I decided to write this little story about power curve comparison after reading the following posts from fellow members AAAA and BBBB.
Originally Posted by AAAA
A 2000 rpm wide powerband at 5000 rpm is the same width as a 4000 rpm powerband at 10000 rpm once the gearing has been corrected to give them both the same performance.
Originally Posted by
BBBB
If the rpm ratio is the same and the average power within the range is the same, the two powerbands would be "functionally equivalent". That is, a change to the overall gear ratio would make them perform the same...... The same average power over a given rpm range will produce the same average acceleration. It does not matter what the "shape" of the powerband is -- sloping upward, sloping downward, or flat.
I could not agree more, BBBB. But it requires a fundamental definition of 'average power'. And that is
not 'the area under the power curve'.
also from BBBB:
Although we can narrow the powerband down to the absolute limit and have it show excellent results in a simulation like Dynabike, I'd want to have more margin than that for any application except maybe drag racing or bench racing. It is one thing to operate out front at "full speed" on the track, but traffic can cause you to operate in an undesirable part of the powerband. Similarly, recovering from a mistake (missed shift, forgetting how many downshifts a particular corner requires, etc.) is another reason we need a broader powerband.
Once again I fully agree and I would add that this could only come frome someone with actual competition experience. Any engine builder who thinks he can base his powerbands on the ratios of a gearbox, is not going to make his riders very happy - in fact he is not going to keep them very long.
Peak power alone does not say much about the usefulness of an engine. The combination of power curve and transmission, the sort of application the engine will be used for, and the abilities of the rider, together define which is the optimum engine character.
An example: a 125 cc road race engine can always be kept between 10.000 and 14.000 rpm thanks to its six-speed gearbox. Wether this engine produces 2 hp or 20 hp at 6000 rpm, is unimportant.
But a kart engine with direct drive without a gearbox has trouble staying above 5000 rpm in slow corners; it only can manage to do so by means of a very short gearing that forces the engine to rev over 17.000 rpm on the straightaway. For such a kart it is imperative that acceleration out of slow corners does not cost too much time. There may be only one such corner on the whole circuit, but time lost there cannot be made up by a higher top speed on the straight.
Therefore a sensible tuner will not concentrate on peak power; he will make sure that the power is never really bad in the whole range from 5000 to 17.000 rpm (in this kart-example).
I prefer to work not with a powerband but with a power range, which I define as the highest rpm of a power curve, divided by its lowest rpm.
Experience has taught what kind of power range is needed for a certain application. Road racing calls for a range of about 1.4 . When a CVT is involved, I imagine 1.2 over even less might be enough (though I'm only guessing here as I have next to no experience with these things). Motocross calls for something like 2. A touring bike needs at least 3 to be comfortable. And the direct-drive kart in the above-mentioned example needs about 3.4 (17.000/5000).
Let us asume we have a measured power curve from 7000 to 14000 rpm. That gives a power range of 2.
Within this power curve all possible range values are investigated, from range=1.00; range=1.01; range=1.02; etc, up to range=2.
For each of these range values the whole power curve is examined in order to find which lower and upper rpm values yield the highest average power.
For range=1.5 for instance, we start with calculating the average power between 7000 and 10.500 rpm. Then we proceed with 7010--10.515; then with 7020--10.530; and so on, until the final possibility of 9333--14.000 rpm. And the highest value found is stored as THE average power for range 1.5, together with its corresponding lower and upper rpm limits.
All stored values for average power are displayed in range graphs. So when you are preparing an engine that will need a range of 1.6 , you can see at a single glance which engine delivers the best average power at range 1.6 . Furthermore you can see between which rpm values this engine is most effective. And you don't need to fall into the trap that ALL engine builders have fallen into at some time: attaching too much importance to peak power.
Maybe you are used to comparing the acceleration times of different engines on an inertial dyno. But that only makes sense if these engines are all run between the same initial rpm and the same final rpm, AND all with the same gearing.
The range concept does not suffer from any of these limitations; it functions under all circumstances. And because you can compare the range graphs of all your engines, you'll be able to distinguish much quicker which range is best for a specific application. That is an experience you would otherwise only gather after years of trial and error.
Suppose you are preparing an engine for an application that requires a power range of 1.5. Then which of the two power curves below should you pick? Hard to say, isn't it? But when you look at the power range curves on the right, it is clear as day: the yellow curve wins.
Attachment 280962Attachment 280963
Two more power curves. The yellow curve does not look very useful. But maybe it could work with a CVT.... The power range curve on the right tells us what we need to know. If the CVT can keep within a 1.2 rpm range, the yellow curve is OK. And if the CVT can keep within a 1.1 rpm range, the yellow curve is a winner!
Attachment 280964Attachment 280965
Another advantage of the power range curve: it can show you the rpm limits you should operate between. At range 1.2 the yellow power curve works best between 9970 rpm (the blue curve) and 11.964 rpm (the white curve).
Attachment 280966
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