Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

At the college we had a 4 gas analyzer so it did NOX, I used it a couple times on our chassis dyno, and engine dyno just to see how it compared to using wideband O2 sensors, for tuning. And we were using the analyzer while running an IM240 test for emission compliance testing as well. At that time, ...

happy thanksgiving fellow speedtalkers! broke down a 350 this past week to find single layer metal headgaskets installed measuring .018" thick. customer is already starting to grind me on price, so unless out in left field, this block will not be getting decked. does FEL-PRO make a composite h...

Again, I don't build circle track engines, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but if someone asked, I would pick the duration and centerline to match the rpm range the rules said I had to run, and then adjust the static compression to also match the rules. I would pick a cam first. And again a ...

I use Performance Trends and Pipemax to calculate the cranking pressure of an engine combination. I don't build any circle track engines; But I use the programs to make sure my street engines don't detonate on pump gas. they also predict idle vacuum, which I do use on some pulling truck and mud raci...

Charger should not hurt your Nissan Rogue with some common sense, I would not charge over 20 amps and what every you do don't hook up backward, most charger now have diode to protect but older ones might not. Never unhook charger without turning it off or unhook a battery cable while running. They j...

I would think to spec a camshaft properly you would need flow numbers flowing the heads in reverse, and size of the valves. I guess they just want something unique for a rat or street rod?

For what it is worth I was taught, and have taught, for a street engine that has to last a lot of miles you want the contact area of the seat to be in the middle of the valve. And you want the seat to be the correct width. I was under the understanding that the seat width is very critical, as when t...

Carbon build up in direct injection engines became a problem almost as soon as they started building them. No fuel in the intake runners to help dissolve buildup. Besides keeping the oil changed one thing I have seen work is periodic carbon cleaning with a system similar to one offered by BG product...

On electric fuel pumps...is fuel volume inversely proportional to fuel pressure? IOW does the volume go up as the system pressure goes down using the same pump? I'm working with a chip burner on my son's pickup, and his first suggestion was to replace the stock TBI pump with one for a vortec 350 po...

No expert but just from the small amount of information given I would first want to do a cylinder leakage test on the engine, if you have no low cylinders then most likely the bearing spun from lack of lubrication, Oil getting hot, wrong clearances, dirt in crankcase etc. If you have one or more cyl...

Yes I have had both tachometers and shift lights cause a missfire problem. I have even had alternators with a weak diode cause missfires. Don't know if you have access to a decent ignition scope, but If it is in the ignition a scope will pick it up, easy to isolate a particular cylinder or if someth...

I think the issue is alcohol has a wider flammability ratio. I will still burn if a little rich. As I remember Diesel fuel is a good example, the stoichiometric ratio of diesel is about the same as gasoline 14.6, but it will burn at very lean mixtures a lot run at 40 to1. Diesel has more carbon atom...

Getting ready to build a mild 440 engine. Been building Mopar's for a long time, and all the engines I have built before with adjustable rockers used a rocker arm with a ball adjuster and a pushrod with a cup. I am seeing a lot of rockers now for the 440's with a cup in the rocker like a chevy engin...

I have been working on vehicles since 1974. I try and follow the AERA guidelines for engine start up and break-in. I never idle an engine below 1000 rpm until it has run for 45 minutes to an hour. Having said that I have seen people do such stupid shit to a new engine and most of the time the engine...

For what it's worth I seem to have better luck with the King bearings. And when I say better luck, never had an engine failure with either brand bearing, but on engines I have disassembled for say a blown head gasket or other issues with low hours the King bearings always seem to look in better shap...