How about this new motor

[charles_reed]

The OX2 is a 4-stroke, 1.1 liter internal combustion engine that is 17 inches in diameter with a length of 13 inches and a total weight of 125 pounds in normally aspirated form. The compact engine weighs 75 percent less than and is half the size of traditional internal combustion engines. In addition, it offers the flexibility of being able to run on a variety of fossil fuels including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, liquid propane or methane. In addition, with far fewer moving parts than traditional engine designs, the OX2 engine could offer the further advantages of significantly enhanced operation and maintenance costs and a longer useful life.

With its expected higher power-to-weight ratio, multi-fuel capacity and anticipated low emissions and fuel efficiency, the OX2 has a practical and much needed application in the commercial and industrial generator markets. Additional future applications may include marine, light-duty farm and construction equipment, light aircraft, and the hybrid electric vehicle market. However, the near term focus remains electrical generator applications.

Carroll Shelby, the president, was famous, in another incarnation for the AC Cobras, which were the "hottest" things in early 60's le Mans - they used to bake ones' feet...

 

[ccscott49]

Mmmmmmm Now that sounds interesting. Any further details, as to who apart from Mr. Shelby, is developing this thing? Or is it another one of the sterling engine derivatives, like the one in that whispergen/quiet or somesuch generator, that only manages to generate mainly heat? Any idea how close it is to actual production? Where did you read about it?

 

[Trevethan]

this sounds too good to be true!

Wonder how big a 50 hp version would be?

Also do you need to adjust/modify the engine for different fuels or does it sort itself out depending what's in the tank? Can't see how that's possible given differences in the way different fuels behave.

Wonder how pricey they are

 

[steve_cronin]

Perhaps a look at...

http://www.ox2engine.com/home.htm

will make things clearer, eh Charles?

Steve Cronin

 

[Trevethan]

Re: Perhaps a look at...

Best of all as far as I am concerned, it only has three movinmg parts!

 

[duke]

There was a report yesteday on the financial news(TV) that a large american comany is about to manufacture a small (2hp?) outboard engine 4 stroke in very large quantities at approx. half the price of existing outboards of a similar size.

Is there any connection?


Duke.

 

[vyv_cox]

Carroll Shelby....

it could be argued, is the man responsible for the 70 mph limit in UK. He campaigned the Ford powered AC cars at Le Mans in the early-mid 1960s, finishing up via the GT40s with the J cars that finally won the event. At that time the motorways in UK had no speed limit and Shelby came up with the bright idea that he could do some testing on M1 early on Sunday mornings. This came to the attention of the press and the papers were plastered with lurid headlines about "200 mph on the M1". Within a matter of weeks the 70 mph limit was introduced.

 

[Robin2]

Re: Perhaps a look at...

Look at the drawings and photographs - there are zillions of moving parts - just as in any IC engine. If you want few moving parts go for a traditional 2-stroke engine!

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

the 70 mph limit was brought in as a fuel saving thing, during the arab embargo and price hike, along with it at the same time, arrived the 60 on dual cabbageways and the 50 on other roads, apart from the usual 30 in built up areas, if I'm not mistaken. You can blame Carroll Shelby for many things, including falsifying AC cobra records, but not this! IMHO

 

[Trevethan]

Re: Perhaps a look at...

looked at them... then read the literature. They claim three moving parts. Now admittedly it has 8 cyls so does that make it 24 moving parts in total? Still compared to the great big chunk of diesel fed iron in the bottom of my boat it looks very straightforward.

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

Sorry, I don't think you are correct. The 60 mph on dual carriageways yes, but not the 70 mph on motorways

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

Could be wrong, but thought it all came in at the same time. Mind you I used to test my rallying cooper "S" after engine work on the M6, before it opened aswell! Then later on the M42? Blackpool motorway, when I had my RS 1800!

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Perhaps a look at...

It's hard to see from the diagram but it looks like a kind of swash plate design with the piston motion provided by sliding the bases of them over cams instead of a crankshaft. I would expect this sliding contact to be very difficult to lubricate, but we shall see. Certainly don't see how it can only have three moving parts - at the very least the pistons move up and down in the cylinders, so that must be 8, as you say.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Perhaps a look at...

Swash plate engines have been around for many years and you're quite right, the lubricating of the swash plate and piston feet, was the thing which defeated most designs, it works in a hydraulic pump, because the pump is full of oil. But I did see a design, where oil was pump through a miriad of tiny holes in the plate, which floated the piston feet. Another design I saw, developed by Smith Industries, had PDC, Polycrystaline Diamond Compacts, on the feet, almost indistructable, we use them for drill bit teeth. But they also need some lubrication. we use water. I wonder what they are doing.

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

I'm talking about a long time before that, the 70 mph limit came into force on 22 December 1965. No oil crises then, as far as I remember. I do recall driving my Healey down to London a few times in 1964/65/66 and being aware of the introduction of the 70 limit.

 

[Trevethan]

That was Briggs and Stratton. I think it might be a 5 horse model. The press release says it will be for freshwater use only and is a 4 stroke overhead valve engine.

Presumably they are keeping costs down by making it freshwater resistant only?

 

[robp]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

Anyway, I thought it was Aston Martin from Newport Pagnell that got accused of that. Was Shelby involved there?

 

[ccscott49]

Just had a look at this engine. Sneaky, lovely made piece of kit and obviously up and running, even looks like those are titanium pistons! I see how they overcome the swash plate lubrication thing, rollers, same as roller cam followers! I like this design, I hop something comes of it, ideal for little gennys and scaled up bigger uses. But outboards, wonderful! A sort of radial engine turned through 90 degrees. I like it.

 

[tr7v8]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

This was confirmed a little while ago by Barbara Castle who was the transport minister at the time. The goverment were looking at bringing in the law anyway.

Jim
-------

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Carroll Shelby....

You may be right, as shelby used to build them in the US, the chassis and body etc was shipped over from the UK then the engine transmission was put in, in california or florida or somewhere. some of them may well hjave been shipped back for sale here, but no cobra, apart from maybe the twin turbo version special build ever did 200+ mph. even a 427! Maybe a le mans car, but I doubt that, I'll check though. By the way Mr. Shelby had nothing to do with the GT40, lola built that in the first place.