Car & Bike Talk

[N567]

I've got a question: What is a supercharger supposed to do? Is it meant to make takeoff faster? Or just add to the top speed?

The supercharger uses some of the power from the engine to run a compressor that increases the amount of fuel and air pumped into the combustion chamber, increasing the power output and power-to-weight ratio of the engine. It was invented by British inventor Dugald Clerk in 1878.

Then in 1918, American inventor Sanford Alexander Moss invents the turbocharger which uses the exhaust of the engine to drive a turbine that runs the turbo-compressor to put more fuel and air into the engine. He also invented the intercooler which uses the engine cooling system to cool the fuel/air mixture before sending it into the combustion chamber so that it does not auto-ignite during the compression stroke due to overheating and cause engine knocking because that is what happens when too much fuel and air is compressed in the combustion chamber at once.

In 1935, Howard Hughes invents the multi-row supercharged radial engine for his other invention, the H-1 Racer, the world's 1st streamlined high altitude aircraft which has his other new inventions, the streamlined engine cowl, canopy, elliptical wing, wing curve, unbraced wings, stressed-skin metal covering, flush rivets, flush joints, butt joined aircraft skins, retractable landing gear, retractable tail skid, pressurized cabin, oxygen mask, oxygen scrubber, and the auxiliary engine air cooling jet thrust system which allows air to enter the engine to absorb its heat, pressurizing the air before it exits into a tail pipe, producing extra thrust and increasing the fuel efficiency and speed of the vehicle. This gives the H-1 Racer a top speed of 567km/h, making it the fastest land plane at the time of its invention, a top altitude of 10km, making it the highest flying plane at the time, and a range of 4,509km, making it the plane with the greatest endurance. Because of all of this, Howard Hughes is able to make the world's 1st high altitude flight in 1937, crossing the whole length of the USA in just 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds.

Then, in 1941, British inventor Eddie Gass invents the turbo-compound engine that uses the waste heat of the air that goes into the engine and the pressure and heat of the exhaust gas to drive a blow down turbine that recovers the wasted energy and generates extra power. This gives the engine efficiencies of up to 59% compared to 46% for conventional engines, giving it a 28% increase in efficiency, power output, and power-to-weight ratio. This engine is used for airplanes since they do not suffer the problem of turbo lag because they travel at a constant speed when they are in the air as opposed to cars which have to constantly speed up and slow down when there are red lights, traffic jams, or obstructions.

In 1943, Howard Hughes invents the radial turbo-compound engine for his other invention the Constellation, the 1st high altitude passenger plane to have a pressurized cabin, oxygen masks, and oxygen scrubbers. The radial engine is even more efficient because it uses no liquid cooling system since it is air-cooled, which makes it lighter, use less fuel because power does not have to be diverted to a cooling system pump, and lower maintenance because a liquid cooling system requires the coolant to be refilled and the radiator fixed or replaced when it gets damaged. This gives the Constellation a record setting top speed of 607km/h.

Because of the use of turbo-compound engines, and the other innovations of Howard Hughes, the North American P-51 Mustang NA-105 fighter plane is the fastest one used in World War 2, with a top speed of 790km/h, it also has the greatest altitude at 12.8km, and the greatest range at 2,660km, making it such a great fighter that 15,000 were produced. The Mustang was also used as a dive bomber and dropped guided bombs, invented by Adolphe Kegresse in 1939. It was also equipped with chain guns that used motorized bullet feeds, bullet feed chutes, and flexible ammunition belts to double the firing rate and cut down on jamming, all of which were invented by Howard Hughes in 1941.

By comparison, the fastest German fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 209 could only reach 755km/h, at an altitude of 11km, and a range of 616km, and its use of a very powerful engine just to reach that speed without the use of streamlining and waste heat recycling made the engine prone to overheating which required cooling systems to occupy space in the wings which could have been used to store fuel and ammunition, this is also why its range is much lower than the Mustang P-51 NA-105, so only 4 of these were produced. The lack of high altitude breathing systems also meant that the pilots could not stay at high altitude for long periods of time, making it harder to engage the American planes which can stay at high altitudes.

The fastest German fighter that was produced in great numbers, with 34,248 being made, was the Messerschmitt Bf 109 which only had a top speed of 642km/h, an altitude of 12km, which it could not maintain because of the lack of high altitude breathing systems, and a range of only 1,012km.

Though the Germans invented an experimental rocket powered fighter plane called the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, which could reach 1,130km/h, it was not widely produced, with only 370 being made, because rockets do not operate efficiently in an atmosphere which causes them to burn up fuel too quickly because the atmospheric pressure resists the flow of the exhaust gas that produces thrust. This design also did not incorporate the improvements to rocket engine technology invented by Robert Goddard in the USA in 1919, such as the rocket nozzle, separate combustion chamber for rockets, helium generated pressure tank, rocket engine turbopump, rocket engine intercooler, 3-axis control, and vectored thrust. This reduced the engine's fuel efficiency even further which meant that the plane could only stay in the air for 7.5 minutes, giving it a range of only 141km. Its high altitude of 12km was also useless because the lack of high altitude breathing systems meant that the pilot could only stay at that altitude for a few minutes before losing consciousness due to oxygen deprivation.

The Germans also invented an experimental jet fighter called the Messerschmitt Me 262, which could reach 1,004km/h, and it was also not widely produced, with only 1,400 being made, because the jet engines on the plane had a tendency to stall or overheat because the materials used to make the compressor, shaft, turbine, and casing was steel which was not strong enough to withstand the pressures and temperatures generated by the engine. The engine was also inefficient because the damage inflicted on its steel components when operating caused it to perform poorly, limiting the range of the aircraft to 1,050km. Its high altitude of 11.45km was also useless because the lack of high altitude breathing systems meant that the pilot could only stay at that altitude for a few minutes before losing consciousness due to oxygen deprivation. This plane also lacked dive brakes which meant that it could not slow down as it approached the target, making it difficult to shoot enemy planes down.

It was not until 1948 that jet aircraft would enter widespread use, starting with the passenger turboprop invented by British inventor Rex Pierson because the engines of this aircraft used nickel-ceramic alloy, also invented by Rex Pierson, which is a much stronger material than steel and can withstand the pressures and temperatures generated by a jet engine, making these engines more durable and efficient.

The fastest Japanese fighter that was produced in great numbers, with 3,514 being made, was the Nakajima Ki-84 which only had a top speed of 687km/h, an altitude of 11.8km, which it could not maintain because of the lack of high altitude breathing systems, and a range of only 2,168km.

Additionally, the drop tanks that made long range flights for fighters possible was invented in Selfridge Air National Guard Base in March 5, 1923:

https://www.127wg.ang.af.mil/Media/Articles/Article-Display/Article/865880/selfridge-angb-home-of-the-drop-tank/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_tank#History

Aerial Refueling was also invented by Alexander P. de Seversky in 1923 for the US Army Air Service:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_refueling#Early_experiments

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In the touring bike category which is the class of bikes designed to go on long range drives on highways, the Harley Electra Glide Standard is the most fuel efficient, with a fuel economy of 19km/l, a range of 320km, and a top speed of 193km/h.

Source: https://www.slashgear.com/1409149/motorcycles-2023-most-fuel-efficient/

[Rev.Cambeul]

Electric Cars are a Climate Holocaust Scam!

The scam is that ...
 * There is no Climate Holocaust
 * The intent is to remove oil as a cheap source for mass transportation
 * You will stay home in your fifteen minute town
 * You will own nothing and be happy
 * OR ELSE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCMIqXx5p9k

Electric cars release MORE toxic emissions than gas-powered vehicles and are worse for the environment, resurfaced study warns

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13155147/ev-pollution-worse-exhaust-emissions-study.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-cars-emit-more-soot-california-ban-gas-powered-vehicles-521b29e3

Excerpt: The study, which was published in 2022 but has begun circulating again after being cited in a WSJ op-ed,  found that brakes and tires release 1,850 times more particulate matter compared to modern tailpipes which have filters that reduce emissions.

It found that EVs are 30 percent heavier on average than gas-powered vehicles, which causes the brakes and tire treads to wear out faster than standard cars and releases tiny, often toxic particles into the atmosphere.

And it also generates a lot of CO2 when charging your vehicle.

It comes as California is working to impose a complete ban on all gas vehicles by 2035.

New gasoline-powered vehicles don't release the same amount of emissions as older vehicles, emitting only one percent of all particulate matter (air pollution) in California, with the majority of emissions coming from older vehicles.

New gasoline cars are created to be 'cleaner,' by updating the trims of their internal combustion engines to include particulate filters that reduce emissions to below 1/1000th of a gram per mile.

California has claimed that EVs produce zero emissions because they don't have a tailpipe, but that is reportedly misleading, because the substantial electricity used to power the cars creates additional particulate pollution.

If you've got electric cars in Pittsburgh that are being plugged in at night and leading nearby coal plants to burn more coal to charge them, then the climate benefits won't be as great, and you can even get more air pollution.

Additionally, lithium-ion batteries which power EVs are made of materials including cobalt and lithium, which have been linked to environmental concerns.

Mining cobalt emits toxic chemicals and gases that leak into the environment and extracting metals from the ore emits sulfur oxide and pollutes the air.

[Rev.Cambeul]

Back when I was only 21, my father rode his Harley he'd just bought for himself from Sydney to Brisbane on a thousand kilometre journey for a visit. I had a wife and child, a couple of dogs and not too bad home. One day, he and my wife and in-laws decided they'd all go off to the beach. Sure, we lived only 15 minutes from the Gold Coast - also known as Surfer's Paradise - but they decided it was better to drive for up to three hours in heavy Xmas traffic and go to a place known as Bribie Island. So off we went ... they in two cars and me on my bike.

When we got there, they decided they'd forgotten something. Somebody had to go and get it, and for some reason, I got angry and went off by myself, on my bike. I took off across the grass, rode up a grassy hill or two and up to the road - and being angry I wasn't at all slow. And again the same on the way back. I didn't go sliding or drop it, and to put it bluntly, I did what the hell I liked.

After I got back, the old man said to me, he was really hoping he would get to see me go over the handlebars and break an arm or something. He also said he was surprised I could handle my bike on grass, because, he claimed, that's almost impossible to do. Thinking back, and knowing what I do now, that was his begrudged idea of a compliment.

I'm no expert on dirt, or grass, but unlike my poser of a father in his brand new squeaky leathers with his mid-life crisis Harley shovelhead that he bragged he bought from his new friends at the Bandidos MC Australia clubhouse in Sydney, I could fucking ride!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uinVDdkUMNs

Mine was/is a Honda Rebel. Same as that thing in the video - but not quite. Mine is stripped down without any of the chrome, pillion seat, rear footpegs or mufflers - I had/have straight-through slash-cut shotgun pipes and the cam slightly ground. And definitely no bloody fairing. It was bobbed and built for hard fast riding at probably 96 miles at max for hour upon hour. The old man later went to a pub drive-through to pick up some booze. While he was there, I had to get off the main road, so I rode up the footpath/pavement and slid sideways to a halt in some shade under the bar window out of the sun, startling the local bar flies. With the bike motor echoing through the bar a lot of faces suddenly appeared at that window and started cheering. The old man got his carton of beer and whisky, and as he started to drive out, I gave it a rev, began to move, dumped the clutch and raised the front wheel as I launched the bike off the maybe 2 foot high gutter back onto the main road and took off home with the old man following.

I didn't think anything of it, but it had shocked him enough to admit he hadn't seen anyone ride like that in years, and that I could really ride. I shrugged my shoulders ... Any biker that doesn't know what his own bike can do aint no biker!

That night when he got on the booze, he got stuck into me blaming me for his marriage breakup, telling me it's my fault he can't face his mates in the Sergeant's Mess (he was a Staff Sergeant) because I was in military prison, how I brought total shame to the family and was hated by all, how I was a failure and would never be as good as he was .... But I was young enough and still gave a shit, and wanted to prove myself to my father, so I grabbed a rifle for some show-off parade ground drill to prove I was still better than anyone he currently worked with, and then I set up a target for some shooting and proved my grouping was as good as ever! All in all, I'd proved that I could shoot, march and ride better than he ever knew. I was a better soldier and a better biker than he ever was! - Just this year I finally received recognition and medals for being shot at overseas. That's something that pogo father of mine never did. He was so useless, he couldn't even kick-start his own shovel!

The next morning before he left for Sydney again, he put on his squeaky, shiny new black leather pants and jacket, over that he put his club colours and strapped on his yuppie brick mobile phone, and he said to me, I'll never be a real biker because I don't ride a Harley like he does ... And then I hit him! Smacked that old bastard right in the head!

He staggered backwards nearly falling. I was about to hit him again, but he backed down. He was a bully and a coward, and I'd had enough of his shit. I walked out of the house, grabbed my own colours, jumped on my bike and roared off to visit a brother in the club. By the time I returned home, he was gone ... back on the road to Sydney, a thousand kilometres away. That was just after New Year 1991. I never spoke to him nor ever saw him again. Last I heard of him, he'd been thrown out of the Australian Army for being a fat lazy drunken slob bitching about his health, and attempted to join Bandidos MC, Sydney, and failed. He probably ended his days as a lonely demented alcoholic getting his arse wiped by a fat black Kiwi in a nursing home somewhere.

That old cantankerous bugger was in his mid forties then. I am in my mid 50's now. And looking back, I have to say, I do have my regrets about that incident with my father. I regret I didn't knock that old cunt down to the ground when I had the chance, and drag the old fuck out to the street and gutter stomp that twat with my not-new and not-at-all-squeaky well-worn, road-rashed, oil-stained highly-polished Johnny Rebel Bike Boots from 88 with added custom steel cleats.

I've also owned and ridden a Honda 750 Four, Honda 350 Triple, Kawasaki Ltd 250 and 450, but the only bike I liked was my Honda Rebel. I keep it and am rebuilding that old thing because it's the last thing I have left from those days. And as soon as I've completed that, it'll be some BIG cheap old Jap motor thrown in a rigid frame, built to match the Rebel. Finish my car, my house and my two bikes: That's my goal before I turn 60.

Well, now you know something else about me. R!

@Cailen.

[Rev.Cambeul]

My old car headlight lenses had fogged up. The plastic on these things is just not made to last. I can rub them back, treat them and reuse them ... later. So I upgraded my lights to the SS version. I received them today, but haven't installed them yet. I first want to add weather protection to the new lights. The old will be rubbed back and put away as spares.

The above picture was from about ten years ago. Now, you can't even see the lights through the weather damaged plastic.

Will need to get 3M Headlight Protection Film
https://www.paintgard.com.au/products/paintgard-3m-head-light-protection-film

[Rev.Cambeul]

I've got a question: What is a supercharger supposed to do? Is it meant to make takeoff faster? Or just add to the top speed?

The supercharger uses some of the power from the engine to run a compressor that increases the amount of fuel and air pumped into the combustion chamber, increasing the power output and power-to-weight ratio of the engine. It was invented by British inventor Dugald Clerk in 1878.

That also explains why my car wants to really take off now that I changed the stock air filter for a Growler Cold Air Intake. A CAI really lets the car breathe as it naturally should. The standard air filter choked it, forcing it to reach for more fuel. Both automatically drop down a gear, but the stock air filter wants to jerk and jump forwards, while the CAI is a much smoother acceleration with less fuel needed. So that combined with the new iridium spark plugs saves fuel as well.

And it also sounds a lot better. More GRUNT!

[N567]

That also explains why my car wants to really take off now that I changed the stock air filter for a Growler Cold Air Intake. A CAI really lets the car breathe as it naturally should. The standard air filter choked it, forcing it to reach for more fuel. Both automatically drop down a gear, but the stock air filter wants to jerk and jump forwards, while the CAI is a much smoother acceleration with less fuel needed. So that combined with the new iridium spark plugs saves fuel as well.

And it also sounds a lot better. More GRUNT!

The iridium spark plug boosts fuel economy because it is more durable which means that it can function properly for longer periods of time, ensuring that the fuel-air mixture is properly burned in the combustion chamber with no un-burnt residue being exhausted out of the engine. The iridium sparks plugs can last for 160,000km of driving.

But if you do not want to change spark plugs at all, just use a diesel vehicle because it uses no spark plugs. A diesel engine is also 17% more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine because it operates at a higher compression ratio because diesel fuel is designed for compression ignition. The higher compression ratios means that the air and fuel molecules are packed in more tightly which makes it easier for them to transfer energy to each other when the mixture is ignited and this is what increases the diesel engine's fuel economy.

The diesel engine also uses a turbo-intercooler which combines a turbocharger with an intercooler to pack more fuel into the combustion chamber. The turbocharger was invented by Sanford Alexander Moss in the USA in 1918 and it works by using the energy of the exhaust gas to drive a turbine which is connected to a turbopump that is used to compress the fuel and air going into the combustion chamber to increase the compression ratio even further and increase power output by packing more fuel and air into the engine.

The intercooler on the other hand, is where the fuel-air mixture goes in after being compressed by the turbocharger, so that it can be cooled down to prevent it from auto-igniting and causing engine knocking because compressing the fuel-air mixture in the turbocharger increases its temperature. The intercooler works by running heat exchanger coils around the pipe that the fuel-air mixture goes through and connecting it to the engine liquid cooling system so that the coolant goes through the intercooler 1st to absorb heat from it before absorbing heat from the engine and going into the radiator to reject the heat.