As one among the enduring figures of NASCAR in its wilder Nineteen Sixties days, Henry “Smokey” Yunick not only had the creative engineering chops to assist in giving his team a leg-up, but additionally a rebellious tackle authority that defined the era. (You may watch NASCAR retell seven generations of stock automotive history, including the years where legends like Smokey thrived.) In a time when racing teams could play fast and loose with the regulations, Smokey honed his skill of unconventional approaches to maximizing performance. Nonetheless, one among his most inspiring creations was revealed within the mid-’80s, when it was reported that he had been working on a Hot Vapor engine.
In an internal combustion engine, it isn’t liquid gasoline that burns, but vapor. And fuel is not just made up of a singular compound, but as an alternative, several. The issue is, each compound that makes up gasoline has a special thermal threshold required for it to alter its state. Essentially, the combustion chamber only gets a portion of the whole fuel that is ready for combustion, resulting in lost efficiency in the course of the process.
Smokey Yunick’s unique construct sought to utilize heat generated from the engine, raising the airflow to over 400 degrees Fahrenheit before it gets to the cylinders. This goes counter to standard considering, which seeks to scale back temperatures under the hood with something like a cold-air intake. Nonetheless, at intentionally higher thermals, all those compounds inside the fuel could properly vaporize, resulting in remarkable output and efficiency. But then, why didn’t Smokey Yunick’s engine develop into the subsequent big thing? Amongst other reasons, the Hot Vapor engine operated along a nice line of parameters lying somewhere in-between detonation and full combustion. It was highly sensitive to any irregularities, potentially destroying the engine and causing major fire risks.
The way it worked, and what the Hot Vapor engine did under the hood of a Fiero
The Hot Vapor design captured heat from just a few places within the engine, including the cooling and exhaust system. It also included a step where the mixture is pushed through a homogenizer, which more thoroughly mixed the oxygen and fuel together. During its journey to the combustion chamber, the mixture is continually heated by exhaust gases, helping to show it into uniform vapor. Although, not all the main points of the engine were made public, specifically how Smokey Yunick tuned his creation. Trush Yunick, Smokey’s daughter, spoke concerning the engine’s secrets with Hot Rod, saying, “Smokey is gone, and a number of the secrets went with him.”
So, what could the Hot Vapor engine actually accomplish in practice? Well, Smokey took a Pontiac Fiero’s four-cylinder and dramatically transformed its capabilities. From lower than 100 horses and barely 125 pound-feet of torque to begin out with, the Hot Vapor power plant bumped output as much as 250 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. Suddenly, this Fiero could post 6.5-second zero-to-60 mph times while also enhancing fuel economy by an extra 16 miles per gallon over stock (with premium fuel).
However the aforementioned engine failure issues, fire risks, and concerns about durability overshadowed those enhancements. Thus, engine design has continued to progress without Hot Vapor backing it up, though scientists today are still in search of ways to eliminate waste in the identical spirit Smokey Yunick did several many years ago. They’re even making the most of exhaust gases in similar ways, which you’ll be able to see from this nifty device that would turn your automotive’s exhaust into electricity.
This Article First Appeared At www.jalopnik.com
