Tony Doukas Racing has been Marketing reeds worldwide since 1980.    We manufacture all reed valves in house on a CNC router.  This allows for preceise fit, close tolerances, and a smooth cross-sectional finish on the reed tips. We sell and have sold to different OEM manufacturers for use in the production motors and race teams since 1982. We also have manufactured and produced reeds for many different private lables or brand names that you have seen over the years.

REED MATERIAL:    All reed material is designed by myself, Tony Doukas.  TDR works with the material manufacturer to get the perfect combination of tension and long reed life.  There are hundreds of different material combinations that can be used for reed material.  Only a handfull of these laminates will perform and live a long life.  The balance of cloth weaves, weave directions, resin types, and resin saturation levels control the overall performance of the reed valve and engine performance.   This balance takes years and thousands of dollars in testing and research.  We have perfected both the material and cutting process over time to give the customer the best product available today. Below is a detailed description of all the reed material construction, cutting, and testing.

Cloth Weaves:   The cloth weaves and the angle in which they are laid control the tension of the reed petal.   The amount of threads per inch do 2 things.

1:   Controling the tension of the reed.   By having a thinner, closer weave cloth the tension is less.    A coarser weave weave has a stiffer tension.  A different angle of laying the cloth will also change the tension.

2:   Controling the life span of the reed.    Having a finer weave cloth also has an effect on the length of time the reed will last.  The finer cloth acts as a barrier for sealing of the thicker inner cloth that is the structual  core. This coarser weave is the tension control and the thinner weave is the sealer ply.  We use multiple layers to get the desired results.

Reed Thickness:   Reed thickness in combination with the cloth weaves has a direct effect on the lifting tension of the reed petal.   The reed thickness is one of the controling factors on how an engine performans.  Altering this tension will change the charactoristics of the engines powerband and performance. Although slight there is a difference.  Smaller more techinacly advanced engines like motocross & roadrace motors show these results more graphicly.

1:  Thin reeds will give more bottom end power and better acceleration.  This generaly comes at a loss or reed life.  Too thin a reed will flutter, lose top end power, crankcase preasures will fluxuate and create an unstable vacuum. As you increase the thickness and tension the top part of the power band will stabilize. 

2:   A middle of the road tension & thickness will give the best overall reed performance and decent reed life.

3:   Thick reeds will last a long time and lose bottom end power and acceleration, but have an increase of top end power at a higher RPM.

  The key is to have a perfect balance of tension & reed thickness to achieve the results needed for your engine application. No 2 engines require the same exact reed tension.   Dyno testing is only part of the overall picture and field testing being the other half. The combination of these two areas will get you the desired results.

Petal Design:   Reed petal design also contributes to the overall performance in 2 different ways.  Reed stability or flutter, and reed tension.

1:  Reed petals are generaly long and narrow.  This design allows for the reed tip to flutter.  Once the motor is at operating RPM's the reeds will flutter or cycle with the intake pulses.  In some applications this fluttering will interfere with the flow.  On specific motors we use a wider reed  by combining 2 petals to create a much more stable reed.  If the reed has the same tension it will not flutter as much and also speed up the velocity and increase flow.  

2:   Tension relief cuts and holes are used to control the lifting tension of the reed petal. This tension as mentioned before is one of the controling factors of engine performance gains.  By creating these cuts and holes at the lower portion of the reed petal the petal will open easier. 

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IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT ME AT

941-505-0800