Comments by "mpetersen6" (@mpetersen6) on "Engineering Explained" channel.

  1. JC Whitney suspension mods. They work extremely well with their Tennessee Go Fasters* and Curb feelers.
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  2. As Smokey Yunick once said, and I slightly misquote here. Basically "Anything, even a lawn mower engine, can make big power it you can stuff enough air and fuel in it". Engine life. That's a matter of good design. Remember in the 1960s a guy named Barney Navarro got 600+, maybe 800 horsepower out of a AMC 199 pushrod straight six. I think he was running around 3 bar boost.
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  3. At the RPM range most engines opperate at it really doesn't matter that much
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  4. I seen info that the ideal stroke to rod length ratio is 1.75. How true that actually is I'm not sure. Stan Wiess has a web site with data on rod ratios, bore and stroke etc. A Chevy 327 is 1.7538. A Buick V-6 or 300 SB is 1.7529. A lot of Hondas are around 1.5. The only engine I can find data on that is right at 1.75 is an AMC 232. There's another factor that enters into this. And that's deck height. Plus with a really small bore and long stroke you start running into clearance issues unless the bore is noted or the deck height gets really tall. Big bores raise another issue. Unless you siamese the cylinders the crank gets really long. A good example of the effect on deck height is the Boss 302 vs the 302 in the Z-28. Both 4" bore with a 3.0 stroke. But the Chevy rod 5.700 while the Ford is 5.150. The rod to stoke ratios are 1.8968 vs 1.7166 respectively. The Ford could actually accommodate a longer rod by the use of a piston with the wrist pin higher in the piston. There are a large number of factors involved in the design of any engine. Longer rods, more reciprocating mass. Short deck height, smaller packaging. Plus on a OHV engine lower deck height, shorter pushrods*. Yes I know OHV is practically prehistoric technology. But ask yourself. Just how many drivers really make use of all the engine power they have any way *Another way to shorten push rods is to make the rocker arms so the pushrod seat is below the pivot point of the rocker. Another way is to place the camshaft much higher in the block so that the lifters are pretty much even with the deck face. Renault actually built a 1.6 liter with this set-up. Very short pushrods, cross flow head and a hemispherical combustion chamber. I've often wondered just how a V-8 with 2 camshafts mounted high in the block would be like. I don't know if it's ever been done.
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  5. What's potentially more fuel efficient. An ecnobox getting 40 mpg while carrying two people or a minivan getting 20 mpg while carrying 6 people. Answer the minivan because it is getting more passenger miles per gallon. 120 vs 80. Granted it doesnt always work this way due to differing passenger loads. Honestly a minivan is the most useful vehicle overall I've ever owned.
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  6. Instead of the multi position cam just go to a Freevalve style set-up.
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  7. Toyota's 2JZ. It may out of production but it is absolutely bullet proof
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  8.  Dan Smulders  I fully believe in the future of the electric car when you can drive one in Alaska, Canada or Siberia. In the winter. At -40C/F (same thing). Or colder. Until then the IC engine will continue to be used. Besides, there are other areas where the IC engine will continue to rule. Racing for one. A major part of racing for spectators IS the sound. Somehow a 700KW electric motor just doesnt cut it.
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  9. When we see the majority of cars on the road are electric guess what will happen. They will no longer be as cheap to operate due to the fact that because of gas taxes not being collected at as high a rate as now. The feds and the states will make it up somehow. Probably through a surcharge in the plates for electric cars.
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  10. Smoky Yunick said it 40 years ago. It's all about getting as much air into the cylinder as possible. The trick is to get the engine to hold up.
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  11. The ideal source for the hydrogen is of course water. Which is in kind of short supply in many areas. Plus you need a lot of power to disassociate the Oxygen and Hydrogen. In the end batteries are a better bet imo Plus there's that tendency of hydrogen to just leak through everything
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  12. In everyday driving low end torque beats horsepower. Besides if you can not use the ponies due to tires, suspension issues, availability at high RPMs etc all you are doing is quoting Shakespeare*. *Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5
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