Very intriguing. 4 valve heads for a Ford Small Block. Can use stock roller cam, lifters, push rods, intake and exhaust. At $5K a set, it would be very expensive for the additional HP. Who knows…..some day.
Shawn D. wrote:Those rocker arms are massive -- probably pretty heavy. I'm sure the pushrod has to be excessively beefy, as do the camshaft & lifters. Not a fan.
From their web site - "RPM Range - The unique valve gear arrangement made possible by Arao Performance's patented head design(US Patent #5,007,387) allows rev's to over 9000 RPM without use of exotic valve train parts or freakish valve spring loadings."
Compression sealing of the rotary valves is likely an issue. I thought about that years ago when I was in school not knowing that it had already been done (hasn't everything?)
Snakeyestx wrote:What ever happened to the Coates Rotary valve heads for Ford engines?
A quick internet search reveals that the company died years ago along with the idea.
Your search was too quick, although it seems they've taken their patents/products out of the automotive game and into power generators. Oh, and they've merged with some Chinese company, too.
Jeremy wrote: although it seems they've taken their patents/products out of the automotive game and into power generators. Oh, and they've merged with some Chinese company, too.
Jeremy wrote: although it seems they've taken their patents/products out of the automotive game and into power generators. Oh, and they've merged with some Chinese company, too.
Which means the idea is dead for automotive use.
Damn Duke, can't you just admit you were mistaken?
Applications are available for cars, buses, trucks, trains, ships, boats, motorcycles, military uses, farm machinery, off road vehicles and numerous categories of racing. Cars, bikes, boats, home generators, industrial generators, and more.
Ha, I didn't read this thread until now. Thanks for the link. I saw these heads on a Nelson engine video a while back. They may be heavy but the performance gains are well worth it. I'd take these heads at twice their weight. I also consider them cheap if you're building an all-out street rod like some of the stuff you see on NRE's website.
Duke wrote:
Jeremy wrote: although it seems they've taken their patents/products out of the automotive game and into power generators. Oh, and they've merged with some Chinese company, too.
Which means the idea is dead for automotive use.
Not necessarily. It's amazing how technologies once abandoned for more conventional and time-tested ones return after a while and become popular. It might just be waiting in the wings for advancements in other fields to catch up to make this a more viable option. Time will tell.
