> High Speed Attack - Top Oil Ack Attack Team Goes For Land Speed Record
February
27, 2006
NOTE: For the latest news
and photos on Team Top Oil’s record attempts
checkout the daily, often hourly, updates from
Jon Amo at Landracing.com.
Lake Gairdner, Australia - A team of veterans
from the American motorcycle racing community
will try for a new world land-speed record on
Australia’s Lake Gairdner salt flats. Those
familiar with the pursuit of land speed records
will know Lake Gairdner as the down-under version
of the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Sponsored
by Burlingame, California-based Top Oil Products
Company and led by noted motorcycle designer Mike
Akatiff, the Top-1 “Ack-Attack” team’s
record run will be witnessed by officials from
the Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme
(FIM), the international sanctioning organization
that certifies motorcycle world land-speed records.
The Top-1 team has already set an unofficial motorcycle
land-speed record of 328.3 miles per hour on October
16, 2004 at Bonneville, which was certified by
Bonneville Nationals, Inc. and the Southern California
Timing Association.
While most enthusiasts associate land-speed records
runs with Bonneville’s annual Speed Week,
world records can be set anywhere that conditions
permit. Similar to the Bonneville Salt Flats,
Lake Gairdner is an ancient lake bed with an ultra-smooth
salt-covered surface that’s ideal for high-speed
runs. While Lake Gairdner boasts deeper, smoother
salt deposits than the revered Bonneville course,
it involves a two-day drive through the desolate
outback from the city of Adelaide, Australia to
reach the 100-mile-long lake bed. Because of Lake
Gairdner’s remote location, the team must
bring along a large supply of spare parts and
special equipment. A 15-mile straight-line course
has been set up on the lake bed – seven
miles to build up speed, one mile to officially
record the streamliner’s speed, and another
seven miles to slow down.
The Top Oil team will be the making speed attempts
in conjunction with Australia Speed Week from
March 6 – 10, 2006 using a custom-built,
twin engine, 900-horsepower streamliner motorcycle.
With a combined displacement of about 2.6 liters,
the twin four-cylinder 1300-cc engines make use
of a single exhaust-driven turbocharger and a
single Bell Intercoolers Liquid/Air (Liquid to
Air) intercooler. Water from a separate 30-gallon
tank in the nose of the streamliner is circulated
through the liquid-cooled engines, this actually
reduces air drag by eliminating the need for an
air intake for the radiator. The nose-mounted
water tank also contributes to the streamliner’s
high-speed stability, not unlike a lead-weighted
dart.
Team Top Oil utilizes a fully enclosed design
for the Liquid/Air intercooler, which requires
no drag-inducing, speed-robbing, air intakes.
Instead of air for cooling the intake air charge,
the Liquid/Air intercooler relies the circulation
of 15-gallons of ice water stored in a coolant
reservoir under the driver’s cockpit.
Conventional motorcycle controls include a throttle
on the right handle grip and a left-side clutch
lever, which are coupled to both engines, while
a left-foot shifter operates both transmissions
simultaneously. The drive chains from each engine-transmission
unit are connected to a common intermediate shaft,
and a larger single chain drives the rear wheel.
An “under-drive” unit on the intermediate
shaft allows overall gear ratios to be changed
quickly and easily.
The Top-1 Ack Attack streamliner rides on ultra-high-speed
Mickey Thompson automotive tires – seven
inches wide in front and nine inches at the rear.
The tires are mounted on special two-piece wheels
fabricated from 7075 aircraft-quality aluminum,
16 x 7 inches up front and 18 x 9 inches in back.
Headquartered in Burlingame, California, Top Oil
Products is a highly successful U.S. exporter
of quality lubricants. An independent, privately
held company, Top Oil has three manufacturing
locations in the Los Angeles area and eight overseas
offices covering the Pacific Rim and Latin America.
Top Oil offers a full line of Top-1 branded automotive
and industrial lubricants that include synthetic
motor oils, gear oils, industrial oils, fuel and
oil treatments, greases, coolant and brake fluid.
Mike Akatiff said, “We’re using Top-1
synthetic oil in our streamliner, and we want
to make Top-1 the fastest oil in the world. Top
Oil is based just a few miles from us, and they
have been a great supporter of the Ack-Attack
team, including arranging and paying for all of
our shipping and travel to Australia.”
Our special thanks to Top Oil (www.topoil.com)
and Jon Amos of Landracing.com (www.landracing.com)
for the latest information on the Team Top Oil
effort.
>
Bell Intercooler Eqipped CB/1 Debuts in Hot Rod
Magazine
February
27, 2006
Spring
Branch, TX - Spring Branch, TX - The twin turbocharged,
650 horsepower CB/1 made its public debut in February
with the release of a feature article in the April
issue of Hot Rod magazine. This press coverage is
joined by the launch of the new CB/1 website at
cb1project.com.
The CB/1 represents the engineered blending of modern
automotive and racing technology with one of the
all time high performance legends, the venerable
427 Cobra. The ultimate performance version of this
classic powered by a twin turbocharged, 385 cubic
inch V8, delivering a track tearing 650 horsepower
and 640 lb-ft of torque. Meld this brutal power
with a race designed chassis and a Ron Nash designed
suspension for precise control, then add an ergonomically
corrected cockpit and you have the most potent,
most useable, most enjoyable evolution of the 427
Cobra.
Keeping turbo outlet air temperatures at optimal
levels is a large, twin-inlet/twin-outlet Air/Air
(air to air) intercooler designed and manufactured
by Bell Intercoolers specifically for the CB/1 project.
An engine with the performance capabilities of the
CB/1 requires a substantial intercooler and the
classic Cobra body provides little room for installation.
Bell Intercoolers worked closely with the designers
and engineers at RSC (Renaissance Sports Cars) to
fit the proper size intercooler into a less than
generous CB1 nose section.
The CB/1 is based on a newly designed platform,
engineered by Corky Bell specifically for the performance
and usability requirements of this vehicle. No cut
corners, no secondhand components, no compromises.
This vehicle is developed from a clean sheet of
paper to yield unparalleled performance. Modern
control, power and driveability all tucked under
one of the most beautifully forceful shapes in automotive
design.
For additional information about the CB/1 production
models and sales please visit cb1project.com
or contact Corky Bell at 830-438-2890 (email: cbell@cb1project.com).
> Bell Intercoolers
Announces the Technical Support Group
July
23, 2005
San Antonio , TX - As part of our continuing effort
to provide our customers with the best in intercooler
systems, Bell Intercoolers is pleased to announce
our new Technical Support group. Built on the simple
premise that providing the best intercooler design
and engineering information results in the best
intercooler system, we are now providing our customers
with an open line of communication to our engineers.
At Bell Intercoolers we understand that while the
basic concept of intercooling is fairly straightforward,
there are areas of theory and execution where even
the most seasoned veteran could use a little expert
advice to create the best intercooler system for
their specific application. We also want you to
be completely satisfied with the performance of
your intercooler system. So with those two thoughts
in mind we are pleased to offer Bell Intercoolers
Technical Support.
Bell Intercoolers Technical Support is your open
door to our engineering team. Proper core sizing
and selection, proper tank design, Air/Air or Liquid/Air?
Whatever the question, we are here to help, providing
you access to leading engineers in the intercooling
and forced induction field. Whether you are designing
a system for your latest street project, a new system
for the drag strip or a cutting edge system for
a LeMans contender we can provide you with the engineering
advantage you need to stay ahead of the competition.
Our Chief Engineer, Gerhard Schruf, heading up the
Technical Support group, draws upon his 40 years
of experience in the field of forced induction,
including two seasons as a forced induction engineer
with the Ferrari Formula One team. Also contributing
to the Technical Support group is engineer and turbocharging
expert Corky Bell. With 30 years of experience in
the field of turbo and supercharger system design,
as well as two definitive books on the subject,
Corky rounds out the engineering supervisory staff.
Bell Intercoolers believes that providing our customers
with the right information will give them the best
product. This is part of our commitment to provide
you with the best in intercooler technology and
components. Give us a call and let us help you engineer
your next intercooling project.
For additional information on our Technical Support
group click
here.
> CB/1 Initial
Dyno Testing Successful With 600+ Horsepower
June
5, 2005
San Antonio, TX – In mid-May the team at Renaissance
Sports Cars (RSC) wrapped up the final fabrication
and assembly efforts on the CB/1 (cb1project.com)
in preparation for extended chassis and dyno testing
over the summer months. This prototype, desgined
by engineer Corky Bell, utilizes modern race car
technology and design, coupled with a twin turbo,
intercooled, 385 cubic inch Ford small block V8
powerplant. All of this power and technology is
skillfully tucked beneath the classic lines of the
venerable 1965 Cobra. A modern interpretation of
the classic design, the CB/1 brings more power and
control with none of the character flaws of the
original. Forget about melted shoes, cramped footboxes
and cold starting carbs, the C/B1 leaves all of
that in a cloud of tire smoke.
To handle the anticipated twin turbocharged 650
horsepower, RSC came to the engineers at BIC's Design
Group to design and fabricated an intercooler to
meet the power requirements while fitting into the
tight constraints of the Cobra skin. Using a unique
twin inlet / twin outlet design, the engineers at
BIC were able to design a system that met the power
requirements while meeting the difficult space and
airflow limitations.
“BIC (Bell Intercoolers) was a key player
in the design of this powerplant,” says CB/1
project manager Trey Hermann. “They were on
board from the beginning and were able to not only
meet our tight project requirements, but they brought
several engineering solutions to the table that
we had not explored. This power system was a success
due in large part to the expertise of the engineers
at BIC.”
With the last of the assembly and fabrication tasks
completed the RSC team transported the CB/1 to Henderson
Performance Systems in New Braunfels, Texas for
the first of many dyno sessions.
Combine the extreme power of the CB/1, 650 hp and
640 lb/ft torque, with a curb weight of 2750 pounds
and you have a vehicle that cannot be tuned with
a few runs down the highway. Given the acceleration
potential, a controlled environment was required
for any boost pressures above 8 psi. “With
this level of power, any road surface imperfections
instantly translate into wheel spin’”
relates Hermann, ”and that makes for difficult
tuning. The dyno allows us to essentially add traction
by simply strapping down the car and forcing it
onto the rotating drum.”
With Hermann at the wheel and Corey Henderson at
the controls of the Dynojet, the team began testing.
“This is our first trip to the dyno and today
we’re just letting her flex her muscles in
a controlled environment. We want to see how all
systems respond under the stresses of the upper
end of the power range.” And flex she did.
With the wastegates delivering only 9.5 psi of boost,
the team measured 530 horsepower and 537 lb/ft of
torque at the wheels across a strong, flat power
curve. A few quick calculations to correct for flywheel
power and the team is all grins. An estimated 580
horsepower at 9.5 psi. The motor has delivered ahead
of the curve and should have no problem meeting
the expected 650 horsepower figures with a full
12 psi of boost.
Hermann looks relieved. “We were very pleased
with the results. Of course we would have liked
to have been able to hit the full boost potential
and see the bigger numbers, but this first session
showed the engineering was right on target and all
systems performed with no complications.”
With that much power on tap, the potential for trouble
is always there. “It is an odd sensation being
in the driver’s seat for these runs. This
is an open cockpit car and we make our power runs
in fourth gear. That makes for quite a bit of commotion.“
Commotion may be an understatement. At 6000 rpm
in fourth gear, the CB/1 is turning approximately
150 mph on the drums.
The CB/1 prototype will continue dyno testing through
the Summer months, adding track chassis testing
and tuning to the mix when the engine management
system is fully calibrated. Look for the C/B1 to
be appearing in major automotive publications in
the Fall. For additional information about the CB/1
production models and sales please visit cb1project.com
or contact Corky Bell at 830-438-2890 (email: cbell@cb1project.com).
