Under the Hood = of a NASCAR Racer : Industrial Market Trends

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October 16, 2007

Under the Hood of a NASCAR Racer

By Fred White

The thrill of NASCAR racing may be based on our need for speed. = Unrestricted, NASCAR cars produce 750+ horsepower and can run at = speeds in=20 excess of 200 mph. The most crucial component: the engine.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) = began=20 almost 60 years ago. Today NASCAR has grown to become the = second-most=20 popular professional sport inside the U.S. in terms of=20 television ratings, ranking behind only the National Football=20 League.

Its popularity grew fast =97 perhaps as fast as the cars = themselves.

Unrestricted, NASCAR cars can run at speeds in excess of 200 = mph (miles=20 per hour). An unrestricted motor can complete average lap speeds of 221 mph and = top speeds=20 over 230 mph.

=93The engine in a NASCAR race car is probably the most crucial = component,=94 according to H= owStuffWorks.com.=20 =93It has to make huge amounts of power for hours on end, without = any=20 failures.=94 Relative to regular street cars, the engine blocks in a NASCAR racing car are larger = custom-made race-engine blocks. And, =93like the original 1960s = engines,=94=20 pushrods drive the valves.

All engines are carbureted, and fuel injection is not allowed. = Despite=20 the lack of turbochargers, superchargers or "particularly exotic=20 components,=94 the engines produce over 750 horsepower.

To create this power, some design features include the = following,=20 according to HowStuffWorks.com:

=95 The engine is 358 cubic inches (5.87 L) = =97 larger=20 than most street-car engines;

=95 NASCAR engines have "extremely radical cam = profiles=20 that open the intake valves much earlier and keep them open longer = than in=20 streetcar engines," which allows more air to be packed into the = cylinders,=20 particularly at high speeds;

=95 Through tuning and testing, the intake and = exhaust=20 can provide a boost at certain engine speeds. They are also = designed to=20 have very low restriction =97 "that is, to provide little = resistance to the=20 gases flowing down the pipe";

=95 There are no mufflers or catalytic = converters to=20 slow the exhaust down;

=95 The carburetors can let in huge volumes of = air and=20 fuel =97 there are no fuel injectors on these engines;

=95 They have "high-intensity, programmable = ignition=20 systems" that allow the spark timing to be customized to provide = the most=20 possible power; and

=95 All of the subsystems (coolant pumps, oil = pumps,=20 steering pumps and alternators) are designed to run at sustained = high=20 speeds and temperatures.

Engine components in a race-car engine are machined to very = tight=20 tolerances. The part precision and accuracy enable it to provide = as much=20 power as possible while standing up to the grueling wear and tear = that=20 results from operating for hours on end, nearly flat out and with = lots of=20 vibration.

To ensure high reliability and peak performance during the = race,=20 engines must pass several tests and inspections:

=95 After a dynamometer measures engine power, = filters=20 are checked for excess metal shavings;
=95 = Using the=20 dynamometer again, ignition timing is set to maximize power;=20 and
=95 Mechanics inspect the cylinders for = unusual=20 wear; and examine the camshaft and valve lifters.

Here's an example of a R5P7 Dodge NASCAR engine on a dyno in = the shop=20 of Arrington=20 Engines, a builder and researcher of Dodge NASCAR engines:

As a matter of policy, = NASCAR=20 restricted entry to American carmakers from the 1960s until 2004, = when=20 Toyota was allowed to enter the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with = the=20 Toyota Tundra. The restriction was relaxed in recognition of the = fact that=20 the Tundra, although Japanese in origin, is built in America. = Commentators=20 have also noted that the "American" cars are often built or = assembled in=20 Canada and Mexico.

=93All of the Chevy, Ford and Dodge teams build their engines = at their=20 shop or they buy them from another team,=94 according to AllExperts.com. Toyota builds all of its = engines at Toyota Racing = Development=20 and gives them to the teams in the truck series. All engines are = the same=20 size, and, in fact, they=92re all the same except for certain = parts on the=20 engine. =93The manufacturer supplies those parts to the teams and = they=20 assemble the engines.=94

One major area of differentiation among the engine design teams = relates=20 to valve timing. Some early engine designers prefer the old single = camshaft for intake and exhaust valves. Other engineers moved on = to the=20 twin camshafts =97 one for intake and the other for exhaust =97 = which permit=20 variable valve timing. Alfa Romeo pioneered this technology. The = problem=20 with older, conventional single camshafts had been that it was = impossible=20 to achieve peak performance at both high and low revolutions per = minutes=20 (rpm).

Since the mid-1980s, =93successful valve-timing variability has = depended=20 almost completely on triggering by modern electronic-control = systems,=94=20 according to Winding Road Magazine.

Another valve timing design introduced around the same time was = concentric camshafts. A hollow outer shaft carries the exhaust-cam = lobes.=20 =93In it are slots for pins that anchor the inlet lobes, on the = exterior of=20 the camshaft to the inner shaft,=94 according to Winding Road Magazine.

Even your neighbors off the track want in on the action. The = Dodge=20 Viper SRT10 =97 which already has an 8.3-liter, 510-horsepower, = 10-cylinder=20 engine =97 has big changes ahead for the 2008 model year, = including even=20 more power. The automaker tried the cam-in-cam technology, = and the=20 result has been an 8.4-liter engine that produces 600 hp at 6,100 = rpm and=20 560 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm.

Auto researchers today focus on a cam-less design by relying on = direct=20 electrical actuation. Electromagnets or electric servo-valve = control=20 create hydraulic forces to open and close valves individually.

Earlier: Extreme Engineering: NASCAR=92S=20 BACK!

Resources

What=20 Makes NASCAR Engines Different from the Engines in Street = Cars?
by=20 Karim Nice
HowStuffWorks.com

NASCAR.com

Experts: NASCAR Racing
by "Harrison"
All Experts, Feb. 16, 2006

The History and Future of Valve Timing
by = Karl=20 Ludvigsen
Winding Road Magazine, August 2007

Additional

American 'Speedking' Russ Wicks Sets New World = Speed=20 Record
PR Newswire (via Digital CAD), Oct. 10,=20 2007

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October 16, 2007

Under the Hood of a NASCAR Racer

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