Chain Heat Testing

[fabr]

Hey standfast.  The chain is obviously gonna get hot, you were reading 200 something degrees, is this a bad thing? How do you know that is not within tolerance levels for the chain to be fine?  You know for a fact the drip setup worked, so if you could, can you do the same test with the drip setup, and maybe put some cardboard around the chain so it doesn't make a mess, and see what it is reading?  If it's reading the same temp, then you haven't got the chain hot enough to find out how much cooler it would run with a fan or an oil drip.........

Good point yoshi. I agree.

[fabr]

These tests are very good but I feel that they need to be conducted under a load equivalent to the chain sees when in use .

[standfast]

Hey standfast.  The chain is obviously gonna get hot, you were reading 200 something degrees, is this a bad thing? How do you know that is not within tolerance levels for the chain to be fine? 

That article posted suggested o-ring failure starting at 200 degrees.  I am exceeding that with no load and at only 60mph.  That is without natural airflow like you pointed out but there is not going to be a ton of airflow in that area unless ducted. 

These tests are very good but I feel that they need to be conducted under a load equivalent to the chain sees when in use .

I agree but I gotta see what works in the shop first.  I don't want to take the car out to a place where I can roll 60mph or faster for 5 minutes straight to check every change I make.  That will be the last step once I can't get the temps any lower in the shop. 

[fabr]

Is there a dyno in your area?

[standfast]

Is there a dyno in your area?

Yeah there is like 5 or 6 of them.  Good idea, i need to see if I can squeeze some more power out of it anyway with the PCIII.

[trojan]

Uber props standfast... keep it up

[fabr]

Yeah there is like 5 or 6 of them.  Good idea, i need to see if I can squeeze some more power out of it anyway with the PCIII.

Perfect!. Kill 2 birds with a common stone!

[artie on edge]

That article posted suggested o-ring failure starting at 200 degrees.  I am exceeding that with no load and at only 60mph. 

200 deg F sounds like a low figure for a o ring to fail. Are you sure it wasnt 200 deg C? That sounds more like it. If thats the case then your reading was about half the fail point of the o ring.

Im very interested to see the results from a dyno run....anybody wanna throw a few bucks Stands way to pay for our info flow as a result?

[Yoshi]

200 deg F sounds like a low figure for a o ring to fail. Are you sure it wasnt 200 deg C? That sounds more like it. If thats the case then your reading was about half the fail point of the o ring.

Im very interested to see the results from a dyno run....anybody wanna throw a few bucks Stands way to pay for our info flow as a result?

I agree, the chain was seeing 220 degrees with no load after a few min., I can't imagine it would be getting above it's max threshold during such a stress free test with no shifting or load, which is why I was wondering if the readings were above average for that point......

[standfast]

Re-reading that article it doesn't say a typical o-ring failure temp.  It just says that the lube thins out to where it's like water above 160 degrees.  The point it fails at doesn't really matter though.  We are getting failures and trying to prevent it by lowering chain temps.  Loaded/unloaded doesnt' really matter right now.  It's just controlled testing on transferring heat from a chain.  When it's under load it will transfer heat then as well but I suspect that load is not going to dramatically increase the heat.  Chain speed seems to be the culprit for most of the heat.  I say this since I am starting to see discoloration on the sideplates from this testing alone at only 60mph with no load and no additional cooling.  We run 80+ pretty often for several minutes at a time.  Once the car is at that speed, I don't think the load is too tremendous.  I would guess there is more load accelerating from a lower speed.  Hard to really test that but years of drag racing kinda teach you about drivetrain failure and most of the time it happens in the first 60 ft. 

[Yoshi]

Re-reading that article it doesn't say a typical o-ring failure temp.  It just says that the lube thins out to where it's like water above 160 degrees.  The point it fails at doesn't really matter though.  We are getting failures and trying to prevent it by lowering chain temps.  Loaded/unloaded doesnt' really matter right now.  It's just controlled testing on transferring heat from a chain.  When it's under load it will transfer heat then as well but I suspect that load is not going to dramatically increase the heat.  Chain speed seems to be the culprit for most of the heat.  I say this since I am starting to see discoloration on the sideplates from this testing alone at only 60mph with no load and no additional cooling.  We run 80+ pretty often for several minutes at a time.  Once the car is at that speed, I don't think the load is too tremendous.  I would guess there is more load accelerating from a lower speed.  Hard to really test that but years of drag racing kinda teach you about drivetrain failure and most of the time it happens in the first 60 ft.

I was just over at my motor builder and he had my motor on the dyno.  He had a laser  temp gun so I could see what a stock motorcycle chain is running, and after less than 3 min running about 3k rpm n 5th. gear, the chain was reading 150 degrees.  I'm sure it would have got hotter had it gone on longer, but he is cycling the engine right now so it doesn't let the block get over a certain temp.  Tis was a stock length busa 530 chain. 

[RC51 Rhino]

 I think you are on the right track with the blower. I work in A/C stuff all the time and CFM is much better than PSI. Something else to note, ALL of the SXS vehicles (snowmobiles, too?) have a sealed cover around the drive belt and a crank or output powered fan pulling clean air over the belt and clutches. It's not a chain, but consider the amount of heat built in a that setup. Anybody with a CVT wanna give us some #'s?

[standfast]

Yoshi had an interesting idea awhile back that I would like to test if I scavenge up the parts.  It was to attach a alternator fan to the end of the CS sprocket and use the energy that is available right there.  The same could be done at the gearbox too I suppose.  The only think is I don't think the blade design is very good.  Maybe there is a better small fan blade available out there?  The alternator ones are just flat and turn in at the ends. 

[Yoshi]

Yoshi had an interesting idea awhile back that I would like to test if I scavenge up the parts.  It was to attach a alternator fan to the end of the CS sprocket and use the energy that is available right there.  The same could be done at the gearbox too I suppose.  The only think is I don't think the blade design is very good.  Maybe there is a better small fan blade available out there?  The alternator ones are just flat and turn in at the ends.

I actually think it would be a better idea to stick it on a one way bearing  on the sprocket so it doesn't try slow down when you let off the gas or down shift for a corner.  I know the sprag gear that connects the starter  to the crankshaft from a busa is small and would work perfect, I have one here I was looking at..............

[RC51 Rhino]

 I'm looking for a pic of the fan that is in the rhino cover. Its platic and has some real blades to it. Not sure if it would need a cover? Maybe a partial to draw tha cooler air in?