At 02:42 PM 2/4/99 -0800, Mark Radelow wrote:
>Hiya :) Of course I am reading you rants. Although the VR6 in my car
>does not have this variable intake stock there is an aftermarket one
>that boosts low and midrange torque 30%. But in the case of the big
>V8's I still think it's a win/win situation. Without using variable
>intakes. Reason being that all the things you can do to increase high
>end performance (intake porting, head porting, bigger valves,
>higher/longer lift/duration cams) tend to hurt low end HP. True
>enough...But when you talk about a BIG V8 you are dealing with an engine
>that is already making say 300 ft. lbs. of torque @ 2500 rpm. Now,
>after all your mods it is still making 300 ft. lbs. but now at 3500 rpm.
>Okay...But think about it....There will be a definite loss in low end
>torque but I do not think it is anything that would make a big
>difference. So you are not making 220 ft. lbs at off-idle but now 180
>at off-idle. Does this really matter? My VR6 makes 100 ft. lbs. at
>off-idle and my 2800 lb. car still runs from 0-60 in 6.6 seconds. So
>what's the big deal? True, gearing plays a role but nothing significant.
>My point simply being that for day to day, a well tuned V8 is a SUPERIOR
>choice to a well tuned 4. Of course, an inline six is still the
>absolute best choice. Keep in mind I used to think pushrod V8's are
>pieces of crap and that American's couldn't build a motor to save their
>life. But after really learning about what makes a motor work I have
>learned to change my opinion. Oh, one more qualification, I don't care
>whatsoever about fuel mileage. Just one of those things. Okay...Sorry
>for the long post. Oh, I am still looking for a Tiger!!!
>
And another round of beers for everyone!! Now tell us Mark, just what was
it that changed your opinion of American pushrod motors? Must have been one
hell of a ride!!
I think most of us on this list are with you 100% on your comparison of
large displacement versus small displacement engines; we'just need to
reconfirm our position from time to time.
Now that's and interesting statement about straight sixes being the
absolute best choice. They do have the advantage of being inherently a
perfectly balanced engine. Then, of course, there's the V12 which is also
perfectly balanced. But, the straight sixes do have a rather long crank,
and for a given displacement, I'd think two more cylinders would have a
breathing advantage, but perhaps not much. And, of course, the biggest
advantage of a V8 for us is - you can stick it in a Tiger!!
BTW Mark, you can save some download bandwidth and spare our hard disks by
deleting some of the preceding thread from your posts since we all have
that stuff anyway.
Bob
Robert L. Palmer
Dept. of AMES, Univ. of Calif., San Diego
rpalmer@ames.ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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