The Effect of Removing the Choke Plate on Airflow
There are some folks out there that insist on getting every last fraction of a horse-power out of their tractors. One trick sometimes employed is to remove the choke plate and shaft from the carburetor to eliminate any flow restriction. This as experience shows is a mistake. The choke plate in fact acts to stabilize the airflow. The flat choke plate straightens the airstream by blocking the tendency for the air to swirl and cause turbulence. In addition, dynometer tests indicate that removing the choke assembly can reduce the horse-power by up to 2 percent. Moreover, with the throttle plate offset 90 degrees to the plane of the choke plate, the amount of turbulance in the airflow is further reduced.
