1
Briggs Flathead / Re: 28/31 pistons
« on: January 17, 2013, 04:23:50 pm »In my opinion...Flatheads have been around forever, not alot has changed in the design. Experienced, professional engine builders have attempted literally every approach to increasing CR in them and no-one has been successful at it. Domes, shaving, quenching, port reduction....you name they have failed with it. Flatty's make compression with the Cam, not the piston! It has been tried in In-line engines, V Engines and yes, Briggs as well as other small engines. It always ends up the same, increasing compression reduces flow and cylinder filling thus hurting the power out put of the engine.
There is always the guy that comes along and says ;"What if we could increase CR without hurting flow?" - My answer to that is simply; "Then you will have done what no-one else has been able to achieve. If that is your goal, have it!"
While your out chasing that great white whale...I'll be fishing for HP in a pond full of bass!
There are many proven ways to make power from a Flatty....why waste your time messing around with the one way proven to hurt power?
I'm in over my head here Ahab! You boggle me with making compression with the cam. Obviously I'd best stay with stock parts and not get exotic. In truth, I was just using the parts I had, and instead of trimming the piston top flat I was going to round it... Doing mine on the cheap, which to me means as many cubes as possible with stock manufacturers parts. An ARC flywheel is as exotic as I'm getting, and that's only to get the weight down. Low compression also means one can run lower octane fuel, correct? I'm just a regular guy...
My thing is a flyrod for bluegills, but pond bass I could live with!
Garry