Anybody else seen this?
http://www.new4stroke.com/
Thoughts???
well..... it's a polish invention.... doesn't that say enough? :mullet:
seriously though, wouldn't it weigh a whole lot more? i'd think any advantage would be negated by that
Weight would be a negative factor. I would think another would be top end lubrication. Reading further into the website suggests that the prototype had an extremely high volumetric efficiency and did not require as much fuel.
An animation:
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/th_a.jpg) (http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/?action=view¤t=a.flv)
A billion dollar aftermarket industry dedicated to lightening and removing friction from the valvetrain would have a good laugh at that monstrosity. Can you imagine the extra inertial losses from swinging all that hardware around?
I think camshafts and poppet valves are here to stay, at least until electrically actuated valves appear...
Isn't that technology in it's infancy stages as we type?
It has been for decades. I remember daydreaming about such a setup in junior high school (mid 80's), and I remember reading about a prototype Ford engine running with electric valves in the early 90's (a 2.3, I do believe). I would guess that the only thing holding the technology back would be the fact that traditional camshafts and valves work so well.
On a related note, ever look into BMW's Valvetronic? There's a pretty neat setup...