SUBARU’S GVB WRX could be one of the best values in the segment, when measuring performance versus value. It’s less expensive than similar all-wheel drive sedans yet the WRX benefits from its torquey, turbocharged 2.5- liter EJ255 engine. When Subaru released this sedan, its bold lines and flared fenders made […]
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Variable Compression Engines | Are Boosted Variable Compression Engines the New Way to Go?
“For every action, there’s going to be a reaction. And if the repercussions of the reaction are worse than the benefits of the action, you are going to get screwed.” In automotive engineering, balancing between power and efficiency is crucial. One of the factors that can affect an engine’s power […]
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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: Getting Your Car Ready for a Track Day
Imagine standing at the cargo door of an airplane 13,000 feet in the air. You brace yourself as you are about to make your first solo skydive. You feel the rush of adrenaline sweep through and the last thing you want running through your mind is whether your parachute is […]
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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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EMS | Part:1 Everything You Need to Know About Your Sensors
Overkill or insufficient. When it comes to selecting the standalone solution for your racecar, it’s really easy to spend too much on an Engine Management System (EMS) that does more than you actually need. For those that have tons of disposable income, that’s probably not a major concern. Just buy […]
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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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Camshaft Test | B-Series Blox Racing Camshafts
When we last left our friendly-neighborhood Project CRX (Issue #180), we were testing the BLOX Racing 4-2-1 performance headers. These headers allowed our B17A engine to hit the 170 horsepower mark at the wheels. That equates to a very respectable 200 horsepower at the flywheel, pretty impressive for a 1.7-liter […]
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Engine Tech | Air Flow Bottlenecks
In the manufacturing of an issue of DSPORT Magazine, the speed and capabilities of the bindery at our printer represents the bottleneck. You can get faster presses to print more pages and forms per hour, and you can get more automation and labor to box and package the final magazines. […]
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Test & Tune: 2018 Honda Civic Type R | Part 1: Intake, Exhaust, Reflash and Intercooler
Spoiler alert: The Type R doesn’t like making power. Due to a stubborn ECU, this system has set torque tables in place that make it extremely challenging to increase power using popular bolt-ons that have proven to realize gains before. Powered by a 2.0-liter inline-four engine, the Type R delivers […]
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WRX VS BRZ FA20 Cylinder Heads: Part 1 Flow Bench
While they may share many similarities, the differences between the cylinder head on the FA20 engine found in the WRX and the BRZ/FR-S/86 are vast. Instead of taking the “let’s keep it simple” approach to making a turbo and non-turbo variant of an engine, Subaru opted to optimize each engine […]
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