{"id":13024,"date":"2021-01-20T21:25:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T01:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/?p=13024"},"modified":"2021-01-20T22:10:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-21T02:10:51","slug":"what-is-windage-in-an-engine-and-how-do-we-fight-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxtorqueperformance.com\/staging\/index.php\/2021\/01\/20\/what-is-windage-in-an-engine-and-how-do-we-fight-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Windage In An Engine And How Do We Fight It?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0<\/span>GREG ACOSTA<\/a><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>JANUARY 05, 2021<\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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When planning an engine build, one term that often pops up when discussing the bottom half of the short-block is \u201cwindage.\u201d Now, this term shouldn\u2019t be confused with the term \u201cKentucky windage,\u201d which is something else altogether. If we use the Oxford definition, it states that windage is, \u201cthe air resistance of a moving object, such as a vessel or a rotating machine part, or the force of the wind on a stationary object.\u201d If we drill down to automotive engines specifically, windage is defined by\u00a0<\/span>Canton Racing Products<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>as, \u201cthe flow of air within the crankcase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally, when we say windage in the engine, we are referring to the effect windage has on the oil in the crankcase. All that air movement generated by motion within the crankcase can have a negative effect on the oil in the system in a number of ways. Then there is the physical effect that uncontrolled oil in your crankcase can have on the rotating assembly \u2014 drag. So let\u2019s get to know what we are fighting, and then we\u2019ll talk about how to effectively fight it.<\/p>\n

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Know Your Enemy \u2014 Windage\u2019s Effects on your Engine<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are a number of avenues in which windage makes life in the crankcase less than ideal. When any liquid is churned with air, you get aeration. In the case of engine oil, aerated oil has a number of drawbacks. First, aerated oil doesn\u2019t pump as smoothly. Excessive oil aeration can cause oil feed issues since oil pumps are designed to move fluid, not froth. Why oil-starvation issues are bad is pretty self-explanatory.<\/p>\n

The second drawback of aerated oil is that engine oil mixed with air doesn\u2019t dissipate heat at the same rate as clear liquid oil. Increased oil temperatures in the system lowers the actual viscosity of your oil, which reduces the oil\u2019s ability to properly do its job within the engine. Combine elevated oil temperatures with frothing issues, and you can start to see a loss in oil pressure.<\/p>\n

The next method through which windage can reduce your engine\u2019s performance is through brute force. Ideally, the crankshaft would spin through clear air and only face air resistance. However, with oil splashing all around the crankcase, impacting the spinning counterweights and journal throws, that oil can cause a real and measurable amount of drag on the crankshaft.<\/p>\n

Obviously, we try to reduce drag on the crankshaft in a multitude of ways when building an engine, so it only stands to reason that you address this source of potential power loss as well. Additionally, when the fast-moving crankshaft smacks into that oil, you (again) run the risk of oil aeration.<\/p>\n

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Knife-edging a crank is designed to reduce the counterweight\u2019s resistance to moving through oil spray. This design, called Ultra-Shed by Callies, also profiles the trailing edge of the counterweight to direct oil away from the oncoming crankpin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The third form of chaos that excessive windage can cause is another path to increased oil temperatures. By splashing that oil all over the cylinders and rotating assembly, it acts as a heat sink, pulling extra heat out of the components and cylinder walls and then introducing it into your oil supply.<\/p>\n

While this can be an advantage when built into the system through piston cooling jets, in those systems, the extra heat is accounted for in the overall design of the system. (We won\u2019t even touch the debate between the benefits of cooling the pistons vs. the drag induced by the weight of the oil sprayed onto the piston in this article.)<\/p>\n

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Fighting The Good Fight<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since we know the problems windage can cause and the methods through which it causes them, companies like Canton can effectively combat and mitigate the issue. \u201cMitigating windage is pretty pivotal in the design of our oil pans,\u201d says Iann Criscuolo, Sales and Marketing Manager for Canton. \u201cWe have several features in our pans aimed solely at reducing windage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The engineers at Canton have four main methods through which windage is reduced or its effects mitigated. Remember, you can\u2019t stop the movement of air that results from the crankshaft spinning through the crankcase, but you can control the oil.<\/p>\n

First, is what is known as a crank scraper. While it doesn\u2019t actually physically scrape the crankshaft like a razor blade against the skin, it does get quite close to the crank, physically, and traps oil coming off of the spinning crankshaft, preventing it from being slung upward into the crankcase.<\/p>\n

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