You picqued my interest on squish bands so I looked up some glow engine reviews done by MAN. Squish bands ranged from 0 to 11 degrees on the engines where it was mentioned. It also explained that the boost port on some schnuerle engines direct the flow to the squish band. This prevents wetting the glow plug when idleing.

I guess it's whatever you prefer. I would prefer smooth running to max power. Remember these folks who race are usually willing to ruin an engine in one run in order to win. Perhaps you are in that category.

You might also want to ponder Mr. Davis' comment about WHY he didn't make a head for your engine. I understand that two basic reasons for not making a head are extremely low sales volume for an engine OR he doesn't think it will work well as a diesel. I understand he tests more engines than he produces heads for.

You mentioned that a tractor pull is done in a few seconds. Most diesels for airplanes are allowed to heat up before final adjustment. I think your final adjustment will have to come from a cold start setting. Using a prop to get your adjustments will be a little more complicated because you need to get a setting for immediately after starting and also one for after it has heated up in case you need to do consecutive runs.

Tractor pulling sounds like fun. Keep us posted.

George