I'll take a swing at one of your comments, which I've preserved below:
(some thinking happend in the middle here)
You're right. I was going to argue that the stress that the piston load puts on
the rod will be translated into heat, but that only happens if a strain is
produced (i.e. a permanent lengthening or shortening of the rod). Any _elastic_
stress will just be recovered when the load is removed, no harm (or work) done.
If you're putting stresses on the rods that produce strain, well, we've all seen
the result of that...
What we need is an automotive equivalent of James Randi to publicly and soundly
debunk all of the power, handling, and rust removal myths floating around. Did
you know you can remove rust by boiling your car in tomato soup?
Theo Smit
tsmit@novatel.ca
B382002705
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Palmer [SMTP:rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 1998 11:55 AM
> To: tigers@autox.team.net
> Subject: Excerpts & Comments
>
> Listers,
>
> Here are some excerpts from a magazine article discussing rod length that I
> think are noteworthy, either because they seem particularly pertinent, or
> particularly incorrect. The author is a fellow San Diegan, Doug Baker, who
> published a series of three articles in Super Ford magazine. You can
> probably get reprints if you're interested by e-mailing your request to
> powermech@aol.com.
>
> In the Sept, '96 issue he presents vector diagrams and equations that
[Theo Smit] <snip>
> reduced from 1027 grams to 841 grams - - - the reduction in reciprocating
> weight translates to a power increase, since less energy is required to
> start and stop the pistons." Doug, you were doing pretty well till that
> last "start and stop the pistons" faux pax. I've seen this same statement
> made numerous other places and it seems to have become one of the standard
> myths in this business. The fact is, the only energy lost in starting and
> stopping the pistons is incidental friction. Consider a swing; it starts
> and stops too, but we don't have to use any energy to make this happen.
[Theo Smit] <snip>
> And the debate rages quietly on, and on, and on - - -
>
> Bob
> Bob Palmer
> UCSD, AMES Dept.
> rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu
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