>
><< Ain't no replacement for displacement. >>
>
> Didn't someone say, "It's torque that wins races."
> or something to that effect. I forget who. But isn't
> that why Lotus did so well at Indy years ago?
> I am sincerely curious and not trying to compare
> AH's and Triumphs...I have always been curious
> about the displacement issue. TIA
>
> Kirk Yonker
> 81 TR8 Fi Dhc
>
OK, Kirk, simple, The more air and fuel you can pump into an engine, the
more power it will make. Displacement is "how much" air and fuel you can
put into an engine. You have a TR8. Now would you trade that TR8 for a
TR7? They weigh about the same, right? Now, which one is more powerful?
Why? Because it has more displacement. Now, as the car gets lighter, it
takes less torque and power to get high performance. That's why a 1200lb
Lotus with 100hp can have the same performance as 2400lb car with 200hp, or
a 3600lb car with 300hp. Now all things being equal, with the exception of
displacement, would you really like to have a 1200lb Lotus with a 100hp 1.5L
engine or a 1200lb Lotus with a 200hp 2.5L engine?
Now turbos or supercharges change the equation some, just look at the early
Can-Am Porsche Turbos, but what would have happened if Chevy or Ford turbo'd
their big-block engines? How much power could a twin turbo Ford 427 or a
Chevy 454 have made? It would have been allot more than the Porsche, which
had a smaller displacement.
Like most of the more serious Spitfire racers out there, they use the 1500
engine in their race cars. Why, you ask? Doesn't the 1147cc engine make
more hp? Yes. And the 1296cc engine makes even more? Yes it does. But take
off all the smog crap, and put higher compression pistons in the 1500, and
it is making more power than either of them. The more air and fuel you can
pump into an engine, the more power it will make.
There are many ways of making smaller displacement engines have the power of
larger displacement engines. For example, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo has
2.0L displacement and makes 200hp. A Ford Mustang GT has 210hp with 4.6L of
displacement. The Mitsu also has 4 valves per cylinder, add that to the
Mustang and it is making 300hp with 4.6L of displacement. Now add the turbo
to the 4.6L 4-valve Mustang, and you'll be getting 400 to 450 hp.
Like I said, "Ain't no replacement for displacement."
Ron and Angie - Dalton, Ga
84 300ZX Turbo 77 Spitfire 92 Tempo GLS 62 Vitesse
IZCC# 4779
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