How many cylinders 'til..

[Alex Swinney]

you start losing power? My dad(a mechanical engineer) told me the answer.

[tarheels]

Is this a question to the board~? If not then you forgot to put the answer~! My guess would be 14~! I have no smurfing clue though~!

[pgt2edt]

umm ....hmmm ....... well for everyone who is into weight reduction, then i think right around 20 or so cyl's, that would be to heavy...

[Alex Swinney]

It is a question to anyone that will look. As for the answer, I am keeping it til someone gets it correct. That is why I ask it:grin:

[poirier]

Well, i think its more than 18:
http://www.cartoday.com/livenews/news/00/11/8.6.asp


heres a good one.
http://yalmas.tripod.com/maybach.htm
At the next but one Tokyo Motor Show in autumn 2001 a Maybach coupe study with a 24-cylinder engine is expected to be presented. Displacement will be anything between 12 and 15 litres, with supercharger (Kompressor) a power output of up to 1000 BHP are thinkable, the maximum torque being a four-digit figure.
It`s said that the power output in the beginning will be limited to around 500hp. Pre-series of the sedan shall start in March 2002, the first production cars to roll off the line in July 2002.

I say the answer is 34.

[Fiveliter302]

14?

[REDPGT]

13 cylinders...

[TurboSE]

12 cyls?

[Amanda Lynn52]

Ummm, 12 :smile:

[JTT]

The number you already have -1
I'm right! AHAHA!

[tarheels]

Well hell I want to know the answer so people keep guessing....
I say 15,17,19,20,21 cyl? :grin:

[QuadCam_GT]

just go get some triangles

[Alex Swinney]

Well, Steve is very close. But you gotta remember that pistons are different sizes. Not all pistons are as tall as the next, not all pistons are as wide in terms of diameter as the next.

Now, can anybody guess WHY you are limited by number of pistons? There are more than one reason, also.

[PurpleMetal1]

After you get to a certain number of pistons, the power created from them won't be able to justify the power they use to move. The firing order would create too many pistons moving at once that aren't producing power (dead weight).
Then there's also the issue of engine balance. Engines with up to 5 cylinders in a row (I-5, V-10) have to be fine tuned to achieve an acceptable engine balance.
Engines with more than five (I-6, V-12) sometimes have to be balanced several times to achieve an acceptable balance.
Even then, sometimes it's not as satisfactory as one with less pistons (more pistons in a row = longer crank & camshafts).
I forgot the percentage of being in "true balance", it's been a while. I think it's 99% for five or less, and 95% for 6?


Of course, I could be completely wrong. :grin:

[Probe 2C]

Well if you're gonna go along the lines of what purple metal said, then you must state that it's in a conventional engine.

VW's W8 would change the number then (2 cranks), that would then double your number.

I'll keep the numbers rolling.

33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44