P.D.M. will be using Fluidampr as our damper of choice on all performance diesel applications.

Why Fluidampr?

The best dampers on the market are manufactured in the U.S.A. by Horschel Motorsports, an ISO 9001:2008 certified facility. Horschel Motorsports is continuing the tradition that started in 1946, when the first viscous damper was invented. Over 4 million viscous dampers have been made for heavy duty diesel, drag car, stock car, street machine, race boat and other high performance engines. Looking into the future, Horschel Motorsports promises to manufacture the best dampers available as well as engineering new solutions for developing engine technologies.

The fluid in a Fluidampr

It has been rumored that the fluid in a Fluidampr turns to gel over time. Here’s a news flash, its gel when we pump it into the damper. That is how the technology works. The silicone gel inside the damper keeps the flywheel in place and functioning. So to put all of the competitions claims to rest, it is a gel, always and forever. Maybe we should have named them Gel-damprs.

Let’s talk about rubber

Other dampers on the market use rubber or “elastomer” as the insulator for the internal flywheel. Rubber deteriorates and wears down from repeated movements. In layman’s terms, the more you work it, the weaker it will get. The inertia ring that balances an elastomeric damper becomes unstable when the o-rings start to wear. Think of it this way, what does a car wheel feel like when it looses one of its balancing weights? How would a fan missing a blade function? A damper with worn o-rings can unbalance a crankshaft and destroy it. The reason car manufactures install elastomer dampers at the factory is not for performance but for cost. The “rubber” dampers are cheaper and easier to make.

Fluidampr Performance Diesel application guide

We found some interesting things in an article about Cummins dampers.

The ATI is smaller in diameter than the other two and
also uses an aluminum pulley, unlike the steel used
on the Fluidampr and the stock damper.

The ATI requires that you install the pulley and the hub to the
crank first, and then the inertia ring can be mounted to the hub.

This USA-made, (Fluidampr) allsteel product is supplied completely assembled and ready to install. This damper is made in six Cummins models, with the size, weight and characteristics designed specifically for each model/year of Cummins engines; it is not a one-size-fits-all.

The 2011 6.7 Cummins engine uses a harmonic damper that is
of the viscous-fluid type. (Humm wonder why) This change from the tuned-rubber
was made with the introduction of the 6.7 engine in 2007.5.
The tone ring is part of the pulley on this damper.

Click here to read the full article.  IT’S TIME TO INSPECT YOUR HARMONIC DAMPER

Click here to read an article by Fluidampr on testing they did back in 1985-1990.

Pay attention to one interesting note at the end of the article. (COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES) The greater the inertia mass of any given damper, the greater its potential is for countering the torsional twisting or harmonic vibrations of the crankshaft.

Do you remember the picture of the three dampers in the first article?  One had a smaller O.D. than stock, and one had a larger O.D.

These are a few of the reasons we will be using Fluidampr as our damper of choice on all Performance Diesel Applications.

Heads are first jet washed in a high pressure spray cabinet to remove oil and dirt, then glass beaded to remove carbon. Next they are checked by magnafluxing, (cast iron only) or pressure testing. They are visually inspected for defects that would make them unusable. Valve guides and seats are removed as needed for porting.

Port development is accomplished using a superflow 600 flow bench with a computer recording all flow measurements.

Many things are considered when designing a cylinder head Port; air flow is only one of the things to think about. Another major concern is port wall thickness.

Anyone can get a head to produce high flow numbers, but if doing so leaves the port wall to thin the casting will crack. High performance Diesel heads are more prone to crack because of the thermal shock experienced by excessive intermittent or long term exhaust temperatures.

The porting is then preformed using a new 5 Axis CNC Cylinder Head Porting Machine with CAD/CAM software specifically designed for cylinder head porting.

CNC porting brings unparalleled accuracy to head porting with each port flowing the same. This helps balance the power that each cylinder produces, making tuning easier.

New High Strength Alloy, Heat Treated iron based valve guides are installed. These guides are heat treated to Rockwell 22 “C” Scale, which produces the ultimate in wear resistance. This is far superior to original guide material, including Bronze. The guide incorporates a spiral grove inside the guide to hold oil and aid the lubrication of the valve during engine operation.

Guides are then honed (not reamed) to exact size using a diamond honing mandrel. Diamond abrasives allow for consistency of size, surface finish, and bore geometry with no variation from guide to guide. The guide size is then verified using a valve guide bore gage.

As needed the head receives new Premium valve seat inserts made from a true Nickel Based Non-Magnetic material that was developed for extreme operating conditions.

Next the head is treated to a multi angle valve job to help maximize the flow of air in and out of the head. This is accomplished using a Serdi 100 guide and seat machine. Serdi uses a solid carbide straight shank pilot. When inserted into the valve guide, it simulates the real valve stem during the centering process. This guarantees the valve seat is finished for a perfect valve to seat match.

Using CBN or Diamond tooling the head is given a new surface. With our berco milling machine we can control the surface finish to accommodate different head gasket types. For example MLS head gaskets require a very smooth surface finish.

Finally the head is jet washed dried and assembled with new valve seals and new performance valve springs.

Racers have been polishing connecting rods for years to improve stock rods durability and to decrease weight. The benefit to polishing is that you remove the source of potential stress fractures.

All factory rods have ridges from the forging process that run the length of the beams. This is the weakest part of the rod and most likely the first place a crack will develop. Our high performance Cummins 5.9 rods start with the early tongue and groove rod core (not late model cracked rods) they are inspected for flaws, cleaned, and magnafluxed next the beams are ground, polished, and shot-peened, new high performance rod bolts installed, resized, checked for straight and balanced. They can be used in the common rail engine to replace the cracked rods. (Cracked rods refers to connecting rods made using powder metallurgy, The cap is then separated from the rod by a fracturing process, which results in an uneven mating surface due to the grain of the powdered metal.) Sold in matched sets only. Core charge may apply.

Cylinder head porting on a diesel engine refers to the process of modifying the intake and exhaust ports to increase the amount of air going into the cylinder. Porting the heads provides the finely detailed attention required to bring the engine to the highest level of efficiency. It has been said that an internal combustion engine is nothing more than an air pump, and the more air it can pump, the more power it will make. Most often the guy who pays his bill without questioning it is the one who has already tried porting and has an idea of the work involved. Success at head porting does not happen overnight. It takes skill and practice. We offer over 30 years of head porting and air flow experience. We are asked all the time, does it help to port diesel heads when you can increase the boost? The answer is ABSOLUTELY. When you increase the boost, you put more air in the cylinder. When porting is done right, it will also put more air in the cylinder. Together you maximize the air flow and the horse power.

The purpose of the engine main bearing girdle is to increases block rigidity and tensional stiffness; it does this by tying all the main bearing caps and oil pan rail together. Our GORILLA GIRDLES are designed using the latest CAD software and machined using a CNC milling machine and lathe. Engines that use a main bearing girdle make more power, by decreasing friction in the main bearing bore and overall alignment of the piston and crankshaft bores. The main bearing girdle will strengthen and stabilize the bottom end of the cylinder block, evenly distributing the load across the main bearing caps, virtually eliminating main cap walk. This 14mm girdle is being used on engines producing well over 1500 H.P. The 14mm kit includes the girdle and all hardware needed for installation on the Cummins 12 – 24 valve 5.9 diesel engines. This kit requires the use of our 14mm extra long stud kit.

The purpose of the engine main bearing girdle is to increases block rigidity and tensional stiffness; it does this by tying all the main bearing caps and oil pan rail together.

Our GORILLA GIRDLES are designed using the latest CAD software and machined using a CNC milling machine and lathe.
Engines that use a main bearing girdle make more power, by decreasing friction in the main bearing bore and overall alignment of the piston and crankshaft bores. The main bearing girdle will strengthen and stabilize the bottom end of the cylinder block, evenly distributing the load across the main bearing caps, virtually eliminating main cap walk. This 14mm girdle is being used on engines producing over 1000 H.P.