Taking It to the Streets: When Time is the Factor to success, durability and reliability become key to winning the race
YOU'VE GOT A HERD OF 800 BRONCOS and need to get them to a destination in time. Are you up to the challenge? In the world of NASCAR, that pretty much sums it up. Each car - with 800 horses under the hood that are tuned and tweaked - is traveling a few hundred miles in a matter of hours, and all of them are trying to get there first. It's the high-performance world of racing technicians, teams and sponsors. It's about performing consistently, despite being squeezed by high pressure, standings, owner expectations, the randomness of trials and tribulations along the way and, of course, time.
Cut the horses to a quarter, spread the time horizon a tad, and it's the world of the automotive service provider. Although far removed from the rings of thunder, you, too, are required to consistently perform to high standards, handle unexpected problems along the way, meet owner expectations and do so in a reasonable timeframe. Experience, skills and training are arrows in your quiver, and like the world of racing, the need for quality parts and components can make the difference between being both top of field and top of mind.SIMILAR TRAITS
Motor Age spent a day in the garage area at Chicagoland Speedway with Joe Gibbs Racing (JRG) and The Timken Co. Besides learning about the technology and strategies used to take performance to ever-higher levels, the number of professional analogies shared among race teams, manufacturers and automotive repair shops that emerged from the discussion was surprising.
Be it in a shop bay, a racing pit or backstretch garage, more than success is at stake: Careers are on the line. Safety cannot be compromised, and the vehicles in one's charge need to be primed for performance without issue. The roar of the fans, the fumes and the feel of 800 horses thundering past may not be present in a shop. But the pressure to perform ontime, reliably and without comebacks is a constant shared with NASCAR. A shop just deals with its fans one at a time.
OLD TECHNOLOGY ROLLS FASTER
The key is friction management. Timken specializes in bearings, seals, specialty steel, coatings, lubricants and more — all designed to optimize friction and deliver performance to the street. In fact, the company has more than 100 years experience in racing, including supplying the bearings used in the racecar that Ray Harroun won the first Indy 500 with in 1911."Racecars today have 800 horsepower, and the name of the game is to get all of that horsepower on the ground. Anything that gets horsepower to the track, NASCAR jumps on," says Timken's Chief Technologist Dr. Gary Doll.
Timken is one of many companies involved in the NASCAR racing. It has partnered with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), which runs three separate teams and cars, driven by Denny Hamlin, J.J. Yeley and Tony Stewart. For all the glory and excitement that NASCAR provides, it's a small niche market for Timken — although the company does support the design, testing and development of technologies under high performance that ultimately make it to the automotive aftermarket. Ultimately, that is the goal: having the right product for the right application.
Today's NASCAR racecar is a fascinating blend of old and new technology. Despite sophisticated wheel, engine, aerodynamic and safety technology, today's NASCAR vehicles still use many older technologies. For example, the cars still use carburetors — although that's likely to change, should unleaded fuel be adopted after the recent testing period.In addition, the vehicles still use the same spindles that were used in the late 1950s. Back then, racecars ran at speeds in the low 100-mph range. Today, they run close to 200 mph. The key for teams, such as JGR, is working with their partners to implement technologies that reduce friction loss and save horsepower, says Doll.
OPTIMIZATION SEPARATES WHEAT FROM CHAFF
Friction management technology is crucial to improved performance. The Timken/JGR partnership has led to some improvements on the racing side, many that are now available to the aftermarket or are about to be launched. Finding the right balance that delivers the most horsepower is both a science and an art: It involves juggling interconnected components, parts, lubricants, temperature, type of track and weather. It isn't enough to maximize one or two items. One has to optimize the entire package.
Hub assemblies provide one such optimizing technology. Timken provides wheel hubs to JGR preassembled and pregreased — notably with "just the right amount of grease." The hubs are a consistent component that only requires race technicians to mount and tighten to the specified torque setting. Rather than assembling individual parts into a hub and then greasing it, JGR techs spend their time on other important tasks.
"Timken taught us that more grease isn't always better," says David Holden, chief engineer for JGR. "Before [the preassembled] hubs, our technicians would have to add grease till it began to seep out. Too little grease can lead to high friction and horsepower losses, even failure. Too much grease puts heat into the grease itself, leading to viscous-related losses."
"It's like stirring pudding too much: It's a waste of energy that is better used elsewhere," adds Doll.
Post-race, every hub is sent to Timken labs for analysis and rebuilding. A set of four of these hubs costs a NASCAR team nearly $3,600. In the aftermarket, the technology, in a downscaled version, is available for weekend racers for $400 per set of four.
The use of fuel-efficient tapered roller bearings is another application that has found its way to the racetrack from the street. At the track, they contribute to lower power consumption, reduced horsepower loss, lower operating temperatures and improved fuel efficiency.
"The two tapered roller pinion bearings in the differential reduce operating temperatures by 68°F, enable 30 percent less power consumption, improve fuel efficiency by 2 percent and save 1 to 1.5 horsepower," says Doll. "In addition, noise and vibration are reduced."
He notes that these products are already being used by some OEMs. For instance, the new Mercedes-Benz E-class has achieved a 3 percent fuel mileage increase by revising the design of the rear final drive to incorporate tapered bearings. A DaimlerChrysler spokesperson attributed half of the fuel savings to the new bearing system technology.
Timken's 90-year history includes steel production, specialty surface coatings and lubricants. The company manufactures specialty steel alloy that is used in rocker arms, cams and other shafts, as well as engine components. Combined with friction-reducing surface textures, nanocomposite and diamond-like carbon coatings, as well as specially formulated lubricants, the company has worked carefully to create a presence in every aspect of the fiction business.
Holden explains the interplay of these considerations: "Reliable performance is the key for JGR, whether it's our drivers, our team or the technology we use."
It isn't just about maximizing durability or high performance. The need to blend them — by testing, analyzing and then optimizing — is the key to consistent, winning performance, states Holden.
For example, Holden continues, JGR had to make a choice regarding lubricants used in conjunction with some new steel components. Many of the team's competitors were using a high-performance oil with the components, but they were sometimes experiencing failures. Through testing and analysis, JGR found that a lower grade of oil in conjunction with specialty coatings on the steel led to more reliable, consistent performance.
Doll goes a step further to tie the pieces together. Pit stops of more than 20 seconds were the norm a generation ago. With the money infusion into NASCAR since then, teams could invest in practicing pit stops. Today, stops are in the 13-second range, and teams strive to save tenths of seconds. In the four to five stops per typical race, this can translate to giving a team a one-second edge.
"All in all, we are saving 8,200 watts for a racecar, while running at an average of 7,000 rpm and 750 horsepower," Doll explains. "That savings is equivalent to nearly 11 horsepower. If we can save one-tenth of a second per green-flag lap, over 200 laps, that gives our cars a 20-second edge."
Considering JGR has won three championships in the last five years, optimizing components for consistent, reliable performance is a concept worth embracing.
