LSPI: Low-Speed Pre-Ignition

For every action, there is going to be a reaction. Over the past few years, automakers have taken action to develop turbocharged gasoline direct-injection (TGDI) engines to deliver a previously unachievable balance of specific output (horsepower-per-liter) and fuel economy. Today, a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder TGDI engine can put out the horsepower […]

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Rotary vs Piston

The Wankel Rotary engine: Mazda’s most prized offering is also the source of hundreds of hilarious internet memes. During a time where internal combustion piston engines were the primary technology used in vehicles, Mazda decided to develop a competing technology. In the early ‘70s, the Rotary engine powered nearly every […]

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Quick Tech: Limiting Belt Slip Can Add Big Power

When you consider that a belt-driven supercharger might need 80 or 100 horsepower to compress enough air to allow your engine to make 600 flywheel horsepower, it’s not surprising that the 6-rib belts used to drive the supercharger may experience some slippage. The amount of slippage is dependent upon the […]

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Quick Tech: The Ins and Outs of Copper Head Gaskets

Why copper? With the increasing availability of high-performance, multi-layer-steel (MLS) head gaskets, one might question why anyone would want to use something different. While MLS head gaskets might make sense on the majority of high-performance engine builds, copper head gaskets still have a place. Today, many Top Fuel engines and […]

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Quick Tech: Performance Engine Break-In the Right Way

High oil consumption, excessive smoke through the exhaust, high blow-by, lower than expected power output and increased oil contamination are just some of the possible results of an improper engine break-in or run-in. While production engines in new vehicles are already “broken-in” at the factory, any high-performance “built” engine requires […]

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Quick Tech | Bearings: Part 1

Friction is a parasite that consumes energy and craps heat. When you allow friction to go unchecked, it will waste your power, burn your fuel and cook your parts. On the contrary, employing a friction reduction strategy delivers significant benefits. Reducing friction reduces waste and reduces heat. Less waste and […]

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Quick Tech | Automotive Relays

It’s the current that kills you. Currents above 10 milliamps can induce muscle contractions so strong that the victim cannot let go of the wire that’s shocking them. At 20 milliamps, breathing can become labored, while 75 milliamps can cause breathing to cease. At 100 milliamps, ventricular fibrillation of the […]

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Engine Tech | Fuel Flow Bottlenecks

In the previous issue of DSPORT, we addressed all of the possible air flow restrictions that could be serving as bottlenecks. However, simply eliminating all of the airflow bottlenecks only completes half the job. For peak performance and reliability, fuel flow needs to be optimized as well. Too much air […]

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Engine Tech | Boxer, Inline, or V?

We all love making power. Most people know a lot about their engines, from its displacement and configuration, to its benefits and shortcomings. However, many don’t look outside of their engine bays to see what other types of configurations are out there. There are various types of engines that convert […]

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