Omega thermocouples

[James Weiler]

This is a great thread.  Here's my questions:

 Why does power decrease if you go too rich?  Too lean makes simple sense 
but rich?

Why does a lean mixture burn more slowly?  There's plenty of O2 around.
If it does burn more slowly why is a lean mixture more prone to 
detonation?  I would think that a slow burn would make it more resistant 
to detonation.

Why does retarded timing cool off the combustion temp.?  Does it have to 
do with when the peak presure occurs thus peak temp. (i.e. PV=nRT)

Why does an overheating engine require MORE advance?  I would think that 
cooling things off with a retarded timing would be the prudent thing to do.

Thanks to all
jw