Joe,
In reference to "cooler" combustion temps, I don't mean turning the combustion chamber into a freezer, just keeping it below the meltdown point. Yes, you are correct in that the 4 cycle internal combustion engine makes power by burning the fuel/air mixture, and heat is part of the equation, but if the A/F
mixture is too rich (too much fuel), you will actually make less horsepower. That is one reason that the most modern engine control systems are able to get gobs of horsepower out of small displacements. The computers are able to maintain a nearly perfect air - fuel ratio which not only makes
horsepower, but improves fuel mileage. The result of combustion is carbon monoxide (co),carbon dioxide (co2), nitrogen oxides (nox) and hydrocarbons (hc). In a "perfect" engine the air to fuel mixture could be set so that the carbon monoxide (co) would be 0%. However, as is said before, that doesn't work in the real world, so compromises must be made. It has been found through a great deal of experimentation that a combination of good power and good running characteristics can be obtained with air - fuel ratios of about 14.1 for low power requirements and about 13.0-13.6 or so for high power situations with the "adjustments" being handled by the carburetor(s) or the fuel injection system. Hope this helps.
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