Why is it that colder air is less likely to cause detonation... I know it that this is true, but not sure as to really why... Something to do with the dense air or is it totally temperature?
mogs01gt said:you guys aren't bringing in enough info. If you have a motor with a blower on it and you are driving around in really dense air, lets say its 40 degrees out side, you will see detonation because you do not have enough fuel to compensate for how dense the air is. Bringing air temperature down helps in the combustion of the gases.
remember detonation has a lot more to do with lack of fuel and timing.
flexiclese said:mrpositraction nailed it right on the head. Pre-ignition is the temp with in the cylender exceeding the fuel's flash point thereby cuasing the fuel to self ingnite before the timing of the spark.
Interesting short story: I owned a '91 volks diesel, 100% mechanical motor. One day late at night my alternator went, drove home 25 miles by fading parking lights only but the car ran without skipping a beat. The fuel was fed mechanically through a belt driven injection pump. So once the starter started the motor, it would continue to run as long as it had fuel and enough RPM (500-700) to keep it moving, even with a dead alternator.