Hundreds of new product announcements cross the desks of PRI editors each month. Following are our top picks for January.

 

Porsche 964/993 Pistons

MAHLE Motorsport

us.mahle.com/en/motorsports/

Performance off-the-shelf stroker pistons for the Porsche 964/993 engines are now available through the PowerPak line at MAHLE Motorsport in Fletcher, North Carolina.

“This allows the Porsche enthusiasts in competition to take the next step,” said Joe Maylish. “We worked with several professional Porsche race teams to get their feedback. Combined with the experience of our engineers, we came up with this package that we feel will really benefit the racer.”

The PowerPak program was developed for sportsman class racers. This kit helps Porsche owners build maximum displacement with a 102-mm bore and 80.4-mm stroke using a connecting rod with a 127-mm center-to-center distance. This modification increases the original 3.6-liter displacement on the six-cylinder engine to 3.9 liters.

The pistons are constructed from 4032 aluminum alloy and will provide a compression ratio of 11.4:1 with a 1.0-mm deck clearance. The compression ratio will slip to 10.9:1 with a 1.4-mm deck clearance. Compression height is 29.5 mm, and the crown volume comes in at 35cc.

Designed from a lightweight slipper-skirt forging, the piston features a dual phosphate coating and MAHLE’s Grafal skirt coating. Piston weight is 480 grams, and the pistons can be matched with MAHLE’s Nikasil-coated liners. The ring set includes nitride steel 1.2-mm top, 1.2-mm napier and 3.0-mm oil.

Exhaust Fasteners

ARP

arp-bolts.com

ARP in Ventura, California, has expanded its line of exhaust header fasteners to include application-specific kits for the most popular engines and a number of universal kits to cover much of the remaining market.

The best scenario for a race engine is a strong fastener with a straight flange and a proper gasket. “If the gasket shrinks or the flange warps, the bolt is always going to come loose,” warned Chris Raschke.

ARP header fasteners are available in polished stainless steel or black-oxide finished 8740 chromoly steel. Both materials are nominally rated at 180,000 psi and both are fully 20% stronger than Grade 8 fasteners.

Users can choose between 12-point heads or nuts. These compact designs allow the use of socket wrenches in tight proximity to the tubes. All kits include washers. For factory cast-iron manifolds, ARP offers stainless and black bolts by size in five-packs that come in .250-inch increments to assure the correct length.

“The studs make it easier If you’re pulling the header on and off a lot,” said Raschke. “The ARP studs have a starter nose that makes it much easier to get the nuts on the stud in tight locations. Also, you’re not wearing out the hole in the heads by putting the bolt in and out.”

 

Racer 2.4 Driver Firesuit

Impact Racing

impactraceproducts.com

Always a popular mainstay in the Impact Racing firesuit lineup, the Racer line has been upgraded for 2024.

“We went back to the drawing board and created an all-new design,” said Ben O’Connor from the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company. “The result is a suit that is 32% lighter than our previous offering, with better breathing capability.”

With redesigned styling and quilting, the suit is SFI-rated to 3.2-A/5 and the more stringent NASCAR 3.4-A/5. Popular features of the Racer 2.4 include proprietary fire-rated aramid-based fabrics, banded collar, and 180-degree belt.

“The addition of a lumbar stretch panel in the lower back, 360-degree full-floating arm gussets, boot-cut cuffs, and extra-deep pockets promise to make the Racer 2.4 the most comfortable Racer suit we have ever offered,” added O’Connor.

Featuring a two-tone, European inspired design that complements a variety of race car liveries, the Racer 2.4 is an ideal option for competitors wanting a budget-friendly, two-layer driving suit without sacrificing styling, comfort, or safety.

The Racer is also available in a two-piece version. The suit is offered in sizes small, medium, large, extra-large, 2XL, and 3XL. Available color combinations include black/black, red/black, blue/black, and black/grey.

 

Godzilla Flexplate and SuperCase Bellhousing

ATI Performance Products

atiracing.com

With all the power parts being developed for the Ford 7.3-liter Godzilla platform, racers will need extra strength behind the crankshaft. To that end, ATI Performance Products in Gwynn Oak, Maryland, has developed a new flexplate and SuperCase bellhousing to mount a race-prepped GM transmission and torque converter.

“The bell package allows a customer to adapt a Powerglide, TH350, or TH400 to their Godzilla-powered vehicle with ease,” said JC Beattie Jr. “Someone running a stock motor at base horsepower all the way up to a 3,000-horsepower Pro Mod could take advantage of this bell and case package.”

The steel flexplate is manufactured in the USA and is double MIG/TIG welded for additional strength. Each plate is CNC machined from SFI-spec steel and inspected to ensure flatness and run-out tolerances. The ATI flexplate is SFI 29.1 certified and precision balanced to .10 ounce-inch. Included in the kit are a billet-steel crank adapter, bolt kit, and bellhousing to mount popular GM-based transmissions.

“The Chevrolet Powerglide and TH400 are by far the two most popular drag racing transmissions out there. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Chevrolet transmissions behind Ford powerplants,” added Beattie. “Also, we designed all of our bell packages to take up the least amount of room possible, but there may be some cutting or grinding needed on vehicles with smaller tunnels.”

 

Adrenaline Engine Assembly Lube

Hot Shot’s Secret

hotshotsecret.com

Once a few engine builders noticed the performance of the Adrenaline R-series racing oil in their engines, they reached out to Hot Shot’s Secret in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, to develop additional products to address their other needs.

One of those requests was a break-in oil, which Hot Shot’s Secret engineers are still formulating and looking to release in 2024. The other was an assembly lube to provide dry-start protection.

“We focused on that first start-up,” said Kyle Fischer. “The builders and racers were looking for three specific qualities in an assembly lube.”

The first was the correct viscosity and level of tackiness in the fluid. “We really went overboard on the tackiness,” noted Fischer. “This assembly lube stays on the part, even if the engine sits in a crate for a couple of months. Every surface will stay lubricated until startup.”

The second quality was sufficient zinc content, and Hot Shot’s Secret developed the lube with more than 2,000 ppm of zinc. Finally, engine builders wanted an assembly lube that is soluble and will mix well with the break-in oil.

According to Hot Shot’s Secret, the Adrenaline assembly lube was tested against a leading competitive product and shown to provide 27% better wear protection. Also, long-lasting corrosion resistance was achieved with a 1A rating in a D130 test.

 

Custom Pushrods for LS Engines

Elgin Industries

elginind.com

Elgin Industries in Elgin, Illinois, is expanding its Pro-Stock 500 series of pushrods with a new, custom-length 5/16-inch diameter model that is specifically engineered for the GM LS engine family.

“The LS platform’s continued popularity has inspired the development of a broad range of performance camshafts,” said Rick Simko. “When building a performance LS engine, a hardened pushrod should be installed.”

For many years, Elgin has offered hardened pushrods in the factory 7.400-inch length. The new Pro-Stock PR-515 pushrod is 7.450 inches long to provide additional lifter pre-load lash needed for performance camshafts that have steep ramp profiles combined with non-adjustable LS rocker arms.

“As the specifications of lift and duration increase, so does the steepness of the cam’s ramp profile,” explained Simko. “These increases place heavier workload on the hydraulic lifters, resulting in higher lash settings. The LS engine’s stock rocker arm configuration is non-adjustable, so all lifter lash settings must be done by changing the pushrod length.”

The new pushrod has a wall thickness of .075-inch, which provides 20% greater column strength than the factory pushrods. The 500-series rods are manufactured from 1010 carbonitrided steel and are rated for spring pressures up to 400 pounds.

 

Victor CNC Gen III Hemi Cylinder Heads

Edelbrock

edelbrock.com

To go along with an all-new Performer RPM cylinder head for the Gen III Hemi platform, Edelbrock in Olive Branch, Mississippi, has also developed a new Victor CNC version that will appeal to racers.

“The target audience for the Victor CNC will focus on drag racing and the off-road market,” said Mike Sanders. “The Performer RPM will target the high-performance street and resto-mod markets.”

The Victor CNC head was developed by the company’s in-house engineering staff along with the Edelbrock Race Center that is located within Pat Musi’s race shop in Mooresville, North Carolina. The new head will feature 2.250/1.650 valve sizes with an intake port volume of 225cc and an exhaust port volume of 70cc.

“Other benefits for racers include copper B1 intake seats, copper BX exhaust seats, six-bolt-per-cylinder capability, and bridged rocker towers for valvetrain stability at lift,” added Sanders. “All-new intake and exhaust port designs are capable of flowing 431 cfm at .700-inch lift and 250 cfm at .700-inch lift, respectively.”

The combustion chamber volume will be 72cc, and the head is designed for a max valve lift of .700-inch.