Engine Builder Magazine

10/04/2025

Another incredible day checking out shops around Atlanta… today we visited and
Stay tuned for lots of cool content!

10/04/2025

How much have pistons and rings changed in the last 20 years? Join Lake Speed and Total Seal Piston Rings as they take a look at the evolution of piston rings using the example of a 20-year-old NASCAR engine.

The differences are quite dramatic and so is the performance. Lake and Total Seal actually run this same test on two different engines, and the results were the same both times. With the old pistons, rings and hone, the engine made 730 hp with the baseline carb and fuel (32 degrees of timing). With the new rings, pistons and hone, the engine made 773 hp with the baseline carb and fuel at 30 degrees of timing.

Check out the video to hear more about where rings have evolved:

Join Lake Speed and Total Seal as they look at the evolution of piston rings using the example of a 20-year-old NASCAR engine.

09/04/2025

More shop visits today, and they were good ones! Stay tuned for videos coming soon…

09/04/2025

The guys at Powerstroke Performance in Las Vegas recently built a high-quality Ford 7.3L Powerstroke diesel engine that’s sure to be a showstopper on the street. Check it out in this Diesel of the Week sponsored by AMSOIL INC.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/04/ford-7-3l-powerstroke-engine/

08/04/2025

With a pipe dream of building a Plymouth Fury racecar, Bruce Gaier finally got a completed car at the end of 2024 with help from Mcilvain Racecars and a badass, ProCharged 540 cid Wedge engine from Ken Lazzeri and Indy Cylinder Heads. Feast your eyes on this incredible car and Engine of the Week sponsored by PennGrade 1 High Performance Oil and Elring - Das Original.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/04/procharged-540-wedge-engine/

07/04/2025

We’re spending a week in the Atlanta area checking out some awesome engine shops… here are the first 2 of many - Patriot Performance and Scott’s Auto & Machine.
Lots of content coming from this week soon…
Scott Dooley of Scott’s Auto & Machine won our Machine Shop of the Year honor back in 1995! Super cool to see him still churning out engines today and his son Matt is now in the business.

04/04/2025

In Cleveland, OH, Dean Gellner, the owner of Gellner Engineering Racing Engines, keeps his family’s engine and machine shop churning out great builds from modern day race applications to old-school muscle. Check out this Shop Takeover with us and see what makes Gellner a great engine shop.

Check it out: https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/03/gellner-engineering-keeps-the-family-tradition-of-engine-building-alive/
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Shop Takeovers are brought to you by Driven Racing Oil – No shortcuts. No substitutes. No Compromises. Great Racers and Engine Builders Choose Driven Racing Oil. Visit https://www.drivenracingoil.com/ for more info.

In Cleveland, OH, Dean Gellner, the owner of Gellner Engineering, keeps his family’s engine and machine shop churning out great builds from modern day race applications to old-school muscle. Check out this Shop Takeover with us and see what makes Gellner a great engine shop. Related Articles - The...

03/04/2025

We had some fun at the Piston Power Show in Cleveland, OH over the weekend! Stay tuned for more content from this show soon.

03/04/2025

It's been awhile since our last edition of "That's Not a Stupid Question." But, we've got a good one for you today...
What is the difference between a dual stage camshaft and dual pattern camshaft?
Billy Godbold of Godbold Engineering explains...

"From the earliest days of hot rodding, at least the 1980s, almost all aftermarket cams used the same profile on the intake and exhaust. However, in racing, you see an optimization of intake and exhaust specs to better match the flow of a given cylinder head that goes back several decades before these “dual pattern” camshafts started being seen for street applications.
A “dual pattern” camshaft is simply a camshaft with different profiles on the intake and exhaust side. The most common dual pattern camshafts of the 1990s simply had the next size larger profile on the exhaust than on the intake. This helped most domestic V8 engines because the cylinder heads favored intake flow over exhaust, so the exhaust valve needed to be opened a bit earlier to best remove exhaust gas mass before the piston rushed up towards TDC. Otherwise, there would be significant exhaust pumping losses at high rpm.
Over time, cam designers started very different approaches to intake vs exhaust profiles. The flow of each is VERY different. The exhaust system moves tremendous mass early in the lift curve, where intake flow is greater later in that stroke. Hence, almost all of the best camshafts will be “dual pattern” today, even where the duration and lift specs are similar between the intake and exhaust.
That said, not all dual pattern cams have more exhaust duration. On many 4-valve heads, and especially on sport bike applications, the exhaust cylinder head flow is quite high. On these, it is common to see less exhaust than intake duration, even in applications that operate well above 14,000 rpm. The thought that more rpm means more exhaust duration is not always correct. The best indicator of how much “split” in duration is the relative flow of each port. A port that averages about 80% exhaust to intake flow through the used lift range will typically need very little split in durations. In typical American V8 applications, we see closer to 70-75% exhaust to intake flow is best overall, and these heads tend to perform best over a wide rpm range with about 4-10 degrees more exhaust than intake duration.
However, if you are focusing on max torque from 2,500-3,500 rpm, even a 70% EXH/INT flow head might benefit from a later EVO and less exhaust duration than would result in max power at 5,500 rpm. You may see that many optimized for towing or off-road have lower splits, less duration and tighter centerlines than those for lighter vehicles that operate at higher rpm.
In any case where your application differs from what is common, your best path is to work closely with a camshaft company you trust. A good technician at these companies should be able to listen to your vehicle and application specifications and move the valve events to optimize performance in your operating range. That is why cam companies ask so much about the application and not just the engine.
Lastly, stages were mentioned. Unfortunately, the word “stage” is simply a marketing term with no agreed upon definition. Any camshaft could be given an infinite number of stage descriptions. Because of the wide range of applications for stage camshafts, these are known to be less likely to perform well in any narrowly defined application. However, for common applications, a “stage” camshaft might be the best choice."

02/04/2025

After dropping a valve during a truck pull in 2024, Travis Richards of Mild 2 Wild Motorsports was left with a catastrophic failure. Leading in points, he couldn't give up on the season, so a new engine build on a 6.7L Cummins got done in a hurry. Check it out in this Diesel of the Week sponsored by AMSOIL INC.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/04/mild2wild-motorsports-turbocharged-6-7l-cummins-engine/

01/04/2025

Following a Paralympic gold medal in archery, Matt Stutzman (The Armless Archer) retired from the sport in 2024 and turned his focus to his drag racing efforts. He recently swapped his big block Chevy in favor of a 521 cid blown Hemi engine in a quest to go faster. We got to see the new Hemi and the drag car at PRI, and its our newest Engine of the Week sponsored by PennGrade 1 High Performance Oil and Elring - Das Original.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/04/521-cid-blown-hemi-engine/

31/03/2025

Shop Solutions: A Simple Reminder

Even well-regarded, brand-name dial indicators typically have a +/- accuracy equal to 1x to 2x their resolution and can read +/- 0.0005″ after 2 to 3+ revolutions. For example, a Mitutoyo 0.5″ range, 0.0001″ resolution indicator has a factory stated accuracy of +/- 0.0002″, and a first revolution error of +/- 0.0002″. This +/- error increases with each additional revolution to as much as +/-0.0005. Almost all dial indicators are most accurate during their first half revolution. Good stuff to know when using an indicator.

From: Eric and Tom Nichols | AMS – Moto Machine & Supply | Cleburne, TX
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Engine Builder and Engine Pro present Shop Solutions to provide machine shop owners and engine technicians the opportunity to share their knowledge to benefit the entire industry and their own shops. Those who submit Shop Solutions that are published are awarded a prepaid $100 Visa gift card.

Submit your Shop Solution at [email protected]. You must include your name, shop name, shop address, and shop telephone number. Submitted Shop Solutions not published will be kept on file and reevaluated for each month’s new entries.

28/03/2025

Checked out day 1 of the 2025 here in Cleveland, and it didn’t disappoint. Tons of cool cars and engines to 👀 at!

28/03/2025

The end of an era at Dura-Bond Bearing as Charles "Chuck" Barnett announces he will retire as president and CEO of the powertrain component manufacturer after 30 years. https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/03/dura-bond-bearing-announces-retirement-of-charles-barnett/

Chuck Barnett will retire effective April 1, 2025, and Jennifer Pasquali, currently CFO/COO, will take over as president and CEO.

26/03/2025

The engine and machine shop once owned by legendary engine builder Steve Schmidt is for sale as a turn-key business, which includes engines, components, equipment, and qualified, experienced employees. Interested parties should click the article to view who to contact.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/03/steve-schmidts-engine-shop-is-for-sale/

26/03/2025

Matt Miller of Miller Engines is at it again helping a customer transform this first-gen LB7 Duramax into an 1,140-horsepower drag racing powerhouse. Check it out in this Diesel of the Week sponsored by AMSOIL INC.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/03/1100-hp-compound-turbo-lb7-duramax/

25/03/2025

This LT2 engine from Late Model Engines is "just nasty" – to use LME co-owner Bryan Neelen's own words. This all-aluminum 427 LT2 represents the pinnacle of LT2 technology, to the point where its almost ahead of its time. If you own a C8 Corvette, and even if you don't, you'll want to check this engine out! It's our Engine of the Week sponsored by Elring - Das Original and PennGrade 1 High Performance Oil.
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2025/03/2500-hp-427-cid-lt2-engine/

24/03/2025

As the 2025 race season heats up, we unveil our March/April issue all about tuning. https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=275003ac-f1c0-463f-89d5-28e900ab7c93
Inside, you'll find features on selecting EFI fuel injectors, how hub dynos are revolutionizing performance and diagnostics, avoiding engine dyno drama, the evolution of EFI and ECU systems, a lesson in fuel types, and performance ignition components. Plus, our Engine of the Month, Diesel of the Month, Shop Solutions, and more.