Re: [Amc-list] overheating, and Smokey Yunick

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

Wrambler242@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Thinking about it.
> Is there not a finite amount o ftime per revolution that the "heat" is useful?
> Once that piston has descended past a certain point the push is gone.

In principle, if you squeezed the mixture small enough, and let it 
expand big enough, and metal didn't absorb heat, you could get all the 
energy out. The trick -- that Yunick could clearly pull off -- was to 
get as much energy as you can afford, out.

I recall some thing, maybe in his CIRCLE TRACK column, where he had 
exhaust temperature down to 300 degrees C (572F) in some test motor. 
That's energy extraction! Flames out the open headers is wasted energy, 
but I assume that for rail type drag cars that's marginal case stuff 
like start up and a fraction of the total energy extracted at speed.

I mean some of it is seat-of-the-pants obvious -- with no other changes 
to a motor, at WOT, retarding the spark much makes the flame shoot out 
the exhaust and makes it run hot and lose power. Exhaust temp up, power 
down.


Oh yeah -- the 'paper' physics is easy, putting it to metal is what 
counts :-)
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