Howdy,
I don't have a dog in this fight and have no freaking clue if the RSR (or
whatever it was) shoulda been classed in AP (or whereever it was), but the
following I gotta respond to...
On Tue, 2 Nov 1999, John F. Kelly Jr. wrote:
> In case the above isn't clear, the Lotus 7A is competitive with
> 1275 Spridgets and that's where the car belongs in Solo II as well. What
> neither the Comp Board nor the SEB seem to care to understand is horsepower
> increases on an inclined plane as displacement increases. I.e. a 2000 cc
> engine delivers considerably more than twice the hp of a 1000cc engine. The
> power is increased on a curve as the displacement goes up.
Ok, maybe I've been missing something all these years, but that statement
sounds pretty shaky to me. How does the motor become more efficient as
displacement increases? If anything, I would expect it to become _less_
efficient as volume increases, as an increase in volume means more
piston mass to move, a longer distance to move it, or more friction
associated with its movement.
That seems to hold true to what I've seen in high performance motorcycle
engines (which all use a similar technology). An FZR400 (which is
actually an old tech motor) puts out around 60hp. A Suzuki 750 puts out
on the order of 110hp. A 600 puts out around 100hp. A 1000cc bike puts
out around 140hp. etc. I'm not seeing the curve going up, in most cases
even compared to the old tech 400 motor.
I could be totally wrong in my understanding of this, and would like to
know. I guess the question boils down to if a motor can become more
volumetrically efficient (buzz word that I don't fully understand) as
displacement increases.
Mark
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