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markgtruitt

Member
I have a 7A with a Aero Sport Power O-360-A1A, Roller Cam and AvStar Carb. Yesterday I made a rookie mistake and flew 1.5 hours at 11,500 with EGT temperatures between 1000 and 1100. What if any damage could this have created to my engine? I appreciate any feedback.
 
Not sure I understand your concern. Did you not lean at altitude? If that were the case then you burned more fuel than required and no damage was done to your engine. EGTs operating ranges vary from installation to installation and depend upon many factors such as distance from exhaust valve. Unlike CHTs, you manage them via their relative movements (i.e. look for the hottest, the coldest and the spreads).
 
EGTs do not mean anything in and of themselves. They only matter in relative terms. Are those temps higher or lower than your temps usually are?

Added to this, the EGT temps are highly dependent on how far from the cylinder head the probe is. Yours may be reading entirely normal based on that.

For a complete article on how pilots mistakenly obsess on EGTs, check out Mike Busch's article "EGT Myths Debunked": http://www.gami.com/articles/egt_myths.pdf

Edit: Looks like Mike beat me to it.
 
You just used up a bit of fuel, that was not needed.
Do you routinely lean aggressively while on the ground? That keeps plugs cleaner. Next time you pull the plugs... you might see a bit more lead than usual... but I doubt it.
 
Mixture

Many experts believe that you cannot hurt a normally aspirated Lycoming, operating below 75% power, no matter what you do with the mixture.
At 11.5 you are probably below 65%, depending on exact power settings.
 
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