Hendrick to change engines

RACER X #99 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 04:17 PM

in all seven of the Sprint Cup cars using their engine.Seems like some kind of lifter issue so they are changing all the engines. This mean all these cars will have to start at the rear of the field in their respective races.
In an interview Tony Euery, Jr's crew chief said that some of the Chevy teams use different engines than the others. I though he said that they use roller lifters and if they do then that is a change in rules from the recent past. Nascar has always ruled that you must use a flat tappet cam and with those engines turning 9,000 plus it is very tough on cams and springs.

speed220mph · #2 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 05:39 PM

Are they using the RO7 engines or the older SB2's? The flat-tappet cams they must use are unusal in that they are steel and have no rake angle. The cam and lifters are flooded with oil in the sealed cam tunnel to ensure adequate oiling. The valve train is always pushed to the limit. I'm surprised the problem didn't show up during Spintron testing. Problem is, as best they try, you can't always simulate actual track conditions. Back to old, but proven hardware.

mr bruce · #3 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 07:21 PM

They won't have these problems when Toyota is awarded the contract to supply the EOTF(engine of the future) spec motors to all the teams. How long untill Ford quits? What do they have left, 3-4 cars?

Don · #4 (**permalink**) 02-13-2008, 09:33 PM

Tony Stewart also changed an engine, Toyota.

Don · #5 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 07:50 AM

Engine woes surface at Daytona
Racing series
NASCAR-CUP
Date
2008-02-13 (Daytona Beach, FL)
By Joe Jennings - Motorsport.com

During Sprint Cup practice on Wednesday, engine woes cropped up, affecting a number of teams. Only one engine (Clint Bowyer) was thought to have broken but others were changed due to warning signs evidenced.

Those affected were said to be the Hendrick Motorsports cars of Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears. Other teams reportedly included those of Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Scott Riggs, J. J. Yeley (two engine changes), A. J. Allmendinger, and Bowyer.

"We did not have any of them that truly broke," Jeff Andrews, head engine builder for Hendrick Motorsports, said. "We are looking at the (engine) lifters. We have made assumptions based on some early signs we saw following the early practice. The key is to get this thing apart and know what we have really got, so we aren't making assumptions. Our guys in Charlotte have already started on a fix for the program."

The teams involved will have to drop to the back of the field for the start

hound dog · #6 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 09:36 AM

As I understood it, there was a problem with the coating that had been applied to the lifters in Tony Stewart's engine. Since most of these items receive the same treatment I would assume that the same problem cropped up in the Hendrick's engines. Best to change them out now and make the engine last the entire race. But how about the other cars using Hendrick engines such as Joe Nemecheck?

SPF2245 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 11:52 AM

Maybe I'm missing something, but with all the millions spent on engine development, testing and such...how's this kind of problem show up right at the start of Nascar's biggest race? You'd think the engine gurus would have a reliable package for the start of the season.

speed220mph · #8 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 12:47 PM

How? . . . the problem is called humans. You're missing something and they missed something. All the "good" stuff goes into the engines, but all the same basic components out of the same box. Similarly and much worse, one space shuttle blew up and one burned up, even with the best resources. Again, humans . . .

I remember when all the transaxle input shafts snapped on all GT40 MkIV's when leading the Daytona race due to a heat-gtreat problems. It was a pretty sad place around KarKraft considering we had the fastest cars. Didn't matter as they didn't finish. As the saying goes, "That's rac'n."

RACER X #99 · #9 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 04:28 PM

After watching both ot todays qualifying races I think it would be a good idea for Roush/Yates to change their engines also. Perhaps the guys at Toyota can show tham how to make American engines produce the needed HP. Obviously the guys at Ford don't know how.

Right now Ford is number four in Cup HP and next year if Yugo gets involved Ford will probably slip to number five.

Nascar was always the place to see Fords race competitively but not anymore.

hound dog · #10 (**permalink**) 02-14-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPF2245

Maybe I'm missing something, but with all the millions spent on engine development, testing and such...how's this kind of problem show up right at the start of Nascar's biggest race? You'd think the engine gurus would have a reliable package for the start of the season.

Lots and lots of variables. Yes there is a human function involved. Probably someone didn't clean the parts before plating or the plating bath was too far gone or hadn't been cleaned and allowed the plating to start peeling and then the cam lobe started rubbing on the surface beneath. They find different answers to the same problem every week. Sometimes they use these solutions and sometimes they just file them away for another day. In this case I suspect the plating on the lifters was a tried and true process, but as speed 220 said, somebody just messed up.