It's no secret that the usual recipe for powerful motor means bigger cc's (or cm3 for you guys overseas ), re-worked heads to flow more air, higher CR, longer cam timing, ratio rockers, fat carburetors and big headers. What about going beyond this stuff? What about reducing friction among ring to cylinder wall? Windage losses inside case? Drag on oil pump from thick cold oil? Valve timing errors? Parasitic losses due to fan...etc? Getting valvetrain geometry as close to theoretically perfect to reduce friction? Not over-springing the motor?

I hope this isn't too much of a "gearhead" type of post for the Lounge....because I really enjoy the feel and vibe of talk here, and hope it continues on just as it is.....just wondering what kind of tricks you guys perform on your motors. There's been a few (my new 94 x 78 included) that I did my best to not compromise much on, probably the best was the 2276 that made 213hp at Heads Up....it took about 5 months to get it "just right." Everything from getting cam timing "right on" (what a PITA with a cam that was ground more than a few degrees off) to getting every cylinder deck exactly same, to making separate pushrods for intake and exhaust to keep geometry on, and to completely profiling the interior of the case to reduce windage losses.
what other stuff have you guys done to squeeze more practical power out of them?

Keep the Valve Train as light as possible...

Use light Lifters like the Udo becker 60Gr onces....on special VW Style Springs...

Frank

I second this! 

For a man with as little hair as me, you have an obsession with hair dryers Martin 

I have learned a lot from JPM during the last year but most of it is unofficial. Exhaust tuning is something that is often forgotten and I know JPM:s own pump gas 1914 made 243 hp and he picked up 10 hp from last years configuraiton just on the exhaust.

I'm going to explore what Jordy is mentioning with adjusting the length of the runner on my "new" engine. At a certain rpm the pulses in the intake "ramsharge"s the cylinder, so you get a "boosted" situation. The lengths are usually designed to "help" the engine in places where the curves dips, but if you like you can have it anywhere you please... if you want it high up in revs you get SUPER short intakes... at least when using IDAs.

 Just a weird idea.. but has anyone ever tried to make a run without oil in their gearbox? It's just 412m?

gold 65 turbo how are ya. you know i have had numerios NA and TURBOS engines that ive biult my self from the heads to the exhast. turboes are i will agree incredibly formes of hp and torqe no doubght. but its still a form of forse feeding wich is fine and dandy. at the curent moment im a NA guy once agian and im glad that i am. becase i feel its a lot more of a chalenge and acomplishment when you do hit that magic #. its good to have a open mind about things. you know i thought i would never go back to NA. but her i am once again and i love it. what im trying to say i guess is do what ever puts a  on you face and have fun doing it.  i hope i dident rob your post there jim. my two bits. UD.

Sorry My English Friends...

 

Richie has long Hair, so for me I can understand him using a Hairdryer, but you Boom Boom....

Frank

 >>>> http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=684016&referrerid=56200
 

Ok,thank you