<VV> Couple of things...Back

[Sethracer at aol.com]

Ryan writes:

Dont you  love my titles...make NO sense.

I'm a "Mr.", myself. or just Seth


How  come is it, that every Corvair book I have lists
the step from hot to cold  (or stock to colder)  goes
from the AC44F's (or FF...) to the  42F?  yet the AC
spark plugs that *I* got from NPA are AC43F's?   this
is confusing me.  Why the skip?

The Corvair plugs Physical dimensions (Thread type, length,  etc.) were 
described by the FF suffix, the two-digit number betweeen the AC  and the FF 
suffix, indicated the heat range. 42 was cold, recommended only for  HD usage - 
sustained high speeds - on Turbo motors. The 44 was the standard plug  on all 
other "high-compression" motors. This, to GM means all Corvair motors  rated 
greater than 95 HP. The low compression motors 95 and below, listed the  46. That 
was then, this is now. All of those FF series plugs are long gone out  of GM's 
inventory. There are, I believe no plugs (from any  manufacturer) available 
that exactly duplicate the physical properties of  the original FF series.The 
"F" series is kind of like the FF, but not threaded  all the way to the tip. The 
"F" series plugs were designed for some other  application, but with a heat 
range 42 through 46, is close to the original,  depending on the motor you are 
running. So, a 43 heat range or a 45 heat  range is in the ball park. Most 
other manufacturers make plugs that are  similar to the "F" series, with various 
proprietary tweaks, platinum tips,  multi-electrode, copper cores, all sorts 
of things. A heat range too hot for  your application can cause pre-ignition, 
if the tip stays hot and ignites an  incoming charge early. A too cold plug 
will likely foul past the point of a  standard ignition's capability. High Energy 
Ignitions will fire some pretty ugly  fouled plugs. Heat range is a balancing 
act, at least for racing  usage. 
 


Also

would a water cooling system into the fan  (injecting
water into the airstream)  do a great deal for  engine
cooling??
 
It sure will, but only until you run out of water! in 1998, at  Gateway 
International Brian O'Neil and I ran ran Warren's Turbo Stinger around  the track 
for lot's of laps (Thanks, again, Warren) We were running 114 Octane  racing 
fuel - and lots of it! We were also using at least as much water as  gasoline 
during the runs. Some of it was giving it's all as water injection into  the 
engine via the turbo, but a bunch more was being flushed into the cooling  fan 
and blown over the motor to stave off meltdown! I felt at times, the guy  behind 
us, and almost (but not quite) everybody was behind us, thought they were  
following a Stanley Steamer, or a fast rug cleaning truck! We never ran out of  
water - that was what pit stops were for. And, as much fun as that was, It 
only  took a few laps near the limit, usually trying to chase down Jim Schardt, 
to  exhaust the driver - at least this driver.