Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
by John McElroy on Nov 30th 2009 at 3:58PM 
A RADICALLY NEW TYPE OF ENGINE
When oil prices shot over $100 a barrel a year ago, I was inundated with press releases from inventors claiming they had an engine that would solve the energy crisis. In most cases, I simply deleted each release and went on with my work. You see, I've seen this all before.
The same thing happened after the oil shocks of the 1970s. All kinds of inventors came up with all kinds of engine designs, promising to solve the country's energy problem. But not one of those engines ever made it into production.
In most cases these new designs only existed on paper. In other cases, the efforts were led by people who had no clue what it takes to break into the automotive industry. Think about it. In the last 100 years only three engines have made it into mass production: the gasoline engine, the diesel engine, and the rotary. And only Mazda has stuck with the rotary.
But recently I got to see a new type of engine that makes me think it might have a chance. Part of that has to do with the design of the engine. The other part has to do with who is behind the project.
____________________________________________________________________________________
John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Eco Motors is the name of a new company that has come up with a radically new type of engine. It has two opposing pistons in two contiguous cylinders, connected to a common crankshaft in the middle of the engine. An electric supercharger provides boost on demand. It's a two-stroke engine with no valves, yet still achieves 90% scavenging efficiency with less oil consumption than a four-stroke engine. In other words, it's a two-stroke engine that can meet the strictest emissions standards. It can be made as a spark-ignited or compression-ignition engine, and the diesel version can meet emission standards without using urea.
Believe me, my description does not do this engine justice. Click on the accompanying videos to get a better understanding of how this works.
Eco Motors calls this the OPOC engine, which stands for opposed piston, opposed cylinder. The most intriguing part is that it's a design which is half the size and uses half the parts of a conventional piston engine. Eco claims it can be built for 20% lower cost and 30% lower investment than traditional internal combustion engines (ICE's). And it claims it can provide a 15% improvement in fuel economy.
But Eco also says that by pairing two of these engines together you can get a 50% improvement in fuel economy. In this arrangement, one engine shuts off in light throttle applications, then instantly fires up for full throttle acceleration. This would boost fuel economy 50% over a conventional ICE, since there are no pumping loses when the second engine shuts down.
So, for example, instead of building one 150-hp OPOC engine for a compact car, you'd build two 75-hp OPOC engines and connect them together. Even though this dual-engine arrangement would erase the advantage of having fewer parts, it would still result in an engine that's half the height of a current ICE. Eco Motors showed me engineering schematics where a dual-engine layout would easily fit in the engine compartment of any of today's compact front-wheel-drive cars.
What makes Eco Motors worth paying attention to is that this engine is more than just a design study, or a CAD simulation. Eco invited me over to Roush Industries to watch one of their working prototypes running on a dynamometer, where it's already racked up over 500 hours of test time.
Just as importantly, the OPOC engine was designed by Peter Hofbauer, who spent 20 years at Volkswagen designing diesel engines and the VR6, that narrow 15-degree engine. The CEO is Don Runkle who was the chief technology officer at Delphi and played key roles in the original Corvette ZR-1, Buick Racing and the Chevrolet Indy effort. The COO is John Coletti who used to run the SVT engineering operations at Ford. In other words, these are people with a proven track record who know how to get things done in the auto industry.
Sure, it may turn out that this is just another one of those engines that ends up on the ash heap of automotive industry. But of all the alternatives I've seen so far, this one intrigues me the most.
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When oil prices shot over $100 a barrel a year ago, I was inundated with press releases from inventors claiming they had an engine that would solve the energy crisis. In most cases, I simply deleted each release and went on with my work. You see, I've seen this all before.The same thing happened after the oil shocks of the 1970s. All kinds of inventors came up with all kinds of engine designs, promising to solve the country's energy problem. But not one of those engines ever made it into production.
In most cases these new designs only existed on paper. In other cases, the efforts were led by people who had no clue what it takes to break into the automotive industry. Think about it. In the last 100 years only three engines have made it into mass production: the gasoline engine, the diesel engine, and the rotary. And only Mazda has stuck with the rotary.
But recently I got to see a new type of engine that makes me think it might have a chance. Part of that has to do with the design of the engine. The other part has to do with who is behind the project.
____________________________________________________________________________________
John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Eco Motors is the name of a new company that has come up with a radically new type of engine. It has two opposing pistons in two contiguous cylinders, connected to a common crankshaft in the middle of the engine. An electric supercharger provides boost on demand. It's a two-stroke engine with no valves, yet still achieves 90% scavenging efficiency with less oil consumption than a four-stroke engine. In other words, it's a two-stroke engine that can meet the strictest emissions standards. It can be made as a spark-ignited or compression-ignition engine, and the diesel version can meet emission standards without using urea.
Believe me, my description does not do this engine justice. Click on the accompanying videos to get a better understanding of how this works.
Eco Motors calls this the OPOC engine, which stands for opposed piston, opposed cylinder. The most intriguing part is that it's a design which is half the size and uses half the parts of a conventional piston engine. Eco claims it can be built for 20% lower cost and 30% lower investment than traditional internal combustion engines (ICE's). And it claims it can provide a 15% improvement in fuel economy.
But Eco also says that by pairing two of these engines together you can get a 50% improvement in fuel economy. In this arrangement, one engine shuts off in light throttle applications, then instantly fires up for full throttle acceleration. This would boost fuel economy 50% over a conventional ICE, since there are no pumping loses when the second engine shuts down.
So, for example, instead of building one 150-hp OPOC engine for a compact car, you'd build two 75-hp OPOC engines and connect them together. Even though this dual-engine arrangement would erase the advantage of having fewer parts, it would still result in an engine that's half the height of a current ICE. Eco Motors showed me engineering schematics where a dual-engine layout would easily fit in the engine compartment of any of today's compact front-wheel-drive cars.
What makes Eco Motors worth paying attention to is that this engine is more than just a design study, or a CAD simulation. Eco invited me over to Roush Industries to watch one of their working prototypes running on a dynamometer, where it's already racked up over 500 hours of test time.
Just as importantly, the OPOC engine was designed by Peter Hofbauer, who spent 20 years at Volkswagen designing diesel engines and the VR6, that narrow 15-degree engine. The CEO is Don Runkle who was the chief technology officer at Delphi and played key roles in the original Corvette ZR-1, Buick Racing and the Chevrolet Indy effort. The COO is John Coletti who used to run the SVT engineering operations at Ford. In other words, these are people with a proven track record who know how to get things done in the auto industry.
Sure, it may turn out that this is just another one of those engines that ends up on the ash heap of automotive industry. But of all the alternatives I've seen so far, this one intrigues me the most.
###
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Airs every Sunday at 10:30AM on Detroit Public Television.
Autoline Detroit Podcast
Click here to subscribe in iTunes
Follow Autoline on Twitter for ongoing updates every day!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
cautilli 4:14PM (11/30/2009)
that would be the kind of engine that would bring chrysler back to life.
but once again when have they made wise choices
Reply
AngeloD 4:30PM (11/30/2009)
""that would be the kind of engine that would bring chrysler back to life. but once again when have they made wise choices""
Were you born in 1998?
Smart choices from Chrysler? Just since the 1980's I can name: buying Jeep, developing the mini-van for the US, the K-cars, the well reagrded and good selling LH platform, the PT crusier when it was introduced, and recently the DI Phoenix V-6, and etc.
Any excuse to slam ChryCo I guess.
oafdan 5:23PM (11/30/2009)
PT Cruiser Angelo? Yes your comment lost all credibility after that
andre lavoie 5:39PM (11/30/2009)
well when the pt cruiser was first introduced it offered unique styling at a competative price with competative content. It was, unfortunately, neglected to the point where it became down right awful.
J-Rhyme 7:00PM (11/30/2009)
Don't be salty Angelo because you work for Chrysler. The pheonix V6 engine blows...the only thing that will save the Pentastar is when they put their badges on Fiat's.
AngeloD 6:53PM (11/30/2009)
""PT Cruiser Angelo? Yes your comment lost all credibility after that""
Again with the short memories. The PT Cruiser was a very hot car when it was introduced. There were waiting lists and significant dealer markups in its first years.
Blame Diamler for what became of it eventually.
AngeloD 8:55PM (11/30/2009)
@cautili: ""Don't be salty Angelo because you work for Chrysler. The pheonix V6 engine blows...the only thing that will save the Pentastar is when they put their badges on Fiat's""
I don't work for Chrysler, and you don't know squat about the Phoenix engine since:
1. You apparently haven't read anything about it,
2. It isn't in production yet.
walt501 11:39PM (11/30/2009)
Looks promising, so Asian auto makers should be able to copy it and claim it as their own design soon.
paul34 4:12PM (11/30/2009)
Looks interesting, but so have many of the other novel engine designs. Hopefully this one goes somewhere given the people behind it and working prototypes. I wish them luck.
Reply
Jim 5:25PM (11/30/2009)
this is evolutionary, not revolutionary, so it has some credibility. Plus, the novel bits are in how the pistons link to the crankshaft; at its heart it is using known and proven concepts as a piston engine. Plus, it has the potential advantage of being inherently balanced.
The apparent high moving mass is worrying, though. This might be better suited as the generator power plant for a series-hybrid (a la the Volt) where a broad powerband or high rev ceiling aren't as important.
Boyprodigy1 10:44PM (12/06/2009)
This could be really good for hybrid applications, or as a range extender for something like the volt given all of the extra engine compartment space.
leftlaneabuse 4:14PM (11/30/2009)
"Can you say OPOC?"
Yes, Mr. Rogers, OPOC.
"I knew you could."
Reply
Sea Urchin 4:15PM (11/30/2009)
Bill Clinton launched a program that helped Automakers develop an 80 MPG car, they actually achieved that goal, and at that time Cowboy came into office. He killed the program and Automakers were glad he did.
So we really do not need any new ideas, we had a working engine that maybe needed some refinement.
Reply
Sea Urchin 4:16PM (11/30/2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership_for_a_New_Generation_of_Vehicles
This is the project
dukeisduke 4:57PM (11/30/2009)
Diesel hybrids are very expensive, which is why nobody is doing them.
Jimbo 11:32PM (11/30/2009)
It wasn't the engine that helped the PNGV cars to get 80 mpg. The engine technology itself was rather straightforward; they were just tiny and produced very little power. The real breakthoughs from PNGV were the advanced lubricants and ultra-lightweight materials, which allowed the used of tiny, low-powered engines. Of course all this technology was (and still is) outrageously expensive.
Venom 4:18PM (11/30/2009)
This is pretty cool.
Would be interesting to see the working prototype.
Maybe you could take it for a spin and a long drive Top Gear style to test its fuel efficiency.
Reply
KO 4:20PM (11/30/2009)
Unlike some wonky ideas (that spinning radial piston thing from the last Duesenberg concept comes to mind) , at least the basic opposed-piston concept has been around in working form for over a century. That long outer conrod has historically been an issue with OP design (that's why most have 2 cranks), so it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.
Reply
hokieflea 4:30PM (11/30/2009)
Mother of god....that's brilliant, i want one right meow
Reply
Jim 5:44PM (11/30/2009)
Excuse me, are you saying meow?