[DeTomaso] Header ideas for discussion
LS
lashdeep at yahoo.com
Tue Mar 6 20:07:22 EST 2012
A lot of race car design has to do with packaging also. F1 solutions would place a car as low to the ground as possible. Exhaust that exits down and to the sides of the motor may not be as feasible as the 180 arrangement in this case.
Yes, having the weight of the exhaust low is important but maybe not as important as compromising the under chassis air management or suspension design.
Some of this F1 development made its way over to street and GT cars like the GT40 and Pantera since the development was already there. Why develop a new exhaust when a design such as the 180s just won Le Mans?
I'm not going to drop the F bomb again, but many "Italian GTs" in the old days had F1 technology carried over from their racing counterparts. A lot of it made no sense whatsoever...like ultra light magnesium wheels on a 3900lb four seater!
But why design something new and maybe 10% better when a perfectly good design from the race team is just down the hallway?
Also, as Mike says, development changes things. Back when 180s were the optimum, heads, intakes, ignition, fuel, etc. were not what they are today. As technology changes, so does tuning.
One of the premium Cobra/GT40/Shelby preparers in the country just switched from a 1 7/8 primary header> 3 inch X pipe>3 inch dual side exit exhaust TO a 1 5/8 primary header > 2.5 inch X Pipe> 2.5 inch single exit exhaust on their recent development of a 580bhp 8500rpm 295 inch small block Ford.
It doesn't sound right, but it worked for their criteria and current combination of parts and tuning.
LS
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________________________________
From: "MikeLDrew at aol.com" <MikeLDrew at aol.com>
To: red3644 at hotmail.com; detomaso at realbig.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 6:21 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Header ideas for discussion
In a message dated 3/6/12 13 13 0, red3644 at hotmail.com writes:
>
> Why did some racers, GT-40s, use 180 headers and McClarens & Lolas (even
> with Ford engines) not.
> There was room for either type.
>
It was a short-lived technical dead-end, I think. While there were
theoretical benefits to the bundle-of-snakes exhaust, the practical benefits
didn't outweigh the weight, cost and complexity, and the idea quickly fell out of
favor, particularly as engines started making more power and revving
higher.
There are some roundy-round race cars that still use 180-degree exhausts,
such as this one:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Schoenfeld-Small-Block-Chevy-180-Degree-Header
s,3517.html
This uses two collectors stacked vertically rather than side-by-side like
we're accustomed to, but the theory is the same.
Burns Stainless has some good info on the 180-degree design here:
http://www.burnsstainless.com/bundleofsnakes-2.aspx
If maximum efficiency and performance is the only design criteria for a
Pantera exhaust system, I think an over-the-top speedboat-style 4-into-1 system
with a crossover would be the best bet.
Mike
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