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Thermal efficiency vs CR request

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
Any of you have some table/graphic about Thermal efficiency vs Compression Ratio for an MGB engine? And the Volumetric Efficiency at full throttle vs RPM?
During the last days I've been having some discussions with a Dastsun 510 vintage driver about the amount of power that an MGB engine can deliver with a CR lower than 12.0:1
The Datsun guy states that such an engine can not deliver more than 125 HP at the flywheel, not even theorically! angry smiley This guy has affected my MG ego and I need some information as a resource for making a new argument.

Thanks in advance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-23 01:34 PM by JuancarlosMGB.

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RedLine Avatar
RedLine Rick Morrison
Spartanburg, Sparkle City SC, USA   USA
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1972 MG MGB "Green Meanie"
1972 MG MGB GT
In reply to # 2857216 by JuancarlosMGB
The Datsun guy states that such an engine can not deliver more than 125 HP at the flywheel, not even theorically!

Thanks in advance.

Yeah and "theorically" a bumble bee cannot fly. I'd ask him for proof as to that statement, cause I've got a feeling your are
about to be loaded down with real life examples that explodes his "theory"!

Kind of reminds me of a local dyno operator (and I use the term loosely) and Honda lover who told my son that a small block
Chevy engine could never put out over 400 hp, but he could get 1000 from a 4 banger Civic!



Rick

You might be a racer if;
You consider the redline as a "conservative suggestion" and the rev limiter a "fun limiter".

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
In reply to # 2857309 by RedLine
Kind of reminds me of a local dyno operator (and I use the term loosely) and Honda lover who told my son that a small block
Chevy engine could never put out over 400 hp, but he could get 1000 from a 4 banger Civic!




Honda civics...I don't dislike those cars....only dislike the drivers devil smiley (only a joke)

In honor of the truth, I must accept his full prep L18, with its overhead camshaft, it's a more efficient engine than a B series one; but that doesn't mean I won't be able to beat him next year cool smiley



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-24 05:15 AM by JuancarlosMGB.

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Steve64B Avatar
Steve64B Steve Opitz
Phoenix, AZ, USA   USA
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1966 MG MGB
Juan Carlos,

Here's a link to a site with interactive automotive calculators. Just plug in the data.

http://www.wallaceracing.com/Calculators.htm

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  rocannon thanked Steve64B for this post
JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
Steve, thanks a lot for that link! Thtere are terrific calculators there; but those calculators are using average thermal efficiencies. In the case of our beloved B series engines, for instance, for a given RPM, air flow and gas rate, it's possible to get different power outputs deppending on the Compression Ratio. The higher the CR, the higher the thermal efficiency and the higher the power output. But never mind, I'd better work on my car; will improve my driving skills and will do my best to beat those Datsun 510 next year without enagaging in silly discussions devil smiley
I am pretty sure I've already surpassed those 125 HP but I need to go to the dyno. I will tell you when I have some data.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-24 11:43 AM by JuancarlosMGB.

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Steve64B Avatar
Steve64B Steve Opitz
Phoenix, AZ, USA   USA
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1966 MG MGB
Juan Carlos,

Everyone wants more power. Bumping your CR from 12:1 to 15:1 will provide roughly a 5% increase in power… at a cost. If I remember correctly you were having a problem with detonation earlier this year. Unless you’ve really solved that problem an increase to 15:1 will wipe out your motor. Here’s a link to an article that looks at the factors of higher CR’s

http://www.hotrod.com/events/coverage/0311em-power-squeeze/

BTW: When you start going for maximum power you start spending exponentially.

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
Steve, thanks a lot for that link. The table which relates CR with power gains is just awesome! That's the kind of information I was looking for. Even when they are aproximate values, it's a very valuable information prior to make a decition about my engine. (I won't show this table to the Datsun guy because this information validates his statement, at least, if we only take into account the CR changes and we forgot about other factors like hot camshafts and other stuffs sad smiley )

About my engine, you remember right, I was having problems with detonation and destroyed an almost new set of flat top pistons. I had to rebuild the engine but people from this forum gave me a lot of information and advices. I adressed the problema by limiting the distributor centrifugal advance and by using av gas.

My actual CR is 11.25:1 and I wouldn't dare to bump it to 15:1; but I think I could manage 12.5:1.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-24 07:20 PM by JuancarlosMGB.

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dipstick Avatar
dipstick Kenny Snyder (RIP)
La Center, WA, USA   USA
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1941 Ford N-Series
1958 MG MGA 1500 Coupe "Rosie"
1970 MG MGB GT "Pat's GT"
1971 MG MGB "Gifted To Me"    & more
"... the amount of power that an MGB engine can deliver with a CR lower than 12.0:1 The Datsun guy states that such an engine can not deliver more than 125 HP at the flywheel, not even theoretically."

Granted that our Huffaker SCCA MGB E/P engine was 15:1 +, we put lots of GT-3/GT-4 510 Datsun's on the trailer. 160hp @ 6750rpm delivers a lot of yank.



Be safe out there.
Kenny


Attachments:
Huffaker dyno Snyder MGB EP.png    206.6 KB
Huffaker dyno Snyder MGB EP.png

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
Kenny, one million thanks! That table has real life data and the gasoline mass flow is included, so it's possible to calculate the thermal efficiency (for a 15.0:1 engine). I could extrapolate some data and see how I can improve my engine. And the most important thing: I will show this table to the Datsun guy hot smiley

Therm Eff = (Power output) / (Gasoline energy rate) = HP x (2545 BTU per HP per Hour) / (fuel flow pounds per hour x 19,000 BTU per pound)

Thermal Eff = 0.1339 x HP / Fuel flow

I've got a maximun efficiency of 29% for your engine, which is impressive, even for today standards for moder engines! I am attaching a table with the data.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-25 06:36 AM by JuancarlosMGB.


Attachments:
Huffaker Thermal Efficiency.png    98.8 KB
Huffaker Thermal Efficiency.png

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dickmoritz Avatar
dickmoritz Platinum Member Dick Moritz
Philly 'burbs, PA, USA   USA
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Juan Carlos,

It's not just all about compression ratio. I'm running 12.75:1, and you can make plenty of hp at that rate of squeeze...



Dick



Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-11-26 01:19 PM by dickmoritz.

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
In reply to # 2859496 by dickmoritz

It's not just all about compression ratio. I'm running 12.75:1, and you can make plenty of hp at that rate of squeeze...



Dick


That sounds like music to my ears cool smileyMGthumbs up

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about 1 week and 3 days later...
KenAdkison Avatar
KenAdkison Gold Member Ken Adkison
Shelton, WA, USA   USA
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1975 MG MGB
Here is the VE table from my car.
My research and experience with my car seems to confirm that 120 hp is about as much as you likely get from a road car suitable for long, trouble free road trips.
Beyond that the exhaust port bend is so tight that eddies stall flow. If a head were made with a higher outlet or one that pointed more upward things would be different. Super charging and turbos force more through but peak power generally does not go up that much with gasoline, without going closer to full race motors. Mid range torque improvements can be huge with boost, compression and/or head work.
I went with a sequential fuel injection and the car runs very well at all altitudes and on long trips. I really put more into the motor then I should have. Swapping to a very modern motor would be a very good choice. Current swaps trend to motors that are dated.

Here is a look at my engine


Attachments:
VE-table.jpg    65.9 KB
VE-table.jpg

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JuancarlosMGB Avatar
JuancarlosMGB Juan Carlos Perez Velasquez
Madrid, Madrid, Spain   ESP
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1974 MG MGB GT "El Cherada"
1978 MG MGB Racecar "El 81 De Carrera"
1995 Honda Civic "Beasty Boy (Race Car)"
1999 BMW Z3 Coupe "BATMOBILE"
Ken, many thanks for your fuel map and link. Building such a clean and flawless sequential injection surely involves a lot of work and skills!
I'd rather preffer, by far, an updated B series engine like yours than an engine swap.

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about 1 week and 1 day later...
Sean Brown Avatar
Rogue River, OR, USA   USA
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1976 MG MGB
We had a customer who had 12.5:1CR and was making about 135hp at the wheels with his race engine before we started with it. Ultimately we ended up around 13.8:1 and 165hp at the wheels, so there is a lot more to it than just compression ratio, but my point is you don't need to skim the stratosphere with ulra-high compression to make ultimate hp with these engines. It does take a lot of attention to detail, and is not an easy path, but we've never really gone over 14:1, or felt the need. I'd rather leave one or two ft/lbs of torque on the table and have an engine that lasts all season, than push the limits and blow one up after one weekend.



sean@flowspeed.com

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racer76 Avatar
racer76 Eric E.
Gippsland, Victoria, Australia   AUS
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1968 MG MGB "Blue"
1979 MG MGB "Black"
Well I have dyno sheets for my old, under-prepped 4 banger getting around 110HP at the rear wheels at well under 11:1 - which would be over 125 HP at the flywheel.

Did the Datsun guy give you any solid data or good reasons why he thought that was not achievable?

Of course my MGB engine wasn't a standard "MGB engine".... what mods would he allow?

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