Factory Billet Power Update: Winter Progress Spells Improved Reliability And More

It’s been a busy “off season”—so to speak—at Factory Billet headquarters in Lake Zurich, Ill. They say knowledge is power. In our case, knowledge is reliable power and to that end we made even more headway with our turbocharged engine package this winter.

Using Spintron and engine combustion analyzer technology, the team at Factory Billet is continuing to enhance the reliability and efficiency of its 1,650/1,950-hp flexible-fuel turbocharged engine.

In performing more Spintron technology testing, we reaped gains in power and reliability. We changed camshaft profiles, push-rod diameters and valve-spring pressures, all of which gave us the ability to take a traditional pushrod V-8 engine to a new level. That translates to longer times between rebuilds and achieving the perfect balance of a stable valve train.

The biggest addition to our testing program was our new state-of-the-art engine combustion analyzer, which enables us to take all eight cylinders and measure peak pressure—and where the peak pressure happens—through the whole RPM range. Detonation is the enemy in any engine, but especially in powerboats where the load is always there

Being able to change fuels and finding the threshold of each octane level through the combustion analyzer is vital to engine reliability and longevity. And taking this information and feeding it into the MoTeC electronic control units gives us the ability—through four knock sensors on the engine—to learn which cylinder is knocking and change it within one revolution of the crankshaft.

This same analyzer will be able to be run in the boat—as well as with the dynamometer—to deliver real-world results. Frankly, we see this technology as a true game-changer for Factory Billet’s automatically power-adjustable high-performance marine engine.

Editor’s Note: Mike Faucher (above) heads Factory Billet’s engine, drivetrain and system management program. For a comprehensive feature on the Factory Billet project, click here to download the September/October 2017 issue of Speed The Water digital magazine now at no charge.

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