I've heard of this technology for years, but I didn't realize it was this close to being on cars.
This isn't a fluff piece so get to your quiet place and see what Koenigsegg is doing. It looks like a ratty old Saab.
30% more on 50% less.
Smaller, more compact engines. Shorter in height & in block length plus you might be able to make a cylinder disappear to make it even more compact.
I saw that a few months ago. Pretty cool. Looks expensive, though.
They've been using that on F1 engines for a few years now. I wounder how long before someone makes a version for a production car engine. There are a lot of reliability aspects to overcome, but it seems like the way forward.
Really cool. Hope that makes it into production cars soon.
What provides the air pressure?
In reply to ProDarwin:
If they're considering building an engine around this technology, it wouldn't be hard to dedicate a couple cylinders as the air compressor.
Very cool stuff.
That is rad.
fanfoy wrote: They've been using that on F1 engines for a few years now. I wounder how long before someone makes a version for a production car engine. There are a lot of reliability aspects to overcome, but it seems like the way forward.
That's not what they use on F1 cars. On F1 cars, the springs are compressed air- the valves are still actuated by cam shafts and lobes. This replaces all of that.
Can I get the Cliff notes?
RossD wrote: Can I get the Cliff notes?
Basically, the system replaces cam shafts and valve springs for a compressed air actuator (much like an injector) for the valves. It's an interesting system, but there are some interesting things that need overcome.
Great for an ideal case. Not sure about when a car is left overnight at -20F....
Infernal combustion engine? This isn't about turbo rotaries 
Designs and prototypes like this have been around for many years. It would be incredible if they work, but nobody has figured it out yet. I think the speed, weight, and sheer number of cycles are a problem. I won't stop grinding cams just yet
Sorry, but every time I hear Koenigsegg, I think of this track day video
GameboyRMH wrote: *Infernal* combustion engine? This isn't about turbo rotaries
No, they are external combustion as they go BANG!
Zomby Woof wrote: Designs and prototypes like this have been around for many years. It would be incredible if they work, but nobody has figured it out yet. I think the speed, weight, and sheer number of cycles are a problem. I won't stop grinding cams just yet
It appears from the video that they do at least have a fairly long term test underway, and thousands of Km's worth of testing already completed and recorded. I agree, its probably not ready for the open market, but I think to say "no one has figured it out" or "it doesnt work" is a bit short sighted. They seem to have the speed and cycling figured out (based on the lab demo in the video anyway).
There have been lots of prototype engines introduced over the years but for various reasons, durability, cost, etc. none have yet beaten the old internal combustion engine. Just think, a 200 ci-40 hp. engine has now morphed into a 61 ci. 140 hp. engine. Broad resemblance but just goes to show how things have progressed. there's life in the old girl yet.
So which one of you nuts is going to make a home brew version of that?
In reply to 4cylndrfury:
Maybe coming to that conclusion from watching a 10 minute promotional video is a little shortsighted
Awesome technology. I'll be a believer when I see it in production
I think replacing the air with an electro-magnetic system might solve some more problems. If GM can make the fluid in their shocks react based on current, the technology can't bee too far off.
Zomby Woof wrote: In reply to 4cylndrfury: Maybe coming to that conclusion from watching a 10 minute promotional video is a little shortsighted
[sigh] And here I was thinking that this would be about a new FUNCTIONAL version of ceramic block , 6-stroke engines. 
I think a very interesting possibility with this system is the ability to change "Cam" timing. Granny style when wanted, aggressive when desired. Change the entire personality of the engine to match the needs.
cwh wrote: I think a very interesting possibility with this system is the ability to change "Cam" timing. Granny style when wanted, aggressive when desired. Change the entire personality of the engine to match the needs.
Don't forget to the dynamic capabilities of the engine with regards to boost and fuel octane.
pinchvalve wrote: I think replacing the air with an electro-magnetic system might solve some more problems. If GM can make the fluid in their shocks react based on current, the technology can't bee too far off.
that version of valve actuation has been around for longer than this compressed air version. While it seems easy and straight forward, it turned out to not be. This is a different version of that.
The problem is that there some basic electrodynamic physics that means it takes a lot of electricty to move the valves and still manage to either overcome the valve spring or hold the valve to seal. It's a pretty interesting problem. Bear in mind, the electric change in shocks isn't actually changing the location, just altering the valving or mildly chaning the fluid properties. It's not moving the entire corner- so it takes a lot less energy to do that.
In the long run, which system can supply enough energy to open and close the valves fast enough, and still supply enough holding pressure to keep the valves closed- that's going to be the winner.
RossD wrote:cwh wrote: I think a very interesting possibility with this system is the ability to change "Cam" timing. Granny style when wanted, aggressive when desired. Change the entire personality of the engine to match the needs.Don't forget to the dynamic capabilities of the engine with regards to boost and fuel octane.
that's a very, very deep rabbit hole. VCT adds an interesting variable. variable valve actuation is HUGE in terms of the added variables.
iceracer wrote: There have been lots of prototype engines introduced over the years but for various reasons, durability, cost, etc. none have yet beaten the old internal combustion engine. Just think, a 200 ci-40 hp. engine has now morphed into a 61 ci. 140 hp. engine. Broad resemblance but just goes to show how things have progressed. there's life in the old girl yet.
It's still an internal combustion engine- it's just using a different method to open the valves.
I imagine back in the old days when we were all running flat heads and pushrods, everyone on the forums said the same thing about overhead cams.
In reply to iceracer:
This is still an internal combustion engine. It just uses a a computer controlled pneumatic system instead of a mechanically controlled cam shaft to actuate the valves. Sort of like EFI replacing carbs.
Similarly, the ability to have map precise valve opening time, height, and duration for a given rpm and load could be huge.
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