The TCI Permanent Magnet Starter turns over the high performance LS3 engine in our Nova with ease time after time. With applications for both LS-style and traditional mouse motors, there’s no excuse for owning a small block Chevy of any vintage that goes “RRRRRrrrrrRRRRRrrrrr” instead of “Vroom!”
Other
Tire Troubles. Is Chemically Altering Tires a Competitive Advantage or Cheating?
by
Larry Jewett
on
April 2, 2010
The sides are always divided when it comes to the discussion of racing tires. Some say racers need to get that “competitive advantage” by bending the rules just a little. Others simply believe that messing with the tires in any way that is not clearly allowed by the rule book is cheating and that cheaters should never win. Who’s right? As always, it depends completely on your point of view about “spirit and intent”.
No matter what type of racing you do, tires play a big role in the overall handling of the car. Tires act as part of the suspension and absorb many of the irregularities that your typical dirt track has to offer. They are the only means to transfer the power from the engine to the track and are relied on to keep the car traveling in the direction it is pointed. We help you pick out the right rubber for your track.
My name is Curtis Dietzsch and for the past four years, I have been racing at Perris Auto Speedway in the Street Stock class. I am here to talk to you today about Race Day Preparation. It’s the difference between winning on the dirt, and being on the trailer with broken parts and broken dreams. This is my first official tech article for OneDirt
Coatings do great things – anything from keeping heat out, engine items lubricated, and parts looking good. Tech Line Coatings has released a line of professional and do-it-yourself coatings that allow you to cost-effectively coat parts with little to no prior knowledge. “We have a coating for any engine part,” says Tech Line’s owner Leonard Warren. But outside the engine, there are parts like brake calipers and rear end gears that can also benefit from coatings.
Experience counts, so when we want to know about a subject, we go to time honored and experienced professionals. You know, the oldest, wisest owls in the zoo. It doesn’t make sense to ask the newest guy on the track for advice. There’s simply no substitute for experience. So, when we wanted to know about about the “little” things that dirt track drivers often overlook that can make a big difference on the track, we went to the “experienced” guys at Old Man’s Garage.
aDP Rivet product “The Ultimate Racers Rivet” – the Unsung Hero of Fasteners
by
Bobby Kimbrough
on
February 24, 2010
All too often, fasteners are overlooked. They are not covered in the media the way that engine or suspension components are, and they rarely receive as much attention as your common rubber or cork gasket. According to Carroll Smith, Team Manager of Carroll Shelby’s Ford GT40 Le Mans project, “There are only two basic structural groups: threaded fasteners and rivets.” Smith understood the value of good fasteners in building winning race cars. In addition to his very popular books Tune to Win, Drive to Win, Prepare to Win and Engineer to Win, he authored what is perhaps the greatest book ever written on race car fasteners, Carroll Smith’s Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook. Rivets played an enormous role in the success that Carroll Smith had on the track, and he devoted chapters to the selection and use of rivets.
I have decided to talk about my day at the racetrack in this blog. Previously, I talked about how we get the car ready for a race, so now I am going to talk about what actually goes on at the racetrack and during a race.
Technology is changing everyday, and I’m not always comfortable with the velocity of that change. I’m not even sure if things change for the better. Take writing for example. I’m in front of a little bitty screen on a Mac Book laptop. This thing is no bigger than a paper notebook. And quiet – I can’t hear the keys being punched!
What brings me to complain about “change” today is…….Valve seat grinding. I’ve been to several machine shops in the area, and I can tell you with 100% certainty, there is no grinding anymore in valve seat grinding. Today’s machinists are using a mill that tilts all kinds of ways and directions. On the head of this mill is a compact little cutting tool that cuts three valve angles at the same time. Notice I said “cuts” and not “grinds”.
We’ve got lots of projects going on in the garage, and there always seems to be a need for a good machine shop. Our SportMod race car and the MaddMaxx Street Stock Dirt track racer will be needing some serious engine overhaul work real soon. The season starts in about a month, and we need to get in gear and get these cars done. And soon!
Energy Suspension came through again and hooked us up with the perfect shop dawg gift. New high performance tires for our shop vehicle. We’ve been watching the project cars get upgraded with all these high performance tires from Mickey Thompson, Nitto and Cooper. Now the shop dawgs have some meats for our ride.
