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Building High Performance Engines 2

The document discusses various cylinder head and combustion chamber designs that impact engine performance. It focuses on designs like hemispherical, wedge-shaped, and pentroof chambers. It also covers modifications like port shaping and sizing, valve jobs, and intake/exhaust component designs that maximize airflow and tuning through pressure waves to increase horsepower.

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lone_anarchist
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640 views26 pages

Building High Performance Engines 2

The document discusses various cylinder head and combustion chamber designs that impact engine performance. It focuses on designs like hemispherical, wedge-shaped, and pentroof chambers. It also covers modifications like port shaping and sizing, valve jobs, and intake/exhaust component designs that maximize airflow and tuning through pressure waves to increase horsepower.

Uploaded by

lone_anarchist
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Building Engines for

High Performance Applications


Part 2
Cylinder Head Designs
• Key component in building HP
• Must match bore size & piston head
design, intake & exhaust manifolds, and
camshaft
• Maximum airflow = Maximum HP
• Air speed = RPM range
Combustion Chamber Design
 Hemispherical
 Breathes well  Good spark plug
 Allows for large location
valves
Combustion Chamber Design
 Hemispherical
 Low turbulence
 Requires a large
dome for higher
compression ratios
 Susceptible to
detonation
Combustion Chamber Design
 Wedge
 Has a quench area to
promote good
turbulence
 Smaller combustion
chamber reduces the
chance of detonation

 Limiting valve size


 Restrictive port
design
Combustion Chamber Design
 Modified Wedge
 Canted valves for
improved breathing
 Maintains quench
area
 Open & Closed
chamber designs
Combustion Chamber Design
 Pentroof
 Used in multi-valve
applications
 Breathes well
 Good turbulence
 Good burn
characteristics
 Low emissions
Combustion Chamber Design
 Fast Burn
 Designed to create turbulence in the
combustion chamber for a more
complete burn of the air/fuel mixture
Combustion Chamber Design
 Quench (squish) Area
 Flat area of the cylinder head that comes
close to contact with the piston at TDC
 Cools end gases to prevent detonation
 Creates turbulence to improve burning
Valve location & Design
• Overhead valves produce the best flow
characteristics
• Cross-flow designs produce the best
scavenging effect
• Multiple valves will
increase the surface
area and improve
the breathing of
a cylinder head
Valve location & Design
• Valve Shrouding
– The pros
• Improves turbulence for more complete
combustion
– The cons
• Restricts flow

• Large or Small Combustion Chamber??


Port Size
• Small Ports
– Create good air speed (velocity)
– Good throttle response
– Restrictive – limits maximum power
• Large Ports
– More volume for maximum power
– Inefficient at low RPM
– Sluggish throttle response
Cylinder Head Modifications
• Valve Job
– 3 or 5 angle to improve flow and
minimize negative turbulence

– 15 degree max
change of direction
Cylinder Head Modifications
• Bowl/Throat Area
– Restrictive area
– Open up using a bowl hog
– Taper material around the valve
guide to minimize disturbance
Cylinder Head Modifications
• Port shape and finish
– Raise ports where possible
– Smooth finish for exhaust ports
– Rougher finish on intake ports
– Match shape to intake
and exhaust manifolds
– No sharp edges in the
combustion chamber
Cylinder Head Modifications
Cylinder Head Modifications
• Valve Size Considerations
– Port flow is reduced to 80%
through the valve area
– Clearance of 25-30% of valve
head diameter is required
around the opening area
to eliminate shrouding
– Large valves reduce air speed
– Multi-valve heads increase
area while maintaining air speed
– 75-80% Exhaust/Intake flow ratio
Intake Manifolds
• 3 main ways to improve
airflow into an engine:
– Efficient port & valve shapes
– Utilize intake charge momentum w/ correct
port size & cam timing
– Pressure wave tuning
Intake Manifolds
• Efficient Port and Valve Shapes
– Minimal turns in the intake runners
– Max of 15 degree directional changes
– Raised ports where possible to
maximize airflow and create a
direct line of sight from the
plenum to the cylinder
– Back-cut valves to improve
low lift flow
– Small valve stem diameters
and tapered valve guides
Intake Manifolds
• Intake Charge Momentum
– Efficient flowing ports will
increase air speed resulting
in improved cylinder filling
(volumetric efficiency)
– Opening the intake valve earlier along w/ a
properly tuned exhaust system can utilize
scavenging effects to fill the cylinder
– Closing the intake valve later will maximize
ram air effect when intake ports are
properly tuned
Intake Manifolds

• Pressure Wave Tuning


– Designing a taper in the
intake runners that narrows towards the
valve will create a ram air effect up to 10
psi @ the back of the valve
– Taper should be @ a rate of 1.7-2.5 percent
per inch of runner length
– Good low-lift flow is critical to take
advantage of this extra pressure
Intake Manifolds

• Plenum size
– Large enough to dampen resonating pulses
of each cylinder, but small enough to keep
air speed up for fuel vaporization and
throttle response
– In general for 5000-6000 rpm range:
• V-8 – 40-50% of total cylinder volume
• 4 cyl – 50-60% of total cylinder volume
• 3 cyl & 6 cyl – 65-80% of total cylinder volume
– For higher rpm, reduce percentage 10-15%
– For power boost in mid-range, increase by
30%
Air Cleaner & Induction

• Filter Shape & Size


– Carburetor or throttle body injection:
– Diameter of the element should be 4-5 times
the height (8x2.5 flows better than a 5x4)
– The lid of the filter should be no closer than
3” from the throttle body or choke housing
– Filter size can be calculated by using the
following formula: CIDxRPM/25,500
– Example: 454x5000/25,500 = 89.01
(subtract 0.75 from the height to correct for
edge
effects)
– 50% more area for full race vehicles!
Exhaust System Tuning
• Exhaust manifolds are extremely restrictive
and hold heat close to the combustion
chamber!
• Headers w/ properly sized primary and
secondary tube diameters will increase flow,
remove heat that warms the intake charge,
and create scavenging effects that improve
volumetric efficiency
• Smaller primary tubes improve low
and midrange torque, but restrict
high RPM performance
• Cross-over pipes or “tuned” headers
take advantage of resonating pulses
Exhaust System Tuning
• Larger muffler diameters or increased volume
will improve exhaust flow
– Small diameter straight-through mufflers can
actually create a restriction in the exhaust system
• Tapering the exhaust primary tubes to
increase in size as they move away from the
exhaust valve (like intake ports) improve
scavenging (stepped headers)
• Pressure wave tuning is more
critical to proper exhaust tuning
than back pressure!

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