What has been working since 1995 with countless engines modified and working better than ever, has fairly recently been brought to the US from India. We have also been contacted by volunteer testers in various other locations around the world. 

Somender Singh has been awarded an US Patent for his discovery of how to gain more engine power and economy by utilizing a small groove cut into the squish area(s) of the typical Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). The Groove(s) allows gasses to expand and compress with a quality that has consistently improved fuel efficiency, lowered operating temperature, improved torque and max power as well as lowering idle speed significantly.

notice the 'squirt' allowed by the Grooves (in red) in this cutaway view

The Groove has beneficial effects on the compression stroke as well as the power stroke. On the compression stroke, the Groove channels one last bit of air/fuel mixture towards the spark plug, maintaining swirl until the spark provides ignition. On the power stroke, the Groove provides a channel for hot gasses to jet towards the cylinder wall and rapidly ignite mixture in the squish area. It also appears that the Groove can destroy standing vortices in the squish areas as well. 


                    
Without grooves, the combustion is incomplete and unburned fuel remains in the cylinder. This unburned fuel is still expanding during the exhaust stroke. At the end of the exhaust stroke, the expanding unburned gases flow past the intake valve into the intake manifold, causing poor idle, carbon deposits and lower performance. Notice the areas left unburned. This is the extent of the flamefront.



      
Shown here are two different types of groove for illustration purposes only. Normally only one type of Groove is used (see photo). Follow this link to see other images of Grooved engines.
  
With the grooved cylinder heads, combustion is more complete leaving little unburned fuel behind, more of the fuel is used to generate power-faster, reducing the time that internal surfaces are exposed to heat. (That’s also why engines typically run 20 degrees F. cooler with a Groove) 

For more comparison pictures go here http://somender-singh.com/content/view/65/43/

With the modified heads, very little unburned fuel remains during the exhaust stroke. With less burning fuel to expand during the overlap period, the gasses flowing past the intake valve are reduced, resulting in improved idle quality even below 500rpm !

It has been conclusively proven that the Grooves are effective because of the additional benefits they allow: Higher compression ratio, less advance, lower idle speed and lower octane fuel. The difference in a tuned up Grooved engine is simple to understand. If the same tune, advance, and CR was used for an unGrooved engine, it probably wouldn't even start!

 Eliminating Ping (also called 'knock' or detonation) allows for an advance setting that is much closer to Top Dead Center (TDC) to get more power from each stroke of the Piston. This quality of a Grooved engine also enables a higher compression ratio with the use of regular octane fuel, thus adding more improvements to the quality of combustion and preventing knock, or worse, 'pre-ignition'. It has been well known that higher compression makes a more efficient engine, that's why diesels work so well. The problem is, that increased compression (pressure) and high temperature also leads to a more volatile combustion chamber and you usually get 'knock', which means the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder is igniting before the spark plug fires.

This can be damaging to the engine if combustion occurs too far before the piston gets to TDC  because the expanding gasses are trying to make the engine run backwards in that one cylinder while the rest of the engine is going 'forwards'. Bad news.

Since Grooved engines 'seem' to burn the fuel faster, you can wait to ignite the fuel-air mixture until the piston is near the top of its stroke. That leaves more energy pushing on the piston as the burning gasses expand and exposes the piston and cylinder walls to  heat for a shorter time period. This combination of effects safely allows for a higher compression ratio to be used.

The Groove 'seems' to create more mixing (turbulence) in the burning gasses, making sure that more of the fuel/air mixture gets to be completely burned before the exhaust ports open and the engine 'exhales' the used fuel/air mixture. By the way, a -surprising- amount of fuel/air mixture is NOT burned in every single stroke of your typical engine. It is allowed to exit through the tailpipe and is sometimes called pollution. It definitely is wasted fuel that you paid for with good money .

The Groove reduces the amount of unburned fuel/air mixture leaving your engine by turning more of it into power.

Visit the links referred to above and look closely at the cylinder heads and piston tops for signs of incomplete combustion. It usually shows up as a lighter color around the edge of the cylinder chamber. This is where pockets of fuel have not burned. It is consistently obvious from the photographic evidence sent to us that Grooved engines burn fuel well into the 'corners' of the cylinder.

So, the main benefit of the Groove is not a specific single change, but the combination of power and efficiency improving effects. One tester even went to far as to test an engine with unGrooved and then Grooved heads, but kept the tuning exactly the same. He was attempting to 'isolate' the Groove's effect and got less than dramatic results. Even though this test didn't take advantage of the Groove's main strengths (a 'worst case scenario' in other words) the dyno still showed a +6 hp power increase and a smoothing of the power band through all rpm's.

No one disputes that increased compression, increased turbulence and reduced temperature are all 'good' things for improving performance of the typical internal combustion engine, yet on the web, people who are not familiar with this modification still claim that the grooves must be 'magic' and therefore unscientific and impossible.

 As you look around this site, recognize the countries represented and the diversity of opinion and methodology. No one here has been selected, edited, censored or motivated by any promise from Somender-Singh.com. Each individual is independent and wholly driven by their  own curiosity and desire for better performance. Since Somender is not yet 'selling' his Patent, there is no monetary gain available from performing the groove (other than better running engines), yet people keep doing it. At any time, anyone is welcome to provide evidence of any negative impact from grooving an engine properly and their testing results will be posted just like everyone else's.

These experiments are usually run on 'beaters' with nothing left to lose. As soon as the groove brings these vehicles back to life, you will often see that person go on to perform Groovings on their daily driver, then their favorite cars and the 'race day specials'.

No snake oil, just clean oil, and clean power.

If you are interested to explore what this really means for the whole world, you can see a YouTube video of Martynelli from Spain cutting a nice pretty groove with nothing more than a hacksaw blade, triangular file and some sand paper, in less than four minutes! 

And for anyone who thinks that having two unmodified squish areas are superior, have a look at flat plate dynamics. Place two sheets of plywood face to face and try to pull the top one off rapidly. Better yet, get a friend to help you pull it straight up evenly!  A great deal of force is required to overcome the vacuum created. Now drill a few dozen holes (or cut a long notch) into the top sheet and you will then be able to pull off the top sheet easier and still produce 'turbulence' in the region.

During the first phases of combustion, gasses expanding into the Groove with combustion forming a 'jet' aimed at the cylinder wall produces any extra turbulence lost from compromising the integrity of a flat squish area (and then some).

Drag or momentum, which would you want powering your piston?

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Comments

Just wanted to say hi! Written by Sue on 2010-01-21 21:11:10 What is up everyone? My name is Jessica. I am from Slovakia. I am new to the forum and just wanted to say hi.. I hope I posted this in the right section on your forum... [url=http://somender-singh.com/?da09ae4c2662bb7c5aa6ec36844]http://somender-singh.com/?da09ae4c2662bb7c5aa6ec36844[/url],

mgccars.com Written by emadak on 2009-08-20 11:54:33 I have a 1969 MGC 6 cyl that indeed is a rare bird. Spent alot of time reading and rereading what has been said here on Somenders web site. Taking a deep breath I did the deed. A forty year old head weighed in the balance.......  I am 100% satisfied with the results. Even pull through the power band. Better mpg, and like I have told others if all I get is clean oil that would be enough for me, because then the engine would last longer. The oil continues to be clean between oil changes. Why? Better and more complete combustion. What do others think? Well I have heard alot of negative remarks but none from those who have ventured a go at this simple idea. If others are thinking of trying, I recommend it. I have 2yrs and approx 20,000 mi with no problems and the car runs better than new.  Ed  Mgccars.com

mgccars.com Written by emadak on 2009-08-20 11:54:18 I have a 1969 MGC 6 cyl that indeed is a rare bird. Spent alot of time reading and rereading what has been said here on Somenders web site. Taking a deep breath I did the deed. A forty year old head weighed in the balance.......  I am 100% satisfied with the results. Even pull through the power band. Better mpg, and like I have told others if all I get is clean oil that would be enough for me, because then the engine would last longer. The oil continues to be clean between oil changes. Why? Better and more complete combustion. What do others think? Well I have heard alot of negative remarks but none from those who have ventured a go at this simple idea. If others are thinking of trying, I recommend it. I have 2yrs and approx 20,000 mi with no problems and the car runs better than new.  Ed  Mgccars.com

Mr Written by ramanandaraop on 2008-08-12 13:13:23 Excellent

Reactions Written by somender on 2008-05-10 15:04:26 "there would be no need for this 'channeling' because quench, by design, forces displacement of this A/F mixture into the combustion area."    Quench does force this displacement along the entire with of the quench area. The turbulence resulting from this is quickly dissipated before penetrating the entire chamber. A Groove forces the last remaining amount of gasses into a "jet" that promotes a 'longer' swirl pattern across the entire chamber. The momentum from the longer swirl has a theorized effect of destroying standing vortices. Standing vortices actually hamper chamber wide tumble and flow. Imagine trying to send air/fuel mixture 'through' a group of tornadoes produced by pulling two flat plates apart.    "You also claim that the engine tune is significantly different."    Grooves allow a highly efficient tune (advance, compression ratio, mixture density) that would make a regular engine choke and die. An athlete requires a resting heart rate as low as 40bpm. An obese person would probably not survive that heart rate and expends a significant amount of energy supporting their inefficient heart+respiration.    "If better combustion is achieved by these grooves, and reduces the need for ignition advance, the engine should actually be easier to start. Isn't that why timing is already close to TDC at start up, and why it advances as RPM goes up?"    It advances to avoid pre-ignition, knock and ping, which are all indicators of inefficient combustion. The more advance (meaning spark happens before TDC) you have, the more energy is lost to compressing ignited, expanding gasses before going "over the hump" at which point the gasses now push the cylinder down. Octane is used to affect how fast the fuel burns. In a regular engine, slightly slower burn = less work before TDC and hopefully more power later in the stroke but it also means more unburned gasses out the tailpipe.

MOSTAFA Written by COMMANDOS on 2007-11-12 18:30:31 Thanks a lot Mr singh,  this is very impressive, and i hope to see this idea in the new vehicles especially the German cars and of course indian cars too (TATA), and i am sure that's you will succeed pushing the cars industries forward, because this idea is revolutionary.

Hang Tough Written by lansair on 2007-11-07 00:19:16 Sing I have spent a lot of my time trying to get others interested in grooves. It is past time for the Little People of this world to Unite letting their voices be heard. which is why I think everyone who reads what you have on your web site ought to send an E-mail to the automakers in their country and ask them why are they not using the grooves in their engines

Written by lansair on 2007-09-21 02:52:53 Sing My Friend; You need to make grooves sound more complicated .  The grooves concept is too simple,which is why it is so difficult to get some to beleive what you are telling them.  They think only those living in Ivory towers called R&D Labs could have discovered something that a set of simple grooves could accomplish.

Valarius Written by Guest on 2007-02-14 15:15:48 "You also claim that the engine tune is significantly different. If better combustion is acheived by these grooves, and reduces the need for ignition advance, the engine should actually be easier to start. Isn't that why timing is already close to TDC at start up, and why it advances as RPM goes up?"    Engine tune varies from engine to engine. Some trucks don't change in tone, while a VW Bug might run a lot quieter. Depends on the engine and how many grooves you cut.

Dale Allen Written by Guest on 2007-01-13 08:35:46 I am confused by a couple of ideas here that seem to contradict one another. In the third paragraph, you say that the grooves channel the last bit of A/F mixture to the combustion area. If quench area is done properly (minimum clearance between the piston and cylinder head), there would be no need for this 'channeling' because quench, by design, forces displacement of this A/F mixture into the combustion area. You also say that it appears to destroy vortices in the squish areas (where the A/F mixture is being forced from), but 2 sentences before that, you say that it maintains swirl.   You also claim that the engine tune is significantly different. If better combustion is acheived by these grooves, and reduces the need for ignition advance, the engine should actually be easier to start. Isn't that why timing is already close to TDC at start up, and why it advances as RPM goes up?

With you in all ways... Written by Guest on 2006-12-18 15:08:17 Not the first time a radical breakthrough has come from the masses... with you in all ways to help this become reality. Be careful - Corporate America is a treacherous place - as other innovative Asians in America have discovered. You have a fan club in unlikely places. Do not go by the number of comments here. Don't take any investment money from those whose only interest is to shut this down. Get the word to the people.

I read about him years ago Written by Guest on 2006-10-26 11:13:12 I know the story of mr. singh and I was really disappointed when ford etc told him to shove it years ago. I am really surprised to find that he has finally gotten a break. Thanks for letting everyone know.

Interesting Correction But.. Written by Guest on 2006-09-06 13:16:07 Doesn't the groove adress both pre-igntion AND detonation?    Wouldn't high compression in an unmodified cylinder with regular octane cause 'pre-ignition' ?    -The groove seems to fix that.    Would increased turbulence in the combustion cycle cause more fuel to be burned and reduce the opportunity for 'detonation'?    -The groove seems to do that.

andrew Written by Guest on 2006-08-05 07:43:16 thankyou MR singh  for sharing your invention,I will be trying this as soon as  i can,  & friends will know  who i got this information from!

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