Through his interest in dynamic balancing, Steve became involved in motorsport. He was involved in balancing the Le Mans Jaguar V12 engines and early turbo charged Cosworth touring cars. Steve left IRD to manage a condition-monitoring group within a service and repair company, and was introduced to new analysis tools – infrared thermo graphic cameras, oil analysis and high voltage partial discharge analysis – all used to support customer condition monitoring programmes. Following this was a move to the oil and gas industry with a prominent consulting house, applying maintenance strategies to new build oil platforms.
In 1998, with a desire to get his ‘hands dirty’ again, Steve started his own balancing business – concentrating on the machine tool sector. The move to Oxford in 2001 (and near to all things motorsport) resulted in a surge of motorsport projects. Steve’s own motorsport successes and reputation for engines that “sing”, brings work in from all the formulae, right up to the F1 businesses.
“Vibration Free were able to provide the best propshaft balancing solution”….
When I built my next engine I decided to go for not only the full balance, but also the heavy metal insertion of the cranks counter balance weights such that they correctly counter balanced the rods & pistons. Te resulting 1.8 engine was even smoother than my original Elise engine that Steve had previously balanced. It went on to break the Emerald rolling road record for power and torque for a transverse 1.8K series install. 10,000 miles later the engine was still making the same power and had done so with complete reliability; a direct result of the balancing work! I used this engine to win the Gurston Down Hillclimb Championship in 2004. .
The result was another ultra smooth engine that again broke the record for a 1.9K series installation at the Emerald rolling road and is still making the same power as when first mapped, again a testament to the balancing work.
Just days before the start of the 24 hour endurance race the, Panoz team called upon the services of UK business Vibration Free who specialise in Dynamic Balancing of high performance cars. Prior to Le Mans, the team had not experienced the sustained top speeds unique to the famed French endurance circuit. The problem was traced to propshaft vibration. Vibration Free were able to provide the best propshaft balancing solution possible in time for the race.
” We are delighted with the Vibration Free designed propshafts;they work well on the cars, we finished in 7th place at Le Mans. We look forward to working with Vibration Free in the future
Tim Walker Restorations Ltd
Simon Erland built the engine which Steve at Vibration Free balanced. A number of components were being used for the first time on a K series engine including Simon’s (own design) light weight flywheel and the first use of a light weight SuperClutch on a K Series Rover engine. Steve balanced all the reciprocating parts (pistons, rods, crank, flywheel and clutch) which, combined with the significant reduction in weight which Simon achieved, has produced a very smooth, free revving and responsive engine. Whilst the gains in power and responsiveness of the engine were significant objectives, the reduction in stress on the engine was as great a priority. We believe that this comprehensive approach to engine building can provide years of reliable road and track use without frequent rebuilds.
SEM have been working with Vibration Free over the last 6 months to help us develop both our motor design and our production methods with the aim of lowering vibration levels on our motors.
Steve’s vast knowledge and experience has been impressive. This knowledge combined with his ability to articulate the core concepts in a clear, concise and understandable manner to staff at all levels has been highly valuable. The transfer of his knowledge and understanding to our staff has accelerated our learning and will allow us to improve our motors considerably in the future. We would highly recommend him to any company interested in reducing or investigating vibration levels.
Just a quick message to thank you for you relentless help on resolving our issues on the VK45 project we inherited from MCT.