Superior Air Parts

Superior Air Parts announced Friday that Adam Silverstein completed the first owner built XP-360-Plus at its engine build school in Coppell, Texas. Superior Air Parts manufactures FAA approved replacement parts for Lycoming and Continental aircraft engines and produces aftermarket, new replacement engines including the XP-360 series.

Silverstein is building a Vans RV-8 at his New Jersey home. He decided to use Superior's XP-360 Engine for a variety of reasons. "I think the value received is very good for a brand new engine," he said. "And I have a few friends who have the 'XP' engine in their airplanes and they are extremely happy with the engine's performance, smoothness, and price."

"I thought about it for a long time, but made the choice to go with the 'Plus' because of my experience with automotive engines," Silverstein explained. "That technology (roller lifters and roller cams) has been around in cars for a long time. I thought it was strange that it hadn't been used before in piston aircraft engines. Anyway, I didn't necessarily want to be the first to do this (build an XP-360-Plus) but somebody had to do it."

"The introduction of the 360-Plus Engine is a direct response to requests by the experimental aircraft community to have an engine that offers the engineering, quality and value of the standard XP-360, with the added reliability of advanced roller cam and lifter technology," explained Terry Wood, Vice President of Sales for Superior Air Parts.

"In order to meet our customers needs, we teamed up with Thielert Aircraft Engines in Germany to design and develop the roller lifter and cam for the XP-360 Plus Engine, capitalizing on Thielert's vast knowledge and experience in design, development and testing in the automotive industry. When you look to introduce best-of-breed technology, the place to start is with the company that's best at producing that technology."

Keith Blockus, Sr. Director of Engineering for Superior said, "Our roller lifter design relies on a different lubrication strategy than the sliding interface of a conventional flat tappet. This results in the engine being more tolerant to surface degradation than the conventional lifter in low lubrication conditions such as engine startup, eliminating cam and lifter spalling."

Blockus added, "Superior's roller lifter has a conventional hydraulic plunger assembly that interfaces with conventional pushrods. However, the oiling strategy has been designed such that increased oil is directed to the cylinder top-end, aiding in both lubrication and cooling of valve and rocker components."

When asked about the build school experience, Silverstein said, "I'm a hands-on person and I now have a very good understanding of what goes on inside the engine after attending the class. They didn't just hand you a part and you put it on. They took the time to explain what it did and why it was installed a certain way - that's one of the big benefits of the school."

FMI: www.xp-360.com