Could you run a car with a bike engine?
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:42 pm
Here's a little hypothetical for the tech heads.
Over the past 100 years, the raw specific power of the average I.C.E in automobiles had a relatively linear progression, until about the late 1990's when it started to taper off. Apparently the disadvantages of a good economy include backwards progression in technology due to lack of concern on fuel prices.
So perhaps it wasn't so much linear as a logarithmic curve and it seems to be flattening out. But who's fault is the lack of smaller engines with the same power? Technology or the market?
Well apparently its not technology's fault, as shown by the recent upsurge in turbocharged snowmobile engines of 1000cc or less.
Turbo Sleds
Twin-turbo Yamaha
There's an emergence of 200-350hp sleds with 2-cylinder and 3-cylinder engines. Yamaha being at the forefront, others include Polaris and Arctic Cat, which use Liberty engines, developed in partnership with FHI and Subaru-Robin
Along with drag bikes, snowmobiles are the obvious niche for this technology to emerge. Launching a tracked vehicle so that it starts to ride on top of several feet of snow is actually quite difficult, and they get bogged down relatively easily. And ATV companies compete way more furiously than car companies. Sorry, but updating your product every year by shaving off 1 lb off the current model? That's competition!
Side-note, cold weather seems to be a catalyst for impatience and ingenuity. I think winter sports fans are the most fanatical. If cold pumps adrenaline, you should try going 100mph in -40 weather.
Aaanyway, why would you want one in a car? How about a long-block that weighs 60kg? How about being able to do major internal work in a day, in your own garage, with only basic tools?
From the review's I've read, turbo-ing these engines doesn't hurt reliability noticeably. I'm sure it has the same risk as any other custom job.
Very few of these little engines tend to make it 100,000 miles because they become obsolete so quickly and are disposed of. That doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't. But even if they can't that's ok, because you could do an engine swap in a sled as easily as a turbo-swap in our cars. And replacement top or bottom ends will only run you a few hundred bucks.
The kneejerk reaction is to say an engine that small would blow a gasket while launching a 2000lb car. I'm not sure how much weight it could reliably push, but they are designed for that type of abuse. Sleds have centrifugal clutches. It won't move unless you reach high RPMs to 'pop' the clutch. I've been on a few of the new racing sleds, and there is no slow button. You either go fast, or sink into the powder. And they go fast on a Double-Diamond Ski slope, backwards.
Compared to a Wankel:
Same: high-revving but still wish you had more torque.
Better: even lower weight, easy maintenance, time-proven reliability, constantly updated and improved.
I'm convinced an Atom would be better off with this type of engine because there are no accessories to drive and weight is everything. I've always been a fan of the modular car concept. Smaller block means smaller radiator, smaller starter, smaller battery...
But could they be used in larger autos?
Thoughts?
Over the past 100 years, the raw specific power of the average I.C.E in automobiles had a relatively linear progression, until about the late 1990's when it started to taper off. Apparently the disadvantages of a good economy include backwards progression in technology due to lack of concern on fuel prices.
So perhaps it wasn't so much linear as a logarithmic curve and it seems to be flattening out. But who's fault is the lack of smaller engines with the same power? Technology or the market?
Well apparently its not technology's fault, as shown by the recent upsurge in turbocharged snowmobile engines of 1000cc or less.
Turbo Sleds
Twin-turbo Yamaha
There's an emergence of 200-350hp sleds with 2-cylinder and 3-cylinder engines. Yamaha being at the forefront, others include Polaris and Arctic Cat, which use Liberty engines, developed in partnership with FHI and Subaru-Robin
Along with drag bikes, snowmobiles are the obvious niche for this technology to emerge. Launching a tracked vehicle so that it starts to ride on top of several feet of snow is actually quite difficult, and they get bogged down relatively easily. And ATV companies compete way more furiously than car companies. Sorry, but updating your product every year by shaving off 1 lb off the current model? That's competition!
Side-note, cold weather seems to be a catalyst for impatience and ingenuity. I think winter sports fans are the most fanatical. If cold pumps adrenaline, you should try going 100mph in -40 weather.
Aaanyway, why would you want one in a car? How about a long-block that weighs 60kg? How about being able to do major internal work in a day, in your own garage, with only basic tools?
From the review's I've read, turbo-ing these engines doesn't hurt reliability noticeably. I'm sure it has the same risk as any other custom job.
Very few of these little engines tend to make it 100,000 miles because they become obsolete so quickly and are disposed of. That doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't. But even if they can't that's ok, because you could do an engine swap in a sled as easily as a turbo-swap in our cars. And replacement top or bottom ends will only run you a few hundred bucks.
The kneejerk reaction is to say an engine that small would blow a gasket while launching a 2000lb car. I'm not sure how much weight it could reliably push, but they are designed for that type of abuse. Sleds have centrifugal clutches. It won't move unless you reach high RPMs to 'pop' the clutch. I've been on a few of the new racing sleds, and there is no slow button. You either go fast, or sink into the powder. And they go fast on a Double-Diamond Ski slope, backwards.
Compared to a Wankel:
Same: high-revving but still wish you had more torque.
Better: even lower weight, easy maintenance, time-proven reliability, constantly updated and improved.
I'm convinced an Atom would be better off with this type of engine because there are no accessories to drive and weight is everything. I've always been a fan of the modular car concept. Smaller block means smaller radiator, smaller starter, smaller battery...
But could they be used in larger autos?
Thoughts?