alternative engines, now Hemi

[Chris Conlon]

At 10:05 PM 5/21/99 -0400, Gary Derian wrote:
>Engine research using ceramics is headed toward an adiabatic engine.  That
>is one which needs no cooling system.  This keeps the fire hotter during the
>power stroke since no heat is absorbed by a cooling system.  I would think
>this would actually increase propensity for detonation.

My *guess* is it's the other way around, at least in a 4 stroke. The
inside of the combustion chamber will be hotter right after the burn
than it would be in a metal engine, due to the lower heat capacity
and higher thermal resistance. But by the same token, the incoming
charge will be able to cool those same surfaces more than if they
had a low thermal resistance path to a big mass of hot, high heat
capacity metal.

I know a couple of people have reported reduced detonation with some
of the diy coatings. Has anyone had the opposite result?

   Chris C.