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I ordered a set today out of curiousity. RM has a pretty good reputation and I figured maybe there's something in there that I can apply to my own program.
I saw the write up in the last issue of CHP and was very interested in attending their $1800 two-day class. That really isn't an outrageous fee if you learn the key to making a homebuilt engine live. Parts breakages cost a lot more dollars that that!
I'm mostly looking for insights into cam design and specification selection. I am comfortable building my own engines - I do everything except the boring/honing/decking - and I've never had a problem with getting good power and reliability out of them. I'm just hoping that there are some designing tidbits I can garner, without having to go through the time and cost of doing any more dyno testing. I went through 4 cams and two weekends on the dyno with my SBC 427 trying to optimize the cam specs - it quickly gets expensive. The problem is that I was forced to use too small 1 3/4" headers, now that I have my real headers , 2" stepped to 2 1/8", I'm thinking I can/should rethink my cam.
Indeed Monty...those seem like nice books...I looked at the sample pages and I think I might buy them. I'll wait till you get them before and if you could just post a review, it'd be very cool.
No problem. I imagine 90% of it will be the same 'best practices' we already know or that can be found in any other engine building book, but if the remaining 10% is something new an applicable, then I think it will be worth it. They also upsold me on some CD-Rom they have which does basic engine calculations. I already know how to calculate most of the stuff they listed, but they only wanted $20 more if you bought the books, so I figured what the heck.
Well, actually I recieved the books and CD-Rom today. They sent it FEDEX overnight. I didn't think it would go out till today, cause I diidn't order them until late last night.
Anyway, the CD-Rom is just does very basic computations. I guess it saves time, so it's probably worth it, but don't expect much mroe than computing CR, displacement, assembly height, compression height, piston deck clearance, rod length, stroke, block deck height, horsepower (but you must know your torque at a specific rpm, required cfm's to support a certain hp at a certain rpm, and measurement conversions. Most engine books already have these formula's in it.
I skimmed though the Lower and Upper Engine Assembly books and at first glance they seem pretty basic. Engine building best practices type stuff, pretty basic. No EFI stuff.
They did a bunch of machine work on my 454 and their work was excellent. They don't build street engines but they will do machine work for you if you build your own.
Monty-I've had the books since they first were offered and are excellant for those wanting to know the absolute best method to build and install engine and components...measuring, some theory, fitment and selection. But they don't really offer any insights to various component selections for given engines, such as cam selection for a certain displacement/intake setup, etc. Just damn good build books. :flag
I've finished reading them, they are actually pretty quick reads. I guess I am kinda disappointed. For the money, about $100 for both books, there really isn't a whole lot you gain compared to any of the other engine building books on the market. If you'vve built a few high performance engines already, I doubt you'd find much in there you don't already know. Certainly there are a few things, but I don't know if it justifies the prices. I would recommedn them for someone just starting to learn about building high performance engines. The books cover alot, and provide a good deal of detail in terms of machining, assembly, parts preparation, etc. basically 'best practices' type of stuff. I guess I wanted more depth in terms of cylinder head, intake, and especially camshaft science and selection. In terms of those topics, it was pretty fundamental and barely skimmed the surface. I surely wasn't expecting them to give away decades of racing, dyno testin, and engine building experience, but a little more would have been nice. Also, they barely even mention EFI or forced induction.
They are good reference books though, and I'll keep them around for my next engine buildup.
I tried to relocate a article on the net that is a good read but could not find it.Stoddard was a fellow who invented the Polydyne to simulate the 5 vibrating masses of the valve train.If anyone could direct me to that information I would appreciate it.