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Internal Combustion Engine

ciechanow.ski

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Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#21

Post by swiley »

specialp wrote: post #15

I just built an engine for my car. One thing I gained an appreciation for was how CHEAP cars and engines are. There's probably nothing else with as precise machining that is as inexpensive. Engine cylinders are honed to accuracies that are less than 1 thousandth of an inch. Crank journals as well and rod journals. This is all precise machine work with metal. I use inches here because in machine work thousandths of in…

I've always felt cars were like computers; most people (me included) pay a premium for something mediocre because they don't want to bother understanding it.

My personal solution is to live near the metro and bike as much as possible.

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#22

Post by pram »

specialp wrote: post #15

I just built an engine for my car. One thing I gained an appreciation for was how CHEAP cars and engines are. There's probably nothing else with as precise machining that is as inexpensive. Engine cylinders are honed to accuracies that are less than 1 thousandth of an inch. Crank journals as well and rod journals. This is all precise machine work with metal. I use inches here because in machine work thousandths of in…

I think automatic transmissions are more impressive looking than engines when they're open. They resemble EV motors too!

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#23

Post by larsnystrom »

In a few decades the internal combustion engine will be to transportation what the typewriter is to typing today. It’s kind of mind boggling, but there is really no alternative if we want to stop increasing the CO2 concentration in our atmosphere.

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#24

Post by sillysaurusx »

Syonyk wrote: post #9
phpdave11 wrote: post #5

This was really educational! I love the design of the webpage, and I especially like how you can rotate the 3d diagrams and see each component from every angle.

I had no idea until I read your comment that you could click and drag the engine models! Insane!

Ditto. Thanks.

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#25

Post by Viker »

larsnystrom wrote: post #23

In a few decades the internal combustion engine will be to transportation what the typewriter is to typing today. It’s kind of mind boggling, but there is really no alternative if we want to stop increasing the CO2 concentration in our atmosphere.

Hmm... Hard to beat that energy density when the workload is large.

Trucks, tractors, planes, ships. Sure consumer cars will be EV but ICEs are not going anywhere

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#26

Post by kingsuper20 »

bob1029 wrote: post #11
kingsuper20 wrote: post #10

It's a lot scarier when you see things going under load at speed. Lots of wiggling, twisty magic, waves. Smokey Yunick (blessed be his name) used to make see-through timing covers, oil pans, valve covers + strobe light + some sort of oscilloscope setup to watch the craziness. I think I remember seeing the results for small block Chevrolet timing gears on sprint car engines as the teeth wiggled more and more with rpm.…

Reciprocating machines are fairly remarkable when you consider all of the components involved, forces, etc. Even more so when you think about how long a typical car engine lasts. These incredible forces are why rotary and turbine engines are substantially more reliable. Some gas turbines have only 1 moving part, and in some applications this moving part experiences zero wear due to magnetic/aerodynamic/active bearing…

Rotaries are a funny case. Look good on paper. Thermal efficiency issues. Smog. Seals. Noise control difficulties. Weird patches like bridge ports.

For modern passenger cars, it's kind of like overcoming the difficulties of two-stroke.

In anti-defense of 4-stroke ICE, it seems to me like we are hitting peak wacky complexity of those. Variable timing cams, turn off the cylinders, direct port injection, turbos, variable intake, complicated ECU. It's a far cry from a flathead 6 or VW flat 4.

Thank God electric cars are becoming more available, although I fear increasingly complex cooling and battery management and the 1000 things a software guy is going to add to them.

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#27

Post by jiofih »

Syonyk wrote: post #9
phpdave11 wrote: post #5

This was really educational! I love the design of the webpage, and I especially like how you can rotate the 3d diagrams and see each component from every angle.

I had no idea until I read your comment that you could click and drag the engine models! Insane!

The text immediately before the first image says “You can drag it around to see it from other angles”. Our attention spans are deteriorating quickly…

Re: Internal Combustion Engine

#30

Post by rhinoceraptor »

larsnystrom wrote: post #23

In a few decades the internal combustion engine will be to transportation what the typewriter is to typing today. It’s kind of mind boggling, but there is really no alternative if we want to stop increasing the CO2 concentration in our atmosphere.

I wouldn't be so sure, I think there's a decent chance that e-fuel can be made economically viable.
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