Re: What about the 25K 105mph V8 Patrician?

Posted by Redhexagon On 2022/12/29 2:24:27

I'm sorry, but 25,000 miles at 104 mph doesn't impress me, and neither does the 250 hours on a dynamometer at full load that Packard bragged about in their SAE paper about the development of the V8.

The U.S. industry standard for dynomometer durability was for engines to sustain 200 hours at full load, 4000 rpm without major deterioration. That standard stood for decades. Well into the 1980's. You could expect a Chevy, Ford, or Plymouth to last 200 hours at full load.

Packard barely beat that.

I know of at least one domestic manufacturer during that time whose engines were good for 400 hours on a dynomometer. They later got them up to 500 hours with improvements to their valve seats.

It was American Motors Corportation. Their V8 that debuted in 1956 was rated for 400 hours, which is like driving at 100 mph for 40,000 miles.