Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000mc
Entirely correct, except.... Who thought more egr helps power?
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Well, I assumed (always a risk) that on a fuel economy site everybody wants to put to good use every BTU that a gallon of gas has to move us as far as possible down the road. I'm not a professional writer, and undoubtedly could have been more clear; I'm glad that Rusty got it.
Maybe "power" is some sort of red flag word here, creating images of hairy-armed, semi-literate rednecks burning rubber with their wildly-cammed big-block '60s muscle-cars. But the power in a gallon of gas can be used in many other ways; I really do share your interest in using that potential as frugally as reasonably possible.
At the same time, it should not escape the notice of y'all that racers and other motorsport people, from pre-depression board track races to the present day, are largely responsible for a lot of power-improving techniques that are basic to the fuel-efficiency you want. Cold-air intake ducts, low-restriction air filters, high-atomization from better carburetor boosters and fuel injectors, low restriction intake tracts that help keep fuel in suspension, porting that promotes swirl and tumble (in 4-valve heads), high compression abetted by ever-improving piston crown to combustion chamber conformation and effective squish areas, quick rise-time high-energy long-duration ignition systems, better ring seal and oil control, better coolant flow to avert detonation-promoting hot-spots, ceramic coatings to reduce unwanted heat losses, dozens of machine shop techniques particularly including ones such as platform-honing with torque plates to improve ring-seal, better bearing materials and shapes, precision balancing, low-friction roller-element valve trains that permit better cam lobe shaping, low restriction and wave-tuned exhaust systems, . . . . all these and more are racing engine-building techniques equally useful to eco-modders.
And it doesn't stop with engines; who you think first came up with air-dams and full fender skirts and "full moon" wheel covers to make a car more aero-slippery? You might even thank the racing community for the excellent braking and handling of modern cars. You think the car company engineers did that without a push? Hardly. After WW2, when stock car racing gained popularity in the late-'40s/early '50s, car company executives began taking trips to the (mostly Deep South) races to cheer on their cars. What they saw was their cars wrecked and drivers killed because brakes faded, spindles broke, suspensions collapsed, transmissions and drivelines fell apart. The suits went home and immediately demanded re-designed components that would stand up to the stresses of competition. Racers paid in blood for the capabilities that production cars began to have in the early and mid-'50s.