When the piston goes down, it creates vacuum and draws the oxygen and fuel into the cylinder so the spark can ignite the mixture, and push the piston down ( Horsepower ).There is no way to build horsepower, except cubic inches!
Well if you cannot get more cubic inches, what can you do?
In the 1940's gasoline engines of airplanes could not fly high enough to not be a good target for our
bombers and fighters flying the Europe skies of World War Two! Up at the height they were flying, the oxygen was very thin. How to get more oxygen into the cylinders of the planes. Yes Yankee
ingenunity came to the rescue. They built fans that were hooked up to suck more air in. Since oxygen
fuel and spark are needed to make horsepower up high where air is limited. The crew inside the planes were hooked up to breath air with enough oxygen to keep the body going. Why not, force more air ( oxygen ) into the cylinders of the motors on the planes. Little did the mechanics that were hooking up forced induction for the planes to fly higher and higher think that years later us hot rodders would use this same system to make our engines think that they were bigger cylinders than they were. By forcing more air ( oxygen ) and fuel into a cylinder of say 5 cubic inches, we can by forcing oxygen, and fuel in under pressure get the performance of having a 10 cubic inch cylinder that is still only 5 cubic inches big.
A big thank you to the genuises of yesteryear, we can go faster, and faster on the same engine with a set number of cubic inches.
Whether it be a turbo unit, a blower unit, or a supercharger, us horsepower mad freeks get our jollies with not having to build bigger and bigger engines;much less expensive.
My father Lloyd Caldwell, yes the Lloyd I named my Charity for was one of the mechanics that worked on the early forced induction systems. His brother Mervin raced a flathead engine car. And LLoyd was his mechanic. Yes in 1968, my 1962 400 horsepower V8 pontiac with three duces, carburetors ran much better when my Dad tuned it up. I could not afford forced induction. Which was what saved my life, with 400 horsepower the police knew me by name. I ran the Lancaster City loop route from 1964 to 1972. I had the Pontiac 1 1/2 years. I got in enough trouble without forced induction. With more horsepower I would not have made it to old age. Mary my wife since 1972 got me off cigarettes, cigars, alcohol and my blood pressure under control. Without Mary, I would not be here now. Yes, I have Titanium and stainless steel keeping me mobile, but at least I am still here to write this.
Unfortunely Mary could not stop me from being an andrelain freak. It is in the Jeans!! LOL. Now to show you the forced induction motors of the 21st Century!
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| Yes, my mustach was long then, a lot of work, washed every night, Put wax on every morning. |
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| My 50 year high school reunion. As I walked down the steps to the group, I wondered why all the old people were there for?? LOL |
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| A 1962 Pontiac, not mine! |
