DEMAND for increased car-performance forces manufacturers to provide more powerful engines. It is desirable to obtain the increased power without designing a new engine, particularly in the case of large-scale manufacturers. The author lists possible means of doing this as making increases in the speed, the volumetric efficiency, the compression ratio, the thermal efficiency and the mechanical efficiency; and explores each of these methods in the light of latest developments in engine design.
Among the concrete suggestions are greatly increased valve-lift, hydraulic valve-gears, multiple car-bureters, injection of vaporized fuel into cold air, cutting out the fan at high speed, and the use of superchargers. Higher compression generally involves changes in cylinder-head design, which are covered in some detail.
Subjects covered in the discussion include lubrication, roller-chain camshaft drives, form of combustion-chamber, availability of engine power, and two-cycle engines. Several speakers express opinions also as to what constitutes a high-speed engine.