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Lightweight rotors=less torque?!

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Old 12-26-04, 09:32 PM
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Originally Posted by turbojeff
I haven't seen anything that proves me wrong yet.
Only because you don't understand the chart I just posted, or the calculations that produced it. If you did, you'd be able to pick out the shift points for a stock FD that would result in maximum acceleration through the gears.

Ask Damon, Max, Howard, KevinK2, or any other knowledgeable individual on the forum whose opinion you happen to value.

Torque does not move anything. Power moves the car, power in our case is torque x rpm. Plain and simple, PERIOD. Buy a Physics book and read up.
Maybe you're the one in need of a Physics book.

Torque is a twisting force. What do you think axles do? Horsepower is an arbitrary unit of measure used to describe power exerted over a period time. It's still torque doing the work of twisting the axle to turn the wheel to accelerate the car. The rate of acceleration is highest when torque is highest. Plain and simple. PERIOD.

Where did that graph come from?
Car Test 2000.

What are the units? LB? That isn't a measurement of power.
lb-ft., and yes it is.

550lb*ft/sec is one HP IIRC.
And?

So take another look at the graph, make the units so they actually reflect POWER, to me it looks like your trying to show the *thrust* unit. That is NOT a correct way to characterize acceleration.
Like I said... you don't understand the chart. Thrust at the contact patch, divided by the mass of the vehicle is what determines the vehicle's rate of acceleration (g's).

Maybe you should take a night course at the local community college or something. My guess is that you've never cracked a Physics book in your life.

Last edited by jimlab; 12-26-04 at 09:56 PM.
Old 12-26-04, 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jimlab
Sorry Jeff, you are.

Have you ever seen a graph like this?



Correction, that is only part of the reason you accelerate much more slowly in 4th vs. 1st. See above.

Wrong again Jeff. A vehicle's rate of acceleration (g-force) follows the engine's torque curve, not the horsepower curve. Maximum acceleration is at torque peak in first gear, not horsepower peak. Do some research.

Horsepower is merely a calculation based on torque and rpm. If we converted torque at the axles to horsepower at the axles, you'd still see the same drop in POWER in higher gears.
While that graph is very illuminating it is also a little misleading. The fastest acceleration in any gear is at the torque peak but the fastest acceleration possible at any speed is at the HP peak not the torque peak.

If you had a perfect continuously variable transmission, the fastest acceleration would be obtained by keeping the engine always at the HP peak. The fastest acceleration in any gear may be at the torque peak but if you changed the gear ratio so that the engine was turning at the HP peak at that same road speed, the car would accelerate harder.

If you draw a line from the HP peak of each gear to the HP peak of the next gear you will have a graph showing the fastest possible acceleration of any possible gears you could install in a car.

By changing gear ratios you can change the torque available at any road speed from nearly zero up to a maximum dictated by the ratio that would place maximum HP at that road speed.

If it turns out that the drag at any speed is greater than the torque generated by the ratio that would put max HP at that road speed, then you can't go that fast no matter what gears you use.

ed
Old 12-26-04, 10:35 PM
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Sounds good Ed.

If you look at the peak acceleration you'll notice in 1st gear the car comes very close to accelerating (or getting the same LB) at the same rate at the HP vs Torque peak, losses aren't much different since the velocity didn't change much.

As the car accelerates the velocity climbs as do the losses. So as the engine climbs up the hp/torque curve the losses are GREATER when the engine reaches peak hp vs peak torque.

POWER is what moves things Jim, not torque, you could torque a flywheel nut @ 250lb*ft but not move it at any rpm with that level of torque.

Jim, if you were setting up the belt drive (basically a CVT) on a snowmobile would you set it up at peak torque or peak power? I'd set it up for peak power, since I know power is what moves things.
Old 12-26-04, 10:44 PM
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Lighter rotors does not mean lighter compression rotors, right?
Old 12-26-04, 10:51 PM
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If what you're trying to say is that fastest acceleration is achieved by maximizing the torque output of the transmission, then you're right. However, the torque curve falls off at higher rpm, so the maximum torque output of the transmission in any gear is at the torque peak... not the horsepower peak.

What "maximizing the torque output of the transmission" really means is that you should shift at the point at which torque in the current gear falls below torque in the next higher gear. You can find the ideal shift point by analyzing the drive wheel torque curves (as shown in the chart I posted). This isn't misleading, since rate of acceleration (in g's) follows the same curves. If you had a device capable of logging g-force, you'd quickly find this out.

For a stock FD, peak torque is 217 lb-ft. @ 5,000 rpm and peak horsepower is 255 @ 6,500 rpm. The ideal shift points for maximum acceleration are 7,940 rpm for 1st gear to 2nd, 7,710 for 2nd to 3rd, 7,570 for 3rd to 4th, and 7,530 for 4th to 5th. Note that not one of them corresponds to the horsepower peak. They correspond to the points at which torque curves cross in the chart that I posted above. If you shifted at peak horsepower, you'd quickly fall behind someone shifting at the proper shift points.

Gear ratios are selected to drop the engine to or near the torque peak after each shift for a reason; to maximize acceleration in each higher gear.
Old 12-26-04, 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Compilez
Lighter rotors does not mean lighter compression rotors, right?
Lighter compression rotors?! You mean lower compression rotors? We're talkign about lightweight rotors, if we take material off of the faces or pockets it will take off weight and also result with a lower compression. Thats not where I'm going to take off the weight so these would be lightweight rotors not lower compression rotors.

-Alex
Old 12-26-04, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by turbojeff
POWER is what moves things Jim, not torque, you could torque a flywheel nut @ 250lb*ft but not move it at any rpm with that level of torque.
That's why rpm is factored into all the equations...
Old 12-26-04, 11:29 PM
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>>What are the units? LB? That isn't a measurement of power.

>lb-ft., and yes it is.

I thought lb-ft was a measure of energy. Just like potential energy - one pound, raised one foot, has one ft-lb of energy.

Dave
Old 12-26-04, 11:43 PM
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Originally Posted by dgeesaman
>>What are the units? LB? That isn't a measurement of power.

>lb-ft., and yes it is.

I thought lb-ft was a measure of energy. Just like potential energy - one pound, raised one foot, has one ft-lb of energy.

Dave
1kW = 1.359 hp

Note
Energy is not measured in kilowatts, but in kilowatt hours (kWh). Mixing up the two units is a very common mistake, so you might want to read the next section on power to understand the difference

Where that came from...

http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsene.htm#eunits
Old 12-26-04, 11:53 PM
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Originally Posted by dgeesaman
I thought lb-ft was a measure of energy. Just like potential energy - one pound, raised one foot, has one ft-lb of energy.
It's a measure of force. 1 pound of pressure on the end of a 1 foot lever is 1 lb-ft of torque, 2 pounds of pressure on the end of a 0.5 foot lever is 1 lb-ft of torque, etc.

Originally Posted by turbojeff
1kW = 1.359 hp

Note
Energy is not measured in kilowatts, but in kilowatt hours (kWh). Mixing up the two units is a very common mistake, so you might want to read the next section on power to understand the difference

Where that came from...

http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsene.htm#eunits
Danish Wind Industry Association? That's what you came up with to prove your point? Nice job, Jeff.
Old 12-27-04, 12:12 AM
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Originally Posted by jimlab
It's a measure of force. 1 pound of pressure on the end of a 1 foot lever is 1 lb-ft of torque, 2 pounds of pressure on the end of a 0.5 foot lever is 1 lb-ft of torque, etc.

Danish Wind Industry Association? That's what you came up with to prove your point? Nice job, Jeff.
Never miss a chance for a dig do you Jim? In real life you are height limited aren't you? Actually I just thought it was a great answer to his question. Prove my point? It was his question, I didn't prove it, I showed him what/where the answer was.

1lbf is a measure of force. IIRC 1lbm on earth is the same.

1lb*ft is a measure of torque OR a force applied on a lever arm.

It is all about the units.
Old 12-27-04, 12:17 AM
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Originally Posted by TT_Rex_7
Lighter compression rotors?! You mean lower compression rotors? We're talkign about lightweight rotors, if we take material off of the faces or pockets it will take off weight and also result with a lower compression. Thats not where I'm going to take off the weight so these would be lightweight rotors not lower compression rotors.

-Alex
Yeah, sorry. I meant Lower compression rotors. Thanks.
Old 12-27-04, 12:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Compilez
Yeah, sorry. I meant Lower compression rotors. Thanks.
Well then, no, this isn't what we're talking about lol. Although like I stated, after I've shed some weight and all goes well, I'm going to work on the pockets on each face wich will effect compression, but give a larger displacement.

-Alex
Old 12-27-04, 12:28 AM
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Originally Posted by TT_Rex_7
Well then, no, this isn't what we're talking about lol. Although like I stated, after I've shed some weight and all goes well, I'm going to work on the pockets on each face wich will effect compression, but give a larger displacement.

-Alex
I don't think you will get more displacement.

Many versions of the 13b have been produced with different compression ratios (dish on the face of the rotor) but they all have the same displacement.

If you work on the face of your rotor you will have different displacement but a lower compression ratio.

Displacement measures the change in volume in the combustion chamber when the eccentric shaft is rotated.
Old 12-27-04, 12:39 AM
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Originally Posted by turbojeff
I don't think you will get more displacement.

Many versions of the 13b have been produced with different compression ratios (dish on the face of the rotor) but they all have the same displacement.

If you work on the face of your rotor you will have different displacement but a lower compression ratio.

Displacement measures the change in volume in the combustion chamber when the eccentric shaft is rotated.
Yea, but wouldn't enlarging the pockets create a larger volume? If I recall right I saw an fc drag car in japan with enlarged pockets. Arn't the pockets there for added displacement in the first place?

-Alex

Last edited by TT_Rex_7; 12-27-04 at 12:46 AM.
Old 12-27-04, 12:46 AM
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Yep it would create a larger volume for the combustion chamber but that isn't how displacement is calculated, it only calculates how much volume is displaced when the rotor face moves. The combustion chamber volume will be larger but will still move the same amount you won't have any more displacement.

Sorry I can't explain it more clearly.
Old 12-27-04, 01:03 AM
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Originally Posted by jimlab
Lightening the rotors will not change the amount of torque the engine produces unless material is removed from the rotor face, affecting displacement.
:
If removing material from the face of the rotor will effect displacement and the pocket is on the face of the rotor I just dont see how it wouldn't. If there is larger pockets or material removed from the face, it would allow more air during the intake process, then during compression it would compress more air and during combustion more air and fuel can burn. Unless im missing something here I'm at a complete loss as to why it wouldnt add displacement. I'm sure on that jap. fc drag car the pockets wernt enlarged to only change the compression, there was ALOT of material taken off to enlarge that pocket, although it could be for saving weight, but they could have also taken weight off other areas along with the faces, and only the pockets were machine away.

-Alex

Last edited by TT_Rex_7; 12-27-04 at 01:08 AM.
Old 12-27-04, 01:07 AM
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There will be more air, it will be compressed less the displacement will be the same.

Displacement only measures the change (or difference) in volume. You will have more volume to start and more at the end of the compression stroke.
Old 12-27-04, 01:29 AM
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It would atleast create more power though correct, since its allowing more air to be put in the motor? If machining the face/pocket will not effect displacement then what could be done to create a larger displacement short of changing eccentric shaft offset for obvious reasons?

-Alex
Old 12-27-04, 08:23 AM
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Originally Posted by jimlab
If what you're trying to say is that fastest acceleration is achieved by maximizing the torque output of the transmission, then you're right. However, the torque curve falls off at higher rpm, so the maximum torque output of the transmission in any gear is at the torque peak... not the horsepower peak.

What "maximizing the torque output of the transmission" really means is that you should shift at the point at which torque in the current gear falls below torque in the next higher gear. You can find the ideal shift point by analyzing the drive wheel torque curves (as shown in the chart I posted). This isn't misleading, since rate of acceleration (in g's) follows the same curves. If you had a device capable of logging g-force, you'd quickly find this out.

For a stock FD, peak torque is 217 lb-ft. @ 5,000 rpm and peak horsepower is 255 @ 6,500 rpm. The ideal shift points for maximum acceleration are 7,940 rpm for 1st gear to 2nd, 7,710 for 2nd to 3rd, 7,570 for 3rd to 4th, and 7,530 for 4th to 5th. Note that not one of them corresponds to the horsepower peak. They correspond to the points at which torque curves cross in the chart that I posted above. If you shifted at peak horsepower, you'd quickly fall behind someone shifting at the proper shift points.

Gear ratios are selected to drop the engine to or near the torque peak after each shift for a reason; to maximize acceleration in each higher gear.
It's very difficult to argue when you are both right. There is not one thing jimlab said that was wrong. Torque@RPM and HP are realy the same thing expressed differently.

I find HP equations and graphs are more representative of what I am trying to modify when I am working on a car. Clearly jimlab prefers torque equations and graphs.

No matter how much I like HP graphs, I'll never convince a torque person that my way is better. (I have to admit that sometimes I look at torque graphs when nobody is looking - especially when I am choosing cams for my other car)

I sometimes disagree with the conclusions that jimlab derives from torque graphs but I can't actually say he's wrong.

(but I will say that sometimes he's right for the wrong reason)

ed
Old 12-27-04, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by turbojeff
1kW = 1.359 hp

Note
Energy is not measured in kilowatts, but in kilowatt hours (kWh). Mixing up the two units is a very common mistake, so you might want to read the next section on power to understand the difference

Where that came from...

http://www.windpower.org/en/stat/unitsene.htm#eunits
I looked it up: 1kWh = 2655000ft-lb of energy.

Which confirms that ft-lb is not a measurement of power. (I know this isn't important in the big scheme of this thread)

Dave
Old 12-27-04, 07:41 PM
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Originally Posted by TT_Rex_7
It would atleast create more power though correct, since its allowing more air to be put in the motor? If machining the face/pocket will not effect displacement then what could be done to create a larger displacement short of changing eccentric shaft offset for obvious reasons?

-Alex

Bump!

-Alex
Old 12-27-04, 08:01 PM
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Originally Posted by TT_Rex_7
It would atleast create more power though correct, since its allowing more air to be put in the motor? If machining the face/pocket will not effect displacement then what could be done to create a larger displacement short of changing eccentric shaft offset for obvious reasons?

-Alex
Machining the pocket would
1) not change displacement
2) change combustion chamber volume and therefore compression ratio
3) reduce rotating mass of the rotor slightly, improving engine responsiveness
4) probably not improve on Mazda's design unless you really knew what you were doing. If machining the pocket had any significant effect, tuners would be doing it regularly.

Displacement in rotaries is fixed for a particular size of rotor. If you want to create a larger displacement, you can increase the rotor/housing size, add a rotor, or widen the rotors. The second one is the only logical option, and is still a big jump.

I think lightening your rotors is a slightly silly idea unless you've done stress analyses or have other design info to be sure you get it right. In other words, it's easier to put your engine back together now with stock rotors and think about lightening them later than it is to try and lighten them yourself and not get it right.

Dave
Old 12-27-04, 08:02 PM
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Alex,

Wait for a response from Daryl. He's the licensed rebuilder for the Star Mazda series and has direct knowledge of this topic.
Old 12-27-04, 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by dgeesaman
Machining the pocket would
1) not change displacement
2) change combustion chamber volume and therefore compression ratio
3) reduce rotating mass of the rotor slightly, improving engine responsiveness
4) probably not improve on Mazda's design unless you really knew what you were doing. If machining the pocket had any significant effect, tuners would be doing it regularly.

Displacement in rotaries is fixed for a particular size of rotor. If you want to create a larger displacement, you can increase the rotor/housing size, add a rotor, or widen the rotors. The second one is the only logical option, and is still a big jump.

I think lightening your rotors is a slightly silly idea unless you've done stress analyses or have other design info to be sure you get it right. In other words, it's easier to put your engine back together now with stock rotors and think about lightening them later than it is to try and lighten them yourself and not get it right.

Dave
It's not like im playing a hit and miss game here. I have specific software that aids in the strength after being machined down or while designing something that we use for military, and bridgeston/firestone work. I'm not doing this to the motor I currently have in my car, i'm just buying a used motor to tinker with. Not to be cocky, but I dont dick around with jobs, I get them done, and I get them done the right way the first time. Granted I've never machined ANY automotive parts in my life, but I'm positive with the aid of knowledgable people about this subject and my shop, it can get done right. It might sound silly to some and not to others, I'm just doing it in spare time to keep myself occupied. There has been several cars in japan that have had the rotor faces and pockets machined. Theres a guy here in the US that can lighten rotors, but alot of tuners havn't done that either so that doesn't really say anything. All that says is its damn expensive for someone that can't do it themselves. if I recall right there are specific coating treatments on the rotors, anyone know where I can look them up or does anyone know off hand what the coatings are so I can check into who can do them in my area. I really appreciate everyones help and responces and Daryls also as soon as he responds to my e-mail lol.

-Alex


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