So what engines are available?

[MadMuz]

Obviously there are all of the rotaxes, Hirth, subarus, VWs, Mac ...... I saw in the 90"s people using inline 4 cylinder automotive engines, there is the BMW bike engines, some Suzuki engines..... Wallis used some Rolls Royce

[AirWolf]

Hi Muz,I"m using a BMW R1200 GS,

[MadMuz]

Are there any common straight 3 0r 4 cylinder inline engines with alloy blocks and 4 valves per cylinder that anyone knows of that might be worth looking at? I know some Suzuki engines have been tried.... have any been successful?

[MadMuz]

So, I remember from the late 90s there were a few machines with straight 4 engines, the one I am thinking of had a 180B engine (Iron block) I am just wondering if anyone had or remembers this/these machines. I am not thinking of rushing out looking for a 180B engine, but there are a lot of alloy block engines these days with 4 valves/twin cam that could possibly be of use to us. I know that the length of some inline 4"s might be an issue, however there are 3 cyl as well. I am interested in inline engines just as a thought, they would have slightly less torque than a boxer, but possibly smoother running and easier on gearboxes etc because of this. I am wondering about some of the Honda motors, there are heaps of late model Hondas (as well as other makes) in wreckers and jap engine suppliersanyone got any thoughts or ideas? I must admit, I am very keen on diesel, now that they are becoming lighter and more efficient, could be some possibilities there?

[Brian]

Usually the weght factor comes into play plus it was found years ago that some engines did not like the constant high revs needed.Personally, after many years driving a suby 2.2 & a year or so ago, converting to a 912 rotax, would be hard pressed to use anything else now despite the 912"s being far from perfect. The power to weight ratio & the fact that engine & gearbox are matched up are such huge plusses !!

[Des Garvin]

See Continental"s TD300 Turbodiesel

[MadMuz]

Usually the weght factor comes into play plus it was found years ago that some engines did not like the constant high revs needed.Personally, after many years driving a suby 2.2 & a year or so ago, converting to a 912 rotax, would be hard pressed to use anything else now despite the 912"s being far from perfect. The power to weight ratio & the fact that engine & gearbox are matched up are such huge plusses !!Thanks guys, yeah chopper, Rotaxs are probably the ultimate engine (for our purpose) available, however just out of my financial reach, and add to that the flood factor for any after sales, I detest having to play monopoly. I have just recently come across a 91 liberty with 245km on the clock, a little hail damage, but perfectly driveable for $250 so will probably grab that, but I am sure that there are currently alternatives around and will continue to chase them, just for the heck of it. I am quite convinced that weight of an inline 3 or 4 with an alloy block will be comparative to, if not less than an EJ soob and the length wouldn"t be much more than the suby (and redrive) I read a thing about suitability of engines for aviation and the subject of piston speed was much discussed, evidently for constant (ish) engine speed settings, as in our application, no matter how much power an engine can make, if the piston speed is way too high, as an example if you had a 500cc supercharged 4 stroke engine that made, say, 200Hp, but the piston speed is massively high would likely result in a short lived engine, even though on paper, it should be awesome. ;D That is why the "Lyco-ntinentals" have been so widely used in aviation, big, slow revving, low piston speed....Des, yes and those EE20 Subaru boxer diesels seem ok, but just too heavy at the moment. They are very similar to an EJ20 but from memory the engine ready for a machine is about 110kg, a redrive, if necessary would be extra weight. It would be nice if someone made a 2 stroke diesel along the lines of a 582 (dimentions and layout) ;D

[Disco]

Hi Guys,While on the subject.Does anyone have a list of weights of EJ 20 22 25 dry and then with different redrive options?Dean

[Russell]

All 3 are not much different in weights, the 25 is the better weight/horse power outcome.All soob installs are heavy, that"s the way it is. The main plus is all up costs / maintenance cost etc.The ea81....ej22 have good proven hrs, the ej25 is clocking up those hrs, soobs are a good honest low cost engine option.

[aussie_paul]

Hi Guys,While on the subject.Does anyone have a list of weights of EJ 20 22 25 dry and then with different redrive options?DeanIf I remember correctly Dean, we weighed an ej-20 with Autoflight gearbox, with exhaust and radiator. 120 KG. There is quite a bit of difference in the ej-25. It depends if it is quad cam. The SOHC is much lighter than the quad cam and there is, depending on models, only 5hp difference. I would always go SOHC if I could.Aussie Paul.

[Disco]

Thanks Paul & RussIf an EJ20 with all accessories comes to 120, what does a rotax 912s with exhaust and oiltank and redrive come in at?

[Brian]

Thanks Paul & RussIf an EJ20 with all accessories comes to 120, what does a rotax 912s with exhaust and oiltank and redrive come in at?Think they are 65 Kg all up.

[blakemorem]

I remember hearing some chat from the roomer mill about Honda was going to make an aircraft engine similar to Rotax 912 and about half the cost. Never heard any more of it and just wondering if anyone else had heard any more. I guess like any engine there would have to be reliability testing and standards but it sounded good as Honda usually have quality engines.

[MadMuz]

If Australia was like other countries and had several points of sale and service of Rotax engines, the price might become more realistic, but due to the monopoly on sales and service here, the price is just what the price is

[DougR]

hI I have an EE20 deisel engine. Bought it just to put in a side by side Gyro. No-one in the family took me seriously until I bought the motor then all hell broke loose. Unfortunately the purchase coincided with the crash of a Kruza, which happened to be the machine I was going to kit build.The motor is a beautiful piece of engineering and is about 4" (100mm) shorter than the petrol motor. It has massive torque at low revs and generates about 150hp.Various people I have spoken to think it could be direct coupled to the prop, with appropriate dampers. I don"t know enough about it but I know the horizontally opposed engine is smoother than inline diesels.The motor, without alternator, starter motor and flywheel weighs around 130kg. That is the standard motor straight out of a vehicle, with all the pollution gear etc. I"m not sure if this adds anything useful to the discussion but I am selling the motor and setting the Autogyro project on the back burner. If anyone wants pics or more info I can be contacted at dougrwalker@optusnet.com.au.