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Re: Cold Fuel

To: uiucuxc!alliant.com!british-cars
Subject: Re: Cold Fuel
From: cs.utexas.edu!pwcs.StPaul.GOV!phile (Philip J Ethier)
Date: Wed, 16 May 90 8:57:18 CDT
> 
> Thanks for the responses about cooling fuel. I hadn't
> heard about it being used in drag racing.
> My original thinking came about as follows:
> Everyone knows that dense air gives more power
> (supercharging, ducting cold air from outside the
>  car...). However, cooling air below ambient is
> going to be rather difficult in a road car.
> However, by using a heat exchanger and one or
> two peltier-effect heat pumps, one could quite
> easily lower the temp of the fuel by 20--30K.
>
> I'd be interested if anyone knows more about
> engine physics and could perhaps come up with
> a quantitive relationship between the fuel
> temperature and HP (assuming appropriate mixture
> adjustment).
>
> David.
>
I have always thought that the point in cooling the fuel on dragsters
was to be able to get more fuel through the pumps and  injectors (or
carb jets) to be able to keep up with the massive amounts of air that
those big Jimmy blowers are capable of delivering.  I'd like to do it
in my Spridget just to beat the vapor problems.  On warm days, I
can't see any fuel in the filter!  When it gets bad enough, it effects
the car.  Like it will only do 3000 RPM!  I leave the hood open a lot
at autocrosses.  If I moved the fuel line to the other side of the
engine, away from the exhaust, or fitted some sort of heat shield,
that might help.  How did these cars run in 1966?  You could get Super
Shell then.  Apparently, the gas you get now has additives which boil
off easily.  Help me out, chemists, low vapor pressure?

phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
Login name: phile        In real life: Philip J Ethier
Phone: 298-5324


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