Defeat Torsional Vibration and Gain More Power with a Fluidampr Harmonic Damper

Torsional vibration is one of your engine’s biggest enemies. A Fluidampr Harmonic Damper can keep torsional vibration in check to protect your engine and even recover lost horsepower and torque. But first, a science lesson.

What is Torsional Vibration?
Torsional vibration is the repetitive end-to-end twisting and rebounding of the crankshaft caused by internal combustion. It sounds bad, and it is. Torsional vibration will accelerate component wear, affect valve timing, and increase the risk of engine failure. If the torsional vibration frequency aligns with the natural frequency of the engine’s rotating assembly, a vibration spike will occur. This spike may cause a two-piece crankshaft or oil pump to split apart, much like a wine glass fracturing when the right musical pitch is hit.

Torsional vibration also steals power from your engine. That’s why adding a harmonic damper to control torsional vibration will allow your engine to run more efficiently and make more torque and horsepower. But you need a damper that can handle all of the vibrations produced by a modified street engine or a highly tuned race engine.

Here’s why. Most stock engines use a harmonic damper that uses bonded rubber, or elastomer, between the damper’s crank hub and inertia weight to control vibration. Those dampers are ‘tuned’ to absorb vibration in the engine’s normal operating RPM range. Performance modifications, particularly ones that increase torque, produce added vibration in an RPM range that the elastomer damper wasn’t designed to handle.

What a Fluidampr Does
A Fluidampr harmonic damper doesn’t have the limitations an elastomer damper does. It has an outer housing that mounts to the crankshaft and an inner steel inertia ring surrounded by a viscous silicone fluid. When the engine’s combustion cycle triggers torsional vibration, the outer housing and inner inertia ring will move in and out of phase with each other. The inner inertia ring then shears through the silicone fluid, transforming destructive vibration to heat. That heat then safely radiates through the outer housing. The process means a Fluidampr can control all crankshaft vibration--not just a limited frequency range--at all RPMs. Your engine is protected from damage and can make up the power lost to torsional vibration.

What's more, the inertia ring freely rotates inside the housing, which keeps up to one-third of the Fluidampr’s mass off of the crankshaft. That provides excellent damping while still allowing the engine to rev quickly.

Fluidampr Harmonic Dampers are CNC-machined for precise fit and balance and are SFI 18.1-certified for racing use. They won't crack or separate like rubber-based dampers, and never need to be rebuilt or tuned. Summit Racing carries Fluidamprs for most popular American and import engines, including diesels. They’re the cure for the evils of torsional vibration.

CHECK OUT FLUIDAMPR HARMONIC DAMPERS AT SUMMIT RACING