Re: Lugging your engine!

["Anthony Dusovic" <ad-@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I deleted the digest from the engine lugger so I don't know who he is, but I
respond as follows:  Lugging is not good!

Your engine does not make enough power to move your car! (Bold statement)
The reason it can is because gear reduction gives effective torque
multiplication.  (that's why 18 wheelers have many gears). (300 lb-ft don't
move 3000 pounds without some help).

Think about it.  Take an electric motor and apply a force so that it can't
spin.  You'll overheat, overload and burn the motor eventually because it is
asking for more and more current.

Now add a gear reducer to the hypothetical motor and apply the same force.
Chances are it will spin. Alright!

Ok so here we go.  Assume that your car is the opposing force.  Start in
certain gears (1, 2, maybe 3) car goes.  Start in 5, 6 or whatever and you
stall.

Assume you won't stall for a minute.  What happens is you have to counter
the force with a lower effective torque not the same effective multiplied
torque as in the lower gears.  You keep applying more gas to move the car,
the opposing force (car) is great, so you apply even more gas to move the
car.  What are you doing??

  I'll tell you, you are trying to increase the force per piston to spin the
crank.  More force = more combustion = more load on bearings.  Ahhhh, so you
can damage your bearings!!!  Yessss.

Run your engine under the increased bearing loads and eventually you lose
the oil film, it isn't strong enough to keep the bearing nice and centered
on the crank, you get it.

(Oil) flow always takes path of least resistance.  When you lug your engine
at low rpm's the , lower rpm means lower oil pressure and again, with the
increased bearing loads, oil can't go where it has to!

Also, More force = more combustion = more heat = detonation = over heat =
dead engine again.  Pick your poison.

This is of course theoritical assuming that the force and counter force are
constant, as your car gets going you need less torque to keep it moving so
you probably won't kill your engine in one outing, but lug your car all the
time and the worst will eventually happen.

I hope this helps, it is long but I had to take a bunch out so it may not
take total sense.  I'm sure and I could have written a couple of digests
worth and bored everyone to tears!!

Regards,

Anthony

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