![]() Each step of the progression takes days or weeks as the billet is transformed through a number of milling, drilling, hardening, polishing, and grinding processes that shape it before the finishing and balancing procedures. “So, I had to make decisions very early on with things that I really didn’t know how they were going to end up.”Ī crankshaft begins as a single piece of steel billet called GKHW, a metal that, when heat-treated and hardened, makes a very strong and durable component. “I designed the crankshaft long before we committed to other things because it was the longest lead time,” explained Illien. ![]() As for the manufacturing process, most tolerances were measured in increments of microns.īecause of the time concern, Illien and his team had to trust their instincts as they designed pieces without the benefit of the full picture. The designer also had to be certain that complex parts could even be made-whether by a craftsman or CNC machine. For example, the valve gear had to be made entirely from titanium, stainless steel, or a similar ferrous alloy. (****ing Expensive Material) and the mysterious Unobtanium, USAC rules for the 500 limited materials to save costs. In contrast to the wide-open Formula 1 rules, which allowed exotic and costly materials with catchy Ilmor nicknames like F.E.M. From basic aluminum to exotic compounds, each material has different attributes of strength, weight, density, fatigue, and expansion under extreme heat or pressure. after that, there is no guarantee that when you screw them together they will fit, or run successfully on the dyno.”Įach designer was responsible not only for drawing the parts, but determining the manufacturing tolerances and what material to use. He pointed out it wasn’t only the major components but “every nut, bolt, washer, and O-ring must be decided, and calculated for size. “Keep in mind the sheer amount of work to get from a blank piece of paper to an engine,” said Philip le Roux, a South African designer who, like so many others on the team, had been hired by Ilmor directly out of university. The first official lines were drawn by hand Monday, July 19, 1993, slightly more than ten months before raceday. No one on the staff had ever designed a pushrod engine, yet each person had a specific area to design, matching their background and expertise. With the parameters of the pushrod engine in place, chief designer Mario Illien assigned primary duties to his engineering and design team. “Scientists investigate that which already is Engineers create that which has never been.” As a way to avoid designing an entirely new Penske chassis, Illien made the bold promise to package the larger pushrod engine into the PC23 chassis with the exact same connections (chassis, gearbox, cooling, etc.) as the Ilmor Indy D engine they would run at the remaining 15 races on the CART Series tour.įrom the first line on paper to the engine's startup was only 26 weeks, accomplished by an immense number of 24-hour shifts.įor another excerpt and more book details, go to. ![]() After Roger Penske and Ilmor’s Paul Morgan and Mario Illien made the decision to go forward with that configuration rather than the usual double-overhead cam engine, the work began on engine design. The rules for the 500 allowed a larger displacement and increased turbo boost for a single-cam pushrod engine. The book will be released by Octane Press in the coming weeks prior to the 20th anniversary of the 1994 500. Here is a brief excerpt from the upcoming book BEAST, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes stories of Ilmor Engineering and Penske Racing to build a special pushrod engine in a nearly impossible timeframe - and in total secrecy - for the 1994 Indianapolis 500.
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