Thats a good article! It helped me to understand the wisdom of the .035 HEI gap test. Check that one off. GTG!
Six of the tests I am doing, the Idle ones, are exactly the same because they are not loaded even in the truck. So the idle numbers will be very accurate. This is a great baseline and will tell us all we need to know if the fuel consumption rates are different. I am interested in seeing how different those tests are.
The cylinder pressures are much less and much more insignificant in our vintage motors, but point taken. But these tests represent the differences in only one aspect of our systems. The Ignition differences. I am only seeking to answer the question.. Is the HEI more fuel efficient and if so, by what percent. Straight line driving from point A to point B will not 'load' the engine that much due to having gears that alleviate much of those stresses. In any case, all points taken, this test will tell us a great deal about the system differences.
I want to simulate Idle, 35 MPH and 55 MPH. I cannot do that without the proper RPM to achieve that. I will record the throttle differences that it took to achieve that goal so everyone is happy?
The question is "How many ounces of gas does it take to do the very same work." If the question was "How much effort does it take to do that work", then we would have to look at throttle issues. You guys want me to measure effort as well as fuel consumption, and that's just fine. I will record throttle positions. I just wish I had an accepted standard to go by. Measuring the amount of gap between the throttle knob and the casing with a tape measure just doesn't turn me on as anything that will be of help to anyone.
Two people driving that same 100 mile trip will have two totally different results due to their driving style. This sort of test needs to be done where those variables are gone.
This hobby is fun and all, but not worth purchasing a Dyno over. We can achieve these repeatable and provable results without breaking the bank.
