Valve Train
It’s all about the rpms. If our engines turn 7,500 rpm we would love to get to 8,000. If we run 8,000 down the back straight we want to get to 9,000 rpm. Every additional 1,000-rpm may be worth an extra 20 or more horsepower on a highly modified performance motor. Spin an engine faster and it will, in most cases, make more power. The standard example is F1. Today’s F1 engines make roughly the same amount of power as they did 10 years ago – at 10,000 rpm. The difference is that today they go to 18,000 rpm. The additional horsepower comes from increased rpms. Increased rpms come from stabilizing the valve train. Most of the vintage cars in the paddock use pushrods and rocker arms in the valve train. In the United States we have a huge industry focused on making overhead valve engines with pushrods perform better. Everything NASCAR does is dedicated to this technology. Can an MGA benefit from what they’re doing in NASCAR? Of course. Your MGA has the same basic valve ...