Engine balancing is a rather time consuming, expensive procedure but if you
have the extra cash then it's well worth the expense. It basically involves
weighing the pistons, and rods separately to determine the lightest
components. Then the other components are all matched to this weight.
Example; the pistons are all weighed an the lightest one is determined.
Then all the other pistons are ground/machined to achieve this same weight.
The rods are treated similarly. Then weights are attached to the crankshaft
equal to the aforementioned weights obtained + oil slinging and windage
calculations with a formula for that particular engine design. The whole
assembly is then spun in a special machine that determines where and how
much weight should be added/subtracted from the crankshaft counter-weights.
Your flywheel and harmonic damper/pulley may or may not be balanced with
this assembly. Some are balanced as separate units by themselves depending
on how the factory balanced your engine. The whole process yields a
smoother running engine with less vibration/stress on all the reciprocating
parts.
Barry Schwartz
Bschwartz@encad.com (San Diego)
72-V6 Spitfire (daily driver)
70 GT6+ (when I don't drive the Spit)
70 Spitfire (project on hold for now)
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