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Measuring the piston to within .002 millimeters which is somewhere around .00008 of an inch I think, is one thing. But if one does not match up, not sure what ya can do about it. That is pretty close tolerance for any machining process.
A Western Carolina University senior is helping a NASCAR team in its search for the perfect piston. Preston McCrary's senior project aims to use tools at the school's Center for Rapid Prototyping to measure pistons for the Andy Petree Racing team to within two one-thousandths of a millimeter. McCrary said knowing the specific geometry of each piston could give the racing a team a competitive advantage within the tightly-ruled world of NASCAR. McCrary's partner, Greg Siler of Salisbury, also a manufacturing engineering technology major, said he sees the potential to create a "perfect piston" by comparing pistons from exceptional racing engines to normal production pistons. The chief engineer for the Flat Rock-based racing team, Jon Dysinger, was tightlipped about what the team plans to do with the students' research. "It will be interesting to see what these guys are able to come up with," Dysinger said. Even Western Carolina assistant professor Richard Temple, who negotiated the project with Andy Petree Racing, said he is not allowed to talk about the specifics of McCrary and Siler's research. Christian Fittipaldi is driving part-time for the Petree racing team in 2003. Representing Petree in the No. 33 car, Fittipaldi finished 35th in last month's Daytona 500. McCrary admits he's not much of a racing fan. A 1990 graduate of Hendersonville High School, his studies at Western Carolina were interrupted by a stint in the Army, where he was a turbo mechanic, and time working as a diesel mechanic and for Weaverville's water treatment plant. He hopes to go on to graduate school or land a manufacturing job
A Western Carolina University senior is helping a NASCAR team in its search for the perfect piston. Preston McCrary's senior project aims to use tools at the school's Center for Rapid Prototyping to measure pistons for the Andy Petree Racing team to within two one-thousandths of a millimeter. McCrary said knowing the specific geometry of each piston could give the racing a team a competitive advantage within the tightly-ruled world of NASCAR. McCrary's partner, Greg Siler of Salisbury, also a manufacturing engineering technology major, said he sees the potential to create a "perfect piston" by comparing pistons from exceptional racing engines to normal production pistons. The chief engineer for the Flat Rock-based racing team, Jon Dysinger, was tightlipped about what the team plans to do with the students' research. "It will be interesting to see what these guys are able to come up with," Dysinger said. Even Western Carolina assistant professor Richard Temple, who negotiated the project with Andy Petree Racing, said he is not allowed to talk about the specifics of McCrary and Siler's research. Christian Fittipaldi is driving part-time for the Petree racing team in 2003. Representing Petree in the No. 33 car, Fittipaldi finished 35th in last month's Daytona 500. McCrary admits he's not much of a racing fan. A 1990 graduate of Hendersonville High School, his studies at Western Carolina were interrupted by a stint in the Army, where he was a turbo mechanic, and time working as a diesel mechanic and for Weaverville's water treatment plant. He hopes to go on to graduate school or land a manufacturing job