The Performance Racing Industry Show 2018: What’s New and Cool Edition

ProTorque's new U9 converter
You may not know about ProTorque, but they are a household name in domestic drag racing.

ProTorque torque converters are commonplace in domestic drag racing but that doesn’t mean they don’t have import applications though. As an example of both the new ProTorque U9 converter’s performance, reliability, and durability, Real Street Performance recently completed Hot Rod Drag Week in their 2JZ-powered Supra with a U9 in it. The 1000+ mile torture test includes street driving and four drag strips and five races. Real Street managed a best pass of 7.50 in the 1320. But, a few weeks later, Geo Costillo and the Supra were able to complete a 6.91 at 199MPH pass.

The U9 converter is designed around 1,000-2,000HP applications with a size that places it in the 8″/9″ converter range, with more capacity than regular converters in either size. Featuring high stall speeds and low losses when locked up, this high-efficiency converter is also highly capable.

For more information, see https://protorque.com/

 

Aeromotive Apex Phantom jet siphon fuel pump and hanger
Aeromotive recently released their Apex Phantom fuel pump featuring jet siphon technology.

Aeromotive has come up with an innovative much-needed fueling solutionĀ for cars with saddle fuel tanks. Quite a few OEMs have used “saddle bag”-style fuel tanks where a high hump in the middle nearly divides the tank into two compartments. Upgrading the fuel system in these configurations proves difficult as it usually involves giving up half of the tank capacity due to an inability to get fuel out of one side or the other. The Apex Phantom jet siphon system features an integrated siphon in the top plate which uses flow from the fuel pump to create a siphon action. These Apex Phantom pumps are also useful for rock climbing applications where vehicles might sit at odd angles for extended periods of time. The siphon pickup can be placed in the far corner of a tank to ensure that the pump is never sucking air.

Aeromotive has also designed a new top-mount triple fuel pump hanger featuring 3 450LPH pumps and integrated wiring and fluid connections. The 6″ billet cap has ORB-08 fluid fittings and can be dropped into a 4.5″ hole. Supporting 1500-3500HP configurations, you’ll be hard pressed to build a car that this system can’t handle.

For more information, see https://www.aeromotiveinc.com/

 

King Bearing's new klinched bearing
While King has continued to expand their pMaxKote line of bearings in 2018, their new klinched bearing caught my eye.

King’s new main bearings with a klinched thrust bearing is an interesting innovation. This is a different way of making a flange bearing, where the bearing assembly is constructed of three pieces that are assembled together. This is a relatively new technique for manufacturing thrust bearings. It effectively creates a floating thrust surface as opposed to the rigid surface of a traditional “one piece” bearing.

This allows for slight movement and flex between the mating components (block and crank). This manufacturing technique and the resulting bearing product helps to reduce premature wear of thrust surfaces. King is slowly converting their existing applications to this design, and most new applications are using this design already. Most of King’s diesel applications already have incorporated this new design.

For more information, see http://kingracebearings.com/

3 comments

  1. Actually if You have access to Peugeot Sport 208 R2 cars, rods and pistons for the Mini R56 were kind of available before Supertech.

  2. The best thing you can do to minimize wear on your solitary thrust bearing is to disable your clutch switch. This also reduced wear and tear on your starter, as the engine is no longer coupled loaded by the clutch on start up.

    Also, consider the fact that your solitary thrust bearing is totally dry on engine start.

    Of course, don’t disable your clutch switch unless you are a meticulous driver. I rock my shifter a few times before starting, to make certain it is not in gear.

  3. The 1FZ-FE was standard on US-spec Land Cruisers from 1993 – 1997. Titan Motorsports did some crazy drag racing development on that platform in the early 2000s as well.

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