Tag: XL Tech Stories

Snatch Block Or Snatch Ring? Which One Is More Efficient For Pulling Your Junk Out Of A Tough Spot? Time For Physics Class

Feb 06, 2021XL Spotlight, XL Tech Stories, XL Videos

Snatch Block Or Snatch Ring? Which One Is More Efficient For Pulling Your Junk Out Of A Tough Spot? Time For Physics Class

If you are an off-roader, and have ever used a winch, then you are probably familiar with a snatch block. If you’ve ever had a hard time dragging a car onto your trailer with a winch and have used a snatch block to help, you know to use them, but may not know why.  If you’ve used one, even if you don’t know that you know, you have experience with the Pulley Principle. I won’t bore you with too much physics, but here are the important parts. Generically speaking, using a snatch block does two things. First, it makes the winch work half as hard, or able to pull twice as much, and second it pulls half as fast. Again, it’s simple physics, but the snatch block has been around for hundreds of years. Seriously, the same principles and technology have been used in moving things and lifting things since man first made the wheel. But is there something better? The technology changes in the rest our world surely have impacted the snatch block right? Well, sorta.

Instead of just having snatch blocks, now there are snatch rings, which work on the exact same principle but with a little more flexibility. Again, same physics, but different logistics and ergonomics. But is one actually better than the other? And does it matter just how you are using it? Keep in mind, snatch blocks and snatch rings are not just used to make your winch stronger, but also to be able to change the direction of a pull. Does this change which one is better?

I’ve never used a snatch ring, but now that I’ve seen them I think there is some merit in keeping one in the trailer box to go along with my other wince accessories, like my snatch block.

Before you watch this video, be fare warned that there are some physics class moments in the video, but the payoff is actual testing while pulling rigs with a winch cable. This is real world testing, with all the physics and dynamics explained.

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Small Block Ford Intake Testing – Single vs Dual Plane On Both 351 Cleveland And Windsor

Jan 16, 20211320 Engine Tech, 1320 Tech Story, 1320 Videos, Apex Engine Tech, Apex Tech Stories, Apex Video, ENGINE, ENGINES, Tech Stories, Videos, XL Engine Tech, XL Tech Stories, XL Videos

Small Block Ford Intake Testing – Single vs Dual Plane On Both 351 Cleveland And Windsor

The world of intake manifolds is a diverse one, where dual plane, single plane, tunnel ram, IR, cross ram, long runner and short are available for just about every popular engine combo. And because modern intakes have gotten more and more modular, there are lots of ways to configure intakes for your particular application. But with the increasing number of throttle body fuel injection systems, and the still much larger number running carburetors, the age old discussion of dual plane vs single plane is a valid one. There has always been a belief that single planes are for racing and dual planes are for street cars, but with the ever increasing performance potential that we take advantage of, our street cars are getting more and more powerful all the time. So does the rule still apply? Is single really only good for the race track? Are dual planes only good for a cruiser?

Thanks to our friend Richard Holdener, we’re going to see the results of some testing with both a 351 Cleveland and a 351 Windsor on the dyno at Westech Performance Group. Watch, look at real data, and listen to the conclusions Richard has come to after years of dyno testing. Then use the info to help you make the right parts decisions for your bitchin Ford build.

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Meziere Enterprises Safety Lock Radiator Cap Should Be Mandatory Equipment On Every Race Car

In racing we always talk about the big stuff. We talk about big tires, big horsepower, big numbers, and big performances but the reality is that the little things are what not only win you races but keep you safe. Take the Meziere Enterprises Safety Lock radiator cap. This device is a real world solution to a real world problem. I can give you at least a dozen examples of wrecks I have seen on the track due to people’s radiator caps failing, coming off, or otherwise letting them down. With the unique and awesome Safety Lock design, these problems are quite literally eliminated.

Made from billet aluminum and available in multiple pressures, the cap utilizes a roller pin design to contact and secure itself to the filler neck and then there’s the locking shell which is quite literally the lynch pin of the system. Once the shell is installed and the safety pin is inserted, that thing cannot come off.

There’s nothing worse than wrecking your stuff because of something like a radiator cap. Actually there is. There’s wrecking the track for your fellow competitors and potentially wrecking someone else’s car if they get caught up in your mess. This is a great solution to a problem that exists in the world and can be solved. We think every race car in the country needs one!

Press play below to see a great video on the Meziere locking safety radiator cap –

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