuller and Billy Decker are obviously highly sought after, other bargains exist as well. "You can buy a quality piece from any of our customers" counsels Kevin Enders. "The main factor is maintenance, not who owned it. You have to call us and get an accurate account. You can put the best motor in the world in a poor chassis with a bad driver and you'll never win anything. The motor, though, could be a great buy when they get discouraged and
quit racing."
Another oft asked question is whether Enders can take someone else's motors and convert them to his specifications.
"It all depends on the particular parts used in an engine" replies Enders. "Tony Feil, for instance, is a reputable engine builder and he doesn't use substandard parts like we'll run into from time to time with some other builders. If we redid an engine that he'd built, we would have a good chance of making it very similar to something we'd done originally."
Another common query is whether an engine offered for sale is really an Enders?
"That's easy," says Kevin. "We serial number the blocks and the cylinder heads. It's a simple matter to determine if it's one of ours or not."
"Buying through a team is OK if you know them but if you talk to Kevin, he won't tell you a fib," adds Scott Jeffery, crew chief for DIRT star Billy Decker. "It's his reputation as a builder that's on the line so you're better off to talk with him and get the true tory. We're in a situation where we can update every couple of years to stay on top of our game but some guys have some pretty tired stuff they're trying to unload."
How old, then, is too old? "I don't think an engine six or eight years old is too old" declares Enders. "But that's assuming good maintenance. We always come back to that. We've got enough data and experience over the years that we know when parts need replacing, so even if it's old, the vital components shouldn't be outdated. We can tell you what's been changed and how much time is on the new pieces.
"A more important question is 'Where did they race it?' For example, using a Lebanon Valley engine at Cayuga County would be pretty difficult. With the Valley power curve, there's a lot more torque available. Torque is what makes the rear tires spin and at Cayuga County, you're dealing with a slick surface and you'll have a harder time hooking the car up. But if you get an engine that's a good deal, we can convert it, tailor it more to the type of surface you'll be on. There's not a huge difference if it's a motor we built originally.
"Where guys go wrong with used engines is trying to take two or three to make one good engine. That's way too expensive. They might better wait for one good engine to come along. The other thing to stay away from is swap meets or auctions. The parts are there because somebody wants to get rid of them. What you don't know is why.
"You see six rods and you know there were eight originally. Did they run it out of oil and spin the bearings or did two rods break in the beam? Remember, if they were any good, they wouldn't be throwing them away."
Once a quality engine is located and purchased, the real work begins. Even a used engine represents a major investment and, like a house or road car, ongoing attention is required.
"Most teams need to get educated a little bit" suggests Enders. "They have to learn how to properly maintain what they buy. If they do, the used engine will last a long while and turn out to be a very good deal."
"Read Kevin's newsletters and do what he says!" adds Fuller. "It works for us."
The bottom line, as always, is the bottom line. "There are some lying skunks in this business, just like any other business," says Enders. "Before you buy anything, talk to the engine builder. Do it right and you'll get a quality piece at a reasonable price instead of buying someone else's troubles."
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Enders Racing Engines called to compliment Kevin and extend his first impressions regarding the new engine.
He was quite impressed with the visible workmanship and even more impressed with the performance of the engine. He was particularly impressed with the way that the exhaust ports in his engine looked after running a number of races. He was actually surprised that the sparkplugs all looked the same and that the ports were even in color. After many years with a competing engine builder this customer wondered how Kevin’s engine could be so different. Kevin responded by saying, “My engines are happy”.
What is a happy engine?
An engine that is “happy” is efficient, runs smoothly and generally serves the intended cycle with very little or no reduction in overall performance. If that same high profile customer were to take his Enders engine to the previous engine builder for a “freshen or rebuild” he would immediately see a loss of performance. After the rebuild it would be noticeable to him on the racetrack and visually obvious when the routine maintenance was performed.
So what makes an engine “happy”?
It certainly begins with the selection of components for an engine. In many cases the components are designed in house and are proprietary. In this day and age it is actually ridiculous to see gobs of epoxy in a cylinder head or intake manifold. There is absolutely no repeatability in a product that has been built this way, not to mention the incredible waste of time. Yet customers continue to bring the latest and greatest from other builders loaded with epoxy. And why do you suppose they’ve brought their engine to us? Plain and simple, the engine isn’t performing to the standards necessary to be competitive.
By designing an intake manifold that matches our cylinder head design and being able to work out other details with software programs that analyze part combinations and establish trends, we are able to provide racing engines that are consistent and innovative.
Sounds pretty straight forward right? So you might ask why other highly respected engine builders haven’t taken this route.
1. They don’t want to pay to play. (There is significant upfront expense in terms of time and money to develop proprietary designs)
2. They don’t use a computer. (Another surprise in this day and age)
3. They are attached to the “old” way of doing business.
They say the highest form of flattery is being copied. Interestingly enough a new customer recently brought a brand new dirt big block engine to us that didn’t run. The driver hated it and the owner was up in arms. From all appearances it could have been an Enders engine. It had a lightweight oil pan similar to our design and it had a similar crankshaft and rod package similar to the engines we build. If you sat these engines side by side you might mistake one for the other, however, that is where the similarities ended. The copy didn’t work because similar is not the same. At Enders all of our components compliment each other. It’s a clean, neat tidy package that has been literally designed as a package.
After component choice the next most important aspect of the engine is in the machining processes and details. And, there are many details. In our shop those details begin with the procedures that take place the moment a new engine is to be built or an existing engine arrives at the shop for a rebuild. Process and specification sheets are kept on every aspect of the engine. This ensures that no matter who is assigned to a particular job in the shop the critical dimensions will be consistently the same rebuild after rebuild. This eliminates the need to rely on someone’s memory. Additionally, the procedures help to eliminate errors. Each technician must sign off on every dimension and every process. This forces good habits, a sense of accountability and a strong team atmosphere.
Beyond the procedures that the shop has established to retain consistency, there are techniques that have been employed with very specific results in mind. Those results being increased horsepower with reliability. Needless to say passing on specifics here would be “giving away the store”. The bottom line is that there are bits and pieces, here and there, that all stacked up make a superior package.
So, if an Enders engine ends up at someone else’s shop for a rebuild it’s like taking apart a complicated jigsaw puzzle. And, once apart, it is very difficult to put the pieces back the way they were. Therefore the reduction in performance increases as time goes by and the engine is no longer “happy”.
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It’s often said that winners have a plan while losers have excuses. When we come to the topic of valve adjustment, that means that those who follow a strict regimen of checking valve lash and searching for developing problems can head off financial calamity while finishing, and likely winning, more races than their competitors. Those who don’t will be looking for a scapegoat.
“Even in a 50 lap race, you can have a spring start to go away,” says engine guru Kevin Enders. “We also see push rod failures and adjuster failures on the rocker arms. Take the valve covers off, inspect everything, run a magnet around in the oil to see if you pick up any kind of debris, then adjust the lash. Big blocks or small blocks, they all need this done after every race!”
And what about the excuses? According to Enders, it’s like baseball: three strikes and you’re out.
“They didn’t have enough time! They’re too busy racing! And my personal favorite, they didn’t understand the need for it!
“Racers have to understand that if you let the valves run loose, they’ll loosen up to the point that the camshaft becomes a hammer. It just hammers the entire valve train and you’ll break a valve, a rocker arm or a lifter. Believe me, when you knock the head off a valve, you’re facing an expensive repair. And, if you don’t finish, you certainly can’t win a race.”
With a box wrench, an allen wrench and a set of feeler gauges in hand, Enders says the only other thing you’ll need, once the valve covers are off, is 20 minutes of time, preferably without interruptions that might cause you to inadvertently skip a valve.
“We always turn the engine over until the exhaust valve just begins to open, at which point we adjust the intake valve on that cylinder. After that, we bump it over until we open the intake fully, then just as it starts to close, we check the exhaust. We do our engines cylinder by cylinder. Some guys go by the firing order, which is fine, but on the dyno we bump it over with the starter and do 1-3-5 and 7, then do 2-4-6 and 8.
“ And we always rotate in the normal direction. There’s no backing up if you go by the point you’re looking for. Just go through the cycle again. We also recommend checking the lash with the engine cold, though we alwaays supply customers with both hot and cold settings. If the engine has Jesel rocker arms, the teams have to remember that they can damage them by overtightening the nuts on the adjuster. In that situation, we recommend torqueing them to a maximum of 18-22 ft.lbs., with oil.”
While everyone develops a different touch, they should still come out with lash adjustments within .001” of each other. Still, it’s a good idea to have one person handle the job race to race, making abnormalities more obvious to the hands and eyes most familiar with that engine. Engine care is, after all, both a science and an art.
“Cam lobes don’t normally go away with roller cams but it’s a big problem with flat tappet cams, so you should be concerned if you develop excessive lash” says Enders. “With rollers, lifter failure is about the only thing that causes a lobe to go away. Rocker arms don’t give any warning, they just break, but push rod ends can get beat up. Take them out and look at them closely if the lash opens up.”
Once the clearance is checked and adjusted and the valve covers back on, Enders recommends two more basic procedures that most skip, often at great peril.
“You really need to throw a timing light on it, because that’s another problem waiting to happen. Catching erratic timing can save your engine. And a lot of racers don’t seem to want to change their oil as often as they should. Clean, high quality oil is really inexpensive compared to a repair bill on an engine.”
Another area of concern is using valve lash as a tuning aid, something that works to a point but can also be an engine killer.
“Valve lash can be a useful tuning tool but you need to know the range of lash you can use without running into problems” cautions Enders, who has seen many well-intentioned strategies harm race engines over the years. “Normally, if you loosen the lash .004”, you’ll change the duration of the cam at the valve timing point, before they open or close, by about 10 degrees. That’s enough to see a change, though it’s not necessarily something you want to do at the track. Running loose gives you more torque but less power, while running tight means giving up torque to gain a little power. You can’t hurt much going a little tighter, though you’ll give up idle smoothness, but if you go too loose, you’ll start breaking parts.”
When engines leave Ender’s Phoenix, NY shop, the valves are set and it’s ready to run. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check them before firing it up.
“They’re lashed properly when they leave but we still encourage everyone to check the lash. It’s good to double check, plus the team’s engine man can work on getting the proper feel to maintain our settings. And when engines come back to us for repair, we check the settings so we can advise them if they’re too tight or too loose.
“The only thing we don’t like is for teams to get into the motor at the track. If they’re having problems, they need to either not race or get another car out of their trailer. It’s not a problem if they check inside at home but the track is not the place to get into that.”
Racing today is a bottom-line business where every dollar counts. Trading 20 minutes of shop time for increased engine longevity, lower repair bills and maximum output is a winning deal for racers in any division.
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Dynamometer testing has been around for many years. The first dynamometers were analog. The operator would “make a pull” and write down all of the data. Computers entered the scene and simple statistical items were then recorded by the computer rather than the operator.
During the late 1980’s the computer evolution continued and the capabilities of graphs, overlays and other pertinent information became readily available. The dynamometer as a tool became more user friendly and streamlined. Inexpensive dyno systems now entered the market. As a result, the amount of dyno testing in automotive aftermarket increased dramatically.
There are many shops that have some form of a dynamometer and profess to be able to “test” an engine. However, in our experience, we have found very few that actually now how to test an engine and provide accurate, repeatable results.
To draw valid conclusions from dyno testing there are test procedures that must be followed. Simple factors like oil and air temperature have a significant impact on test results. For example, testing an engine with an oil temperature increase from run to run of 160 deg. to 205 deg. could yield a power increase of 1 ½%. This is not a real gain in performance but rather a poor test. In the testing that we do here at Enders, Kevin is on a quest for true power increases, not just bigger numbers on a graph.
Each dynamometer facility is somewhat unique and therefore different numbers are produced. It is important to understand that the only test numbers that can be compared are those that are provided from the same facility. So when a customer calls to purchase an engine and the first question they ask is “How much power does it make?” we know that an education process is in order. We generally do not quote power numbers. Why? Because we do not use “Bar horsepower numbers” to sell racing engines, we use results and reliability. Bar Horsepower Numbers are the numbers that fly around the bar after the races. And, besides, bigger may be better at the bar, but not on the racetrack.
The dyno serves many functions but the two most important are; verifying the performance of an engine and quality control.
What constitutes a valid dyno test?
A test is deemed valid when there are three runs back to back with no more than ½% difference in corrected horsepower at each RPM test point.
What variables combine to make a valid test?
They are:
1. Proper test cell ventilation
2. Proper engine air supply
3. Proper dyno exhaust
4. Proper oil cooler set-up
5. Proper test procedures
6. Accurate data acquisition system that utilizes “smart averaging” versus “random sampling”
Valid testing procedures followed provide REAL results.
Dyno testing reveals more than just the horsepower and torque numbers. It can tell you whether the engine will be smooth to drive, where the strongest band of power etc. If the dyno operator keeps accurate notes any change in performance can be detected from rebuild to rebuild and evaluated accordingly.
Each of the procedures outlined above are followed each and every time an engine is tested at Enders Racing Engines. This allows Kevin to see very small changes and draw valid conclusions from his testing. Our testing provides real data that is verifiable not meaningless generalizations that send us off on a wild goose chase.
Just because an engine has been extensively tested or put on the dyno for “magical tuning increases”, if the proper procedures (which are unknown to 80% of all dyno owners/operators) are not followed, all of the testing in the world will not provide realized gains.
Think of a dyno as if it were a heart monitor. The heart monitor doesn’t make the heart better or worse it just tells you how the heart is performing. The dyno is just a tool for verifying performance, not a magic wand that transforms a hunk of metal into some super powerhouse.
The bottom line is this…Are you looking for BAR HORSEPOWER or RACE RESULTS?
For the customer that is on the outside looking in it can be difficult to tell whether the parameters are met for valid testing. There are tell tale signs in terms of mistakes made in the actual test cell. We have seen cells with blue tarp walls. Cells that are placed under a stairwell (only spot left in shop) with no outside air intake. Cells that utilize four inch flex pipe sealed to their tail pipes running into truck mufflers. These cells will not provide repeatable results.
Here are a few questions you might ask yourself when considering a test facility.
Is dyno testing a part of their core business or is it a new hobby?
Do they have race results to back up their horsepower number claims?
How long have they truly been involved with dyno testing?
If you are looking for bragging rights or just big numbers on a graph you will be very satisfied with the services that the average dyno facility provides. If you are looking for race results, direction and the honest performance characteristics of your racing engine then you have to work with a dyno facility that provides that information. And this we believe is what separates the winners from the losers.
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Ongoing engine development is key to success of Enders engines
by Gary Nickerson
The strongest, most reliable engine for your car is our goal at Enders Racing Engines. All you should worry about is chassis set up and getting the power to the ground.
Improving the performance of racing engines is an ongoing and continuous process. While all engine builders look for the competitive edge, we think that racing engine development is where we outperform our competitors.
Over the years, we've learned that improving an engine's performance rarely comes from just one component. The days of simply bolting on performance parts to an engine and expecting results are gone. Today, it's about finding the right combination of components and building reliability into every engine. Creating more torque and horsepower are part of this equation, of course, but torque and horsepower curve shapes are just as important.
This is what makes engine development so important. With racing engines already at such high levels of performance, there are no silver bullets that will substantially increase results. Today, performance increases come in the details. And there's nobody that can match Kevin in this category. He spends endless hours reviewing dyno tests, communicating with customers, talking to vendors, reviewing driver and owner feedback and studying reports and reviews, all of which enable him to prioritize the areas where improvements can be made.
For example, we are currently working on combinations of camshafts, cylinder heads, intake manifolds and exhaust headers, combinations that produce user friendly horsepower and torque curves. We have found that horsepower and torque curve shapes are as important as any peak output. How the power is delivered has become our primary focus of engine development.
We have found that several combinations of subtle modifications to the upper end of an engine can produce the horsepower and torque curves that make our customers happy. It's a never-ending process. We understand that there's always more to learn, there's always room for improvement. After years of successfully building racing engines, we are still learning how to make them better.
Camshafts play a role in the engine development process. Understanding that a properly-designed camshaft should fit with the engine, Kevin is now designing and grinding his own camshafts. he has the ability to further enhance his modifications via custom grinding cams for specific cylinder head and manifold combinations.
During the offseason, the Enders Racing Engines team will be conducting extensive dyno testing with the next generation of camshafts, cylinder heads and manifolds. It may not be glamorous, but the results speak for themselves. Our customers get engines that win for them.
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With race teams from the entry level classes to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series striving to keep their cars on the track in the face of the ongoing recession, ideas on how to save money are popping up all over.
Some, like reducing labor costs, work for “big time” owners but completely bypass the “all volunteer” teams that populate the nation’s short tracks. Other ideas sound good initially but offer false economies that may bite you in the butt over time. Using cheaper oil or stretching out oil change intervals are prime examples. To sort out some of the confusion, we asked Phoenix, NY based engine builder Kevin Enders how racers could save money.
“My first thought is to get educated,” said Enders. “Guys inflict pain on themselves and pain costs money. Some things don’t need to be as tight as you can possibly get them. Tight is good but too tight breaks bolts, squeezes gaskets out and stresses parts not made for that kind of stress. Use your torque wrench.
“ And put the engine under the care of one person who has a weekly routine, reads and follows the instructions that come with every engine and is willing to change. You can’t assume that things are as they always were: the oil capacity may be different, the timing may have changed or new oil or water plumbing or routing procedures developed. The engine builder will spell it all out but you have to take time to read the instructions and be willing to do some things differently.”
Oil is a prime example of industry changes affecting what the engine guy “knows” from experience. “All the API ratings have changed, so if you need high pressure additives, they’re not in the over the counter oil anymore,” offered Enders. “You can’t go buy a case of name brand racing oil like you used to and have the protection you need. You’re saving $7 a quart and killing a $25-30,000 engine. Guys balk at $10 a quart but Joe Gibbs synthetic is one of the best available at any price. You need anti-wear additives whether you have a flat tappet or a roller cam and every needle bearing in the engine needs the pressure additives. It doesn’t take long to kill a set of lifters.”
In the same vein, dirty oil is as harmful to the engine as low quality lubricant.
“Just because it’s got three gallons doesn’t mean you don’t have to change it,” declared Enders. “It’s funny, sometimes. The newcomers believe us but some of the veterans are used to running it six to eight races and they’re killing their engines themselves. Dead engines are expensive!”
Like other reputable builders, Enders is a big believer in screen type oil filters that allow the “engine guy” to look for debris on a regular basis.
“It costs $150 for a top quality filter and when you’re done looking, you can wash the filter and put it back in. What you have to remember is that you’re looking for something different. Anything unusual in there is bad news and the news is going to get worse. You always see little bits of gaskets, silicone and fine metal flakes, because engines ‘make’ metal. But more than usual is bad and the only way to spot that is for one person to do it race after race to know what is usual. And if you do have a problem, be sure all the debris is out of the oil system before firing the replacement engine.”
A final oil related suggestion that costs next to nothing, but yields a big return, is to warm the oil properly before firing the engine.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s early April or mid-July,” says Enders. “The instructions will tell you how to do it. And don’t over rev the engine before the oil is at the proper temperature.
It takes knowledge and patience, not money, to protect your engine. Enders is also a believer in replacing parts on a set schedule, answering “you can’t afford not to replace them” when a car owner asks about stretching the interval. And with cost-cutting topping everyone’s list, the question is sure to arise even more often in 2009. “We tell people to do rocker arms on every other rebuild” says Enders. “They don’t want to spend $1000 and want to go one more rebuild, but when you break one and a valve goes through the cylinder wall, you’re into a new block and a big bill, plus you just threw away a $6-8000 rebuild.
“The same applies to stretching out your rebuilds. When you run it too long, you get more worn out parts that need to be replaced and you get to the point where you’re losing performance every week. Don’t stretch your laps - instead, use better parts that don’t need to be replaced at every rebuild. Piston pins are a good example. DLC coated pins are used through five rebuilds while other pins are replaced every time we go through the engine.”
For car owners looking for improved performance without spending a bundle all at once, Enders suggests improving their engines in stages, saying “don’t change everything at once. Get a partial upgrade on one rebuild, then do more the next time.”
But sooner or later, the time comes when “saving” money by rebuilding the engine instead of replacing it is a losing effort. “You have to sell it after a period of time if you want to be truly competitive and get a good return on your investment. You can only fix it so often. Sell it to a beginner and move on. In the long run, you’ll save money. Invest in quality pieces to begin with, get one or two good motors and take care of them. Cheap motors cost more overall when you need three or four to get through a season.”
Once you have a quality piece from a reputable builder, Enders is a great believer in using the log book that comes with it from day one. It will lead you through the valve settings, spark plug inspections, valve spring rating, filter checks and general observations that will protect your investment over time. And when a problem is suspected, being able to rattle off the data will make the call to the engine builder go much better rather than just telling him you’ve ‘got a bad feeling” about your engine.
Another series of potential problems are related to engine timing. First off, the “engine guy” shouldn’t assume that the timing was right when the engine came back from a rebuild or that nobody has touched it since. It should be checked during installation and again after every two or three races to head off problems. And to be sure the timing is set properly, a timing gun with an adjustable dial should never be used.
Two areas with potentially expensive results when changes are made improperly are carburetors and quick change gears. In the case of the former, Enders advises against jet changes at the speedway. “We tuned the engine on the dyno and sent it out with the proper jetting. Changes at the races will give you minimal performance gains and will more likely lead to costly problems. There’s a reason the other guys are adjusting their chassis for changing track conditions, not playing with the carburetor. “As for gear changes, we usually advise against making radical changes. More gear may give the driver a rush off the corner but it’s unlikely to win you more races. It takes the engine out of its peak power range and makes it ‘flat’ while overstressing the valve train and other parts and starting your engine down the road to failure.”
The final area Enders addressed goes against the thoughts of many car owners and crewmen but it might save you money by keeping the engine healthy longer and making sure you finish your next race. “Guys have to figure out what they absolutely have to do before the next race, especially if it’s tomorrow night and not a week away. You can race with a bent bumper. Changing that instead of checking the valve lash is a poor use of time and talent. Getting the car immaculately clean is great but not if it means running dirty oil another night. And you have to get all the dirt out of the radiator. “Take care of the air filter and make sure it’s properly sealed when you put it back on. Make sure water didn’t get into the ignition system at the car wash. Service and change the battery cables as needed because low voltage means low performance.”
The bottom line? “Maintenance and common sense don’t cost money, they save money. And finishing races is the best way to improve your team’s bottom line!”
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FIGHTING THE EFFECTS OF THE RECESSION
Ron Hedger
When engine builder Kevin Enders shows visitors to his Phoenix, NY engine shop his gleaming Newen Fixed-Turning valve seat machine, most nod appreciatively but don’t really comprehend what it does.
And if he told them it machines valve seats by the interpolation of axes or, as Newen’s literature states, “is a pinion free and play free mechanism, entirely pre-loaded, with the ability to machine the most complex shapes, including straight lines, radii, concave or convex in both directions, while guaranteeing extra ordinary geometric qualities,” they’d think he was talking a foreign language. But when he explains that the machine will give them more horsepower, whether they run custom heads or the ever more common spec heads, he’s speaking “racerese” and has their undivided attention.
“It’s hard for racers to come up with gains on any type of motor now, because there’s so much technology out there,” says Enders. “And your competitors, once they figure it out, can pretty much buy what they need to keep up with you. To get an advantage, you need something that’s truly out of the ordinary, which is why we bought this Newen machine. As far as I know, we’re the only engine shop in the region that has one. Newen advertises that most of the large Sprint Cup teams have their machine but that’s a whole different world than short track racing.”
The obvious question, then, is how the machine can do a better job than the traditional seat grinding equipment used by the majority of shops.
“There’s no limit to the shape of the valve job you can do,” says Enders. “You can do as much as your imagination allows, where if you’re ordering cutters for a standard machine, you’re limited by the variety of cutters they sell. And every cylinder comes out exactly the same. We’ve had power increases on all types of heads, including the spec heads that are so popular now as rule makers try to contain the cost of racing.”
But Enders also points out that the Newen machine alone is not the total answer.
“It’s part of a program where you need a good CNC block machine to get the lifter and cylinder bores in the correct place, the optimum combination of internal parts and many hours in the dyno room. We’ve found that it’s hard to do just one or two engines and make major gains. If you’re doing 150 a year, you get to see so much more data and what effect little changes have. If it helps, you can take that concept and add to it.
“And you also find out after three or four different engines if it’s consistently an improvement. If it helps every engine, then you know you’ve really got something and we‘ve found that the new valve jobs do make a difference.”
Dyno sheets tell a great deal about an engine and how it compares to similar powerplants. And as Enders says, results can show you if your innovation is taking you in the right direction. But engine builders often say jokingly that you don’t race dynos, you race cars.
That the Newen spec head valve jobs work on the track was proven during Super DIRT Week 2008, with Enders engines carrying Billy Decker to victory in the “Salute to the Troops 150” for 358 modifieds and teammate Pat Ward to a very competitive third. Both passed tech with no problems, while the car separating them was later disqualified when the cylinder heads did not meet specs.
And that’s a result that all racers understand.
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FIGHTING THE EFFECTS OF THE RECESSION
Ron Hedger
Whether his customers come by to order a new engine, drop off an engine slated for an upgrade or just to talk about options, Kevin Enders loves to point out the machines and skilled technicians that let his Phoenix, NY shop produce a steady stream of race winning powerplants. And as much as the customers appreciate the available technology, Enders appreciates it more, as it wasn’t always that way.
He remembers when he began trying his ideas on cylinder heads in the machine shop of a NAPA store in Cazenovia, followed by long nights and weekends spent experimenting on the dyno in his first dedicated shop in nearby Nelson as he and free-thinking header designer Jere Stahl bounced ideas off each other. The resulting power and reliability improvements led to countless race wins on both asphalt and dirt and a rapidly growing customer base that fueled the need for today’s expansive shop in the Phoenix industrial park north of Syracuse.
But the goal is still the same – new combinations that produce power, reliability and most importantly, driveability. The state of the art CNC Newen cylinder head machine, the custom camshaft grinder and all the other technology not found in “backyard” engine shops only pay off when the end product is matched to the track surface and driving characteristics of his customers.
“Making power is relatively easy!” says Enders. “The challenge is to end up with a piece that’s reliable and working in the right powerband for track conditions. We’ve been fortunate to work with some very good race teams over the years and we’ve been able to learn from each other. From their feedback, we find out how our engines are affecting the chassis and where they can be improved.
“We’ve won three Mr. DIRT big block titles in a row with Brett Hearn, Billy Decker and then Hearn again this year, and there’s a reason for that. We’re a big part of that equation. Billy and Brett use two different chassis brands, have entirely different driving styles and their engines weren’t the same. We recognize that different drivers like things a different way and my job is to build engines that provide the feel they like. That improves their chance of success and ours.”
Once a car owner and/or driver can tell Enders how they want the engine to react, the process begins.
“It’s not just one thing that makes it all come together, it’s the package,” says Enders. “We’ll grind a particular style cam, play with the headers, go to a different style intake and fine tune it with the carburetor to reach the optimum solution for that track and driver. Then after they find out what chassis changes make it perform even better, we’ll have another go at the fine adjustments to bump it up a little more. It’s an ongoing process where improvements to the engine, the car and the driver all build on each other.”
For those wondering if they really need a new engine combination to improve their chances of winning, Enders recommends sitting down and asking yourself some questions, followed by some honest answers. And while doing this, keep this in mind.
“A good car and driver will go good with a good engine,” says Kevin. “A great engine will not help a mediocre car or driver. Some cars are just evil no matter what powerplant they have and some drivers, no matter how much you like them, just aren’t ready for a top-shelf engine. But if the car and driver are ready, we can figure out exactly what you need.”
The questions to be asked are: “How competitive are we? Are we consistent contenders or just on nights when things fall our way? Where on the track are we lacking? Do we have driveability issues when the track slicks off? Do we almost always give up spots on restarts? Do we run way more gear than everybody else? Are we going to race at different tracks than before? Will we upgrade what we have or start over with an entirely new engine? Are we going out on the DIRT tour? Will we be running at Syracuse in October?”
By the end of the quiz, the direction you’re headed in will be evident. You will also know if you have some goals that counteract each other, such as the need for a good slick track engine as compared to a top shelf Syracuse powerplant.
For many teams, the answer is to upgrade the current engine for weekly short track use and invest in a new piece for Syracuse. Others will make their major investment in a weekly piece, reasoning that they run 40-50 weekly shows and have a much better chance of winning regularly there than landing in Victory Lane at Super DIRT Week.
Either way, a decision has to be made, a process that may well be complicated by some strong Enders powered runs at Syracuse in 2009.
“Brett Hearn, for example, loved the engine we provided him with this year and said it was the first time in recent memory that he could pull out and pass,” says Enders. “That means that some of the guys who have traditionally had one Syracuse engine that they used year after year will have to upgrade to keep up in 2010. It’s a good feeling for us, having seen how we compare from a performance standpoint and being able to sell the upgrade knowing that it really works, but it will complicate the decision process for some of our customers.”
Whatever decision is made, the calendar is the next tool to consult.
“To be ready for the season openers, teams should decide what we’re going to build for them by December 1st,” says Enders. “We normally need six to eight weeks for a new engine and for teams going to Florida, the off-season goes by in a hurry. For Syracuse, we like to get started by August 1st.
“The bottom line is that we’re very capable at what we do and we have a tremendous amount of experience to apply to a particular team’s situation. But before we can do that, they have to pinpoint where they are now and where they want to go!”
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THE ENGINE GUY by Ron Hedger
Most short track racing teams have someone known, for lack of a better name, as “the engine guy.” Sometimes they get the assignment because they’re true mechanics or machinists who understand engines from top to bottom. But it’s more likely that they got the job because it’s a high pressure position that nobody else wanted, forcing most to build their knowledge base as they go.
If the car wins, credit will go to great driving and a team that hit the right set-up for that particular night. If the engine runs lousy or detonates, it’ll be the “engine guy” alone who gets the blame - unless he can hang it on the engine shop that built it originally. So to make the poor engine guy’s life easier while also getting a builder’s viewpoint, we asked Phoenix, NY engine builder Kevin Enders how the “engine guy” should be chosen and what he needs to learn to succeed at his herculean task.
“I think that the guy who takes care of the engine has to be a reader and he needs to really want to handle that job,” says Enders. “He must be willing to change his mindset and learn through both experience and instruction and he has to be a detail oriented person who notices things, good and bad.
“And he has to have the right personality. He has to be able to handle pressure without falling apart and he has to be able to admit when he’s not sure of something and call us to find out. Probably the textbook example is Lebanon Valley racer Eddie Marshall. He takes care of his own engine and he’s calm, he’s inquisitive and he’s thorough. He admits a mistake if he makes it and he’s always learning more about engines from his experiences, good and bad.”
For those lacking experience with high performance engines, Enders suggests reading books by drag racer Bill Jenkins and famed oval track mechanic and innovator Smokey Yunick to pick up some basic knowledge.
“Smokey wrote a book called ‘Power Secrets’ and Jenkins did one called ‘Chevy Racing Engines’ and both are very good. Two other titles that would help are ‘How to Hot Rod the Small Block Chevy’ and ‘How to Hot Rod the Big Block Chevy.’ Some of the material is dated but the basics will always be the same and that’s what most guys need.”
Another book the engine guy has to know intimately is the engine log that comes with the motor.
“To take care of an engine properly, week to week, the engine guy has to record data in the log as he goes and get to know how everything in the engine should look as he goes through it,” explains Enders “You have to recognize problems developing, not wait for a failure to cost you a race and an engine. That’s why you need to do it the same way every week. Follow the routine religiously and then have a beer after you’re done.
“Forgetting to tighten the lock nut on a rocker arm is the most common error and it can cause big trouble. I always suggest that guys do their maintenance when nobody else is around, so they’re not distracted, and that they should shut their cell phones off until they’re done.
“The valve train is the biggest problem because that’s what they work on most often. The bottom line is that after you adjust the valves, even though you know you locked all the lock nuts, you have to go over the lock nuts again just to be sure. A couple of minutes spent checking can save a whole lot of agony later.”
Enders even has what he calls The Monday Night Routine that he has found works great for everyone, novice or veteran engine guy. Finding a problem then may seem like a disaster but it sure beats dropping a cylinder in hot laps the following weekend.
In the end, the engine guy has to be just like his driver, learning from his mistakes and improving his performance over time.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” sums up Enders, who will admit to making a few himself over the years as he experimented in search of more horsepower. “But the winners figure out what they did wrong and then figure out how not to do it again.”
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Seven Steps to a Winning Engine
The race engine industry has evolved significantly over the past ten years. Engine parts are readily available and plentiful as are the options from which to choose. Factor in the vastly improved technology and today practically anyone with a measure of mechanical aptitude can assemble an assortment of parts into a so-called “racing engine.”
The people who build these kinds of engines, however, are little more than parts assemblers and their only concern is horsepower. They’re not concerned with reliability, claiming “that’s the crew’s problem,” nor are they concerned with driveability, saying “that’s the racer’s problem.” The engine just has to produce big numbers and if the conditions are just right on a given night their engine might be fast, but it will not be fast or successful consistently.
The true professional engine builder of today is the one who accepts the real challenges of designing a racing engine. They not only meet the horsepower requirements, but also provide the reliability and level of customization to meet the racer’s needs.
But how does a professional engine builder meet these needs? Simple, like any other successful businessman he listens to his customers – the racers. When the homework is complete, there are generally seven basic steps that result in the development of an engine that has the chance to win consistently.
1. Research and map out the project.
Throughout the years we have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to design engines for a multitude of racing divisions with great success and each one began with research. Despite what your experience may have been in school, researching a new engine project is a very exciting aspect of the business.
The first thing we research is what the camshaft, cylinder head and intake manifold package is going to look like. Camshaft design is an area where we concentrate great effort because the camshaft profile determines the effectiveness of the rest of the package. We have many customers who are looking for a certain “feel” in their racing engine or they want the engine to accelerate in a specific way, this all begins with the camshaft design. That’s why we’ve measured and tested thousands of camshafts to determine what design provides the specific acceleration and performance being sought by this racer or that. With the cam design determined, we then compliment it with the right choice of cylinder heads and matching intake manifold.
2. Consult with the driver/owner.
Unlike the “parts assemblers” mentioned above, the professional engine builder knows the driver and his characteristics need to work in harmony with the engine. That’s why it is vital to work closely with the owner/driver when designing an engine. In circle track applications we look at whether the driver is a momentum type driver or a stop-and-go bottom of the track type guy. Is he racing on long tracks or short tracks? Is he racing on a heavy dirt track or dry slick conditions? All of this information helps to determine which type of engine is going to suit his style.
3. Choose the right parts combination.
Once all of the information above has been assembled we begin the ordering process. We have great relationships with our vendors and this allows us to merge their ideas about new products with the parts that we’re familiar with. But while we listen to their ideas about new parts, we aren’t interested in the latest “gimmick.” Our goal and what we strive for in the engine is consistency, so we tend to work with parts that we are familiar with and that have a good record of reliability. On the other hand, if we experience a series of problems with a particular type of part and we can’t get to the core of that problem we will no longer use that part. We are very serious about failure analysis and we only work with vendors that take it as seriously as we do. By determining the true cause of an engine failure we are usually able to circumvent future parts problems.
4. Modify and machine the components.
Once the parts are selected, the next step is to prepare them for assembly. When top-flight machinists are given the latest and greatest tools to work with, the result should be a success, but that isn’t always the case. Once again, consistency plays a major role in predicting the outcome of a completed engine. The machining processes have to be precise, the parts have to be cleaned properly, and the tolerances and clearances have to be exact, otherwise the outcome will not be as expected. To ensure consistency and quality, technicians must document everything. When a block is honed, the critical dimensions shold be recorded. When a cylinder head is assembled, the information should be recorded. There should be procedures and records set up for every machining process in the shop and deviations from any process should be investigated. This is why successful engine builders keep all of the machining processes in house; it gives them greater control over the processes and therefore greater control in terms of the quality of work.
5. Assemble the engine.
The assembly process works much the same way as the machining process. Again, all of the parts are pre-qualified, cleaned and ready when they hit the assembly room. With the parts ready for assembly, the engine assemblers record all steps of the engine build to ensure consistency. To further ensure quality, assemblers should not be placed under any time constraints – the race should be on the track, not in the assembly room – and they should be allowed to complete the project uninterrupted so that no steps are missed.
6. Test the completed engine.
Once assembly is complete, the engine should be dyno tested. This is where the project comes full circle. Some engine builders and dyno operators use a dyno cell for pumping out the type of big horsepower numbers mentioned earlier. At Enders, we call those numbers “Bar Horsepower” because they’re the numbers that fly around the bar after the races. But dyno testing has many other functions besides determining the horsepower and torque levels of an engine. It can determine the driveability of an engine – whether it will be easy to “hook-up” or be a “tire spinner”. It allows the opportunity to tune and bring accessory parts like carburetors and ignition into sync. Most importantly, the dyno test is the final quality control procedure. Generally an engine that has tested properly in back-to-back tests serves its intended life cycle without incident.
7. Follow-up and get feedback.
The last step in the process is to confer with the driver once he has a few laps under his belt with the engine to determine whether what we provided him is meeting his performance goals. This is where the research process begins all over again for the next engine and the one after that. By matching up this driver’s characteristics with what we did to and put in the engine, we’ll be better able to provide the next driver, or even this driver, with his or her next engine.
Consistency in the engine building process does not mean producing “one-size-fits-all” assembly line engines like the ones that come out of the General Motors plant in Detroit. Rather, it means that by following all of these steps religiously, a professional engine builder should provide racers with engines that successfully produce consistent, competitive power and are customized to the racer. Building a powerful engine that is truly customized to the racer – that’s the challenge of building a winning race engine.
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