Message text written by Randall Young
>
Gary Thomas wrote (loudly) :
>
> SO I DECIDED TO PUT IT ON THE DINO FOR A HORSE POWER CHECK,
> NOT A GOOD IDEA -- IT READ 80 AT THE WHEEL, ON A HOT DAY
> I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE A LITTLE BETTER ON A COOL DAY
> BUT NOT MUCH.....I THOUGHT THESE CARS HAD ABOUT 105 PONIES
> BRAND NEW ---- WITH THE ENGINE REBUIT 3 YEARS AGO AND IT'S
> RUNNING SO GOOD I'VE BEEN TOLD DON'T MESS WITH A GOOD THING..
>
> THAT COMMENT IS NOT ONE I CHOOSE TO EXCEPT....WITH ALL THE
> EXTRA GOODIES I'VE ADDED TO INCREASE PERFORMACE (HORSE POWER)
> WHY IS MY BABY ONLY PRODUCING STOCK HORSE POWER???????
Gary :
IMO the answer lies (as usual) in several places. The factory's horsepower
rating was optimistic (to say the least), and I believe in 1972 it was
'gross'
horsepower, which meant no power robbing accessories (like exhaust, water
pump,
etc.), cool sea-level air, and anything else the factory could dream up to
give
a high number. It was also at the flywheel, and as you know, every
component
in the drivetrain takes a toll on power. It's not at all unusual for the
net
horsepower measured at the rear wheels to be 1/2 the engine's rated gross
power, so I would say you've increased your real horsepower from 55 to 80,
a
quite respectable 45% increase.
<
According to Ted S. (who should know) typical losses in the drive train are
15% for manual transmissions and 20% for automatics.
He also says that adding big carbs and nothing more doesn't add horsepower
since the ZS's are quite adequate for the stock engine. To boost
Horsepower you need to fix some internal things such as compression ratio,
porting, cam timing. Only after these things are addressed does adding
bigger carbs yeild the results you seek.
I suggest you buy Kas Kastner's bood (sold by TRF and the others) and read
up on what he recommends and then decide what is cost effective for you.
The TR6 came pretty well sorted out from the factory and there isn't a
whole lot you can do with just bolt-on stuff.
Dave Masssey
St. Louis, MO USA
57 TR3
71 TR6
80 TR8
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