BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
(OP)
I have a 1995 Ferrari F355. The published crankshaft power rating and published top speed are 375hp and 183mph, respectively. I wish to estimate the horsepower needed at 70mph and thereby estimate the BSFC at that cruising speed, at which the car gets 22mpg.
I made the assumption that power is proportional to velocity^3. This is based on the idea that drag force = 0.5(Cd)(velocity)^2, and that power = force*distance/time, which makes power proportional to velocity^3, if I did my analysis correctly. A further assumption is that other parasitic losses are also proportional to velocity^3.
The engine is turning about 200rpm over the rpm for rated power (around 8300) at the top speed. I assumed a crank hp of 370 for these conditions. Scaling back to 70mph this gives about 21hp at 70mph. This seemed reasonable, if even a little bit high for this car. This is all assuming a level road with no head wind of course.
With 21hp and 22mpg I get a BSFC of around 0.9 lbs/hp/hr, which seems really high. I realize these are part throttle conditions but it still seems high. Any thoughts?
I made the assumption that power is proportional to velocity^3. This is based on the idea that drag force = 0.5(Cd)(velocity)^2, and that power = force*distance/time, which makes power proportional to velocity^3, if I did my analysis correctly. A further assumption is that other parasitic losses are also proportional to velocity^3.
The engine is turning about 200rpm over the rpm for rated power (around 8300) at the top speed. I assumed a crank hp of 370 for these conditions. Scaling back to 70mph this gives about 21hp at 70mph. This seemed reasonable, if even a little bit high for this car. This is all assuming a level road with no head wind of course.
With 21hp and 22mpg I get a BSFC of around 0.9 lbs/hp/hr, which seems really high. I realize these are part throttle conditions but it still seems high. Any thoughts?





RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
----------------------------------------
The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
FWIW isn't the EPA rating something like 20 mpg highway, which I'd expect to be under more economical conditions than 70 mph.
So about 3200 rpm at 70 mph? 22 mph/1000. Hardly economy gearing, at least for more mundane vehicles to be sure.
the engine is at about 25% load under the cruising condition you described, if this synthesized power curve is correct,
\http://www.automobile-catalog.com/wykres_power.php
here is a BSFC chart allegedly from a high revving NA engine ( Honda S2000 ).\
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj229/MarquisRe...
looks like it is pretty possible to halve the best BSFC at low throttle settings at 3200 rpm
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
I can't imagine Ferrari gave two hoots about part load fuel consumption.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
You can also follow the procedure in SAE J1263 and determine the drag curve yourself, but this is not a trivial task.
"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
By assuming a V^3 coefficient, you will underestimate the road load at 70 mph. The V^1 and V^2 terms in the polynomial obviously do not drop off as quickly as the V^3 term as you reduce speed from 183 mph to 70 mph.
je suis charlie
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: BSFC at cruising speed in a car from power=kspeed^3 to estimate horsepower?
A further assumption is that other parasitic losses are also proportional to velocity^3.