Engine Specifics
Whether you are building a house, a building, or a high-performance engine, they all require a solid foundation to ensure robustness. In the DN1 configuration, the diminutive AMV4 light-weight block is “married” vertically, horizontally, and laterally by a cast girdle. This ingenious girdle was designed by Chris Ruthstrom, formally of Ligier North America, in collaboration with SHP, Performance Assembly Solutions (PAS) and PAS’ go-to block machining partner, JNB Machine, Fowlerville, MI. The girdle incorporates 2 integral crankcase oil return channels for oil pump scavenging, and it makes up the entire lower half of the engine thereby eliminating the oil pan. The girdle is retained with 12 ARP 10mm studs in the 3 integral 4-bolt lower main caps, 6 solid dowels and 10 perimeter fasteners. The cylinder block incorporates ductile iron top hat sleeves and is CNC honed to ensure the bores are straight and round. Both the block and the girdle are cast in 356 aluminum and heat treated to T6.
The AMV4 rotating assembly consists of a short, common-throw, crankshaft with forged 4340 connecting rods, forged pistons by RaceTec, and ARP’s 8740 chrome moly rod bolts. In the DN1 configuration, the front and rear of the crankshaft are sealed at both ends with low-friction, double lip Duplex seals by GST Racing Seals. These seals are designed specifically for a dry sump application and help maintain crankcase vacuum created by the Dailey Engineering dry sump oil pump. This start-of-the-art dry sump pump includes an integrated air to oil separator. This separator protects the engine from pre-mature bearing damage by removing aeration from the oil.
The AMV4 cylinder heads were designed to work in concert with the block and crank layout. The overall system layout made it feasible to create a straight column valvetrain (SCVT). According to Rick Smith, founder of Trick Flow Cylinder Heads and now with Brian Tooley Racing, “the AMV4 set-up is as good as anything on the planet from a valve train alignment standpoint”. The heads incorporate splayed and canted intake and exhaust valve arrangements. The heads are assembled by PAS with 6mm intake/titanium and stainless/exhaust valves, lash caps and rocker arms with trunnion bearings. The heads are sealed to the block using Cometic's new MLX head gaskets that were specifically designed and tooled for SHP. These gaskets are Cometic’s latest in head gasket technology, incorporating an incremental conformance layer. This additional layer is designed to improve cylinder head to block sealing.
All engines are broken-in and dyna tested using Driven Racing Oil BR40, a specially blended oil designed specifically for the break-in process.
In its present configuration, the DN1 requires an external water pump solution. It can be configured with a combination starter/alternator (programmed via CAN) or a conventional alternator if the customer application has a bell-housing mount starter provision. In the starter/alternator combination, the engine does not require a conventional starter.
