Been watching things for a bit on the whole TB mod issue. DMLer X vs DMLer
Y vs DMLer Z vs Standard Production... etc. It seems to me that you can only
do so much before you've hit the wall. No matter what, with each different
approach you're going to get different preformance benefits. It's a great
thing, but what about a single TB mod to fit variable needs.
An idea for the truely experimental ones of you, take some lessons from jet
aircraft. You need a variable geometry TB follower plate. Essentially a TB
is just an air intake orifice and the butterfly valves control the amount of
air allowed through the orifice. The problem with "enlarging" the orifice too
big is a loss of torque because the air velocity into the cumbustion chamber
is decreased. The problem with them being too small is that a horsepower loss
happens due to a smaller amount of fuel/air being available. This is just
general talk, I don't need a full technical detail made to me, I'm in
conceptual mode.
You can't have a variable orifice because the butterfly valves can't adjust
sideways. An iris valve isn't as fast as butterfly valves for response so
they're out. In order to keep the butterfly valves and a large orifice TB,
you need to have a post TB adjustment plate, something that can "narrow down"
or "enlarge" the opening as necessary for different sections of the power
curve. The idea is to take the design from a jet which controls it's thrust
by a set of vanes that open and close to change the geometry of the thrust
(it's called a thrust cone). A small set of these just under the TB, mounted
on a separate plate (so it becomes a mod unto itself) with a solenoid or cable
controller could adjust the airflow for high velocity at the low end and as
more horsepower is needed, open to allow maximum air flow.
Obviously this is not a simple toy, but it is possible. For you "gotta
squeeze every last ounce of power" guru's out there, it might be a cool item,
but me personally, if I modded for horsepower and then went to tow, it would
be a great thing just to engage with a pull knob. Have a matching buddy in an
expanded exhaust system to provide the needed backpressure for max torque and
you have a great combo for developing torque on demand... It would be
interesting to see if something like this could be made, and just how
effective it would be.
Shaun H.
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