Do you prefer tech stories that explain how complicated stuff works, or would you rather see how to install (and test) stuff for your car?

Prevalent thinking around here is that in-depth "How stuff works" stories (like carburetors, camshafts, manifolds, airflow, etc.) are not very catchy.

Do you have a preference?  

I would have to disagree with the norm...

Keep Mr. Vizard writing! I loved his two part "Street Beast" big block build-up but was somewhat disapointed with the very little information regarding the porting of the cylinder heads. Was it that simple? Just a basic porting kit got those kind of flow numbers. What about the cross-sections and a what about a basic lesson on port velocity and velocity "choke?" It was even short of a velocity gradient which he has posted in the past. Overall though a great article but nothing is perfect, I have to nit-pick a little.  

tech articles are very good to have like
you said "how stuff works" and then a article on how to make it better
like tuning on a holley carb ,edlebrock carb and a stock quadrajet.whats the diferance in thoes carbs. tech articles are very informative to the younger guys/gals
that want to learn by reading them ..also on cams and heads .ect you get the picture
i know you guys hate to see tech articles
on the same subject over and over but think you might helped some body find the awncer to his/her ?....also i have been reading phr way back in the early 80'and i still have some in my room in good shape this is why im like this i loved the mag
b4 the Gmachine came about  

Keep technical info. I like lots of dyno testing with real supportive data to back it up. Give us numbers from dyno runs, not just graphs.

The Engine Masters alone could keep filling pages. I really like the Engine Masters *Racing* edition I got a few months back. Good stuff!!

Stuff like Vizards exhaust articles in the past make you think a lot. Good stuff.

I'm not convinced of his cam stuff yet...but I'm looking for more info to back up what he says.

Can I mention something. On your tech stuff...you need a better proof reader. I notice way too often typos and just flat confusing stuff that makes it hard to follow things.

For example...the Vizard articles on the Beast. Just what were the cam specs?

In the text it says it's a 292/298 on a 107 LSA. And should give just under .650 lift at the valve? Okey dokey....not as good as full specs..but that's it.

But in the captions and in the parts list it says it's a 286/286 on a 107. Is it a XR286? Or is it a 286XSR as another part of the text says? I can't find that one on Comp's website. Is it something completely different put together from the lobe listings?

Give us the full deal...,200 lift etc etc.

Also...when I plug in the numbers from the "Beast" in the stuff from the great cam article, I don't come up with a cam that matches what Vizard selected for the Beast. Why didn't he use his own recomendations? It would sure lend credence to his work if he could try one of HIS cam picks against the one he actually used.

Just another typo is it says on last page it's a "428" not a "482" in the graph. not a big deal...but just shows someone isn't reading this stuff close enough. This is a pretty regular occurence in PHR.

Anyway. keep after Tech stuff.

JIM  

I agree that there's some stuff that gets by us, but we try our best.

Vizard recently specced out a cam for our newest engine build-up, a low-budget Vortec 350, and it made about 40 hp higher than anybody expected. So I am a true believer.

This motor made 447hp for an outlay of $3,400, carb to oil pan.  

I don't know which mag started it again, but I like the fact that many of the Primedia mags are bringin' back the budget minded builds.

I also want to hear Vizard write a follow-up article on his recent camshaft article explaining how these cam variables are "tweaked" with different applications and engine variables etc, since "The Beast" engine had an LCA around 3-4* more than his chart prescribes.  

That's cool...so will we see it tested against one of the more "normal" cams that has similar specs? I know it won't be exact..because he has his own thoughts, but compare it to one of the known XE Comps or Voodoos or something.

Use the same lobes, just position them as he says and show us how they work as compared to what Comp, Crane and Lunati say.


Try some of that 97* LSA stuff and let's see how it works on some BBC's. I'm curious. Neat stuff to study on.


Even better would be a quick change at the track!! C'mon..they used to do that cool stuff!! We want to hear about vacuum, and compare ET's and Trap speeds. That's better than dyno numbers anyday.


Don't use different lobes.....that wouldn't be a fair test. There was a test in one of the mags a while back again trying to do the BBC and SBC comparison. Even though the duration numbers were similar, it was painfully apparent from the few specs given that the BBC cam was lame compared to the SBC one. Different lobes act a LOT different.

Go scarf up that old Nova over at Car Craft or whoever has it this week. Set it up as a mule car and swap parts.

Whatever happened to all the drag tests of the 572's? Wasn't Hot Rod going to do something with it? Put one in the Nova....or at least go back to that black race car Nova and show us what it can really do. They barely gave it justice on the track on Hot Rod TV or whichever one it was on.


JIM  

Back on the topic, what is your preference, "how to do it" articles, or the "How it works" stuff?

Our preference is to have test data in either type of story. In Vizard's case, he's got over 40 years of dyno testing to pull from and that's where he gets his charts, graphs and data.  

How stuff works is good... like a woman, you don't know where or how to scratch it, if ya don't know why it itches. Understanding why you are doing what you are doing is crutial for us who can't afford costly mistakes.

Keep up the good work!  

How stuff works is a great path, you can do a once a year "how to do it" article on swapping cams or the like, but there are plenty of resources for that stuff.  

How the cams and carbs and heads and intakes actually do their job is something else entirely, and showing that not only can changes really effect the same engine, but they will act differently in different engines...  

It would be interesting to optimize a cam setup on a 460 Ford versus the 454 Chevy, keeping the heads as close as possible in their lift ranges, and the intakes and exhausts similar (1000hp, Victor, 2" or 2 1/18" long tube headers of similar lengths and collectors)..

Sadly, you'll end up making an enemy of one group no matter how that turns out..


Jim  

So it seems we should continue the "How it works" type stories. The funny thing is that the stories being described as "how it works" sound closer to "how to" stories. It sounds like the best story is a "how to" story with "how it works" embedded within the story!  

I would also like to see some parts testing articles.  I like seeing the press blurbs about new parts but I would like to see real world testing on the parts as well.  Does that new converter really pick up .2?  Does that new electric fan really cool better that the belt drive one?  That kind of stuff.  I would think the advertisers would like to see some real world magazine validation of their new widget that they just sent out a press blurb.  Unless the part doesn't work...  

I HAVE A 77 VETTE L-82 AND WANTED TO KNOW IF A SET OF LS-1 ALUM HEADS WILL WORK ON THAT MOTOR AND I WOULD LIKE TO INSTALL 10.5 COMP PISTONS A CAM .HEADERS INTAKE BUT WANT TO KEEP THE SMOG ON AND USE A QQQ-JET TO TRY AND KEEP IT STOCK LOOKING IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT.AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE .DO YOU HAVE ANY SUG AS TO CAM SPECS HEADER SIZE AND CARB AND MANIFOLD  ALSO ITS A TH-400 TRANS WITH 3.55 POSI.ANY SUGGESTIONS GREATLY APPRECIATED ZEF4HILL THANKS