what is blueprinting?

[e30cheeseman]

I keep reading it so I wanna know what it is?

[verde]

Weighing all the engine componants, making sure theyr all the same weight, same degrees, making sure the cylingers are perfectly smooth and straight, making sure the head is flat. Can quite surprising performance gains from it....Hairyscreech will tell you all about it

[e30cheeseman]

cheers so basically its fine retuning of the whole engine to get the some more power from it. im assuming its more for people who have time, money and space to rebuild an engine

[HairyScreech]

All engines are mass produced (well pretty much all) so they all have tolerances on the parts, some are a touch larger or smaller than others.

In a case where you have to fit specific regulations then it pays to find a set of 6 pistons that match exactly, find 12 rockers with identical leverage, etc, etc.
Some times it helps to find a set of pistons at the largest size of the tolerance band and other little tricks to make the best engine a batch of standard components will allow.
Its often said to be "blueprinting" as you are trying to find components that match the blueprints as closely as possible, but i think that is a little simplistic as you would end up with the ideal stock engine rather than one that can give an edge.

It is more of a thing for the obsessive or the spec class racer as in any other situation there are better ways to solve most of the issues.

This gives a much better explanation:
http://www.precisionenginetech.com/tech ... ng-part-1/

[Gunni]

Blueprinting is following the guidelines of the manufacturers specifications. I.e staying within tolerances.
It´s really nothing special.

[basketweave]

say with a tolerance, the specs give you a max measurement of 10.5 mm, and a minimum of 10.3mm. then blueprinting that part would be coming up with a measurement of exactly 10.4mm, half way between the minimum and the maximum tolerance.

that is my take on blueprinting anyway. very time consuming and resource hungry way of getting a extra 10% power out of an engine, but what a nice motor. very crisp and reliable.

I hope to do it to a s14 one day.....

[HairyScreech]

Ahh see it can be more than that, in a racing category where standard components are required then any given engine can be considered the same.

However if you take the time to find a matched set of rockers at the longest length possible within spec then you will gain a tiny amount of lift.
If you find the lightest set of pistons within spec with the largest size then you will save some reciprocating mass and gain some bore area.
If you find a set of rods at the max length then you will gain compression and reduce squish clearance.
The list goes on forever but the key is not to find a set that are in the center of the tolerance band but to find a matched set within tolerance that give you an advantage in whatever area you are looking at.

As i said its more of a thing that benefits people working to a specific set of regulations rather than someone building a motor for the street.