In a four stroke engine typically found in cars, if you raise the compression ratio, all else being equal, your engine now makes more power.
But think about it for a moment: to compress air and fuel takes energy. While you are on the compression stroke your engine is not producing power from that cylinder. It is, in fact, consuming power to be able to compress the intake charge. And if you raise the compression ratio, say from 9:1 to 12:1, it now takes a lot more power from the engine to compress the intake charge. So ... how do you get more power from raising the compression ratio?
I'll toss the answer up tomorrow, if no one gets it.
But think about it for a moment: to compress air and fuel takes energy. While you are on the compression stroke your engine is not producing power from that cylinder. It is, in fact, consuming power to be able to compress the intake charge. And if you raise the compression ratio, say from 9:1 to 12:1, it now takes a lot more power from the engine to compress the intake charge. So ... how do you get more power from raising the compression ratio?
I'll toss the answer up tomorrow, if no one gets it.