Just curious has anyone ever experimented with a crankshaft designed for single piece caps for an 8 cylinder engine. Also curious how many rpms that could be achieved with a single ended connecting rod as compared to the rods with caps?
2007-11-17 07:29:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
Jay here is an example of a 9 cylinder engine built with single ended rods. It's wild but interesting.
http://www.cincinnati.com/ageless/singledesc.html
2007-11-17 07:55:22 · update #1
Basically an 8 cylinder engine would have to have a 4 piece crank designed like the one in the link above.
2007-11-17 08:02:00 · update #2
Really a bad example because they are talking about radial engines but the 4 piece crank could apply to a v8.
2007-11-17 08:10:46 · update #3
Multi piece cranks are unreliable. We drag raced motorcycles at one time with multi piece cranks and even when they are welded they can only take so much torque before they distort. With the rod bolts available today there is really no advantage with a one piece rod. The limit to higher rpm is not in the rods but in the valve springs.
2007-11-17 12:12:31 · answer #1 · answered by beth 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
To answer your question: No. It is illegal for NASCAR teams to run solid ended rods (ie, non-split end rods) in NASCAR competition.
I've toyed with the idea of single piece rods, but that was so that you could use ball bearings. I couldn't find a way around using a multi-piece crank, due to it's inherent un-reliability. there really is no way to have a solid rod end (as opposed to a split end), due to not being able to get it on the crank.
What you were stating about the radial engine is semi-correct, BUT all of the rods connect to one single journal on the crank, not on multiple journals as in V-8's (and most other multi-cylendered engines).
2007-11-17 10:08:55 · answer #2 · answered by . 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If you've seen a crankshaft, you'll notice that there are all sorts of bulges and bends. If the big end was just a (tightly fitting) hole or bearing, there's no way that they'd be able to get it from the end of the crankshaft to the spot where it's supposed to go. Also... I guess... being split it's possible to take out a single piston without removing the whole crankshaft.
2016-05-24 00:10:17 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no because the manufacturing process would leave you with a crank that would be pressed,rather than solid,and nascar and its fans don't appreciate it when you oil there track, however heavy equipment manufactures such as case newholland use a cold snapped rod end in there new engines which has proven to be far far Superior to the old designs, I would imagine a few teams such as Hendricks may have come across this technology already
2007-11-17 07:53:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Beth has your best answer. NASCAR isn't about exploring the cutting edge of technology, it's about putting on a good show. Innovations don't get approved unless they improve safety, reliability, or competition. Why do you think NASCAR still uses pushrods and carburetors? They're simple, reliable, reasonably priced, and easy to inspect.
Now, if somebody were to invent an unbreakable valvespring (which didn't otherwise affect performance, or cost a million dollars) NASCAR would approve it in a heartbeat.
2007-11-17 16:47:19 · answer #5 · answered by napoleon_in_rags 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not quite sure what you mean. Exactly how in the world would you attach the connecting rod to the crankshaft if the part was all in one piece?
2007-11-17 07:48:02 · answer #6 · answered by Jay 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No why would they? They dont want more engine failures than they already have!!!!!
2007-11-17 13:27:47 · answer #7 · answered by Ed P 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋