Pickled Engines?

NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing
Pickled Engines?
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Preserving Mercedes-Benz IC108D engines
MONTVALE, N.J. (July 8, 1997) — It's true. Pickles play animportant part in big-time auto racing.
The preservative method that produces those tangy snacks is verysimilar to a treatment that helps make the Mercedes-Benz IC108D engine awinner on the PPG CART World Series circuit. The series, which featuresseven drivers (and all three Canadians) powered by Mercedes-Benz racingengines, visits Toronto for the Molson Indy, July 20.
Pickled Power and Cheese!?
"We started pickling the engines in about 1989, when we startedusing electronic fuel injection," said Franz Weis, of VDS Racing, an enginebuilder with nearly two decades of Indy car racing experience. Weis and VDSassemble and maintain engines for four Mercedes-powered teams on the CARTtrail. "Prior to that time we didn't bother preserving the engines, but itwas just kind of common sense to start because we knew how corrosive themethanol (the alcohol-based fuel used by Indy car engines) was, and we knewhow sensitive the injectors were."
Although methanol is a clean-burning fuel, if left in an idle raceengine, it can leave a sticky mess. After an Indy car engine is run andthen left to sit for a few days, there develops a white, gooey residue(affectionately known as "cheese" by the engineers). Even a little of thissticky goop can clog — and sometimes ruin — the tiny aluminum valves andfittings which feed fuel into the engines.
"In addition to the production of heat and other energy, thecombustion of methanol results in carbon dioxide and water," explained NormHudecki, director of technical services for Valvoline, the official fuelsupplier of CART. "As the engine cools, these bi-products can combine tocreate formic or carbonic acid, which results in the corrosiveness. Theresidue, then, is most likely the result of a reaction between those acidicsolutions and aluminum oxide, a protective coating which forms naturally onthe surface of all the aluminum engine parts."
A Solution
The solution to this problem is to flush the interior of theengines with a less corrosive substance. Gasoline was the ideal choicebecause it would allow the engine to be started, pulling the liquid throughthe entire system and burning off most residue.
"We recommend to all of our teams that any engine which is to berun and then stored for more than three days be pickled," said Paul Ray,vice president of Ilmor Engineering, the race engine-building arm ofMercedes-Benz.
To perform the pickling procedure, a small external gas tank withits own fuel pump is attached to the engine in place of its normal fuelpump and plumbing: gasoline cannot be put into the car's fuel cell becauseit would react with the rubber of the bladder.
Next, the gasoline is pumped through the engine, pushing out anyleft-over methanol into a waste bucket. An engineer watches the returnhose until the liquid flowing into the waste bucket is no longer clear(methanol) but colored (gasoline). Finally, the engine is started and thegasoline flows through the injectors, cleaning them.
"When we run the engine it sounds very sick indeed," said Ray. "The reason is that gasoline has about twice the energy in it that the sameamount of methanol does. So, when the engine is running on gasoline, thefuel mixture is twice as rich as it should be."
Ray also explained that in an ideal world the process would bereversed when the engine was again installed for running in a car, butbecause of time constraints, the engines are most often simply started up. They run poorly for the first few seconds, misfiring while the gasolineleft in the system is burned off.
It is a far cry from your favorite sweet or dill pickle, but withthe taste of six consecutive victories on the CART tour, Mercedes' enginepickling procedure does seem a recipe for success.
Mercedes-Benz competes in three major motorsports series around theworld, winning races in 1997 in PPG CART World Series, Formula One and theFIA GT championship. The success and performance of Mercedes-Benz race carsexemplify the spirit of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars such as the new SLKroadster, the 1997 North American Car of the Year.
Source: Mercedes-Benz USA


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Pickled Engines? ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Preserving Mercedes-Benz IC108D engines MONTVALE, N.J. (July 8, 1997) — It's true. Pickles play animportant part in big-time auto racing. The preservative method that produces those tangy snacks is verysimilar to a treatment that helps make the Mercedes-Benz IC108D engine awinner on the PPG CART World Series circuit. The series, which featuresseven drivers (and all three Canadians) powered by Mercedes-Benz racingengines, visits Toronto for the Molson Indy, July 20. Pickled Power and Cheese!? "We started pickling the engines in about 1989, when we startedusing electronic fuel injection," said Franz Weis, of VDS Racing, an enginebuilder with nearly two decades of Indy car racing experience. Weis and VDSassemble and maintain engines for four Mercedes-powered teams on the CARTtrail. "Prior to that time we didn't bother preserving the engines, but itwas just kind of common sense to start because we knew how corrosive themethanol (the alcohol-based fuel used by Indy car engines) was, and we knewhow sensitive the injectors were." Although methanol is a clean-burning fuel, if left in an idle raceengine, it can leave a sticky mess. After an Indy car engine is run andthen left to sit for a few days, there develops a white, gooey residue(affectionately known as "cheese" by the engineers). Even a little of thissticky goop can clog — and sometimes ruin — the tiny aluminum valves andfittings which feed fuel into the engines. "In addition to the production of heat and other energy, thecombustion of methanol results in carbon dioxide and water," explained NormHudecki, director of technical services for Valvoline, the official fuelsupplier of CART. "As the engine cools, these bi-products can combine tocreate formic or carbonic acid, which results in the corrosiveness. Theresidue, then, is most likely the result of a reaction between those acidicsolutions and aluminum oxide, a protective coating which forms naturally onthe surface of all the aluminum engine parts." A Solution The solution to this problem is to flush the interior of theengines with a less corrosive substance. Gasoline was the ideal choicebecause it would allow the engine to be started, pulling the liquid throughthe entire system and burning off most residue. "We recommend to all of our teams that any engine which is to berun and then stored for more than three days be pickled," said Paul Ray,vice president of Ilmor Engineering, the race engine-building arm ofMercedes-Benz. To perform the pickling procedure, a small external gas tank withits own fuel pump is attached to the engine in place of its normal fuelpump and plumbing: gasoline cannot be put into the car's fuel cell becauseit would react with the rubber of the bladder. Next, the gasoline is pumped through the engine, pushing out anyleft-over methanol into a waste bucket. An engineer watches the returnhose until the liquid flowing into the waste bucket is no longer clear(methanol) but colored (gasoline). Finally, the engine is started and thegasoline flows through the injectors, cleaning them. "When we run the engine it sounds very sick indeed," said Ray. "The reason is that gasoline has about twice the energy in it that the sameamount of methanol does. So, when the engine is running on gasoline, thefuel mixture is twice as rich as it should be." Ray also explained that in an ideal world the process would bereversed when the engine was again installed for running in a car, butbecause of time constraints, the engines are most often simply started up. They run poorly for the first few seconds, misfiring while the gasolineleft in the system is burned off. It is a far cry from your favorite sweet or dill pickle, but withthe taste of six consecutive victories on the CART tour, Mercedes' enginepickling procedure does seem a recipe for success. Mercedes-Benz competes in three major motorsports series around theworld, winning races in 1997 in PPG CART World Series, Formula One and theFIA GT championship. The success and performance of Mercedes-Benz race carsexemplify the spirit of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars such as the new SLKroadster, the 1997 North American Car of the Year. Source: Mercedes-Benz USA