Honda I-4 smoothness

not sure about the fit or the new si's, but the accords have harmonic balancers and are much smoother than the standard smaller engines. theres no smoothness advantage to a v4, and considerable cost increase. [two heads, two cams, etc., etc.]

if you want to know the deal on what affects smoothness, borrow a copy of the bosch automotive handbook from your local library. if they don't have it, they can get an inter-library transfer for you. it gives analysis of all the main cylinder configurations, their vibration modes, and what can be done to smooth them out. then you'll see why the dynamic balancing employed by honda on the accord works. the book's got a bunch of math in it, but even if that's not what you want, the diagrams show the principles very well.

Probably due to costs. A V style engine means two heads, the need to join the exhaust together, etc. Also a V-4 is not inherently more balanced than a straight 4.

John

"> P.S. Why there are no V-4 in Honda cars? No carbs - no pain. I4s are

Pardon my ignorance as it's never crossed my mind, waht cars have V-4s?

Not any that I know of. In fact very few bikes have V-4 either.

Years ago Ford of England made a small V-4 which was also used in some early Saabs. It was a cute little motor, almost looked like something off a riding mower.

I don't know of any cars since 1970 or so which have used a V-4.

John

Some use a flat-4 though, which is like a V flattened out. My '82 Subaru had one, it was an incredibly durable engine. Lowers the center of gravity a lot too, for great stability. Dunno if Subaru is still using them

I'm pretty sure Subaru still uses flat-4's.

Can you say "boxer design" Subaru still uses it.

According to this link Honda Land Yacht also uses a flat 6.

That's it.

Busted a rod in mine... it made an incredible clattering noise, but it just kept on running. Sold it to a kid for a couple hundred bucks; he fixed it right up and kept driving it for years.

"Body Roll" wrote in news:1156530263.065372.251230 @b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

V4s are rough and inherently unbalanced. Ford tried them in the '60s Transit van, and SAAB used those V4s in some of their early models to replace the triple that was formerly used.

I presume you are referring to the GoldWing. I understand it's quite a motor, able to loft the front tire on that beast in the first three gears, yet run quieter than a sewing machine.

I had an older 'Wing, an '84 model with the four-cylinder 1200 boxer engine. That engine pulled strongly from idle to redline, no flat spots, tremendous torque curve, great mileage, etc. - would love to have an engine like that, albeit a 2400 boxer, in my Accord...

John Horner wrote in news:qaQHg.83$4O4.27@trnddc02:

The Russian Zaporozhets. Now *that* one was an oddity.

This particular engine was originally designed for installation in a military tank. It seems the diesel angine in the tank was too heavy for a regular starter motor, so the Russians designed a compact air-cooled V4 to start it instead. A regular electric starter motor started the V4, the the V4 started the diesel engine.

Needless to say, there was zero expenditure of development time on NVH. The engine was reportedly very harsh when used in the car.

Uhu. The I-4 that the rest of the lineup makes do are no louder than the H-6 in the land yacht. Nevermind the aftermarket motorcycle equivalents of fart cans that invariably find their way on the sportier offerings.

How do you know all that stuff? %-}

"Body Roll" wrote in news:1156913263.010641.315370 @i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

I read a lot.

John Deere's larger two-cylinder diesel tractors from the 50's era (e.g. - models 720, 730, etc.) had a small pony motor to start the diesel engine. Same deal, electric start of a four-stroke gasser V-4, rev it up, then clutch it to the big two-cylinder diesel to fire up the big motor. It's really quite a show for the uninitiated. Check 'em out if you run across an old tractor show in your neighborhood...

I don't recall the JD V-4 being rough-running, but it's hard to tell when you're on one of those tractors. It sure sounded smooth, especially compared to the big two-cylinder it fired up.

"mrdancer" wrote in news:OGrJg.161545$1i1.101737@attbi_s72:

Who made that V4?

Not sure, but I think JD made it. You might do a google search for john deere pony motor and see what you come up with... here's a couple to start with:

I believe they also made some 2-cylinder (gasoline, opposed) pony motors for some of their earlier diesel tractors.