Theory about Exhausts

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blagger
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Theory about Exhausts

Post by blagger »

Just wondering if anyone knows much about back pressure in an exhaust system and how it effects engine performance.

Was messing about with my exhaust 2day and was making a baffle up for my straight-through race can and i notice that when the baffle was in this caused the engine to idle slightly faster than when the baffle was removed. so i was wondering how the increase of back pressure from the baffle being in the can causes the engine to idle faster and the theory be hind it.

cheers

:-)
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Zathos
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Post by Zathos »

Just a guess but:

It is about the flow. With the baffle removed air flow through the engine increases, which makes the engine run slightly lean.
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CBRXX
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Post by CBRXX »

There are computer programmes available nowadays that engine, exhaust and inlet manufacturers spend a fortune on to get the perfect inlet/ exhaust length, in the old days it was trial and error with different lengths of pipe till you got the balance right to give you the boost at the rev range you're after.
Exhausts can be pulse tuned so that when the wave (pulse) from the exiting exhausts hit the restriction of the silencer/collector it sends a pulse back up the exhaust to the header.
If the pulse tuning is right this wave hits just as or just before (can't quite remember now) the exhaust valves are opening which helps scavenge the combustion chamber of exhaust gas reducing the pressure on the piston on the exhaust stroke, so that the power from the combustion stroke goes to the drive rather than the pushing out the exhaust gas.
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Post by blagger »

some interesting points there.....

so with that when i added my homemade baffle to the exhaust and the engine speed up slightly on idle this ment this was helping with engine to run better due to the pulse waves. i haven't totally tested when running but i think it will be interesting to find out what happens to the power range cus at the mo i have lost the low range but increased the top end with my straight-through can and no jetting done to the carbs.... i know that you wont get more power out the exhaust without fully jetting the carbs...

:2up
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CBRXX
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Post by CBRXX »

if you've improved the pull at the bottom end then you have indeed set up a pulse wave for this rev range/frequency however you'll no doubt be loosing at the top due to the restriction in gas flow ;)

when V&M built my bike they added in two 6" stub pipes to the Akrapovic before the collector to acheive the tune required with the modified ECU it revs higher than the standard bird
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IZINBARD
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Post by IZINBARD »

As Zathos said, pull the baffle and the entire breathing is easier giving a leaner not so efficient burn producing less power hence the drop in revs.
If you had a very dirty air filter then you might get the revs rising when you pull the baffle because it would drop from overly rich to just right, this time giving more power and the revs rising.

I did some of this at collage back in 76, there is nothing new. It is all to do with the speed of sound, and its not guess work, look at the old race cars from yester year with their great long thin Triumphs and the short wide Triumphs on more modern ones.

You can only tune for one rev, so you have to choose where you want it.

Either at peak HP or peak Torque would be the best place to tune for and you would want to set the inlet length to match so that you get a positive pulse hitting the inlet valve just as it opens and a negative one hitting the exhaust valve, again just as it opens. Sounds easy, eh.

The pulse travels at the speed of sound, (which varies with atmospheric conditions) you get one reflected pulse (+ive to -ive and visa versa) from each diameter change and one from the end of the pipe. When the exhaust valve opens the pressure wave is positive and travels down the pipe to the first diameter change where it is reflected and attenuated, part of it carries on to the next diameter change and so and so forth until it hits the end of the pipe where the final positive pulse is reflected. Every time one of these waves hits a diameter change it is reflected 180 degrees and attenuated, also a 90 degree bend will attenuate the pulse by 50%. There are hundreds if not thousands of variables to effect and negate the effect of all that perfect pipe tuning. The same thin is also going on on the inlet track only it starts out as a negative pulse when the inlet valve opens.

Other things to look at are 4 into 1 for peek power and 4 to 2 to 1 for mid range (I think but it could be the other way round. :??? )

As said above this only works for one rev. Say on a 1000cc bike peak power is at 13300 rpm. You would tune for that. At 13299rpm or 13301rpm you would get no added help. The bad news, at certain revs the timing of the pulses are such that a positive pulse hits the exhaust valve just as it opens and negative hits the inlet valve just as it opens, look at the lumpy power and torque curves for bikes from only a few years ago. Newer bikes have midrange boosting power valves in there exhaust, (in effect changing the length of the exhaust,) variable inlet valve timing as well as variable inlet tract lengths all in aid of putting this effect to good use allowing a range of revs to be covered rather than just one.

The SET valve in K6/K7 Suzuki's exhausts is to keep the noise emissions down :evil as Dyno test of before and after the valve is disconnected show no difference in power or torque in the mid range.
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IZINBARD
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Post by IZINBARD »

blackstorm wrote: which helps scavenge the combustion chamber of exhaust gas
and leaving a slight vacuum which leaves more room for the inlet charge.

The more you get out then more you can get in :2up
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Post by blagger »

cheers guys... its amazing the physics behind the exhaust and what one little change will do to the performance of the engine.. i will have a play about and see what i can find out some more..


cheers again guys


:P :P
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TheSaint
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Post by TheSaint »

The SET valve in K6/K7 Suzuki's exhausts is to keep the noise emissions down :evil as Dyno test of before and after the valve is disconnected show no difference in power or torque in the mid range.

Ditto anyone old enough to remember EXUP valves.
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Post by Gazza »

TheSaint wrote: Ditto anyone old enough to remember EXUP valves.
That's not what Yamaha said. Seem to remember the advertising was to improve performance throughout the rev range (or words to that effect).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EXUP

and

http://www.Yamaha-motor.com/sport/compa ... /home.aspx

(See 1987)
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Post by TheSaint »

Yeah, right.

My Chunderace had an EXUP valve that "just happened" to open up just past the point where the roll-on noise test RPMs ended, about 5000?

Might just be coincidence of course, but it's surely not a coincidence that the EXUp valve was the only significan baffle in the whole exhaust. And who rides a sportsbike for bottom end grunt anyway (like any 1000 cc bike firing on all four is going to be short of that)?

Anyhoo, how's the Far East treating you? I'm flying back to Aberfreeze on Sunday after two months' slumming it in the South of France with the old folks........ :(
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Post by Gazza »

TheSaint wrote:
Anyhoo, how's the Far East treating you? I'm flying back to Aberfreeze on Sunday after two months' slumming it in the South of France with the old folks........ :(
It's hot, sunny, friendly, cheap, no polis, no cameras, no tax and a long way from the UK, so can't be bad. :2up

And before anyone says no booze...gtf. It's legally allowed, just not available from pubs. The nice thing about no pubs/drugs is I can walk through the main drag at 11pm or later and not worry about some thug wacking me around the back of the head with a belt buckle for starters.

Drug dealers/smugglers are hung. So no fcuking about there then :2up

The girls are having loads of fun. Only problem is I'm stuck on a rig at the mo'. :(
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