High HP engine mods? Lycoming thread.
 

So what's available for engine mods. As a drag racer we know lots of stuff works to make big HP, cams, lifter, ported heads, turbos etc
What's available to us for our Experimental lycomings.

specific suppliers would be good to know also if it doesn't violate any VAF forum rules.

Anything you know of that will make more Hp for the experimental community is good to post.

I'm amazed that there's not more experimenting posted with experimentals in this area.

More power...
 

More cylinders...

mods
 

I opted for cold air induction, 9:1, and dual EFII. It did 297 on the dyno.

Is it possible to get more HP, absolutely...but the cost is generally reliability.

If you really want more power, look to a turboprop...gobs of HP in a tiny little package...

I flew Steve Henry’s Highlander with a 300 HP Turbocharged Yamaha a month or so back....engine is about the same size as a Rotax (fits under the same cowl). Holy cow does it have power!! Have no idea how long it will last however..... ;)

Paul

Lyc Power
 

As a young guy, I built several 3SGTE (4-cyl turbo) cars as well as a mighty 2JZ Supra, eventually learned how to keep them together too! :p

However... none of those motors were built to deliver continuous max power like what's required in my airplane. Mostly because it was impossible to provide sufficient cooling at high boost settings. If you really want to know how to hot-rod an airplane engine, look to the sport class at Reno. Again, none of the really fast movers are likely to see any cross country or "general aviation" use, but turbo and supercharging are common. So are engine failures.

Bottom line - a plane isn't a car. The penalty for melting a piston, throwing a rod or breaking a half shaft is just money or maybe the distain of your competitors if you oil the track in the process. Not so in a plane.

That said, optimizing the (normally aspirated) performance of the 'ol Lyc is fair game, Barrett has it pretty much figured out with the 540's the Red Bull guys used.

I'll save my mod appetite for the new A90 I have on order. Got a JB4 and a Titan downpipe waiting for that sweet B58 bimmer motor just to get started :cool:

Let's talk turbos lycoming.
 

So I've built gas auto engines and turbo set ups.
I'm wondering why we don't see any turbo set ups on our experimental lycomings. Not turbo normalized but engines under boat for more Hp.

It's really not that hard to do but there are some hurdles to overcome.

Turbo needs to mount to a more robust, solid exhaust system not a slip fit, correct me if I'm wrong here but we use thick flanges and pipe for turbo set ups on cars
Turbo needs to be mounted high To drain oil back to engine or use a scavenge pump and tank set up.

Carb hats are pretty common and easily obtained. Carbs that are boost referenced are not available but there's always aftermarket Digital fuel injection like a fast xfi or other systems.

Waste gates can be used easy enough and plumbed back into exhaust system or parallel to it.
Blow off valve is a concern because it releases air/ fuel mixed would need to be vented to open air or blow back into intake steam somehow, (I've always just released to air.)
Cooling air (intercooler) is at a minimum which is just crazy since it's flowing all around you but it appears to be the case.
Location for air inlet, isn't as simple as on cars because of cooling air routing.

Anyone's thoughts on this are much appreciated.

It?s possible
 

My helicopter has a IO360 turboed up to 210 hp so it?s possible to turbo a lycoming. I thing the main problems would be fitting it in the cowl and getting rid of the heat. In the long run, I think it would only be beneficial for the planes that live at high altitudes. Ben

A very high percentage of the RV community can't cool stock power in a continuous long climb.

There are a number of turboed Lycomings and Contis, mostly on Reno racers running crazy levels of boost.

Turbos can be rigidly mounted to the exhaust ports with very thick tubing but watch the thermal expansion at the junction of the pipes while handling the mechanical and vibrational loadings. Other method is to fix the turbo to the engine with a stout mount and use slip joints or bellows to handle the thermal expansion in the piping. This is lighter and more reliable in the long term.

You don't need a blow off valve on an airplane- or car for that matter. More weight and another thing to go wrong.

For RVs with their low Vne, boosted engines don't make a lot of sense for most cross country work at altitude and cooling in the climb on a hot day could be challenging.

...and
 

...and there's that!