SEMA 2017: Meziere’s New LS Starters, Intercooler Pump, SafeCap

Meziere Enterprises is showing off a new LS starter here at SEMA, the TS319, featuring increased starting power and an inline planetary gear reduction system to increase torque. The starter uses a gear and drive assembly that is manufactured in-house and exhibits a lot of stability when engaged. The slim-line design offers some benefits for header routing and other clearance situations, as Mike Meziere shares.

The starter bolts directly to the block itself and is compatible with stock or aftermarket bellhousings without any modifications. Meziere says that it’s designed for high-compression applications or larger cubic-inch LS engines, adding that the cranking power needed to start many of today’s supercharged applications also makes a starter like this appropriate.

“The reliability on this starter is enhanced over stock, or some other aftermarket starters, because these typically use a pinion gear that is unsupported in the spline area as it extends out, causing it to tend to flex away from the gear engagement at the flexplate,” Meziere explains. “Meziere’s [starter] uses a series of three bearings to support the pinion as it extends, and two of those three bearings have a more stable engagement, making it unlikely to deflect and lose its gear mesh. And, the larger diameter gear is stronger and can transmit more torque.”

The starter uses a strong Denso motor and Meziere has made some modifications to the main shaft to make it sturdier and more reliable. All components in the design, both inside and out, are billet alloy steel or billet aluminum, with a 9310 alloy gear.

Meziere was also proudly showing off their new SafeCap radiator cap, a new and improved twist (no pun intended) on the age-old cap design that is much superior to traditional caps. This cap is primarily intended for drag racing applications, where vibrations are ever-present — the vibrations and frequent on/off of the cap wears down the receiver, eventually making the cap susceptible to backing off. Meziere has shored that up by adding small rollers to the cap, making it go on smoothly and securely.

“Once the radiator cap is on, it stops up against the detent and prevents the cap from being able to come off in any way. It’s not for cars that are used and driven every day, but the drag racing guys are a little more concerned about it because any kind of failure on that is almost certainly going to end horribly. We’ve been fairly involved in road racing over the last few years, as well, and because of the environment they’re in and the duration of the races, its important to them, also,” Meziere says.

The caps are all billet 6061 aluminum and are available, in 7-, 16-, and 25-pound (relief pressure) increments, and in nickel, chrome, black anodized, or purple finishes.

Lastly, Meziere has a brand new intercooler pump that will certainly get your attention, made from a large, eye-catching block of aluminum. The pump uses a brushless motor, allowing it to be operated at various speeds, and has a much higher life expectancy than a brush-type motor. Because it has more power, Meziere can use a larger diameter impeller that increases the pressure the pump is able to produce.

“This is important in an intercooler application because intercoolers have very small orifices or passages, and the higher pressure allows for higher flow and for the intercooler to be much more efficient,” Mike explains. “The advantage of this pump over most centrifugal pumps is because of the diameter of the impeller, and the speed at which we’re turning the impeller, it develops much more pressure. In an intercooler, pressure is more important than flow, because flow drops off greatly as you start getting restrictions. So by being able to develop more pressure, we can develop more flow through the system.”

The pump is capable of handling up to 18 volts input, which will increase the performance. This pump is aimed at higher-end racing machinery, where the most concern of peak performance exists, and while a street application could make use of it, at a price of around $3,000, it will likely cater itself to racing teams.

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About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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