I have to admit that I know very little about performance engines. I heard today while watching the modified race on SPEED, that Ryan Newman had been disqualified and his mechanic suspended for having an oversized intake manifold gasket in his engine while racing in New Hampshire. I just want to know what that would do to increase horsepower.

Probably very little, and there in lies the problem with a "spec" motor, and I'm assuming they are "spec", if it isn't an "approved" part, that automaticaly makes it "ill eagle", thus allowing them to fine teams at will, and suspend as they see fit, and add money, to what they call a winners fund, or some other BS, that is suposedly included in the year end payout. Even tho the "builder" admitted to the "non conforming" parts, it effected everone, except the driver, now, how does that make sense? Bob

Thank you for the reply. I guess it wasn't so much about horsepower as it was about horses###!.

the problem was that the intake gasket had been messed with to keep if from actually sealing the intake which allowed it to "Air Leak"...which would simulate having a bigger carb by increasing the airflow into the cylinders...if you jet a small carb rich and pull air in from somewhere under it it has the same effect as running a bigger carb...

This trick probably started in go-kart racing where people would slightly bend the restrictor plate then loctite the carb bolts in without tightening them up in order to suck extra air in behind the plate...

I'm not sure exactly what Newmns team had done but I do remember the report on speedchannel stating that the intake had been modified to pull air in under it so it had to be something along those lines

Thanks, Darnall. I thought maybe something like a thicker gasket may have had something to do with it. I would not have thought about creating a leak. I'm always amazed at some of the stuff the mechanics come up with to gain an edge. It seems like the hardest part for them is to not get caught.

"Well you didn't say you couldn't" Smokey

And Nascar's answer was, "Just because it doesn't say you can't, doesn't mean you "CAN"! I had the privledge of working with Dave Marcus, when he was doing R&D for DEI, in the days prior to restrictor plates, I was the "outsource" machine shop, for things they didn't want seen around the Carolina area, and you would not believe the things they came up with, to "aid" how an engine breathes! That was quite an experience, and interesting, as well as well funded. Bob