ISSUE 017 race engine TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2006
ROB WHITE, RENAULT • HIROSHI ABE, HONDA • BOSCH • RET SUMMIT • CRANKSHAFTS • PECTEL • BELLMOUTHS • IRED LE MANS • VANWALL • INTEGRAL RODS
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Race Engine Technology issue 017 : SEPTEMBER 2006
FOCUS : CRANKSHAFTS Glen Smale looks at the heart of the engine’s power generation system Interview: HIROSHI ABE, HONDA THE COMMUNICATIONS HUB OF THE RACING POWERTRAIN WORLD
Te centre of power
crankshaft is in no small way, the very heart of the engine. Yet it seldom gets a mention when the racing is over and the Champagne corks pop in celebration of victory. When building a custom crankshaft, the manufacturer is driven as
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RENAULT GRAND PRIX ENGINE The world’s best V8?
FUTURE ENGINE CONTROL Pioneering work at Bosch
LE MANS 2006 All the engine players
SEPTEMBER 2006 USA $15, UK £10, EUROPE e15
www.highpowermedia.com 00 RET
SepCover.indd 1 29/8/06 09:56:24 42 42-50
Cranks.indd 42-43
much by the architecture of the engine block as he is by the racing formula that the crankshaft is intended for. A successful and efficient crank however is often the product of some compromise, as the manufacturer must balance crankshaft durability against weight and efficiency. One such problem is the issue of crankshaft stiffness, as Jean-Marie Berthel of Chambon points out: “The crank will rotate in the engine with the action of the reciprocating and the rotating forces. This will
Crank manufacture at Alfing Kessler
he basic function of the crankshaft is to convert reciprocating motion into rotating motion in order to drive the vehicle, but in a racing car it needs to do so at a high rate and with absolute consistency and reliability. So the
create bending and distortion of the crank, so if you have a crankshaft of inadequate stiffness, the crank will bend against the bearings creating wear in the journals”. A second issue in relation to crank stiffness, is the torsional load created by the rotating action of the crank. Berthel again: “You do not have the same inertia at the two ends of the crankshaft because of the torque that you have to transmit through the engine. The two ends of the crankshaft do not behave the same way so you can have some angular distortion between the flywheel and the snout end. This creates high torsional stresses and with a bad design you might have fatigue failures initiating in the oil holes under the skin”. David Whitbread of Arrow Precision comments on the power
delivery characteristics of an inefficient crank: “Heavier cranks (inertia) will accelerate and decelerate more slowly, while excessive journal sizes will increase friction”.
THE ALFING KESSLER FILE PRODUCT
Crankshaft machining from forgings as well as from billet/bar material RACING MARKET
Primarily Formula One, DTM, NASCAR and Formula Three HEADQUARTERS Aalen, Germany WEBSITE
www.alfing.de KEY PEOPLE Managing Director: Erhard Funk Technical Director: Alexander Leon Section Manager Automotive: Dr. Reinhard Laag Sales Manager Automotive, Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Thomas Weik
Alexander Leon THE ARROW PRECISION FILE PRODUCT
Sales Manager Automotive, rest of world: Eduard Halupczok SCALE OF OPERATION Total workforce of 950 - motorsport is approximately 10% of automotive business, which in turn is 40% of overall turnover BACKGROUND
Founded by Karl Kessler in 1911. Still privately owned by a group of owners
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION Covering the European market, concentrating on the Germany, France, Italy as well as UK. Exploring possibilities in USA
Crankshafts, con rods, cam followers, tappet shims, flywheels and valve guides (also agents for ARP Fasteners) RACING MARKET Most forms of motorsport HEADQUARTERS Hinckley, Leicestershire, England WEBSITE
www.arrowprecision.com KEY PEOPLE Managing Director: Ian Arnold Production Director: Jeff Kirton Production Manager, Crankshaft Division: Simon Osman Sales Manager: Ros Arnold SCALE OF OPERATION Total workforce of 68, racing is 70% of business BACKGROUND Founded by David Arnold (in his garage) in 1974, now run by his son Ian. Started con rod manufacture in early eighties and bought crankshaft company DKE in July 2006 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION Deals direct with customers worldwide
Ian Arnold Simon Osman Ignore the design efficiency of the crank, and the impact on a
racecar’s performance will be immediately noticeable. Eduard Halupczok of Alfing Kessler says inefficiency will cause: “Loss of power, poor combustion and loss of optimum transfer of power to rotational movement”. When the crank flexes during its normal operational cycle, it can push the block around in no uncertain terms. On top of that the effect on the rest of the motor if too much flexibility occurs, would be catastrophic. Mark Rigg from Custom Crank and Engineering says: “You would get excessive vibration which would damage the bearings and the structural integrity of the crankcase, ultimately leading to the crankshaft physically breaking”.
It is interesting to take note of the significant influence the
crankshaft has on the handling of a vehicle. Glenn Salpaka of Falicon Crankshafts says: “The crankshaft torque effect of an engine will influence the suspension of the vehicle;
“Te crankshaft torque effect of an engine will influence the suspension of the vehicle”
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the longitudinal spinning crankshaft of an inline or boxer type will influence the turning positively in one direction, and negatively in the other”. Within the engine the effect of crankcase windage cannot be
overlooked. “We have found that our knife edged connecting rods and crankshafts have made a measurable difference in control of crankcase turbulence and power output,” adds Salpaka. MATERIAL PROPERTIES The base material most widely used for competition cranks, is EN30B or EN40. British-spec EN40 is very close to the American
Callies Chevrolet crankshaft
017 contents • IN CONVERSATION:
HIROSHI ABE Talking to the Technical Director of Honda Racing Development
• INSIDE STORY: BOSCH We investigate its pioneering engine control work
• INSIGHT: RENAULT F1
ENSTONE ENGINE TEAM Jon Hilton, who runs the EET, talks to RET
• INSIGHT: RENAULT SPORT IN F1 Renault F1 Technical Director – Engines, Rob White talks to RET
• MOTORCYCLE:
GODDEN 500 SINGLE Looking at a revived British Speedway engine
www.highpowermedia.com • SPECIAL INVESTIGATION:
BELLMOUTH INTAKES The scientific design approach
• FOCUS: CRANKSHAFTS Glen Smale looks at the heart of the engine’s power generation system
• INSIGHT: PECTEL EMS We investigate Pectel’s latest engine management system and visit Aston Martin Racing to see how it copes with the DBRS9 V12 customer race engine
• GRID: THE INTEGRATED CON
ROD/BEARING Cutting Edge technology
• INTERNATIONAL RACE ENGINE DIRECTORY: LE MANS The 2006 engine builders
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