Superbelt

i dont understand how car engines are measured in size. I was reading about a car's engine and it said it has a 937 cc engine. cc means cubic centimeter right?


and if this is true? what is the displacement? how do they measure it? i know that there is not an engine in a car that can be 937 cm cubed, becasue this is as smaller than a basket ball. so what am i missing?

cyrnel

Nope, that's right. Small but correct. A 1L basketball divided into quarters, each exploding 2000-6000/minute, does lots of work.

For comparison, Formula 1 currently uses 3L engines (at slightly higher rpm's).

leftturn109

the displacment is how much volume in the cylinders so an engine that is 937 cc has 937 cubic centimeters in the cylinders it has nothing to do with the outside size.

shakran

in simple terms, displacement is the amount of air displaced by the pistons when they move thru the cylinders on one stroke. In other words, if a single cylinder engine's piston moved 50cc's of air on a stroke, it'd be a 50cc engine. If it was a twin cylinder engine with the 50cc's of air moved by each piston, it'd be a 100cc engine.

cyrnel

The obligatory HowStuffWorks link for displacement:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine6.htm

Superbelt

ok, this actually helps alot! i suspected this but i wasnt sure.
thanks alot.

DDDDave

From How Stuff works:

"" Here are some examples:

* A chainsaw might have a 40 cc engine.
* A motorcycle might have a 500 cc or a 750 cc engine.
* A sports car might have a 5.0 liter (5,000 cc) engine.

Most normal car engines fall somewhere between 1.5 liter (1,500 cc) and 4.0 liters (4,000 cc) ""


And a Chevrolet 454 V-8 is 8.2L (8,200 cc)

.....there is no replacment for displacement

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Nimisys

well there is boost, and nitro methane.

DEI37

A Chevrolet 454 cubic inch V8 is NOT 8200cc...it's 7400. To get to 8200cc, you're looking at over 500 cubic inches

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Lockjaw

Until you run into a guy with a turbo charged small block and then the displacement rears it's ugly head yet again.

Drools over the thought of a twin turbo 331 cubic inch stroker. Or a supercharged 383.

Hmmm that kind of makes me wonder why nobody has turboed a big engine from the factory. Stop wasting the boost on the little dinky 4 bangers.

GetRdone

I know a guy with a 78 ( i think ) chevy full size truck, its got an oldschool corvette motor wiht a hand built twin turbo setup. Serious boost and serious displacement. 1400 horespower at optimum tune. Comrpression is also a factore, a high compression 4 cyl make more power than a low comp 8cyl, except at much higher rpms, and with less torque.

shakran

It's this kind of ignorant, idiotic statement that fuels the dumbassed war between import and domestic guys. If people who don't know nearly as much about cars as they think they do would keep quiet, two good things might happen. Stupid "my ride is better than your ride" pissing contests might disappear, and by being silent, those people might actually learn something.

The statement is idiotic because you act like 4 bangers are worthless - millions of car buyers in the USA alone would tend to disagree with you, and so would automotive designers with engineering degrees.

It's ignorant because it shows you don't even know that people ARE turbocharging V8's from the factory. See the Lotus Esprit.

Lockjaw

And this is the typical knee jerk "can't take a joke" type of post that seeks to preach about something they themselves should probably be silent about.

Ok first off where did I say 4 bangers were worthless? I didn't. However if you read my post IN CONTEXT you'd get my point. If you want to drive a fuel effiecient 4 banger fine. I can totally appreciate that. If you want to hot rod what you already have again I can completely appreciate that. My question was why do DOMESTIC manufacturers stick turbos and blowers onto their I4s and totally ignore doing the same thing for their big V8s. Ford is starting to do this but I don't know many car guys that wouldn't love a fully forged small block Chevy with factory boost. Car makers seem to be willing to do this for the 4 banger crowd but get skitish when it comes to the big engines.

How many domestics have turbo v8s? Hmmm yeah. Something you would have picked up on if you again would have read the post in context. Hence the statement of the huge cubic inches which are typical Ford and Chevy stroker sizes. BTW I wouldn't call a 3.5 liter V8 a BIG engine.

So let me rephrase it for those who couldn't get what I was saying and decided to write an essay about ignorance and keeping ones mouth shut when they should probably abide by such rules themselves.

"I wonder why domestic car makers are so skitish with using turbo and superchargers on large displacement engines from the factory."
Clarified to protect the sensitive feelings of the 4 banger community and knee jerk message board readers everywhere.

Lockjaw

There was a guy in my home town with a turboed 350 slipped into an 80s Monte Carlo. Thing put down like 500 horses with minimal boost and pump gas and he drove it to work every other day. Never would have guessed how powerful that thing was if you missed the giant wheels on the back. Complete sleeper.

GetRdone

haha ya totally. Im in the market for a car, thought about gettin a big v8 with some forced induction, but gas mileage becomes an issue. They guy witht the truck only gets like 9 miles to the gallon.....its the only vehicle ive ever seen be able to screech the tires just by putting it into drive (its auto, awaiting a line-lock i belive)

shakran

Really? Would I have? Here's your ENTIRE post:

Do me a favor and tell me where the word "domestic" appears in there.

Perhaps before you bash me for misunderstanding your posts, you should check to make sure your posts say what you actually meant, because if you are to be believed in your retort, your post said the opposite.


As for where you claim I quoted you as saying 4bangers are worthless, well, you misinterpreted my post didn't you? I said you ACT like 4bangers are worthless, and I stand by that statement. When you complain that manufacturers are wasting turbos on dinky 4bangers, that's not exactly a complimentary statement toward 4bangers now is it?

Next time, don't bash things you don't know about, and don't get mad when people react to what you say when you fail utterly to say what you claim to mean.

Willravel

Alright, relax guys. There are good i4s and good v8s and even good v and i6s. I4s are good for economy and can be good for speed, v6's are good for vans, i6's are good for porsches (drools), and v8s are good for power. We all know this.

This is abouty Superbelt's post.

Lockjaw

[QUOTE=shakran

Do me a favor and tell me where the word "domestic" appears in there.[/quote]
Again context think about it a bit harder.

Ok then which foreign motors generally come in cubes of 331? Which come in 383? Fairly obvious who I was talking about there if you bothered to ponder the post before flying off the handle. I won't be held responsible for your own asumptions.

Where did "act" like 4 bangers were worthless? I didn't. You are getting all huffed up for nothing.

OMG persecution complex much dude or what? Here let me make it up to you. 4 bangers are the most wonderfully efficient things ever and everyone should drive one.

I know plenty about the subject matter thank you very much professor of the piston. However I suggest you take tab A out of slot B and stop trying to attack people for your own inability to comprehend the post. BTW it is you who is coming off all mad not me. I couldn't care less what some random dude on the internet thinks of me. If you want to get all red in the face and tilt at windmills to defend the honor of the I-4 engine go right ahead. I'll be laughing at you the entire time.

Lockjaw

Will do. It's water under the bridge for me now.

MSD

Did someone say tubocharged v8?
http://www.bankspower.com/twin-turbo-products.cfm

Another note about displacement, a wider bore generally results in higher horsepower rating, while a longer stroke generally provides more torque.

GetRdone

mmmmmmmm banks power. Ive seen those kits on TRUCKS! and on Horsepower TV and everytime i do i start to drool. So much power.......ahhhhhhhhhh.

Ilow

Really? I was thinking the opposite, because smaller bore, longer stroke engines rev higher, and HP is usually achieved at a higher RPM than torque. Oh well.

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catback

Correction: smaller stroke engines rev higher

BoCo

Correct. As an example, try moving your, let's say, fist, up and down over about a 6-7" distance as fast as you possibly can. Now try doing the same movement over only about 2" worth of distance, and your revs--among other things-- will shoot way up.

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GetRdone

also consider rotating mass.... a small stroke engine with large bore pistons wont rev as fast as one with smaller pistons. as in everythin with cars, weight matters.

lite campfire

Porsche has never made an inline 6.
Money is good for power, not any specific engine configuration.

Ilow

it's true, porche's engines are flat (boxer) engines; and yes, money, does buy happiness when it comes to engines!
p.s. you guys are right about the revs and the stroke, I was just (not) thinking out loud!

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lite campfire

Porsche 911s all have flat 6s; but they've also used flat 4s* (914, 356, and Boxer), inline 4s (944), and V8s (928 and Cayanne)

*The 914 engine was probably made by VW. The 356 engine almost certainly was, because the 356 was based on the beetle.

billege

It is amazing how far off topic this thread has gone.

Those of you bickering with each other should be ashamed.

Ashamed for beating the living shit out of a dead horse.

Ashamed for ruining a thread that started out with a simple question.

Ashamed for adding ABSOLUTELY NOTHING OF VALUE with your crap.

Thank you for lowering the standards of the TFP with your self indulgence.

The best possible reply you can make to me is this:

Learn from, and don't repeat your mistakes.

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shakran

My apologies billege. I'm just tired of seeing the V8 guys starting wars with the I4 guys, and vice versa. I suppose next time I'll just let the idiotic comments slide

c172g

Wow, some very heated talk on engines! As a Detroit large engine lover, one thing no one has mentioned is transmissions or gearing. My old Camaro went like a raped ape from zero to 60 when I had 411 gears in it. After doing that hundreds of times, they finally went to shit & I put 355 gears in. Slower zero to 60 but way more top end (like an 18 year old needed that). You can make a V8 go balls out QUICK or very FAST but it's tough to do both really well. Same for "little engines".

Transmission gearings & shift points will also dramatically affect performance. The drive train is a combination of strenghts & weaknesses of all three components.

As for the 4 vs 8 talk, my feeling has always been...any configuration you can do with a four cylinder would perform far better if you did the same thing to a V-8. Adding turbochargers, nitrous, superchargers, etc might make a 4 faster or quicker, but they will do the same thing in a bigger manner with an 8. You can't beat size!

My stomach turns when I get next to some of these dinky cars with the loud exhaust...you can look at the hood & tell nothing more than a 4 cylinder lives under the hood, and my Dakota pickup can outrun most of them. Most sound like sick duck calls...

In the end, there is always someone out there with something bigger & faster. Fun toys to play with, anyway...

Ilow

Here we go again... [sigh]

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billege

Just close the thread. Someone, please?
It started out when a guy had an innocent question about how CC is understood.

There's no hope of bringing this one back.

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darkxerox

Heh slightly = over 10k more rpms than the example

But they're gonna be 2.4 liters in 2006.