Power to Win

Presentation content

• Intake system
• Exhaust system
• Engine tuning
• Engine mapping
• Engine installation
– Engine mounting
– Water, oil and fuel systems
• Engine utilisation
– Engine life and RPM
– Gear ratios, quick shift devices and shift lights
– Engine data loggers
Power to Win

Intake system
• The rules require the use of a 20 mm intake air restrictor which needs to
be positioned downstream of the throttle and upstream of any turbo
charging device – but the size of this orifice is too big to be very effective
• The design of the system should include as large a diffuser as possible
downstream of the orifice
• The engine trumpets need to feed from a plenum chamber with a sensible
clearance all-around them, say 25 mm minimum to a wall and at least 3
times the port diameter above them – don’t worry about the large volume
of this system the transport delay will be very small
• The length of the inlet trumpets should be easily adjustable on the dyno,
probably with simple spacers
• The design of the system should place the actual air intake in an area
where it is away from direct heat and ideally pressurised a little
Power to Win

Example plenum chamber cutaway drawing

Power to Win

Exhaust system
• The exhaust system should be very similar to the factory motorcycle
system in both pipe diameter and length
• If the engine has been modified to run faster then the lengths may be
slightly shorter
• It is important that all the primary pipes are the same length and this
should be calculated to +/- 5 mm and confirmed by measuring the volume
of the finished parts (by filling them with water or sand)
• Most manufacturers now use 4-2-1 systems with the cylinders paired so
that the closest firing ones are together
• Design the system with adjustment of at least the primary pipe length
• The silencer should be of the straight through type and have the same
bore size as the tail pipe
Power to Win

Engine tuning
• Simple tuning methods such as polishing the inlet and exhaust ports
(without changing their shape) are effective at improving performance
• Make sure that any new inlet or exhaust system parts mate perfectly with
the existing engine leaving no steps or changes in angle at the interface
• Check any gaskets are a perfect fit and make your own if necessary
• Make sure all the internal parts are clean and free from carbon deposits –
especially if the engine is used
Power to Win

Engine tuning - continued

• If you want to improve the engine performance from standard whilst
staying normally aspirated then the most effective improvement is engine
speed
• To improve engine speed you will need to consider the following
– Valve gear (cams, valve springs, valves)
– Piston and connecting rods
– Oil pressure (for both crankshaft speed and piston cooling)
• Proprietary parts are available for many engines to help with this
• The process of engine development will use a lot of dyno time as each
component should be thoroughly tested – ideally in a back to back test
Power to Win

Engine tuning - continued

Simulation
• Computer simulation of engine performance is common place and there
are many codes available that you can use to help with the basic decisions
such as inlet or exhaust length
• LES, GT Power and Ricardo’s WAVE are popular products and FS teams
get a preferential price on some of these
• The codes all have their different ways of dealing with the engine
geometry and these need to be understood
• Don’t trust the answers from any code to be completely accurate – with
the time you have to adjust the code for your engine the best you can
expect is a guide
• Design the parts with adjustment either way from the guide dimensions
Power to Win

Forced induction
• There is additional performance to be had using forced induction in the
form of either turbo charging or super charging
• All forms of supercharging generate a lot of heat and an intercooler will
probably be necessary
• Turbo engines work particularly well with E85 fuel
• The overall installation weight penalty may be quite large
• The tight and twisty nature of the track puts a premium on driveability and
although it is possible to get this with turbo charged engines it is quite
difficult
• Turbo charged cars are very difficult to get off the start line
• Most teams are not using all the performance that is available anyway
• Fuel consumption of turbo cars can be very poor
Power to Win

Engine mapping
• Most teams are using a relatively simple ECU but there are still plenty of
settings to play with
• Make sure all the basics are correct before doing anything
– Make sure all the sensors are connected and working properly - calibrate
them all
– Make sure the basic engine rules are set correctly in software such as:
• Inlet pressure correction
• Inlet temperature correction
• Rev limiters, shift lights, etc.
• When running on the dyno check the operation of as many functions as
possible to leave the least amount to do in the car
• If you have a spare standard engine it is worth getting the map close using
this before swapping to your race engine and finishing off the map
• Always run the same fuel on the dyno as you will use on race day
Power to Win

Engine mapping - continued

• Use inlet pressure correction – especially for turbo cars - which should be
switched on when mapping (unless you have a dyno with which you can
control atmospheric pressure!)
• Also switch on air temperature correction for fuelling but be aware that
the inlet temperature changes the tuning (speed) – ideally set the length of
trumpets and exhaust at the expected temperature for the day of
competition (or at least don’t do it in mid winter)
• Get the engine running using a guessed map or the map from last year
• Map to MBT (Mean Best Torque) for fuel quantity and watch the lambda
reading - it is likely that the best power will be with a lambda reading of
0.85 - 0.90
• You should still map to MBT at part throttle but you won’t need many
points here
Power to Win

Engine mapping - continued

• There are areas of the map that you can’t get to on a normal dyno – these
are the high speed low load conditions – so have a guess and check the
map in these regions in the car
• Once the fuel map is close try the ignition map, being very careful to
watch for detonation and slowly increasing the advance until you hear
knock or the power falls off – step back to a safe number or the max
power value
• Fuel phasing, if available, can make a small difference to power but be
careful not to have sudden changes in the phase value – you may have to
programme a smoother shape with theoretically wrong values at some
speeds to make the engine run smoothly
• Acceleration enrichment, over run fuel cut off, etc. All of these may be
useful and can be tried with the ECU suppliers recommended numbers to
start with – calibration needs to be in car with a data logger
Power to Win

Engine installation

Engine mountings
• It is fine to use the engine as a structural member to stiffen the chassis and
you are unlikely to encounter any problems providing that:
• The chassis mounting points properly line up with the engine mounting holes and
there are no residual stresses (maybe caused by weld distortion in the chassis)
• The mounting brackets are strong and stiff and well connected to the engine
• If you want to transmit chassis loads across the head gasket face that you add at
least 4 dowels – one at each corner – between the head and block
• Remember that the engine mounting loads are very big – just think about
how much torque it takes to spin the rear wheels then calculate the chain
tension to generate that torque at the radius of the rear sprocket
Power to Win

Engine installation

Engine mountings - continued

• Make sure that the engine is attached at a place where both the engine is
stiff and the chassis is stiff – it is more a matter of stiffness than strength
• Ideally provide a straight load line for resisting the chain tension between
the engine and the differential mounting
• Watch for interference between the drive chain and the engine mountings
or nearby chassis rails – it is common to be restricted in the gear ratios
that can be run because these parts are too close
• Provide a decent method of chain adjustment, which normally means
moving the differential
• The engine produces significant vibration so use locking methods for
fasteners like Kaynuts, Loctite, or lock wire in all important areas – and
check the fastener tension after every session
Power to Win
Power to Win

Engine installation

Water system
• If the engine you are using is water cooled remember the following:
– Water weighs 1Kg / litre so try to minimise the system water volume
– The ducting of the air to and from the radiator is very important to its
performance, so a radiator in a silly place will have to be much larger
– Water expands as it heats up so allow sufficient room in the header tank
– You need to be able to fill the system with water so provide air bleed points
at any local high spots
– Setting the system pressure above atmospheric raises the boiling point of the
coolant and allows hotter water temperatures which mean smaller radiators
Power to Win

Engine installation

Oil system
• The oil system of a motorcycle engine is not designed for lateral G so a
baffle is required inside the sump
• Running a dry sump system is possible but probably unnecessary
• In case of oil pressure problems there are accumulators available that are
relatively inexpensive and work well
• Minimise the quantity of oil in the system for weight reasons
• Fit the oil cooler in a sensible place with ducting for the air to and from it
• Be careful to use an oil that is compatible with wet clutches if your engine
has one
Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Engine life
• The standard motorcycle engines are designed for a long life and so it is
possible to run them harder in a competition car and still get a satisfactory
life
– It is difficult to be sure exactly how much harder you can run the engine, but
an extra 500 RPM should certainly be OK
– You don’t have to use any extra revs all the time, only during the events
where it really counts
– For test days and driver training you might choose to limit RPM in order to
increase the engine life and reduce the cost
Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Engine temperatures
• The engine should be warm to give its best performance and to reduce
engine wear
• Aim for a water temperature of 85 degrees C for maximum power or
trade off power for radiator size (and weight) by running hotter
• Aim for 95 degrees C oil inlet temperature and allow up to 120 degrees C
• It should be necessary to blank parts of the radiators to keep the car up at
temperature during cold weather testing
• Experiment with a warming up regime that achieves these minimum
temperatures as it will be quite hard to do
Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Fuel system
• For engines running fuel injection the fuel pressure should be controlled at
a constant pressure unless a turbo is fitted when the fuel pressure
regulator should be referenced to intake system pressure
• For sequenced injection larger flow injectors than standard may be better
– the same effect can be created by running higher than standard pressure
• Make sure that you can pick up all the fuel in the tank and verify that you
can complete the race distance on the volume of fuel allowed
• The rules don’t permit cooling the fuel, but every precaution should be
taken against warming it up unduly
– Store it in a cool place
– Protect the fuel tank from engine heat
– Fit the correct size fuel pump
Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Gear ratios
• For race cars it is usual to gear the car to reach just short of maximum
revs in top gear at the end of the longest straight which:
– Gives maximum in gear acceleration
– Keeps the engine revs at the highest value all the time – so the engine is
making the most power
– Necessitates a large number of gearshifts
• This method of setting the gear ratios is the fastest but it does make the
car harder to drive and you need to consider:
– A quick shift mechanism at least for up changes
– Starting technique for the acceleration test
Power to Win
100

The graph shows engine power 98

versus RPM 96

94

When choosing the engine speed 92

90

at which to change gear the driver 88

will automatically change up if he 86

% of maximum power
feels the engine power drop off 84

82

The number of RPM that the 80

engine drops during each gear 78

76

shift is dependent on the two gear 74

ratios 72

70 Gear split RPM

68

66

64

62

60
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

% of maximum engine speed

Power to Win
100

Making the gear shift after peak 98

power improves the area under 96

94

this curve and makes the car go 92

faster 90

88

A shorter final drive ratio reduces 86

% of maximum power
the gear split RPM and keeps the 84

engine revving at high speed 82

80

where it makes the most power 78

76

74

72

70 Gear split RPM

68

66

64

62

60
60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

% of maximum engine speed

Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Dashboards
• Assuming that you run a data logger, then for the engine the only
functions you need on the dashboard are:
– RPM (optional if many sequential shift lights are used)
– Shift lights
– Low oil pressure warning light
– Over temperature warning light
– Switches for on/off, starter, launch, traction, etc.
• The track is tight and twisty, there is a lot for the driver to do and with
the best will in the world he/she is unlikely to notice gauges
Power to Win

Engine utilisation

Data logging
• Many budget ECUs feature data logging systems which can provide very
useful information to guide development of the car
• Stand alone systems can be very comprehensive and don’t count in the
cost exercise but are probably heavier
• Get in the habit of recording key engine parameters and checking the data
after each run for signs of problems. Particularly check:
– Engine oil pressure for drop outs due to cornering forces or just oil level!
– Water and oil temperatures for trends such as getting hotter and hotter every
time the car goes out (inadequate cooling or partially blocked duct)
– Battery voltage to ensure the alternator is charging the battery
Power to Win
Power to Win

Concluding advice

• Take on less ambitious projects and make sure that the

projects that you do take on are completed early, tested
properly and produce reliable results
• It probably is not worth doing a lot of work on engine tuning
over and above that which needs to be done to meet the
rules and fit the motorcycle engine in the car
• The importance of the engine to the final car performance is
not large
• Make the installation simple and light – Simple usually means
reliable and weight is just as valuable as power
• Gear the car correctly and make the most of the power you
do have