Free HP/Cheap tricks (Anybody have any?)
 

Just curious if anybody had any free/cheap tricks that they have found to gain horsepower, on a SBC....

Thanks A racer on a low budget..

This may sound over simplified, but the cheapest and best thing you can do is spend more time than the next guy making your clearances, (decks, piston to valves, bearings, ring end gaps, etc.) the best you can. Our motors usually make more power and last longer than a lot of peoples who do their own work because we spend the time it takes. No offense to the many on here who do their own stuff, I'm talking about people around my area.

Don't fall into the trick of the week. There are many tried and true methods for the SBC that will keep the cost down when working on a budget. Don't look for HP in the oil system of a bracket motor whatever someone tells you. Build a solid bottom end and look for HP in the top end. How much HP are you looking to make? Are you bracket racing or shootout racing. Shootout racers on a budget are still over my bracket money :wink: :wink: .

There are some really good resources here and do a search on speedtalk.com. Ed Wilson is on both (very knowledgable), Joe Sherman is on speedtalk, and there are others here that have added useful things to many posts. Use the search function over there and you will find a ton of info.

Curtis

cc the heads maybe...not sure if that does much or not to be honest. I'm not qualified to say either way on that one but I know people that are believers.
:?

Tell us exactly what you have and what is it used for?

Ed

don't know about the FREE part of the HP...

but i will say what i have been told and experienced myself.

"power is in the top end of a small block".

i agree with clearences on long life of a motor.

Spend a little money and dyno the engine. You can find out a lot about your setup on dyno. Try different carbs and spacers if the dyno guy has them. Good luck. :D

A really cheap way is to look at the car for ways to lose weight.

i was gonna go there...so since you did..i will too...lol.

shed weight as mentioned above,getting the car to free roll ( no brake drag) properly greased bearings etc....

getting the chassis of the car to work well..with least AMOUNT OF PINION ANGLE as possible..TOO MUCH pinion angle effects hp.
chassi dyno's have discovered 1 degree of pinion angle was responsible for 10 hp loss at the wheels.

run the smallest tire you can without compromising your chassis hooking..if you can run a radial and get by with it..do it ..its the FASTER SLICK...no growth on tire.
Last the more tire pressure in the rear you can run the faster it will be ..while maintaining proper front air pressure

i know this is not engine stuff but its a direct connection of the end result you are ultimatley shooting for.

i was taught 100 lbs equals one tenth of a second/---my ranchero should weigh 2470 or less with me in it when finished--it don't take alot of horses to make it fast in that state :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm not trying to hijack this thread,but doorracer mentioned not fooling around with looking for hp in the oiling system.Do you mean windage trays and crank scrapers?That was something I've been wanting to look into.