"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Bill Daniels wrote:
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Bill Daniels wrote:
"Morgans" wrote in message
...
"GeorgeB" wrote

I'd bet that if an auto engine would out perform Lycontental, we'd
see
them certified and in use; the only water cooled engine I know of in
certified applications is the water cooled HEAD engine by Rotax.
They
get 80 HP @ 5500 rpm from 74 cu-in ... and a 1500 hr TBO. They are
not cheap to build, either; even the uncertified ones are in the
$15,000 range.

Business wants to make money; if you can build a 230 HP engine that
will reliably give 2000 hours in an airplane and sell it for $10,000,
I'd bet that getting it certified and insured will be a piece of cake
... certified, it is probalby over a $30,000 sale.

But my own opinion ... if it were that easy, it would have been done.
It has been, by many people. Many V-8's and V-6's are well past 2,000
hours, with no rebuilding necessary.

Orenda did it, and certified it, but designed their own V-8, but it is
not much different than GM V-8's.

It might be time to trot out the blog on how GM torture tests it's
engines, before a design goes into
production. I don't have the file handy, but perhaps someone else
does.

Without the file handy, it is an easy jump to say that their duty
cycles and punishment make a certification test run look like child's
play.

The problem with auto engine conversions is seldom the engine. It is
usually in the accessories, or the prop speed reducers. There are
good products out there for those, too. One has to only put them
together.
--
Jim in NC

FWIW, My Chrysler 318 Cu In V8 just turned 8600 hours without any
service other than oil changes and spark plugs. Of course, that's in a
Jeep Grand Cherokee. As I understand it, the 318 is neither better or
worse than other V8's.
Wow, you have an hour meter in your Jeep. I never saw that on the
options list!

Matt

It's in the vehicle computer but you have to have a scanner to see it.
You'd be amazed at the information those black boxes keep on you.

Yes, I've heard they track quite a range of variables. Are those hours
that the engine was actually running or hours that the computer was
operating?

Matt

It says "engine hours" so I presume it uses oil pressure. Either way, I
can't recall any time that elapsed with the ignition on without the engine
running.

Back to the airplane application. It seems to me that it might be a stretch
to power a "personal cruise misile" with an auto V8. Maybe a better
application is replica's of early airplanes that used large, slow turning
propellers powered by OX-5's. The engine weight is more appropriate and you
could operate the engine at low output.

Bill D