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,,,,
DeskTop
DYNOS
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COMPLIMENTARY
Y
MINI-GUIDE
Engine Builder’s
Builder’s Guide To
,,,,
Filling & Emptying Simulation
Simulation
And High-Perf
High-Performance
ormance Design
INCLUDES:
Details Of All On-Screen Menu Choices/Selections
Motion’s Filling & Emptying Simulation Basics
Cylinderhead Flow And Discharge Coefficients
Understanding And Calculating Camshaft Timing
Ram Tuning And Pressure Wave Dynamics
Expose Fallacies About Engine Components
Complete Glossary And Much, Much More!
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BY:
LARRY ATHERTON
®
ISBN 1-888155-00-0
PART No. M43
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 6
E n g i n e B u i l d e r ' s G u i d e T o S i m u l a t i o n & D e s i g n
INTRODUCTION
his is not a typical “hot rodding” ing engine simulations is simply another
Acknowledgments
This book simply would not have
been possible without the technical as-
sistance of Curtis Leaverton. Over the last
few years I have spent many enjoyable
days with Curtis discussing engines and
simulation science. He is one of only a
handful of people I’ve encountered in my
life who can explain complicated subjects
with such enthusiasm that they not only
become clear to the listener, but the sheer
joy of being guided toward the under-
standing becomes an indelible memory!
In short, Curtis is a terrific teacher (and I
like to think, my friend). Occasionally, he
conducts seminars throughout the coun-
try, and I encourage every reader of this book to avail themselves of the unique opportunity to
be “taught by one of the masters.”
I also wish to thank the many manufacturers that provided photos and information for this
book, especially Harold Bettes of SuperFlow Corporation. Harold, a lot like Curtis Leaverton,
has no shortage of enthusiasm and excitement about engines and performance. He has also
been extremely generous with his valuable time, and I have learned a great deal from the
many hours of conversation we have had (over some great Chinese dinners!). Thanks Harold.
A heartfelt thanks to all the manufacturers that helped with this publication:
Borla Performance, Bonnie Sadkin Intel Corporation, Rachel Stewart
Carroll Supercharging, Sheryl Davis Moroso Performance, Barbara Miller
Childs & Albert, Raymond Akerly Snap-on Tools, David Heide, Tami Valeri
Edelbrock, Tom Dufer SuperFlow Corporation, Harold Bettes
HKS Performance, Howard Lim TPS, Bob Hall
Hooker Headers, Jason Bruce Weiand, Jim Davis
Another special thanks to Jim Dennewill for the many fine drawings throughout this book.
Jim’s talents and patience are both rare and boundless. Thank you for all your help and your
friendship.
Finally, a sincere thanks to Paul Hammer. I can’t imagine what this book project would
have been like without Paul’s dedicated help in “putting out the fires” around me (and I can
imagine some pretty awful stuff!).
E n g i n e B u i l d e r ' s G u i d e T o S i m u l a t i o n & D e s i g n
USER'S GUIDE
Filling & Emptying pict the latest version of the software (ver-
By Any Other Name sion 2.5.7—in the final stages of develop-
ment when this book was published). This
otion Software recently released guide is intended to help you obtain a
tion software, and what advances may be mum valve lift.” Yet this information is
possible in the near future. absolutely necessary to perform a true en-
gine simulation. To make this software
Motion Engine Simulation Basics technology available to as wide an audi-
ence as possible, the information requested
Motion engine simulations have been by the program is straightforward and gen-
optimized for rapid “what if” testing. En- erally known by most enthusiasts. The
gine component parts are grouped in program uses this “basic” information to
menus along the top of the screen. One or derive flow curves, cam profiles, frictional
more selections from each menu group models, induction characteristics, and other
effectively “builds” a test engine (called a “technical details.” While the widely under-
“paper engine” in simulation parlance). stood terms in the menus have made these
Then, simply pressing “RUN” begins a full- programs accessible, their less-than-exact
cycle analysis of cylinder pressures. The wording has left some experienced users
simulation plots a graphic, on-screen rep- scratching their heads. Engine builders and
resentation of horsepower and torque for other advanced users are often very aware
easy visual analysis. It is a simple proce- of the “internal complexities” of the IC
dure to save the test, select a new part or engine and may not realize at first glance
component dimension from one of the how Motion’s simulations handle many of
menus, and rerun the simulation to per- these important considerations.
form back-to-back testing. The changes in Furthermore, some performance enthu-
power and torque that would occur if a siasts are disappointed when they realize
“real” engine were built and tested with the that engine simulations do not include some
components at hand are clearly displayed of the components they were expecting to
in the graphic curves. Remarkably, this test. A short list of these might include:
entire process often takes less than one block and head metallurgy, piston types
minute on most computer systems. and dome shapes, head-gasket thickness,
Ease of use has always been an impor- combustion-chamber shapes, oils, oil-pan
tant design element. Without it, many of designs, ignition timing, bolt torque loads,
the tens of thousands of automotive en- and many more. Modeling many of these
thusiasts that have successfully “assembled elements would require very complex tech-
and tested” engines would not have been niques (with concomitant complex inputs
able to use our simulation programs. Imag- from the user, not to mention extend cal-
ine if one of the necessary inputs re- culation times) and would reveal only rela-
quested: “Enter the intake port flow at each tively small power differences. These limi-
0.010-inch of the valve lift up to the maxi- tations are discussed throughout this guide,
but a good example of complexity vs. prac- of simple pull-down menu choices, we
ticality can be found in oil pan testing. In encourage you to take a second look.
order to simulate the conditions inside an Motion’s Filling And Emptying simulation
oil pan, here are a few of the inputs that offers an inexpensive and rapid way to
the user would have to address: dimen- select component combinations that pro-
sions of pan and lower crank/block con- duce power and torque curves often within
tours, position of oil pump, positions and 5% of optimum for applications that lie
sizes of baffles, trays and screens, oil vis- within the range of the simulation. We be-
cosity and temperature, level of oil in pan, lieve that’s quite an accomplishment for a
acceleration and directional vectors (and software program you can load in your PC
how these vectors change over time), and for under $50!
more. Simply gathering together the That brings us to the main purpose of
needed information would be quite a this guidebook. The information presented
project! here revolves around detailed descriptions
While it would be wonderful if an inex- of every item listed in the on-screen com-
pensive computer program could simply ponent menus. You’ll discover the assump-
and quickly zero-in on the optimum combi- tions made by Motion programmers with
nation of all components for any intended respect to each of the possible choices and
application, that time has not yet come. combinations. Within sections that discuss
However, most of the engine components each menu category, you’ll also find sub-
that play a major role in power production stantial background information that can be
are modeled in Motion’s Filling-And-Emp- helpful for both your simulated and real-
tying simulations. Cam timing, compression world engine building projects. This infor-
ratio, valve size, cylinderhead configura- mation was compiled from the feedback of
tion, bore and stroke, induction flow, and thousands of users, hundreds of beta
manifold type are just some of the mod- testers, and countless hours of testing and
eled elements that have major effects on exploration. We are confident that what you
engine power. find here will make using Motion engine
The simulation discussed in this guide simulation software easier and your engine
is easy to use and provides a remarkable analysis more productive.
level of predictive power. The designers
have purposely avoided complex areas that THE ON-SCREEN MENU CHOICES:
would either make data entry difficult or
greatly extend computational times. If you After starting Motion’s engine simulation,
have a tendency to “dismiss” these simu- the user can follow two paths of engine
lations because they seem to consist only testing: To recall a previous test (using the
When a selection is
made from the Bore/
Stroke menu, the bore,
stroke, and the number
of cylinders are “loaded”
into the on-screen
Choices loaded and calculated Component Selection
after Bore/Stroke Menu selection Box. In addition, the
swept cylinder volume
(in cubic centimeters)
and the total engine
displacement (in cubic
inches) will be calculated
and displayed.
This “Short-Arm”
configuration (solid
lines) displaces the
same 603.2 cubic inches
as the “Long-Arm” test
(dotted lines), but it
produces nearly 100hp
more at 5500rpm and
maintains a “nonzero”
power level until about
6500rpm. Where was the
“extra” horsepower
hiding? The majority is
“freed” by lower piston
speeds and reduced
bore-wall friction.
STROKE
The stroke length deter-
mines, to great extent, the
BDC
BDC amount of power lost to
friction. 70% to 80% of all
IC engine frictional losses
are due to piston and ring-
package “drag” against the
cylinderwall! A longer
stroke increases the length
of the crank arm, and that
increases the speed of
piston and ring contact
with the cylinderwall.
,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,
true (as believed by
some) that shorter- Small Bore Large Bore
stroke engines, with Long Stroke Short Stroke
their slower piston
,,,,,, ,,,,,,,
speeds, generate less
PISTON
pumping work. For equal TRAVEL
PISTON
,,, , ,,,,
TRAVEL
displacements, equal
BORE
,
cylinder volumes are DIAMETER
, ,
Short-stroke/large-bore
engines pump just as
much air as long-stroke/
small-bore engines.
1/2 1/2
STROKE STROKE
Here’s a plot of
the same two
engines, but this
time the rod
lengths have been
adjusted to
produce the same
1.7 rod ratio. With
identical rod
ratios, the cylin-
ders in both
engines pump
exactly the same
volume at each
degree of crank
rotation.
TOP VIEW
that at very high piston speeds during the valve cylinderheads. Each category in-
power stroke, the piston moves so quickly cludes several stages of port/valve modifi-
that the rings can’t maintain a seal between cations from stock to all-out race. A selec-
the bottom of the ring and the ring land in tion from this menu is the first part of a
the piston, increasing blowby and further two-step process that Motion simulations
decreasing horsepower. The mechanical use to accurately model cylinderhead flow
loads on the piston and rod assembly in characteristics. This initial selection deter-
long-stroke engines also become a seri- mines the airflow restriction generated by
ous factor. As the piston is accelerated from the ports. That is, a selection from the first
TDC down the bore, extremely high ten- submenu fixes how much less air than the
sion loads are imparted to the rods and theoretical maximum peak flow will pass
pistons, and added component weight to through each port. What determines peak
compensate for the additional loads fur- flow? That’s selected from the second
ther increases stress. Cylinderhead submenu: Valve Diameters.
While there are good reasons why Valve size fixes the theoretical peak flow
longer-stroke engines are ill suited to high- (called isentropic flow—more on that later).
rpm applications, don’t confuse these an- Most cylinderheads flow only about 50%
cillary problems with the basic design rela- to 70% of this value. The Valve Diameter
tionships between bore and stroke. And submenu allows the direct selection of valve
don’t fall into the trap of believing, like thou- size or Auto Calculate Valve Size may
sands of enthusiasts, that selecting a longer be chosen, directing the simulation to cal-
stroke will automatically boost low-speed culate the valve diameters based on bore
power. size and the degree of cylinderhead port-
ing/modifications.
THE CYLINDERHEAD While it may seem as if the various
AND VALVE DIAMETER MENUS Cylinderhead menu choices simply refer to
ranges of airflow data stored within the
The Cylinderhead pull-down menu, lo- program, that is not the case. If each menu
cated just to the right of the Bore/Stroke selection fixed the flow capacity of the
menu, contains two sub-menus that allow cylinderheads to a specific range of values
the simulation of various cylinderhead de- (like typical flow bench data measured at a
signs and a wide range of airflow charac- standardized pressure drop), the simula-
teristics. The first submenu, Head/Port tion would be severely limited. While a
Design, lists general cylinderhead charac- simulation based on this technique might
teristics, including restrictive ports, typical adequately calculate mass flow for engines
small- and big-block ports, and even 4- that used nearly identical cylinderheads, ac-
PRESSURE
CFM
Airflow on a flow bench is steady state, but Motion's engine simulation program cal-
culates internal pressures and mass flow at each degree of crank rotation throughout
the four-cycle process. Since the variations in pressure, or pressure drops, within the
engine are rarely equal to the pressure drop used on a flow bench, flow bench data
cannot directly predict flow within the engine.
valve sizes, using selections from the same coefficient for our hole in the wall was
menu! 0.450, this would mean that the hole flows
The basis for this “universality” is that 45% as much air as an ideal hole. In other
each menu selection uses a different dis- words, it’s 45% efficient.
charge-coefficient curve rather than airflow Let’s see how this concept can be ap-
curve. While the discharge coefficient data plied to cylinderheads. When an intake
is derived from flow-bench data, it is di- valve of a specific size is opened a fixed
mensionless (has no length, weight, mass, amount, it exposes a flow path for air called
or time units) and is applicable to any cyl- the curtain area. Through this open area,
inderhead of similar flow efficiency. To measured in square inches just like the
clarify this concept, picture two large rooms hole in the wall, air/fuel mixture moves at
connected by a hole in the adjoining wall. a specific rate depending the pressure drop
When pressure is reduced in one room, air across the valve (as you recall, the pres-
will flow through the hole at a specific rate. sures are calculated by the simulation soft-
It is possible to calculate what the flow ware at each degree of crank rotation). If
would be if there were no losses from heat, the valve and port were capable of perfect
turbulence, etc. This flow rate, called the isentropic flow, the simulation equations
isentropic flow, is never found in the real could calculate the precise mass flow that
world, but is, nevertheless, a very useful entered the cylinder during this moment in
term. It’s the rate of flow that “nature” will time. But real cylinderheads and valves are
never exceed for the given pressure drop far from perfect, and it’s flow bench data
and hole size. If we measure the actual that “tells” the simulation how far from
flow through the hole and divide it by the perfect the real parts perform. By dividing
calculated isentropic flow, we will have the isentropic flow by the flow-bench data
determined the flow efficiency or discharge (both at the same pressure drop) of a
coefficient of the hole: comparable head/port configuration at each
increment of valve lift, the simulation soft-
Discharge Coefficient (always less than 1) ware creates a discharge coefficient curve
= Measured Flow / Calculated Flow that it can use as a correction factor for
port flow at all other pressure drop levels.
Since every orifice has some associated The true power of this method lies in
losses, the discharge coefficient is always the fact that the cylinderhead tested on the
less than 1. If the calculated discharge flow bench—used to develop the discharge-
down the bore on the intake stroke. As mize power for the period of time between
pressure drops, air/fuel mixture enters the BDC and intake-valve closing is “smaller
cylinder. During this portion of the induc- ports that produce higher airflow speeds
tion cycle, any restriction to inlet flow re- are better.” Since it’s not possible to rap-
duces cylinder filling and power output. So, idly change the size of the ports as the
while the piston moves from TDC to BDC, engine is running, a compromise must be
the rule of thumb for the ports and valves found that minimizes restriction and opti-
is “the bigger the better.” After the piston mizes charge momentum.
reaches BDC and begins to travel back up As it turns out, optimum port and valve
the bore on the early part of the compres- sizes for performance applications at a
sion stroke, the intake valve remains open specific engine speed must be small
and the cylinder continues to fill with air/ enough to allow the charge to reach speeds
fuel mixture. This “supercharging” effect, of about 700 feet per second during the
caused by the momentum built up in the intake stroke. Then, as the piston moves
moving column of air and fuel in the ports from BDC to the intake valve closing point,
and inlet runners, adds considerable charge the momentum generated by these speeds
to the cylinder and boosts engine output. continues to force air and fuel into the
However, as soon as the piston begins to cylinder, optimizing charge density. Typi-
move up the bore from BDC, it tries to cally, the best port size and cam timing for
push charge back out of the cylinder. Larger performance allows a slight “reversion” of
ports and valves not only offer low restric- fresh charge just before the intake valve
tion to incoming charge, but they make it closes.
easier for the piston to reverse the flow Unfortunately, the smaller port cross-
and push charge back out of the cylinder. sectional areas required to generate opti-
Furthermore, a low restriction induction mum flow velocities create a restriction to
system has a large cross-sectional area airflow and increase pumping work. If port
and allows the incoming charge to move cross-sectional areas were smaller and flow
more slowly (in feet per second), so the velocities increased much beyond 700 feet/
charge carries less momentum and, once second, the added restriction and increased
again, is more easily forced back out of pumping work would reduce overall cylin-
the cylinder. So the rule of thumb to opti- der filling and engine output would suffer.
The “magic” balance found at about 700 mation discussed in the complete Desk-
feet per second between charge momen- Top Dynos book, is required for this task
tum, inlet restriction, and pumping work since it’s the dynamics of finite-amplitude
allows the cylinders to fill with the greatest wave motion that are responsible for the
mass of air/fuel mixture throughout the recorded changes in horsepower.
complete induction cycle from IVO (intake Despite these complexities, there are
valve opening) to IVC (intake valve clos- some “rules of thumb” that can be helpful
ing). in selecting a workable port for common
What is the best cross-sectional area
for any specific engine; the area that gen-
erates about 700 feet/second peak flow 700 Feet Per Second
velocities? That is a very tough question to Maximum Flow
answer. In fact, optimum port shapes and Speed
cross-sectional areas are so interrelated
with other engine variables, like engine
displacement and rpm, cam timing, exhaust
system configuration, intake manifold de-
sign, compression ratio, and more, that
engine simulation software is needed to
sort through the complexity and find the
“magic” combinations. Furthermore, a full
wave-action modeling program, like Dyno-
The phenomenon of
cylinder filling by charge
momentum is often
called ram tuning, and
optimizing this effect
means finding a balance
between port cross-
sectional area, airflow
velocity, pumping work,
cam timing, and engine
speed. This custom
manifold was designed—
with the help of simula-
tions, including Dynoma-
tion (discussed in the
complete DeskTop
Dynos book) to find that
illusive balance on
smallblock Fords.
to ports and valves. The right combination Size has been selected (more on this fea-
is the key. ture in the next section), relatively small
(compared to the bore diameter) intake and
Sorting Out Cylinderhead exhaust valve diameters will be used.
Menu Choices The first low-performance choice mod-
els an unmodified production casting. The
Now that we have covered some of the second choice “Low Performance/Pocket
basic theory behind the choices in the Porting” adds minor porting work performed
Cylinderhead menus, here’s some practi- below the valve seat and in the “bowl” area
cal advice that may help you determine under the valve head. The port runners
the appropriate selections for your applica- are not modified. The final choice “Low
tion. Performance/Ported, Large Valves” incor-
porates the same modifications and in-
Low Performance Cylinderheads— cludes slightly larger intake and exhaust
There are three “Low Performance” cylin- valves. Valve size increases vary, but they
derhead selections listed at the top of the are always scaled to a size that will gen-
Head/Port Design submenu. Each of these erally install in production castings without
choices is intended to model cylinderheads extensive modifications.
that have unusually small ports and valves The low-performance choices have
relative to engine displacement. Heads of some ability to model flathead (L-head &
this type were often designed for low- H-head) and hybrid (F-head) engines.
speed, economy applications, with little While the ports in these engines are con-
concern for high-speed performance. Early siderably more restrictive than early Ford
260 and 289 smallblock Ford and to a les- smallblock engines, by choosing Low-Per-
sor degree the early smallblock Chevy formance and manually entering the exact
castings fall into this category. These valve sizes, the simulation will, at least,
choices use the lowest discharge coeffi- give you an approximate power output that
cient of all the head configurations listed in you can use to evaluate changes in cam
the menu. Minimum port cross-sectional timing, induction flow, and other variables.
areas are 85% of the valve areas or some- Also, it’s not essential that your model pro-
what smaller and, if Auto Calculate Valve duce an absolutely accurate horsepower
number. A great deal of useful information Fully Ported, Large Valves” heads are high-
can be found by simply looking at the performance castings that have additional
changes in power that result from various modifications to provide optimum flow for
combinations of parts. racing applications.
The last choice in the smallblock group
Smallblock Cylinderheads—The small- is “SmallBlock/Race Porting And Mods.”
block and big-block choices comprise the This selection is designed to model state-
two main cylinderhead categories in the of-the-art, high-dollar, Pro-Stock type cyl-
Head/Port Design submenu. Choices from inderheads. These custom pieces are de-
these two groups apply to over 90% of all signed for one thing: Maximum power. They
performance engine applications from mild require hand-fabricated intake manifolds,
street use to all-out competition. have excellent valve discharge coefficients,
The basic smallblock selections model and the ports have the largest cross-sec-
heads that have ports and valves sized tional areas in the smallblock group. This
with performance in mind. Ports are not head develops sufficient airflow speeds for
excessively restrictive for high-speed op- good cylinder filling only at high engine rpm.
eration, and overall port and valve-pocket
design offers a good compromise between Big Block Cylinderheads—All big-
low restriction and high flow velocity. The block selections are modeled around heads
stock and pocket-ported choices are suit- with “canted” valves. That is, the valve
able for high-performance street to modest stems are tilted toward the ports to im-
racing applications. prove the discharge coefficient and overall
The next step is “SmallBlock/Fully airflow. All ports have generous cross-sec-
Ported, Large Valves” and this cylinderhead tional areas for excellent high-speed per-
moves away from street applications. This formance.
casting has improved discharge coeffi- The first three choices are based on an
cients, greater port cross-sectional areas, oval-port design. These smaller cross-sec-
and increased valve sizes. Consider this tional area ports provide a good compro-
head to be an extensively modified, high- mise between low restriction and high flow
performance, factory-type casting. It does velocity for larger displacement engines.
not incorporate “exotic” modifications, like The stock and pocket-ported selections are
raised and/or welded ports that require suitable for high-performance street to
custom-fabricated manifolds. “SmallBlock/ modest racing applications.
The “Big-Block
Cylinderhead” selections
are modeled around
heads with canted valves.
Ports have generous
cross-sectional areas.
The first three menu
choices model oval-port
designs. The final two
selections simulate
modified rectangular-port
heads. The appropriate
selection for this L29 big-
block Chevy would
probably be the second
or third menu choice—the
fourth menu choice
models a head with flow
capacity beyond the
stock L29.
30—DeskTop Dynos Mini Guide
The “4-Valve
Cylinderhead” menu
selections model
cylinderheads with 4-
valves per cylinder.
These heads can offer
more than 1.5 times the
curtain area of the
largest 2-valve heads.
This large valve area,
combined with high-flow,
low-restriction ports
greatly improves air and
fuel flow into the
cylinders at high engine
speeds. These Cosworth
heads were designed for
the English Ford V6.
When they were raced in
England several years
ago, they regularly beat
Chevy V8s.
other “league” when it comes to high horse- Porting And Mods,” like the other “Race
power potential on large engines at high Porting And Mod” choices in the Head/Port
engine speeds. Design submenu, models an all-out racing
The first choice in the 4-valve group is cylinderhead. This selection has the great-
“4-Valve Head/Stock Ports And Valves.” est power potential of all. The ports are
This simulates a 4-valve cylinderhead that considerably larger than the other choices,
would be “standard equipment” on a fac- the valves are larger, and the discharge
tory high-performance or sports-car engine. coefficients are the highest possible. These
These “mild” heads offer power comparable heads suffer from the greatest reversion
to high-performance 2-valve castings effects, especially at lower engine speeds
equipped with large valves and pocket on small displacement engines. (These
porting. However, because they still have heads, like all head choices, are “scaled”
relatively small ports, reasonably high port to engine size, so that smaller engines au-
velocities, and good low-lift flow character- tomatically use appropriately smaller
istics, they often show a boost in low-speed valves—providing the Auto Calculate Valve
power over comparable 2-valve heads. Size option is selected—and smaller ports.)
The next choice, “4-Valve Head/Ported If you would like to know what “hidden”
With Large Valves” represents a mild re- power is possible using any particular en-
work of “stock type” 4-valve heads. Larger gine combination, try this cylinderhead
valves have been installed and both the choice. It is safe to say that the only way
intake and exhaust flow has been improved to find more power, with everything else
by pocket porting. However, care has been being equal, would be to add a super-
taken not to increase the minimum cross- charger, nitrous-oxide injection, or use
sectional area of the ports. These changes exotic fuels.
provide a significant increase in power with
only slightly slower port velocities. Rever- When To Choose Smallblock
sion has increased, but overall, these heads Or Big-Block Cylinderheads
should show a power increase throughout
the rpm range on medium to large displace- Making appropriate Head/Port Design
ment engines. choices may be easier now that you are
The final choice, “4-Valve Head/Race aware of some of the less-obvious issues.
However, there are additional aspects of combined with entering (or having the pro-
menu selections that should be emphasized gram calculate) larger valve diameters, will
to avoid confusion when modeling specific closely simulate the power levels of these
cylinderheads. Perhaps the most “confus- “big-block” engines.
ing” issue surrounds the selection of heads Some big blocks have cylinderheads of
from the smallblock group for engines that substantially different design. These “true”
are commonly recognized as big blocks. big block heads are built for higher perfor-
Many big-block engines use cylinder- mance levels and have visibly different
heads that are simply “scaled-up” small- ports, valves, and/or combustion chambers.
block designs. The valve and port sizes on Big-block Chevy heads fall into this cat-
these heads may be 10 to 20% larger than egory with two common configurations. The
their smallblock counterparts, but that’s first is a milder, “street,” oval-port version
about the only difference. The ports remain and the second uses larger rectangular-
a tall, rectangular shape, valve stem angles ports. The larger head is, without question,
relative to the port centerline are identical a high-performance, high-rpm design, even
or nearly identical, and combustion cham- on large-displacement engines. Both of
ber shapes are often the same. When pro- these heads “cant” the valve stems toward
portionally larger heads are installed on the centerline of the port. This shifted valve
engines of proportionally larger displace- position improves the discharge coefficient
ment, overall flow efficiency remains very and allows for slightly larger valves.
similar. So for engines like the big-block This same design philosophy is used in
Chrysler wedge, Olds, Pontiac and several Chrysler’s Hemi heads. An all-out racing
Ford big blocks, plus many other engines, design, the Hemi “cants” the valves even
a selection from the smallblock group, further and uses combustion chambers
tions refer to the second part of the Valve and will not automatically change the dis-
Diameters menu. Here you will find a list played values, regardless of the cylinder-
of exact valve sizes consisting of common heads or cylinder bore diameters chosen
intake and exhaust combinations, or you for the test engine. You can change valve
can choose “Other...” from the bottom of diameters at any time by simply choosing
the menu and directly enter any valve di- different sizes from the menu or by select-
ameters within the acceptable range of the ing “Other...” again. You can also re-en-
program (approximately 0.800- to 2.75- able the Auto Calculate feature at any time
inches). When exact valve sizes are se- by re-selecting it from the Valve Diameter
lected by either of these methods, the di- submenu.
ameters are displayed in the Component
Selection Box along with “(Man),” indicat- THE COMPRESSION RATIO MENU
ing that the sizes were manually entered.
When “(Man)” is active, the program dis- C/Ratio is the third pull-down menu lo-
ables auto-calculation of valve diameters cated in the main menu bar. A selection
,,, , , , , ,
is simply the volume in the
cylinderhead, the combustion-space COMBUSTION COMBUSTION
volume is the total enclosed volume
, , , , , ,
CHAMBER SPACE
when the piston is located at TDC. VOLUME VOLUME
This space includes the volume in
,,,,,,,,,,, ,
the combustion chamber, plus any
volume added by the piston not
,,,
rising to the top of the bore, less
any volume due to the piston or
,,, ,,,
piston dome protruding above the
top of the bore.
, ,,, PISTON
AT
TDC
from this menu establishes the compres- straightforward of the two. As you discov-
sion ratio for the simulated engine from ered in the previous Bore/Stroke section
8:1 to 16:1 (version 2.5.7—under develop- of this guide, swept volume is calculated
ment when this book was published—sup- by Motion’s Filling And Emptying simula-
ports a compression ratio range of 6:1 to tion—and displayed in the Component Se-
18:1 using the “Other” selection). The com- lection Box—as soon as the bore and
pression ratio is a comparison of the geo- stroke have been selected for the test
metric volume that exists in the cylinder engine. Swept volume is simply the three-
when the piston is located at BDC (bottom dimensional space displaced by the piston
dead center) to the “compressed” volume as it “sweeps” from BDC to TDC, and is
when the piston reaches TDC (top dead determined solely by the bore diameter and
center). As you recall, compression ratio is stroke length.
calculated with the following formula: The other variable in the compression-
ratio equation is combustion-space volume.
Compression Ratio = This is the total volume that exists in the
cylinder when the piston is located at TDC.
Swept Cyl Vol + Combustion Space Vol This space includes the volume in the
———————————————————
Combustion Space Vol combustion chamber, plus any volume
added by the piston not rising fully to the
Let’s take a close look at this relation- top of the bore, less any volume due to the
ship to discover exactly what compression piston protruding above the top of the bore.
ratio is and how compression ratio works The complexity involved in combustion-
inside the IC engine. space volume can be a stumbling block for
some enthusiasts. You may find it helpful
Compression Ratio Basics to refer to the accompanying drawings for
illustrations of these concepts.
The above compression-ratio equation A good way to visualize these variables
contains two variables: 1) swept cylinder is to imagine yourself a “little man” wan-
volume, and 2) combustion space volume. dering around inside the engine. Let’s take
These volumes are the only two variables a walk inside the combustion space. Pic-
that affect compression ratio. However, ture what it would look like in the cylinder
each of these variables is made up of with the piston at TDC. You would see the
multiple elements, so the first step in ex- combustion chamber above you like a
ploring compression ratio must be to “dis- ceiling. Your floor would be the top of the
sect” these variables. piston. If the piston (at TDC) didn’t rise
Swept cylinder volume is the most completely to the top of the cylinder, around
,,,, ,,
,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,
The answers to these questions lie in
,,,,,,
,
the laws of thermodynamics. Luckily, we
,
don’t have too delve to deeply into this
complex subject to gain an insight into how
compression before ignition works. Let’s
, ,
take a simplified look at what happens
inside the engine when the compression
ratio is increased. Picture a spherical com-
bustion space containing twice as much
volume as the cylinder that’s attached to it.
This configuration produces an engine with
a very low 1.5:1 compression ratio. Just
before the intake valve closes, the piston
is positioned at BDC, and the cylinder and A spherical combustion space containing
the spherical volume are exposed to atmo- twice as much volume as the cylinder
spheric pressure of about 14psi. As the produces a 1.5:1 compression ratio. Peak
cylinder pressures (see text) will be about
piston moves up the bore, the valve closes
250psi. With a combustion space about
and the charge is compressed. When the
1/10th of the volume of the cylinder, the
piston reaches TDC the pressure in the compression ratio is now 10:1. Peak pres-
cylinder will rise to about 21psi. At this point sures now reach about 1500psi. The
the spark plug fires and drives the post- higher compression ratio produced much
combustion pressure to about 250psi and higher cylinder pressures throughout the
the piston is pushed back down the bore. first half of the piston’s travel from TDC
About 12 to 14 degrees after TDC, the and BDC on the power stroke. This addi-
cylinder pressure driving the piston down tional pressure generates a much larger
the bore will be about 230psi. force across the surface of the piston,
Now picture the same engine, except and that increases torque and horse-
this time the spherical combustion space power.
have indicated that these same conditions maximum-rated airflow that can pass
reproduced in the real world often optimize through the induction system, and the
power output. Manifold submenu to establish an intake-
The limitations of the combustion model manifold configuration. One choice from
prevent changing the ignition point. The each of these two groups fixes a specific
simulation of varying ignition timing—or per- induction system from among thousands
forming sophisticated combustion analysis of possible combinations.
to reveal detonation, preignition, or provide
emissions analysis—requires advanced Airflow Selection
techniques. While these models do exist,
they not only need full three-dimensional The first Induction submenu is used to
maps of the constantly-varying combustion select the rated airflow for the induction
space, but they consume, literally, days of system. This menu consists of two 2-bar-
computational time. Obviously, this is not rel carburetor selections, twelve 4-barrel
practical approach for a quick-response carburetor/fuel injection choices, and an
“what-if” program. “Other...” selection in which you can di-
rectly specify the rated airflow from 100 to
THE INDUCTION MENU 3000cfm. The first two selections “install”
either a 300- or 500-cfm 2-bbl carburetor
The fourth main component menu es- on the test engine. These are the only 2-
tablishes an Induction system for the simu- barrel choices directly available in the
lated test engine. An induction system, as menu. The remaining choices range from
defined in Motion’s simulation, is everything 300 to 1100cfm on 4- or 8-barrel carbure-
upstream of the intake ports, including the tor and fuel injection applications.
intake manifold, common plenums (if used), In order to perform “apple-to-apple” com-
carburetor/throttle main body, venturis (if parisons among the Airflow selections, it is
used), and opening to the atmosphere. The important to realize that the ratings for 2-
Induction menu is divided into two barrel carburetors are measured at a pres-
submenus: an Airflow menu to select the sure drop twice as high as the pressure
used to rate 4-barrel carburetors and fuel- selections below the first two designate
injection systems. Rated airflow for 2-bar- airflow ratings that were measured at 1.5-
rels is typically measured at a pressure in/Hg. The “4/8-BBL” indicates that the in-
drop of 3 inches of mercury (the pressure duction system can consist of single or
differential maintained across the carbure- multiple carburetors that, combined, pro-
tor during airflow measurement at wide- duce the rated airflow. For example, the
open throttle). This is often written as “3- menu choice “1000 CFM 4/8-BBL Carb Or
in/Hg” (“Hg” is the symbol for mercury used Fuel Inj” can indicate one 1000cfm 4-bbl
in the periodic table of elements). The carburetor or two 500cfm 4-bbls. The same
higher pressure drop increases the mea- 1000cfm selection could even indicate three
surement resolution for smaller carburetors 470cfm 2-bbls (i.e., 3 x 470 = 1410cfm;
and “shifts” the flow numbers toward the converting to 4-bbl flow: 1410/1.414 =
range commonly found in automotive ap- 997cfm). The important thing to remember
plications (roughly, 100 to 700cfm). about airflow selection is that the program
Knowing the differences in rating meth- makes no assumption about the type of
ods, it is a simple task to convert any 2-bbl restriction that makes up the carburetor or
flow into it’s 4-bbl equivalent. Here’s the injection system. The airflow is simply a
formula: rating of the total restriction of the induc-
tion system.
2-bbl Flow Motion’s Filling-And-Emptying model
4-bbl Flow = —————— uses this restriction value to calculate a
1.414 critically important variable needed by the
simulation to accurately determine mass
Using this conversion, it is possible to simu- flow into the cylinders: manifold vacuum.
late virtually any 2-barrel carburetor induc- Here’s how the process works:
tion system. For example, a custom 2-bar- 1) The simulation runs through an entire
rel that flows 650cfm at 3-in/Hg, would flow cycle (all four Otto cycles) to initially de-
460cfm if measured at 1.5-in/Hg (you can termine the total mass flow into the
confirm this using the above formula). By cylinders. This determination—because
manually entering 460cfm into the Compo- it is based on a degree-by-degree,
nent Selection Box of the simulation, the crank-angle analysis—takes the entire
program will accurately model this custom range of engine variables into consider-
2-barrel. ation, including displacement, engine
The remaining choices in the Induction speed, valve size, cam timing, compres-
Airflow menu are labeled with “4/8-BBL sion, and assumptions about the intake
Carb Or Fuel Inj.” This means that the manifold, exhaust system, and more.
systems, a carefully tuned carburetor also Weber carburetors (having 8 barrels) may
can come remarkably close to ideal fuel have a total rated flow of 2000cfm. To prop-
metering. Regardless of whether the simu- erly model this system, 2000cfm is directly
lated engine uses carburetors or fuel injec- entered into the simulation by choosing
tion, the power levels predicted by the “Other...” from the Airflow menu. When an
program can be considered optimum, “I.R.” manifold is selected from the second
achievable when the engine is in “peak” part of the Induction menu (more on mani-
tune and the induction system is working folds next) the airflow is divided into all 8
properly. cylinders, allotting 250cfm to each cylin-
The airflow (in Cubic Feet per Minute, der.
or CFM) selected from the Induction Air-
flow menu is also assumed to be the total Induction Manifold Basics
rated airflow into the engine. On dual-inlet
or multiple-carburetor systems, the total The lower half of the Induction menu
airflow is the sum of all rated airflow de- consists of five manifold choices. Each of
vices. So a manifold equipped with twin these manifolds applies a unique tuning
1100cfm Holley Dominators would have a model to the induction system, but before
rated airflow of 2200cfm. If an air cleaner we cover the particulars of each selection,
is used, total airflow must be adjusted to it is helpful to review induction tuning and
compensate for the increase in restriction how wave-dynamic models are used to
(contact the element manufacturer or flow reveal manifold function. For a more in-
test the carburetor/air-cleaner as an assem- depth look at induction tuning and wave
bly). dynamics, refer to the complete DeskTop
Also keep in mind the unique way air- Dynos book available from Motion Soft-
flow capacities are handled on Individual ware, Inc.
Runner (I.R.) manifolds. On these induc- The flow of air and fuel within engine
tion systems, each cylinder is connected passages is influenced by waves gener-
to a single “barrel” or injector stack with no ated by rapidly changing pressures within
connecting passages that allow the cylin- the induction and exhaust systems. These
ders to “share” barrels. The total rated flow pressure “pulses” arise from the release of
for these induction systems is divided high pressure exhaust gasses into the ports
among the number of cylinders. For ex- and headers during the exhaust cycle and
ample, a smallblock V8 equipped with 4 by the “pumping action” of the piston dur-
ing the intake cycle. These pressure waves tially, with the intake valve closed, the port/
are thousands of times stronger than waves runner system forces pressure waves
we are familiar with in everyday life: com- through a basic oscillation cycle, bouncing
mon acoustic or sound waves. At these back and forth off of the closed valve at
high energy levels, IC engine pressure one end of the runner and the open mani-
waves, now referred to as finite-amplitude fold plenum at the other. This “reasonably
waves, alter their shape as they travel simple” process, called 1/4-wave or organ-
through passages, and they interact with pipe tuning, delivers a series of decaying-
each other in ways considerably more amplitude pressure pulses to the closed
complex than simple acoustic waves. The intake valves. When the intake valves are
combination of these phenomena make the open, however, the system switches from
“solutions” to finite-amplitude wave analy- organ-pipe tuning to a much more com-
sis extremely difficult. plex Helmholtz resonator. This is the same
This complexity is multiplied by the con- resonance that you can duplicate by blow-
figuration of the ports, valves, manifold ing into the neck of a jug, creating a deep
runners and plenum shapes. The levels of “whirring” sound. Not only does pressure-
complexity continue to grow as the intake wave analysis have to deal with this more
and exhaust valves open and close. Ini- complex resonance, but the Helmholtz
1/4-wave or organ-pipe
,,,
, ,,,
,
system switches to a
,
resonator is changing its volume as the the bore to produce a powerful draw of air
piston moves in the cylinder, and the re- and fuel into the cylinder. Then, again, just
striction at the “neck” is also varying, as before the intake valve closes as the pis-
the valve moves through its lift curve. ton is beginning to move up the cylinder,
Combining all these factors with the already the induction system returns a positive
complex interaction of finite-amplitude pressure pulse to minimize or prevent “re-
waves gives a glimpse of the mathemati- version” of charge back out of cylinder.
cal sophistication needed to analyze pres- These tuning effects can be adjusted
sure waves inside the IC engine. for specific applications by changing run-
After all this, you may be wondering how ner length, volume, passage interconnec-
much of an influence this morass of com- tions, and plenum configuration. In other
plex pressure waves has on engine perfor- words, installing intake manifolds of differ-
mance. The answer is a lot! They can ei- ent design can have dramatic effects on
ther aid or restrict cylinder filling depend- how the pressure waves are used to assist
ing on the design of inlet ducting. A care- cylinder filling and control engine power.
fully constructed Pro-Stock induction sys- The following section details each of the
tem will use these invisible pressure waves manifold choices provided in the Induction
to gain hundreds of horsepower. Even menu and explains the assumptions and
street engines can use induction tuning to limitations associated with each design.
improve throttle response, fuel economy,
and add “seat-of-the-pants” power. Manifold Selection Advice
Induction-tuning power benefits come And Design Assumptions
from several techniques, but the most di-
rect is to harness the suction wave cre- The complex interaction of pressure
ated during the intake stroke. Optimum run- waves within the induction system require
ner lengths will return a reflection of this a rigorous mathematical analysis, involv-
negative pressure wave to the intake valve ing the Method Of Characteristics dis-
on the next intake cycle when the piston cussed in the complete DeskTop Dynos
reaches maximum velocity, about 70 de- book. This advanced technique uses con-
grees after TDC. The returning suction siderable computational time and does not
wave combines with the low pressure cre- lend itself to simulations designed for a
ated by the piston rapidly moving down rapid “what-if” interaction with the user. Fur-
A single-plane manifold is
simply a low-profile tunnel
ram. The design combines
short, nearly equal-length
runners with an open
plenum, but “lays” the
entire configuration flat
across the top of the
engine. The single-plane
manifold combines
improved flow capacity,
higher charge density,
and short runners to build
substantial horsepower at
higher engine speeds.
on the size of the plenum and runners, ture probes to measure fuel distribution
single-plane manifolds can also degrade accuracy.
driveability and fuel economy. Furthermore, Designers and engine testers have ex-
a large-volume, undivided plenum contrib- perimented with hybrid single-plane mani-
utes to low-speed problems by presenting fold designs that incorporate various dual-
every cylinder to all barrels of the carbure- plane features. One common modification
tor, lowering venturi signal and low-speed is to divide the plenum into a pseudo dual-
fuel metering accuracy (again, this draw- plane configuration. While this does in-
back is minimized with a fuel-injection sys- crease signal strength at the carburetor,
tem). On the other hand, the single-plane uneven firing does not allow 2nd degree of
manifold (like the tunnel ram) combines im- freedom resonance. This modification can
proved flow capacity, potentially higher cause sporadic resonances to occur
charge density, and short runner lengths throughout the rpm range with unpredict-
to build substantially more horsepower at able results. Spacers between the carbu-
higher engine speeds. retor and plenum are also commonly used
As a high-performance, high-speed with single-plane manifolds often with posi-
manifold, the single-plane design has many tive results, particularly in racing applica-
advantages, but it’s compact, low-profile tions. Spacers probably increase power for
design has drawbacks too. The runners are two reasons: 1) By increasing plenum vol-
connected to a common plenum like spokes ume they tend to reduce unwanted pres-
to the hub of a wheel. This arrangement sure-wave interactions, and 2) A larger
tends to create unpredictable interference plenum improves airflow by reducing the
effects as pressure pulses moving through angle the air/fuel must negotiate as it tran-
the runners meet in the plenum and stir up sitions from “down” flow from the carbure-
a complex soup. Large plenum volumes tor to “side” flow into the ports. While there
help cancel some these effects, but open- is no way to use trend testing to evaluate
plenum, single-plane manifolds may pro- the effects of a divided plenum, spacers
duce unexpected changes in fuel distribu- can be partially simulated. The increase in
tion and pressure-wave tuning with spe- plenum volume tends to mutate the single-
cific camshafts, headers, or cylinderheads plane manifold into a “mini” tunnel ram, so
(to some degree, these effects are present horsepower gains tend to mimic those
in all manifold designs). Predicting these obtained by switching to a tunnel ram de-
will-o’-the-wisp anomalies requires rigorous sign (i.e., small performance improvements,
modeling, well beyond the capabilities of when found, usually occur at high rpm).
the Filling-And-Emptying simulation. Cur- Since the single-plane manifold typically
rently, pinning down these problems re- reduces low-speed torque and improves
quires dyno testing with exhaust tempera- high-speed horsepower, it is often the best
compact manifold design for applications very high engine speeds, with multiple
where engine speed is typically 4000rpm carburetors, will the advantages in the tun-
or higher. If the engine commonly runs nel ram contribute substantially to power.
through lower speeds, a dual-plane, indi- This tunnel-ram selection can also ac-
vidual runner, or tuned-port injection sys- curately model fuel-injection systems with
tem will usually provide better performance, large, individual stacks. Strictly speaking,
driveability, and fuel economy. while the simulation combines short run-
ners and a large-volume plenum, this de-
Tunnel-Ram Manifold—This intake sign mimics short injector stacks that open
manifold is a single-plane induction sys- to the atmosphere quite well. For one-bar-
tem designed to produce optimum power rel-per-cylinder Weber carburetion or small-
on all-out racing engines. The advantages diameter, individual-injector systems, use
of the tunnel ram come from its combina- the Individual Runner manifold described
tion of a large common plenum and short, next. However, for large-diameter injectors,
straight, large-volume runners. The large like Hillborn or Crower systems, the tun-
plenum has plenty of space to bolt on two nel-ram manifold—along with the appropri-
carburetors, potentially flowing up to ate airflow selection (for all cylinders com-
3000+cfm to optimize charge density. The bined)—is a good induction model.
large plenum also minimizes pressure-wave The tunnel ram manifold selection has
interaction and fuel distribution issues. The the potential to produce the highest peak
short runners can be kept cooler than their horsepower of all the manifolds listed in
lay-flat, single- and dual-plane counterparts, the Induction menu. The large cross-sec-
and they offer a straight path into the ports, tional areas, straight runners, and short
optimizing ram-tuning effects. tuned lengths make this manifold a “no
Applications for the tunnel ram are quite compromise” racing design.
limited because of its large size; vehicles
using tunnel-ram manifolds often require a Individual Runner—A manifold that
hole in the hood and/or a hood scoop for connects each cylinder to one “barrel” of
manifold and carburetor clearance. While single or multiple carburetors with no inter-
a protruding induction system may be a connecting passages for shared flow is con-
“sexy” addition to a street rod, in single- sidered an individual (or isolated) runner
carburetor configurations the tunnel ram system (I.R. for short). A multiple Weber
offers very little potential power over a well- or Mikuni carburetor setup is a well-known
designed, single-plane manifold. Only at example of this type of induction system.
A multiple-carburetor I.R.
induction may seem to
offer way too much flow
capacity. Surprisingly,
the one-barrel-per-
cylinder transmits strong
pressure waves to each
carburetor barrel, pro-
ducing excellent throttle
response. Individual-
runner manifolds are an
outstanding induction
choice for high-perfor-
mance street engines.
parts available for the TPI, including en- manifolds, instead, select a single-plane (for
larged and/or Siamesed runners, improved small-runner systems) or tunnel ram (for
manifold bases, high-flow throttle bodies, large-runner packages) to obtain more re-
and sensor and electronic modifications. alistic power curves. Only choose a TPI
The Tuned-Port Injection selection in the manifold when the induction system uses
Induction menu models a stock TPI. How- a typical long-runner TPI configuration.
ever, increasing the airflow (from the In-
duction Airflow menu) makes it possible to THE EXHAUST MENU
model some of the benefits of larger run-
ners and high-flow throttle bodies. The Exhaust menu, the fifth component
There are now many “TPI-like” and EFI menu in the main menu bar, establishes
(electronic fuel injection) systems available an exhaust manifold or header configura-
for small- and big-block engines. Some of tion for the simulated test engine. The menu
these custom packages are based on a includes seven selections, four of which
short-runner tunnel ram model. Do not use include mufflers. Since the program is
the TPI manifold model to simulate these designed to simulate the power levels for
In an effort to explain
gas flow in the exhaust
Incorrect “Kadenacy” Theory
system, it was believed For Exhaust Gas Dynamics
that when the exhaust
valve opened, a high
pressure “slug” of gas
blasted out of the port
and down the header
pipe. As this slug
moved, it created a low-
pressure “wave” behind
High Pressure “Slug” Low Pressure Follows
it, similar to the way a
(similar to compressed spring) (similar to expanded spring)
compression wave
travels through a
Slinky™ coil-spring toy. While this easy-to-visualize theory seems to make sense, it
was conclusively disproved nearly 60 years ago. Despite this, the Kadenacy effect is
still widely believed by engine “experts” to this day!
2) When a positive pressure wave reaches draw in fresh charge, a phenomenon called
an area of transition, such as the end of scavenging. The overall effects substan-
an open pipe, a negative suction wave is tially boost power by 1) assisting exhaust
created that moves back up the pipe. 3) gas outflow, 2) beginning air/fuel charge
Positive pressure waves move gas particles flow into the cylinder, and 3) helping to
in the same direction as the waves; nega- purge the cylinder of residual exhaust gas-
tive pressure waves move gas particles in ses.
the opposite direction of the waves. Many factors contribute to optimizing
Now let’s apply this tuning theory to the these tuning effects. Two of the most im-
exhaust system. When the exhaust valve portant are header tubing size and length.
opens, a high pressure blast (in other Tubing size is really a measure of system
words, a finite-pressure wave) moves down volume and, on open headers at least,
the port and into the exhaust header pipe. determines the restriction of internal pas-
This high intensity pressure wave drives sages. Large, free-flowing tubes produce
gas particles in the same direction as wave lower pressures. Lower positive wave pres-
motion and therefore assists the outflow of sures generate lower amplitude suction
exhaust gasses. When the pressure wave waves, reducing scavenging and cylinder
reaches the end of the header pipe that’s filling. On the other hand, smaller diameter
open to the atmosphere, a negative pres- tubing creates higher pressures that, while
sure wave of almost the same intensity is generating strong scavenging waves, in-
created and begins to travel back up the crease restriction and pumping work. As is
pipe toward the cylinder. Negative pres- the case with every component category
sure waves move gas particles in the op- in the IC engine, the best power is pro-
posite direction as the wave, so this re- duced by finding a balance between two
turning wave also assists exhaust gas or more counterbalancing factors. Here an
outflow. When the negative pressure wave optimum balance lies between the excel-
(or suction wave) reaches the cylinder, it lent scavenging effects of small tube head-
delivers a substantial drop in pressure. If ers vs. the reduction in restriction and
this wave arrives during the valve overlap pumping work produced by large tubes.
period (when both the exhaust and intake The balance tilts one way or the other
valves are open) the pressure drop will help depending on cam timing, engine displace-
STRONG,
SHORT
RETURNING
When primary header
WAVE tubes terminate directly
into the atmosphere, they
generate a strong but
LESS STRONG, narrow suction wave. The
BUT LONGER returning wave is
RETURNING “peaky” and only assists
WAVE cylinder filling through a
very narrow rpm range.
Primary tubes terminat-
WITH COLLECTOR
ing in a larger “collector”
produce a wider suction
wave, broadening the
effective tuning range.
sphere, so they emphasize the initial por- effects are simulated by the various choices
tion of returning suction wave. Smaller in the Exhaust component menu. As you
collectors provide less of a transition from have discovered, the exhaust system—
the individual primary tubes and tend to perhaps more than any other single part of
emphasize the trailing edge of the suction the IC engine—is a virtual “playground” for
wave. The length of the collector changes finite-amplitude waves. You are also well
the time between the leading and trailing aware that these interactions can be solved
edges of the suction wave and can also only by sophisticated, computationally-in-
affect the optimum primary tube length. tensive methods that are not part of the
Most header systems are designed so Motion Filling And Emptying program. While
that the lengths of the primary tubes are flow restriction (back pressure) is accurately
nearly equal. This, too, leads to another modeled using “pressure-drop” techniques,
balancing act between the higher number the effects of changes in tubing lengths
of bends needed to obtain equal-length and diameters that influence the flow of
primary tubes vs. the use of low-restriction exhaust and induction gasses are closely
straight tubes. While increased restriction tied to high-pressure wave dynamics. How-
almost always hurts performance, unequal ever, the program does use a powerful
primary lengths can broaden the power “mini-wave model” that accurately simulates
range and provide more usable power in scavenging effects for three classes of
racing situations. As a result, the most headers with optimum tubing lengths and
effective header designs use as few bends diameters. So while the program does not
as possible to minimize restriction and re- resolve specific header dimensions, the
linquish equal primary lengths to a role of model can predict engine power changes
lesser importance. from various exhaust manifolds and head-
ers of large and small tubing diameters
Exhaust Menu Selections (relative to the engine under test).
Now that we have peeked into the wave Stock Manifolds And Mufflers—The
dynamics at work inside the exhaust sys- first choice in the Exhaust menu simulates
tem, we can turn our attention to how these the most restrictive exhaust system. It as-
ated with applications requiring optimum ing each exhaust port to a common collec-
power levels at or below peak-torque en- tor. The collector—or collectors, depend-
gine speeds. These headers typically show ing on the number of cylinders—terminates
optimum benefits on smaller displacement into the atmosphere. Strong suction waves
engines (such as “smallblocks”), and may are created in the collector that provide a
produce less power on large displacement substantial boost to cylinder filling and
engines. The following rules of thumb give exhaust gas outflow. Since exact tubing
approximations of tubing diameters used lengths are not simulated, the program
by the simulation: Headers with tubes that assumes that the primary tube will deliver
measure 95% to 105% of the exhaust-valve the scavenging wave to the cylinder during
diameter are considered “small” for any par- the valve overlap period.
ticular engine; tubes that measure 120% The primary tubes modeled by this menu
to 140% of the exhaust-valve diameter are selection are considered “small,” and
“large” tube headers. should be interpreted to fall within a range
of dimensions that are commonly associ-
Small-Tube Headers Open Exhaust— ated with applications requiring optimum
This menu selection simulates headers with power levels at or slightly above peak-
“small” primary tubes individually connect- torque engine speeds. These headers typi-
cally show benefits on smaller displace- typically show benefits on high-rpm racing
ment engines but may produce less power smallblocks or large displacement big-block
on large-displacement big-block engines. engines. These headers may produce less
The following rules of thumb should give a power on small-displacement engines op-
reasonable approximation of tubing diam- erating in the lower rpm ranges. The fol-
eters used in the simulation: Headers with lowing rules of thumb should give a rea-
tubes that measure 95% to 105% of the sonable approximation of tubing diameters
exhaust-valve diameter are considered used in the simulation: Headers with tubes
“small” for any particular engine; tubes that that measure 95% to 105% of the exhaust-
measure 120% to 140% of the exhaust- valve diameter are considered “small” for
valve diameter are “large” tube headers. any particular engine; tubes that measure
120% to 140% of the exhaust-valve diam-
Large-Tube Headers With Mufflers— eter are “large” tube headers.
This menu selection simulates headers with
“large” primary tubes individually connect- Large-Tube Headers Open Exhaust—
ing each exhaust port to a common collec- This menu selection simulates headers with
tor. The collector—or collectors, depend- “large” primary tubes individually connect-
ing on the number of cylinders—terminates ing each exhaust port to a common collec-
into a high-performance muffler(s). Suction tor. The collector—or collectors, depend-
waves are created in the collector, but are ing on the number of cylinders—terminates
somewhat damped by the attached muf- into the atmosphere. Strong suction waves
fler. Since exact tubing lengths are not are created in the collector that provide a
simulated, the program assumes that the substantial boost to cylinder filling and
primary tube will deliver the scavenging exhaust gas outflow. Since exact tubing
wave to the cylinder during the valve over- lengths are not simulated, the program
lap period. assumes that the primary tube will deliver
The primary tubes modeled by this menu the scavenging wave to the cylinder during
selection are considered “large,” and should the valve overlap period.
be interpreted to fall within a range of di- The primary tubes modeled by this menu
mensions that are commonly associated selection are considered “large,” and should
with applications requiring optimum power be interpreted to fall within a range of di-
at peak engine speeds. These headers mensions that are commonly associated
Ope leratio
Aec
on
smallest diameter of the Lifter
lerati
ning
e
Rise
Acce g
cam lobe and is shaped
in
Clos
perfectly round. Clear-
n
ance ramps form the
transition from the
round base circle to the
acceleration ramps. As Clearance Clearance
Ramp Ramp
the cam turns, the lifter
smoothly accelerates up
Ro
the clearance ramp and t a ti o n
continues to rise as it Foot or
approaches the nose, Heel
Base Circle
then begins to slow to a Diameter
stop as it reaches
maximum lift at the lobe
centerline. Maximum
lifter rise is determined by the height of the toe of the cam lobe over the base circle
diameter. The lifter then accelerates in the closing direction and when the valve
approaches its seat, the lifter is slowed down by closing clearance ramp. Valve-open
duration is the number of crankshaft degrees that the valve or lifter is held above a
specified height by the cam lobe (usually 0.006-, 0.020-, or 0.050-inch). A symmetric
lobe has the same lift curve on both the opening and closing sides; an asymmetric
lobe is shaped differently on each side of the lobe. A single-pattern cam has the
same profile on both the intake and exhaust lobes; a dual-pattern cam has different
profiles for the intake and exhaust lobes.
The best way to visualize camshaft timing is with this “twin-hump” event drawing. It
depicts the valve-motion curves for the exhaust lobe on the left and the intake lobe
on the right, locating the valve overlap period and TDC at the center. If you become
sufficiently familiar with this drawing so that you can easily picture it in your mind,
you will be able to quickly evaluate any cam timing specs and visualize how they
relate to one another.
the function of the piston/cylinder mecha- Since this assortment of cam specifica-
nism changes from intake to compression, tions is used almost interchangeably, it is
compression to power, power to exhaust, almost impossible to “talk camshaft” with-
and exhaust back to intake. What could be out a good understanding of all these terms.
more important from the standpoint of un- Probably the best way to organize and
derstanding engine function and perform- visualize this nomenclature is to picture the
ing engine simulations? common “twin-hump” event drawing. This
Compared to the basic timing events, illustration depicts valve-motion curves
many simulation experts believe that most (sometimes called valve displacement
of the second six timing values are not curves) for the exhaust lobe on the left
only unimportant, they actually “blow and the intake lobe on the right, locating
smoke” over the whole issue of cam timing the valve overlap period and TDC (top dead
analysis. Naturally, four of the second six center) at the center of the graph. If you
events are the most publicized by the cam become sufficiently familiar with this draw-
manufacturers and enthusiast magazines. ing so that you can easily picture it in your
This unfortunate situation evolved over mind, you should be able to figure out any
many years of selling and marketing cam- of the cam timing specs and how they relate
shafts in the automotive aftermarket. Long to one another.
before engine simulations were widely used The graph plots crank degrees on the
and a good understanding of the relation- X-axis (left to right) and valve lift on the Y-
ship between the individual valve events axis (up and down). The width of the graph
and engine power ever existed, the de- is slightly shortened. Since no valve mo-
scriptions of the distance between valve tion occurs during about 200 degrees of
events rather than the valve events them- crank rotation when the “true” compression
selves became a standard measure of a and power strokes take place, the graph
camshaft. chops off 60-degrees on each end, run-
with 0.050-timing specs), make sure to and valve motion rates on the opening and
subtract the timing point instead of adding closing sides, the Intake Centerline and
it to calculate the duration. For example, a Exhaust Centerlines will occur at the point
Crane Cams, Inc. profile HMV-272-2-NC of maximum valve lift. Asymmetric profiles
opens the exhaust valve 51-degrees be- are quite common, although, the amount
fore BDC and closes it 3-degrees before of asymmetry typically is very small, so the
TDC. To calculate the duration subtract the centerlines should still fall within two or
“short” closing point: 51 + 180 –3 = 228 three of degrees of maximum lift point.
degrees. While these “short” timing events All but one of the basic and derivative
are much more common when working with cam-timing specs are measured in crank
0.050-inch timing specs, you may also degrees. This makes sense since the tim-
come across seat-to-seat timing specs for ing specs fundamentally describe valve po-
emissions-restricted camshafts with “short” sitions (and durations) as they relate to
events, designed to minimize or eliminate piston positions (and piston movement).
valve overlap. In a nutshell, the duration is This applies to every timing spec but Lobe
simply the number of crank degrees swept Center Angle (LCA). The LCA is meant to
out by the lift curve. describe the angular distance between the
Next, let’s look at the three centerline centers of the intake and exhaust lobes as
angles: Intake Centerline, Exhaust Center- viewed on the cam itself. This distance is
line, and Lobe Center Angle (sometimes a cam-specific measurement, not relative
called Lobe Centerline). The terms “Cen- to TDC, and is the only cam spec that
terline” and “Center Angle” are methods of cannot be altered regardless of how the
describing the distance to or from the ex- cam is “degreed” with crankshaft. It is said
act center of a lobe. The Intake and Ex- to be “ground into” the cam. Because this
haust Centerlines describe the distance spec relates one lobe position to the other,
from the center of the Intake and Exhaust independent of the engine or crankshaft, it
lobes to TDC. Both of these timing specs is measured in cam degrees. The number
are measured in crank degrees. That of crank degrees between the center of
means that the number of degrees the the lobes is twice the LCA.
crank rotates from the point at which the All of the camshaft specifications de-
piston rests at TDC until the lifter contacts scribed thus far tell something about how
the exact center of the intake lobe is the the cam is manufactured and how it should
Intake Centerline. When the lobes are sym- be installed in the engine. To help keep
metric, that is they have the same shape them straight in your mind, let’s reorganize
them in two new groups. The first group and specs at dependant on TDC or crank-
contains all the timing specs that are mea- shaft position:
sured from TDC or BDC piston positions 7—Intake Duration
and are dependent on how the cam is in- 8—Exhaust Duration
stalled, or indexed, in the engine: 9—Lobe Center Angle (LCA)
1—Intake Valve Opening (IVO) 10—Valve Overlap
2—Intake Valve Closing (IVC) 11—Intake Valve Lift
3—Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO) 12—Exhaust Valve Lift
4—Exhaust Valve Closing (EVC) Each of these six terms compare one cam
5—Int. Center Angle or Centerline (ICA) spec to another; they are not measured
6—Exh. Center Angle or Centerline (ECA) relative to any fixed crank position. Refer
Each of these timing specs indicate a open- again to the valve-motion plot to confirm
ing, closing, or lobe centerline point mea- this. Remember that the duration of each
sured from a TDC or BDC piston position. lobe is the distance in crank degrees be-
If the cam is installed in an advanced or tween the valve opening and closing points.
retarded position relative to TDC, the value Sliding these curves left or right (analo-
of these timing specs will change. In fact, gous to advancing or retarding the cam)
advancing and retarding the cam is one does not change the distance between the
way to change cam timing that we’ll dis- opening and closing points and does not
cuss in detail later in this guide. change duration. Duration is, therefore,
The following group of cam timing events another “ground in” cam spec. The same
limitation applies to valve overlap. The identifying and classifying camshafts. The
lobes are spaced by a fixed LCA, and they specifications most commonly listed by
can’t move with respect to each other, so manufacturers are:
the length of the overlap period—the dis- 1—Intake Duration
tance between EVC and IVO at a specific 2—Intake Valve Lift
lifter rise—never changes for a particular 3—Exhaust Duration
camshaft. Finally, valve lift is another com- 4—Exhaust Valve Lift
parison of cam specs. In this case, it’s the 5—Lobe Center Angle (LCA)
distance between the lobe heal height and 6—Intake Center Angle or Centerline (ICA)
toe height multiplied by the rocker ratio. Long before engine simulations were
Valve lift is measured in inches (or milli- widely used and designers gained an un-
meters) and is never related to crank angle derstanding of how the changes in valve-
or TDC. event timing affect power, “manufacturer’s
Take some time to review the relation- catalog” specs became a standard mea-
ships between all of the cam specs and sure of cam profiles. Unfortunately, these
the valve motion drawings. Trace the ac- terms place the emphasis on the span
tion of the valves from left to right through between the valve events rather than on
the exhaust cycle and, as TDC approaches, the events themselves. For example, it is
through overlap, then continue to the right common to compare two cams by compar-
through the intake cycle. These drawings ing their intake and/or exhaust valve-open
give an excellent mental “picture” of the duration. While duration does point to the
relationships between LCA and the indi- intended use for the cam, it doesn’t indi-
vidual ICA and ECA values. In fact, as- cate the valve events, making it difficult to
suming a symmetric profile, it is possible predict engine performance. If Cam A has
to calculate all of the center angles, dura- 264 degrees of exhaust duration and Cam
tions, and the overlap from the four basic B has 300 degrees, the longer duration
valve events (EVO, EVC, IVO, IVC). It is spec doesn’t give a clue about how the
also possible to calculate the four valve additional valve-open timing will be allo-
events from the duration, the LCA, and cated to the opening and closing events.
either the ICA or the ECA. We’ll discuss Are the entire forty degrees added to Cam
the details of converting timing specifica- B’s valve opening point; are they added to
tions using information from cam the closing point; or are they split between
manufacturer’s catalogs later in this guide. the two in some proportion? Without know-
ing the exact valve events, one can only
How Valve-Event Timing guess at the outcome. A more critical situ-
Affects Power ation exists for engine simulation programs:
Without knowing the exact valve events, a
As we mentioned earlier, years of mar- simulation isn’t even possible! Not using
keting efforts by cam manufacturers have exact valve timing events during a simula-
established an accepted methodology for tion is like building and testing an engine
A manufacturer’s catalog lists Cam A as having 264 degrees of duration while Cam B
has 300 degrees. But just the duration spec doesn’t give a clue about how the addi-
tional valve-open timing will be allocated to the opening and closing events. These
valve motion curves indicate just one of an infinite number of possibilities. Without
knowing the exact valve events, running an engine simulation isn’t possible.
without defining when the valves open and together comprise the overlap period that
close; the whole concept doesn’t make any has a significant effect on power, and 2)
sense. the EVO is the next most important timing
The emphasis on event timing in en- point since is determines the beginning of
gine simulation programs has driven many the exhaust cycle and cylinder blowdown,
leading-edge designers to discount what and 3) IVC is the most critical since it fixes
they now term as ambiguous or less-use- the balance between cylinder filling and
ful cam timing specifications, in particular, intake reversion, each having a potent ef-
advance and retard figures, centerlines, and fect on engine output.
durations. For some, this may be a difficult
paradigm shift, but the rewards are sub- EVC/IVO, The Valve Overlap Period—
stantial: you may find a new understand- The valve overlap period occurs as the
ing of the IC engine at the end of your piston passes through TDC after the main
efforts. The next few paragraphs delve into portion of the exhaust stroke. The intake
the effects of individual valve events valve opens before TDC (usually) and sig-
learned from both real-world and simulated nals the beginning of period of time during
testing. We’ll also relate these basic timing which both intake and exhaust valves are
events to other popular cam specifications, off their seats. As we found in our discus-
since it will be many years—if ever—be- sion of exhaust systems, a high pressure
fore some of the less-relevant specs dis- wave produced when the exhaust valve
appear from cam manufacturer’s catalogs. opens (EVO) travels to the end of the
The four basic valve-event timing points header and returns a strong negative pres-
(EVO, EVC, IVO, IVC) can be grouped into sure wave that delivers a pressure drop at
three categories based on their influence the exhaust valve. If this pressure drop
on engine performance: 1) EVC and IVO arrives during the overlap period, it will help
are the least important individually, but purge the cylinder of exhaust gasses and,
The goal of the engine designer is to “cover” the overlap period with the arriving
scavenging wave during as wide an rpm range as possible. When this is done, the
exhaust system and the engine are said to be “in tune” during that range of engine
speeds. If any part of overlap does not coincide with the presence of a low-pressure
scavenging wave, reversion or reduced cylinder filling will drive the engine partially
out of tune.
despite the upward movement of the pis- severe, symptoms of reversion include a
ton, begin the inflow of fresh charge from drop in manifold vacuum, rough idle and/
the induction system. This phenomenon is or high idle speeds, and a substantial in-
called scavenging, and an engine that crease in emissions from over-rich mix-
delivers its scavenging wave during the tures.
overlap period is said to be “in tune.” If the An engine that develops reversion and
pressure wave is early or late, or not even runs poorly at lower engine speeds may
created by exhaust system, the piston ris- run fine at higher speeds. In fact, most
ing in the bore during the first part of over- race engines exhibit these symptoms; the
lap will force exhaust gasses into the in- common side effects of a high-speed race
duction system, producing a phenomenon tune. The scavenging wave that missed
called “reversion.” When this occurs, cam the overlap period at low speeds may re-
timing and the exhaust system are “out of turn on time at higher engine speeds, op-
tune.” timizing tuning, cylinder filling, and power
Reversion is a power killer. When ex- output. The nature of the exhaust system
haust gasses are driven into the induction is to create in-and-out-of-tune conditions
system, they force air/fuel mixtures back as the engine moves through its rpm range.
upstream. Severe reversion can drive the The goal of the engine designer is to
air/fuel charge out of the air inlet, creating broaden the arrival of the scavenging wave
a “standoff” of vapors above the carbure- as much as possible (remember our dis-
tor. When the charge is drawn back into cussion of header-pipe collectors) “cover-
the engine, it is re-atomized with fuel cre- ing” the overlap period through as much of
ating “double-rich” mixtures. Additional, less the max-power rpm range as possible. If
300 260 220 180 140 100 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 100 140 180 220 260 300
.500
BDC Old 108° Lobe BDC
.450 Center Angle
.400
.350
New 100° Lobe
.300 Center Angle
.250 EXHAUST INTAKE
.200 TDC
EVO Later IVC Earlier
.150 IVO Earlier EVC Later
NO! NO!
.100 YES! YES!
.050
.000
Decreasing the LCA will directly increase valve overlap by moving IVO earlier and
EVC later. However, if the goal is to boost high-speed horsepower (the reason for
additional overlap), narrowing the LCA also moves the IVC earlier. This reduces “ram
effects” in the induction system at higher engine speeds, clearly the wrong approach
for performance. In addition, a narrower LCA opens the exhaust valve (EVO) later and
that delays cylinder blowdown, an effect that tends to boost low-speed—not high-
speed—power. The correct method of adjusting overlap, and every other cam timing,
should be to apply the appropriate changes to the individual valve opening and clos-
ing events.
800
the cylinder near the end
of the power stroke. The
opening of the exhaust 600
EVO Point
valve also creates a
high-pressure wave that Ignition
travels through the 400
exhaust system that,
with properly designed
headers, returns as a 14.7
strong scavenging wave
during the overlap
0 180 360 540 720
period. BDC TDC BDC
Degrees of Crankshaft Rotation
bit of energy generated by combustion. begins at the opening of the exhaust valve.
Then, precisely at BDC, the exhaust valve When the pumping-loss/blowdown balance
would “pop” open and, miraculously, all of has been found, header lengths (and over-
the residual gas pressure would vanish lap timing) may need to be adjusted to
(even better, a slight vacuum would de- harness scavenging effects to full benefit.
velop in the cylinder). Then as the piston Then when you consider that header tub-
moves from BDC to TDC, no horsepower ing diameter plays a part in determining
would be wasted on “pumping” spent gas- exhaust system restriction and can change
ses from the engine. Unfortunately, the real blowdown and pumping-loss characteris-
world of engine gas dynamics is far from tics, the jumble of tunable elements grows
perfection. Substantial power is consumed even larger. Finally, if the induction system
by driving the piston up the bore on the is improved, higher post-combustion pres-
exhaust stroke, especially at high engine sures can worsen the pumping problem and
speeds with large-displacement engines that may require further changes to EVO
that generate prodigious amounts of ex- timing, starting the whole tuning process
haust gas. To offset these losses, early over again.
EVO timing starts the blowdown of high- Despite the fact that EVO is an ex-
pressure gasses before the exhaust stroke tremely important factor in engine output,
even begins. But the reduction in pumping this web of interrelated effects make it very
work doesn’t come without a drawback; difficult (probably impossible) for engine
earlier EVO timing “wastes” some of the experts to determine the outcome of spe-
power-producing gas pressure from com- cific changes to EVO timing. Here is an-
bustion. The balance between these two other example of how engine simulations
factors optimizes power, but the balance are useful. A series of simulations can
changes as engine speed changes (and, “home-in” on the optimum combination from
of course, it also changes as displacement, a large number of interdependent condi-
flow restriction, and the timing of other valve tions.
events change).
To complicate matters even further, once IVC, The Intake Valve Closing Point—
an optimum EVO timing has been found, IVC is the most critical of the basic valve
we need to consider how this timing af- timing events. The intake valve closing
fects the arrival of the scavenging wave. point establishes a balance between cylin-
Remember, that the chain of events that der filling and intake reversion, each hav-
leads to the arrival of the scavenging wave ing a potent effect on engine performance.
,,,,,,,,,,,,
cylinder filling and intake
reversion, each having a potent
effect on engine performance.
When the pressure produced in
the cylinder as the piston begins
,,,,,,,,
to move up the bore on the
compression stroke exceeds the
pressure of the incoming charge,
the induced charge starts to
“revert” or flow back into the
induction system. This is the
ideal point for IVC, because the
cylinder has received the
greatest volume of air and fuel
and will generate the highest
pressures on the power stroke.
After the intake stroke is completed and passes through the carburetor—or by the
the piston reaches BDC, the column of air/ fuel injector—a second time). When the
fuel mixture moving through the induction induction system on a racing engine is
system has built up considerable momen- properly designed, the pressure wave cre-
tum (the “ram tuning” effect). This internal ated when the intake valve opens is re-
energy forces additional air and fuel to flow turned to the cylinder as a strong suction
into the cylinder even as the piston begins wave just about the time cylinder pressures
to move up the bore on the early part of begin to overcome the ram tuning effects.
the compression stroke. At some point, This momentary drop in pressure allows a
however, the pressure in the cylinder be- bit more cylinder filling and a slightly later
gins to exceed the pressure of the incom- IVC. This critical tuning can add the win-
ing charge, and the induced charge starts ning edge to Pro Stock engines or other
to “revert” or flow back into the induction max-power applications, however, induc-
system. This is the ideal point for IVC, tion system design, IVO, and IVC timing
because the cylinder has received the must all be synchronized to produce these
greatest volume of air and fuel and will effects. Since induction components are
generate the highest pressures on the typically hand built “one offs” on engines
power stroke. of this type, custom cams are ground for
Unfortunately, optimum IVC occurs only individual engines to optimize power in
at one engine speed and is dictated by these competitive classes.
cylinderhead flow, induction ram-tuning On the other end of the spectrum, if the
effects, intake valve opening timing, and of goal is to build an engine that performs
course by engine rpm. The longer the in- well throughout a wide rpm range and of-
take valve is held open the more “peaky” fers good idle characteristics, late IVC is
engine performance becomes. Late IVC definitely the wrong approach. The intake
can create induction flow reversion with an valve must close early enough to prevent
accompanying drop in manifold vacuum, reversion at lower engine speeds, an es-
rough idle and/or poor idle quality, and an sential step in producing low-speed torque.
increase in emissions from over-rich mix- However, early IVC limits cylinder filling at
tures (rich mixtures are created when the higher engine speeds and reduces peak
charge is forced back up the manifold and power. IVC timing in the high 50-degree
To improve program
accuracy, ask yourself if
the camshaft you are
modeling fits the applica-
tion-specific description
listed in the above text. If
your cam uses roller lifters
but is a mild street profile,
select Hydraulic or Solid
Flat-Tappets from the
menu since these choices
will produce a lift curve
that matches a mild
camshaft. On the other
hand, if the cam is a high-
performance grind, select Solid Lifters or Roller Lifters since these will model the
faster acceleration rates of an aggressive performance grind. If you are modeling a
large-diameter, solid-lifter racing cam, like some “mushroom” lifter grinds, the Solid
Lifter choice may underestimate the acceleration rate of these competition camshafts.
In this case you may find more accurate predictions from the Roller Lifter selection.
This first menu Camshaft Type: Stock Street/Economy Lifter Type: Hydraulic
profile simulates Cam Specs @: Seat To Seat Int Centerline: 115.0
a typical factory- IVO (BTDC): 12.0 IVC (ABDC): 62.0 Int Duration: 254.0
stock cam. It is EVO (BBDC): 66.0 EVC (ATDC): 10.0 Exh Duration: 256.0
generally used Int Lift @Valve: 0.XXX (Auto) Lobe-Center Angle: 116.5
with hydraulic Exh Lift @Valve: 0.XXX (Auto) Advance(+)/Retard(-): 0
lifters.
enough to prevent exhaust gas reversion erable power at higher engine speeds and
into the induction system. The characteris- is especially effective in lightweight ve-
tics of this cam are smooth idle, good power hicles. This High Performance Street Pro-
from 1000 to 4500rpm, and good fuel file choice can be used with either hydrau-
economy. This cam works well in high- lic or solid lifters, and the simulation will
torque demand applications. The Stock accurately model this cam with either lifter
Street/Economy Profile cam is typically selection (choose hydraulic lifters for more
used with hydraulic lifters. As described street-oriented applications and solid lifters
earlier, the intake and exhaust valve lifts for more high-performance oriented appli-
for all application-specific profiles are au- cations). This cam is nearly identical to the
tomatically calculated by the simulation and ISKY Hi-Rev Flat-Tappet cam part 201025
are based on the valve diameters. for the smallblock Chevy. As described
earlier, the intake and exhaust valve lifts
High Performance Street Profile—This for all application-specific profiles are au-
profile is designed to simulate a high-per- tomatically calculated by the simulation and
formance factory camshaft. All cam timing are based on the valve diameters.
events displayed in the Component Selec-
tion Box are seat-to-seat measurements. Dual Purpose Street/Track Profile—
This camshaft uses relatively-late EVO This profile is designed to simulate a high-
to fully utilize combustion pressure and performance aftermarket camshaft. All cam
early IVC minimizes intake flow reversion. timing events displayed in the Component
IVO and EVC produce 62 degrees of over- Selection Box are seat-to-seat measure-
lap, a profile that is clearly intended to ments.
harness exhaust scavenging effects. The EVO timing on this camshaft is begin-
modestly-aggressive overlaps allow some ning to move away from specs that would
exhaust gas reversion into the induction be expected for simply utilizing combus-
system at lower engine speeds, affecting tion pressure with more of an emphasis
idle quality and low-speed torque. The toward early blowdown and minimizing
characteristics of this cam are fair idle, good exhaust pumping losses. The later IVC
power from 1500 to 6000rpm, and good attempts to strike a balance between har-
fuel economy. This cam develops consid- nessing the ram effects of the induction
Drag-Race/Circle-Track Profile—This
profile is designed to simulate a competi-
tion aftermarket camshaft. All cam timing
events displayed in the Component Selec-
tion Box are seat-to-seat measurements.
EVO timing on this racing camshaft
places less emphasis on utilizing combus-
tion pressure and more emphasis on be-
ginning early blowdown to minimize ex-
haust pumping losses. The later IVC at-
tempts to strike a balance between har-
nessing the ram effects of the induction
system while minimizing intake flow rever-
sion. IVO and EVC produce 90 degrees of
overlap, a profile that is clearly intended to
optimize exhaust scavenging effects. This
aggressive overlap is designed for open
headers and allows exhaust gas reversion Several of the “generic” grinds that are
into the induction system at lower engine included in the menu selection of the Fill-
speeds, affecting idle quality and torque ing-And-Emptying simulation were se-
below 3500rpm. The characteristics of this lected from the ISKY CAMS catalog.
cam are very lopey idle, good power from ISKY’s catalog is “simulation-friendly,”
3600 to 7600rpm, with no consideration for listing seat-to-seat valve event timing for
fuel economy. This cam develops consid- nearly every cam in their line.
occur within the running engine. Because in the marketplace was to offer the “big-
of this, seat-to-seat valve events are often gest” and “baddest” camshaft, and that
called the advertised or running timing. As meant a cam with the longest duration.
we mentioned previously in this book, an Manufacturers got so caught up in this fool-
engine simulation program needs just this ishness that they used “trick” grinding
type of information to calculate the begin- methods to extend the clearance ramps
ning and end of mass flow in the ports and and artificially increase seat-to-seat dura-
cylinders, a crucial step in the process of tion without appreciably affecting the valve-
determining cylinder pressures and power open duration (it was already too big). By
output. Because of this, seat-to-seat tim- this time, enthusiasts were confused by the
ing specifications produce the most accu- myriad of seat-to-seat timing specs, and
rate simulation results. The 0.050-inch tim- many were installing camshafts incorrectly.
ing figures, while accepted by Motion’s Even worse, the very nature of seat-to-seat
simulation, must be internally converted to timing makes it difficult to “nail down” the
seat-to-seat figures, unfortunately a less- precise (rotational) position of the cam
than-perfect process, before they can be during engine assembly. To solve this prob-
used in the simulation. lem, cam manufacturers united (picture
In the early days of the “cam wars,” water and oil!) to introduce a universal cam
primarily during the 50’s and 60’s, the seat- spec primarily aimed at making cam instal-
to-seat timing method became popular with lation easier and more accurate. The new
cam manufacturers as a way to “advertise” technique, called 0.050-inch timing, was
the duration of their popular grinds. Re- based on the movement of the cam fol-
member the bigger-is-better axiom? It prob- lower (lifter) rather than the valve. Since
ably reached its peak during this period. At the lifter is moving quite quickly at 0.050-
that time, the way to be declared a winner inch it was easy to accurately index the
cam to the crank position. Today, regard- For example (for 1.5 rockers and 30 thou-
less of who manufactures the cam, you sandths lash):
will always find 0.050-inch lifter rise timing
points published on the cam card, simpli- Valve Lift @ 0.050 =
fying cam installation. = 0.050 x 1.5 - 0.030
The 0.050-inch lifter rise timing method = 0.045-inch
has become one of the few standards in
the performance marketplace. In fact, some This example shows that the net valve lift
cam manufacturers have come to embrace is nearly equal to lifter rise. At this point,
this method so completely that they won’t your knowledge of IC valve events should
publish the old “advertised” or seat-to-seat tell you that substantial flow occurs during
timing events. This may go a long way this seemingly insignificant period. Consider
toward establishing a standard, but it’s a the EVO point for example. By 0.050-inch,
real step backwards from the standpoint of the exhaust valve is well on its way to
testing cams in engine simulation programs. depressurizing the cylinder and having
As we have said, an engine simulation dramatic effects on the power balance be-
program MUST know when the valves lift tween induced torque and pumping losses
off the seats and when they return to their on the exhaust stroke. Furthermore, the
seats in order to calculate mass flow into EVO point blasts a pressure wave through
and out of the engine. the exhaust system that returns as a scav-
Let’s examine how much VALVE lift enging wave during the overlap period.
typically occurs at 0.050-inch of LIFTER Similar critical functions occur at the other
rise: valve timing points. Valve motion during
the first 0.050-inch of lift cannot be disre-
Valve Lift @ 0.050-inch Lifter Rise = garded as insignificant when performing
= (0.050 x Rocker Ratio) - Valve Lash engine simulations. But what do you do
when you just can’t find seat-to-seat timing
Installing offset cam bushing in the cam gear is a common method of advancing or
retarding cam timing. While this method can improve power, it hurts almost as much
as it helps. Camshafts that show significant power gains from advanced or retarded
timing have the wrong event timing for the engine.
The “schizophrenic” tuning approach we discussed earlier involving LCA also occurs
when the cam is advanced or retarded. If advancing or retarding the cam is actually
“poor practice,” why is it so popular? The answer is simple: It is just about the only
“tuning” change available to the engine builder without regrinding or replacing the
cam. Advancing the cam slightly improves low-speed power, while retarding the cam
gives a small boost in high-speed power. If advancing or retarding allows the engine
to perform better, the cam profile was not optimum in the first place.
high-speed performance and the other two vestigate what happens when all the valve
events decrease high-speed power. This events are advanced or retarded from the
“schizophrenic” tuning approach also oc- cam manufacturer’s recommended timing.
curs when the cam is advanced or retarded. It is generally accepted that advancing
Selecting an “Other” choice from the the cam improves low-speed power while
Camshaft menu moves the cursor to the retarding the cam improves high-speed
Component Selection Box and allows the power. When the cam is advanced, IVC
direct entry of cam timing specifications. and EVC occur earlier and that tends to
After you have entered all four valve events improve low-speed performance; however,
and both valve lift specs, the cursor moves EVO and IVO also occur earlier, and these
to the “Advance(+)/Retard(-)” field. Chang- changes tend to improve power at higher
ing this spec from zero (the default) to a engine speeds. The net result of these
positive value advances the cam (in crank conflicting changes is a slight boost in low-
degrees) while negative values retard the speed power. The same goes for retarding
cam. The Advance/Retard function “shifts” the cam. Two events (later IVC and EVC)
all the intake and exhaust lobes the same boost high-speed power and two (later EVO
advanced or retarded amount relative to and IVO) boost low-speed performance.
the crankshaft. Why would you want to do The net result is a slight boost in high-
this? The answer is simple: It is just about speed power.
the only “tuning” change available to the Advancing or retarding a camshaft has
engine builder without regrinding or replac- the overall affect of reducing valve-timing
ing the cam. While it’s possible to “tune” efficiency in exchange for slight gains in
the cam using offset keys, special bush- low- or high-speed power. Consequently,
ings, or multi-indexed sprockets, let’s in- most cam grinders recommend avoiding
= 224 - 107 -10 degrees, this would mean that the valve
= 117 degrees closes 10 degrees BEFORE TDC rather
Now that the exhaust centerline is than after it. To tell the simulation that this
known, we can repeat the same process is the case, enter a -10 for EVC.
to find the exhaust valve-event timing: This series of calculations is performed
Exhaust Valve Closing (EVC) = automatically by the Cam Math Calculator
= (Exhaust Duration / 2) - ECL included in Motion’s Filling And Emptying
= (290/2) - 117 simulation version 2.5 (under development
= 145- 117 as this book went to press). By clicking on
= 28 degrees ATDC the MATH button in the lower right of the
Finally, knowing the EVC, we can cal- screen, the Cam Math Calculator will open
culate the Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO) a window and pre-load it with the cam tim-
point by subtracting the EVC from the ing currently displayed on screen. If any
exhaust duration and then subtracting an- single event is changed, the remaining
other 180 degrees to account for the full events are instantly recalculated and may
exhaust stroke: be saved to the main screen or discarded.
Exhaust Valve Opening (EVO) = This handy addition to the program makes
= Exhaust Duration - EVC - 180 short work of not only entering cam data
= 290 - 28 - 180 from manufacturer’s catalogs, but also you
= 82 deg. BBDC can test the results of changes to Lobe
So the valve events for this cam are: Center Angle, Intake Centerline, Intake
IVO = 33 degrees BTDC Duration and Exhaust Duration. Combined
IVC = 67 degrees ABDC with the ability to change IVO, IVC, EVO,
EVO = 82 degrees BBDC EVC, and overall advance and retard from
EVC = 28 degrees ATDC the main screen, the new version 2.5 with
If any of these valve events had turned out the Cam Math Calculator allows changing
to be negative, which is possible for some virtually EVERY cam timing event and
stock-type cams measured using 0.050- measuring its result.
inch timing, enter the calculated timing fig-
ures into the simulation with the minus sign.
For example, if EVC was determined to be
erwise mild engines. Try reduc- the complete power and torque
ing the EVO timing specs, in- curves?
creasing the induction flow, Answer: You can halt a simulation by
selecting a cam with less du- pressing the ESCape key.
ration, or reducing the com- Pressing Enter will resume the
pression ratio. A balanced calculation; however, a second
group of components should press of the ESCape key will
not produce this error. abort the simulation run and re-
Question: The DeskTop Dyno takes 15 turn to the Main Program
minutes to complete a simula- Screen.
tion and draw horsepower and Question: The DeskTop Dyno calculated
torque curves. Is there a prob- the total Combustion Volume
lem with my computer or the at 92ccs. But I know my cylin-
software? derheads have only 75ccs.
Answer: Your computer does not have What's wrong with the Desk-
a math coprocessor (speeds up Top Dyno?
the simulation from 50 to 300 Answer: Nothing. The confusion comes
times). The DeskTop Dyno from assuming that the calcu-
uses a powerful full-cycle simu- lated Total Combustion Volume
lation that performs millions of is the same as your measured
calculations for each point on combustion-chamber volume.
the power curves, and this The Total Combustion Volume
takes some time. But what you is the entire volume that re-
lose in speed with the Desk- mains when the piston reaches
Top Dyno, you gain in accu- top dead center. This includes
racy over less sophisticated the combustion chamber, the
programs. remaining space above the pis-
Question: How can I stop the simulation ton top and below the deck sur-
calculation if I realize that I've face, and the valve pockets; but
made a mistake selecting a it excludes any portion of the
component so that I don't have piston that protrudes into the
to wait for the program to draw combustion chamber. Com-
Floppy ❏—5-1/4 ❏—3-1/2 Size of hard drive ______________ Amt of RAM ________
____________________________________________________________________________
Version of DOS (enter the command VER at the DOS prompt) _____________________
List the TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs loaded by your Autoexec.bat or
Config.sys files that are present when you are running the DeskTop Dyno.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Please describe the problem, the point in the program at which the problem first
occurred and, if necessary, the menu choices that caused the problem to occur.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Mail this form to: Motion Software, Inc., 535 West Lambert, Bldg. E, Brea, CA 92821
Or fax to: 714-255-7956 (24 hours)
DeskTop Dynos MiniDynos
(DeskTop Mini97
Guide— Guide)
Appendix-B Glossary
0.050-Inch Cam Timing Method—See Cam is large enough to require a physically “big-
Timing, @ 0.050-inch. ger” engine block. Typical big-block engines
ABDC or After Bottom Dead Center—Any displace over 400 cubic inches.
position of the piston in the cylinder bore af- Blowdown or Cylinder Blowdown—Blow-
ter its lowest point in the stroke (BDC). ABDC down occurs during the period between ex-
is measured in degrees of crankshaft rota- haust valve opening and BDC. It is the pe-
tion after BDC. For example, the point at riod (measured in crank degrees) during
which the intake valve closes (IVC) may be which residual exhaust gases are expelled
indicated as 60-degrees ABDC. In other from the engine before the exhaust stroke
words, the intake valve would close 60 de- begins. Residual gasses not discharged dur-
grees after the beginning of the compression ing blowdown must be physically “pumped”
stroke (the compression stroke begins at out of the cylinder during the exhaust stroke,
BDC). lowering power output from consumed “pump-
Air-Fuel Ratio—The proportion of air to fuel— ing work.”
by weight—that is produced by the carbure- Bore or Cylinder Bore—The internal surface
tor or injector. of a cylindrical volume used to retain and
ATDC or After Top Dead Center—Any po- seal a moving piston and ring assembly.
sition of the piston in the cylinder bore after “Bore” is commonly used to refer to the cylin-
its highest point in the stroke (TDC). ATDC is der bore diameter, unusually measured in
measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation inches or millimeters. Bore surfaces are ma-
after TDC. For example, the point at which chined or ground precisely to afford an opti-
the exhaust valve closes (EVC) may be indi- mum ring seal and minimum friction with the
cated as 30-degrees ATDC. In other words, moving piston and rings.
the exhaust valve would close 30 degrees Brake Horsepower (bhp)—Brake horse-
after the beginning of the intake stroke (the power (sometimes referred to as shaft horse-
intake stroke begins at TDC). power) is always measured at the flywheel or
Atmospheric Pressure—The pressure cre- crankshaft by a “brake” or absorbing unit.
ated by the weight of the gases in the atmo- Gross brake horsepower describes the power
sphere. Measured at sea level this pressure output of an engine in stripped-down, “race-
is about 14.69psi. ready” trim. Net brake horsepower measures
Back Pressure—A pressure developed when the power at the flywheel when the engine is
a moving liquid or gaseous mass passes tested with all standard accessories attached
through a restriction. “Backpressure” often and functioning. Also see Horsepower, Indi-
refers to the pressure generated within the cated Horsepower, Friction Horsepower, and
exhaust system from internal restrictions from Torque.
tubing and tubing bends, mufflers, catalytic Brake Mean Effective Pressure (bmep)—A
converters, tailpipes, or even turbochargers. theoretical average pressure that would have
BBDC or Before Bottom Dead Center—Any to be present in each cylinder during the
position of the piston in the cylinder bore be- power stroke to reproduce the force on the
fore its lowest point in the stroke (BDC). crankshaft measured by the absorber (brake)
BBDC is measured in degrees of crankshaft on a dynamometer. The bmep present dur-
rotation before BDC. For example, the point ing the power stroke would produce the same
at which the exhaust valve opens (EVO) may power generated by the varying pressures in
be indicated as 60-degrees BBDC. In other the cylinder throughout the entire four-cycle
words, the exhaust valve would open 60 de- process.
grees before the exhaust stroke begins (the BTDC or Before Top Dead Center—Any
exhaust stroke begins at BDC). position of the piston in the cylinder bore be-
Big-Block—A generic term that usually re- fore its highest point in the stroke (TDC).
fers to a V8 engine with a displacement that BTDC is measured in degrees of crankshaft
This quality video is available from Motion Software, Inc. for the
special price of $19.95 plus $4.50 postage and handling per copy.
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110—DeskTop Dynos Mini Guide
DeskTop Dynos
The Complete Book
8-3/8 x 10-7/8; 128 pages