Compression and horsepower

On the weekend I was talking to a friend of mine who builds quite a few BBF's at his shop. They are working on a couple P 51 strokers and a Boss 9 548 for a customer. He has been building them in the 13:1 compression range but I recall most of the KY/TN engines are usually in the 14:1 range. At this stage is 1 point of compression leaving a lot on the table or is the power going to be pretty much the same.

1 point can make a significant difference. How much depends on the total package. In a Drag motor I want all I can get. Compression= HP imo

bbf-falcon wrote:Compression= HP imo

I read that recently so that is what made me wonder. He said most of the motors he has been building are for mud racers.

jasonf wrote:On the weekend I was talking to a friend of mine who builds quite a few BBF's at his shop. They are working on a couple P 51 strokers and a Boss 9 548 for a customer. He has been building them in the 13:1 compression range but I recall most of the KY/TN engines are usually in the 14:1 range. At this stage is 1 point of compression leaving a lot on the table or is the power going to be pretty much the same.

Going from 13/1 up to 14/1 you are looking at about a 2.5% increase in power.

Hope I'm not hyjacking the thread, but about how much difference does 11 to 1 make over 10 to 1 in a mild 460?
Thanks

Jason,

I assume you were back home visiting with the boys @ ProStock. Yes he does quite a few mud race engines but I feel he is just getting to know the BBF's. I know for certain one 545 ford with P-51's is going to be 12-1.

I am hoping/banking on my 557 with max ported iron CJ heads 14-1 way and bigger cam will come out on top in the hp department. I have talked to them (nice guys) but feel their prices are way too high as they do lots of the promod blown alky stuff for race teams.

JMO Mark

Mark Laczo wrote:Jason,

I assume you were back home visiting with the boys @ ProStock. Yes he does quite a few mud race engines but I feel he is just getting to know the BBF's. I know for certain one 545 ford with P-51's is going to be 12-1.

I am hoping/banking on my 557 with max ported iron CJ heads 14-1 way and bigger cam will come out on top in the hp department. I have talked to them (nice guys) but feel their prices are way too high as they do lots of the promod blown alky stuff for race teams.

JMO Mark

In the Ford world I would say he is relatively new being a BBC guy but the difference between him and most chevy people is that he isn't an arrogant asshole. He recognizes the advantages and will give credit to the BBF when necessary.

I have known Randy for at least 15 years and he is a nice guy. He is honest and that is why we became friends. I can't stand people that lie. The biggest problem he has is he is always so backed up. Like most small business' he has a hard time hiring and keeping quality employees. I do know that his counter guys make about 5x what I made when I worked at Guyons in the 90's. Edmonton is so expensive to live in you have to pay to get decent workers and unfortunately that cost gets passed on to the customer. Where do you get your work done at and how much cheaper are their prices?