interesting engine

e

V.A.G. owns Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, =C5=A0koda, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini.

Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, =C5=A0koda is all the same bits and pieces in slightly different combinations and packaging

-Lasse

I had one too. It was an H1.

Someone called it the world's first disposable motorcycle. The only thing it did well was accelerate. It didn't brake, corner or save gasoline.

If used as intended, the piston rings had to be changed every 10 to 12 thousand miles. That is quite surprising, as it used injection oil at an alarming rate. Think chain saw on steroids.

The 900 four stroke which followed it was relatively civilized in comparison.

mike

Yup. You never took your fingers off the clutch lever.

John

John Larkin wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Railroad related opposed piston engines:

Fun stuff, but they (mostly) didn't survive in service where reliability was more important than efficiency. For all their complexity, the Deltic engines were relatively compact.

I think running F-M locos still survive, yes? Seems like we've got several in railroad museums here in Washington state...

Be interesting to see if this idea survives the real world in hybrid cars where they would seem well-suited.

There are some truly scary-big monster diesels in marine service that claim up to 50% efficiency, if you don't mind engines the size of a house...

--Damon

What about a gas/fuel-burning MHD generator as an engine (electric motors to direct drive wheels)?

The two-stroke diesel has a modern derivative too, see

I've held the crank for one of these - interesting journal design allows all rotating and reciprocating masses to be exactly balanced, so the engine is quieter than an electric motor of comparable power... as well as having half the frontal area of an aviation 4-stroke. It's a pity that aero engine certification is so determinedly stuck in the 1950's...

Clifford Heath.

I'm not a mechanical engineer so I don't know. It looks like combustions have to be synchronized to avoid violent vibration. At 1.1 hp/lb and 50% fewer parts, let's get this on the road.

The symmetry of piston acceleration should eliminate a major vibration mode. There will still be some angular nasties.

John

This is the way forward....

Eh? Recent Audis and BMWs are probably tougher and more reliable than recent Hondas and Toyotas. Who makes the best car varies from year to year. Honda and Toyota excelled at refining machinery to a simple essence that did exactly what was needed; nothing more or less. It cut costs, made manufacturing easy, improved performance, and there were fewer parts to fail. The complexity (and hacky nature) of hybrids has been giving them heaps of trouble.

--
I won't see Google Groups replies because I must filter them as spam

The rice burners are mostly aimed at the US market, so they tend to look like and drive like American boats. I'm glad the Germans still care to make cars for drivers, and not for little old ladies. My A3 is awesome to drive in 3-space, especially at 7000 feet with snow on the ground. It feels like it has claws instead of tires.

My wife's Honda Fit isn't bad for a Japanese car. It's small and tight and quick. The bigger Hondas and Toyotas tend to be mushy; she gets car-sick in most of them.

John

Not the Infiniti's, not even the "G" series

(1) How about a drag race?

(2) How about a road race, here to Yuma and back? ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |

                   Spice is like a sports car... 
           Only as good as the person behind the wheel.

I was going by a several year old (*) Consumer Reports Buying Guide.

(*) I don't have a current one, or at least can't find it... I cancelled my subscription AND my annual donation when I confirmed that CU endorsed the Obama Health Plan. (And they refused to answer my inquiry as to if they were receiving TARP money. I think Obama has bought just about everyone's vote :-( ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |

                   Spice is like a sports car... 
           Only as good as the person behind the wheel.

On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:25:29 -0700, Tim Wescott wrote: [snip]

Opposed piston engines are very much alive and well in the aviation industry. I have a 270hp 6 cylinder ready to hang on the front of my experimental one of these days. The majority of light singles, light to mid twins and light sport aircraft use them. It is not until you get into the big twins or some of the single rockets, like the TBM 850, or the heavy singles like a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12 where the turbines show up. There is active work on multi-fuel and Jet-A opposed piston engines.

[snip]

Not really. The denominating factor is altitude. With a turbine you can fly high and take advantage of all that that gives you. A turbine flying down low will have MUCH worse fuel burn than a piston engine. Reliability is a higher with a turbine, less parts banging around changing direction, but maintenance cost is a lot higher.

--
Joe Chisolm
Marble Falls, Tx.

You misunderstand. The engine in question is two opposed pistons in each cylinder. Not the plain old "boxer" style which has become ubiquitous in light aviation.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Do you need to implement control loops in software?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" was written for you.
See details at http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html

[snip]

Great power to weight ratios. Hence their use in bikes and portable tools (chain saws, etc.). But not very clean in most implementations.

I could build a 100 MPG car today. But the EPA would never let it on the road.

--
Paul Hovnanian  paul@hovnanian.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Have gnu, will travel.

I think one can get around 1.1 hp/lb from Wankel engines (modified for light aircraft use).

--
Paul Hovnanian  paul@hovnanian.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Have gnu, will travel.