Quote:
Originally Posted by lt4camaro
You need to monitor some serious 1/4 mile drag guys. Watch what the same car does on a 90 degree day versus a 50 degree day. There is always a .3 to .5 ET difference and up to a 5 trap mph difference, which equates to serious horsepower difference. Watch these guys on warmer days, they never make back to back runs, they go to the pits and allow substantial cool down by circulating cool water thru the cooling system or a long natural open hood and fan cool down. Thermal efficiency, high temps and lean fuel mixtures are good for emissions . I also understand different metals and components need to be up to certain temps allowing for correct clearances and expansion etc. But overall cool water temps and cold air create the most horsepower not efficiency. Cooler combustion chambers, cooler heads, cooler pistons allow for more spark advance, more power.
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I think in a scenario if you tried to test it back to back with 2 different identical cars that had the same timing and no knock and they were both operating at MBT but one had the stock 194F thermostat and one had a 160F thermostat, I bet you could tell zero difference between the 2 unless you had very expensive equipment. If you did have that expensive equipment, I bet you would see the one with the 160F thermostat made less power.
Now if you had the same scenario but each car was running less than the recommended 93 octane and each one was pulling timing from knock retard, then you switched one to a 160F thermostat, I bet the 160F thermostat one would then be quicker, by a easily observable and measurable amount and would probably, maybe, stop pulling knock retard timing.
I really wish I could do a calculation to see just how much horsepower, and yes I mean horsepower literally, heat is a form of energy which heat transfer over time is power, which can be described in the same units as the power that goes to your tires. It would be a rough one however but you could make some pretty accurate assumptions.
Also increasing timing doesn't just mean more power, increasing timing when the conditions warrant it increases power. When the conditions don't, then increasing timing reduces power in a very very non linear exponential way. That extra waste energy/power goes into your coolant. If its retarded too much then it goes into the exhaust.