Wow, this sure has been a talking point
Now, please don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, I myself don't fully understand engine dynamics however I have been around many forms of race engines and would like to have a say.
I believe strongly that EFI would make a huge difference to our sport but from my experience all the research that has to take place before the practical side of things must be done.
There are many different reactions and fields that need to be looked into.
NASCAR is big business (HUGE) cost is not an issue with these guys, parity is. EFI is much more precise with tuning, the rules of NASCAR don't allow it, EFI brings with it many problems that are hard to control by the governing body. I won't go on but if they were allowed to run it they would.
The rule with our sport is glow ignition if you had the rules changed to include spark to run with glow then it would be OK, but the rule has to be sorted first.
On this point you can't run a glow plug like a spark-plug. A spark is instant, a glow plug is a heating element, it has to heat up which takes time, it is just a piece of wire that is heated, no tips or probes and all the other parts that go into a spark plug are there.
Also has anyone ever noticed the smaller something is the more it costs, eg. bearings, belts.........
This brings me to my next point, I know OS have an EFI plane engine that spins @ 17500 rpm but not a car or boat @ 30000+ rpm. I think if they could they would do it.
Back to the cost size thing.
A good EFI system for a race car costs thousands, granted you have more cylinders but this is not much of a problem.
If they cost thousands how much would it cost to make it miniature and light. I don't mean to be critical but these are the things that come to mind when I think about this topic. One more thing is even if you did it with spark engines which will work for sure, the fuel that glow engines use is what makes high compression possible. A squish chamber is on all high performance 2 strokes glow or not to some degree even if it is not visible, this is what helps to prevent the "thin air detonation" problem. Squish is just that, it squishes the fuel air mix into the centre so that the flame that burns the mix does not have to travel as far thus you get a better burn. To get high compression you need high octane fuel. High compression however is not always the best way as it becomes inefficient at higher than optimum levels so even if you got higher compression it might not be better for power. For proof of this look at current F1 engines, if you're past 14:1 you're not in the game because you can't pass enough fuel air charge to make efficient power because you can't open the valves far enough because the piston will hit so you have to either sink the valves into the head or scollup the pistons for the valve clearance, but this will reduce the compression, get my drift.
Getting the charge in and out is what makes power not just compression alone. Excessive compression makes a lot of heat.
The benefits of electronic ignition or EFI for boats is huge because of the temp and speed changes the engine goes through in 1 lap, but to get it small and light enough to overcome the weight problem that will rob power and corner speed makes me wonder whether it will out perform the current glow engines and still cost less than the family car to buy.
I almost made a very costly mistake by not fully understanding what I was doing with a business venture I took on years ago. I wouldn't want anyone to get caught out like I did. EFI will work on any engine but to make it perform well is the question that probably can't be answered unless thousands of dollars are spent and if someone is game to do it I wish them good luck and if they succeed I would congratulate them and probably buy the product. BUT WHAT IS THE COST $$$$$$$$.........
