ORIGINAL: downunder
ORIGINAL: DarZeelon
Regarding nitro; adding more of it to your fuel, in cold weather, *will* make any engine run better; even your run-of-the-mill glow engine.
OK, time for me to ask a question. I read this all the time about how nitro makes an engine start better in cold weather but because I never use nitro or experience what you guys call cold I've no way of knowing. What makes me wonder about the truth of this is that nitro has a flash point of 35C while methanol is 11C so I would have thought that methanol would be easier to ignite because of the heat generated inside the cylinder due to compression when starting the engine. What am I missing?
I don't think its easier to start with more nitromethane, but it does have less cooling from evaporation. Also engines lose timing in cold weather because the mixture is colder. So more nitro advances the timing and improves running. Also a wider mixture range making the engine easier to tune in a tricky environment. A hotter plug and slightly more nitro would help. But lots of nitro might make initial starting more difficult.
He is able to get the engine to fire, so more nitro may help prevent the engine from cutting out, make it easier to tune. But he will have to richen the mixture. But then again the cold air means you will have to.