Guys,
This topic has stirred up more interesting responses than I had expected.
The responses seem to fall into three major categories: (1) Those who
understand the question and have a definite opinion as to the consequences of
changing rod length; (2) those who don't understand the question (and know
they don't) but do want to understand it; and (3) those who don't seem to
understand the question but want to contribute an opinion nontheless.
One of the more interesting responses is from someone who had already been
working on a computer model of this problem. At this stage the model is
still incomplete, but indicates significantly increased friction with shorter
rods. This may bode ill for stroker motors where rod length to stroke ratio
is necessarily decreased. The model should be able to predict torque and
horsepower curves based on input parameters like rod length and stroke. I
hope the results of the computer modelling, plus other information submitted
regarding this issue will allow us to understand this issue more clearly.
Bob
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