If you’re interested in learning about how engines work for your motorsports education, this is a great video walk-through of the Rider Racing Engines shop with Tom Rider. Tom shows us the entire process of rebuilding a sprint car engine, from when the motor arrives at the shop to putting the finished engine on a dyno.
Some of the things Tom talks about are the processes for inspecting the crankshaft and other engine parts for cracks, cleaning the parts, the machines where the engine block has its cylinders honed to get the proper ring seal, final assembly, preparation for the dyno, and the dyno process itself.
If you’re interested in sprint car engines specifically, you’ll notice that Tom mentions one of the major differences between 360 engines and 410 engines (besides the cubic inches): the block and head material. 360 engines have a cast iron block and aluminum cylinder heads while 410 engines have an aluminum block and aluminum heads, significantly reducing the weight of the engine in a 410 sprint car.
This is a great video for those pursuing a degree in motorsports engineering or mechanical engineering and has interest in motorsports jobs, specifically motorsports engineering jobs, and careers in racing.
