This is our Fluidampr on the assembly line. The laser light positions it correctly as it sits at the silicone fluid filling station. The silicone fluid Fluidampr uses in their harmonic damper is 45,000 times thicker that 30 weight oil. Needless to say, a little engine heat will not effect how it functions.
The engine can't stay together if vibrations are eating it up. To counter those vibrations and resulting damage we chose the Fluidampr harmonic damper. It is designed to absorb the vibrations caused by internal combustion. These harmonic dampers are in use in the largest industrial engines to the smallest of race car engines.
Camshaft and related gear. I always go with a little smaller cam than a lot of Mopar racers. This Comp Cams roller is .726" lift and is a 286-degree cam at .050". We followed that up with the best rocker arms I could get, Jesel Rocker Arms. Three seasons I have used the same rockers and they are the best I have seen, period. If you spend your money on quality valvetrain parts I feel you will never regret it. You can't win races without reliability.
The heads are seven-year-old 440-1 with Manley and Ferrea stainless valves. Nothing fancy, just some nice porting work. The heads have been through a lot and had several seats replaced and a chamber welded when the rod let go last year, but we could see no reason to use them again. New heads are about $5,000 and how do you really know they are better?
 This is the Ron's Terminator fuel injection kit as we received it. You get everything you need and the personal tech support is excellent. Adjustments are simple, throttle response is excellent, and it repeated extremely well last season for us. |
We finished the engine off with a Ron's Terminator fuel injection system that was set up by James Monroe. Want to win more races? Make sure your fuel system has large enough supply lines, high-flow filter, smooth fittings (no 90-degree bends), and has been set up by a professional. The first time out with the Terminator we ran 7.78 three out of four runs. Fuel injection may not be for everyone but it makes power and is deadly consistent on our dragster.
The best engine on the planet will not be consistent unless you have the right converter. Rather than go into the manufacturers we have tried, suffice it to say that this takes some trial and error and patience. When you get it "right" though, you will realize it was worth the effort. Ever wonder why some guys seem to change converters a lot and those are the guys you see winning? The converter is the “key” to unlock consistency. We use 9" and 10" spragless converters and usually see 75 to 100 runs before we swap converters and send the used one in to be freshened up.
Consistency in engine oil or trans fluid? Maybe, maybe not. We use a pretty lightweight synthetic because we race in a pretty cool climate. Early season races are held in 45- to 60-degree weather and keeping a thick 20/50 weight oil is difficult. Thick oil slows you down; thin oil speeds you up. With 10-30 synthetic we do not have to worry about the viscosity changing much and we feel it repeats better in early time runs. Trans fluid acts the same as far as heat in our car. We now run Lucas semi-synthetic and feel it acts consistently the same from run one through the ninth round. We do try to have the trans fluid to 140 for the first run and try to keep it under 200 as the race progresses.
Don't overlook the rear-end lube you use if you are seeking consistency. We use a 75-90 Synthetic from Amsoil or the lightweight Shock-proof from Red Line. Both have excellent wear protection and they flow very well when cold. This means the viscosity the gears have to run in stays consistent. If you don't think there is a difference, take a cup of 90-140 conventional gear oil out of the trailer on a 50-degree morning and pour it into another cup and see how slowly it pours. Do the same with 75-90 synthetic gear oil and it pours like motor oil. Which do you think will be more consistent from run one to run nine?
No earth-shattering news in the above story, just proven things that sometimes get overlooked during pre-season preparation. Watch Mopar Max for the on-track results of the Ohio Crankshaft 572 Wedge.
Sources |
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| www.OhioCrank.com | www.Meziere.com |
| www.Milodon.com | www.Jesel.com |
| www.fluidampr.com | www.killerrons.com |