Engine Health,what do you think?

[ron mattson]

All the mechanical answers have been great but you can also track your performance
in relationship to your competition, get a qualifying sheet at each race and compare
your qualifying times to everyone else and see if your changing more than others. If you
have a few racing buddies you see frequently at the track you can compare et slips
from week to week and know where you stand, then if something is abnormal get out
the tools and start checking things out.

[FED 387]

Ditto on changing stressed parts at regular intervals eliminates many problems
check oil & filters for particles
leak down test as well as blowby testing to check ring wear among other things
do not be afraid to take off the valve covers and give it all a good lookover for particles,broken springs ,rocker arm alignment , water leaks,etc--also turn engine over by hand while looking in these areas
check valve retainer/locks/caps appearance ,spring condition and pressures

dynos only tell you part of the story track performance is the true test--check chassis/tires etc regularly too

compare your performance with another similiarly classed car if possible see if when you do make changes if in relation to the other cars what happens faster/slower

keep records on every run-- your engine settings/weather etc so you can go back in future situations to compare that performance against a known condition in the past

[BlueOval Ralph]

Buy a quality blow-by meter carry with you to the races very easy to use with wet sump system, little harder with dry sump, any thing over 2 cfm take engine apart and fix it.

[Chris Hill]

Originally Posted by BlueOval Ralph

Buy a quality blow-by meter carry with you to the races very easy to use with wet sump system, little harder with dry sump, any thing over 2 cfm take engine apart and fix it.

Use going down the track or just at idle in the pits. Never thought of it but good idea.

[BlueOval Ralph]

The way we used it was in the pits, just plugged one valve cover and hooked it to the other valve cover, it was the way Ted Flack & John Worley from Chrysler advised use to do. If engine was really bad the float in the meter would bounce when spinning it over on the starter. Difference on a 358 CID modified engine between 2 cfm and 6 cfm was about 60 hp this was engine that made 680 to 690 when everything was perfect. Most times on a 6cfm engine leak down would be in the 5% range with the old style Sun leak down tester. The meter was a Fisher Porter flow meter not some cheap deal like Hamburger use to sell.

Originally Posted by Chris Hill

Use going down the track or just at idle in the pits. Never thought of it but good idea.