4 Cylinder, 2 Cycle Boxer Engine...325 HP
 

This is pretty cool.... 325 hp and huge torque, no valves, electronic controlled/assisted turbo


http://www.ecomotors.com/technology

http://www.ecomotors.com/files/Tech_page_header.jpg

Crazy... 6 rods, 4 pistons, 2 bores. :cool:

Hmmm.... Thought it was a 4 cylinder at first. Looks like it can be assembled in 'modules' that can interface with some crazy transmission that can turn each engine on or off if required.

Well, you can call sorta call it a "4 cylinder" if you're going by the number of pistons moving in there. It uses opposed pistons... basically there's a piston on either end of the combustion chamber:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposed-piston_engine

The difference is that most opposed piston engines have two crankshafts:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ton_engine.gif

Really though, terms like "4 cylinder" are only useful when discussing traditional motors. Calling this a "2 cylinder motor" because it's literally got only 2 cylinders ignores the fact that there's a lot more going on in there.

Direct injection Turbo charged 2 strokes make stupid power already. I would be surprised if all that complexity (read as friction) and extra inertia actually produces any more power to weight than a traditional one would and I bet your MTBF is much sooner due to the complexity.

Forced induction works really well on 2 strokes as it really helps cram the air in during the brief period of time the intake ports are open.

My 5MT could handle that torque. :unamused:

Really cool link. I bet the car would be almost hybrid quiet. Are there any sound clips of what that exhaust would sound like?

Glancing at that drawing, my guess is that the motor has variable base compression ratio built into that gizmo on the backside of the outer pistons. By using a opposed piston design, you gain variable base compression on all 4 pistons with half as many rod length adjuster (or whatever they should be called). If that gizmo is complicated/expensive/heavy it may be a benefit to go with a non-traditional 1 piston per cylinder.

Variable base compression would allow an additional layer of dynamic optimization of efficient vs. power, plus the ability to run a huge range of fuels... or even a mixture of fuels... imagine topping off a tank of diesel with gasoline and having the motor sort out the ideal compression ratio on the fly as the fuels mix. :lol:

Then again, I'm just looking at that drawing... I didn't read the website.

Why do you say that. 2 strokes are often quite noisy for a number of different reasons and exhaust sound is often really determined by exhaust tract, muffler and expansion chamber design, not the engine.

Read the article Dean.

I did and hit all the "more" buttons. It talks about reduced engine noise due to balance which all boxer engines are and emissions reductions. I saw nothing about exhaust note or levels.

It said the noise would be reduced because that engine eliminates the valve-train and "all engine forces counteract each other".

I see the confusion from my post though. My comment about the exhaust was a separate thought from the "quiet as a hybrid" comment. There, I was talking about the actual engine noise under the hood.