- 4,767
- Kansas City, KS
- FlyingAGasoline
So here's the question:
What is the single most innovative or important Internal combustion engine ever? I know you're all going to say "The first one", but let's think outside of the box. Importance could come from a new head design, or how easy it was to manufacture, or how reliable it was.
What was the most important engine of the 20th/21st Century?
Is it the chrysler Hemi? The VW Flat four? The RB? The lowly Ford four pot from the Model T? Wankel Rotary? Miller cycle? Diesel? Flathead? Hybrid? Something else?
Fire away, folks.
I'd have to say the Lowly Four pot that Henry put in the T. Sure, it had a one barrel updraft carb that had to breathe through a long up pipe, and it was extremely restricive and primitive, but come on. It was the first engine to ever be produced in significant numbers. It made decent horsepower for how primitive it is, and even more torque. It's the reason we have a car based culture, cars wouldn't have been as widespread if the T wasn't so cheap. Cars spread like wildfire, and in the first quarter of the 20th century, 20 million of them were chugging along thanks to the T's four cylinder. The motor got more refined in the A, and the "Flathead" of 1932 carried on the sidevalve design.
What do you guys think?
What is the single most innovative or important Internal combustion engine ever? I know you're all going to say "The first one", but let's think outside of the box. Importance could come from a new head design, or how easy it was to manufacture, or how reliable it was.
What was the most important engine of the 20th/21st Century?
Is it the chrysler Hemi? The VW Flat four? The RB? The lowly Ford four pot from the Model T? Wankel Rotary? Miller cycle? Diesel? Flathead? Hybrid? Something else?
Fire away, folks.
I'd have to say the Lowly Four pot that Henry put in the T. Sure, it had a one barrel updraft carb that had to breathe through a long up pipe, and it was extremely restricive and primitive, but come on. It was the first engine to ever be produced in significant numbers. It made decent horsepower for how primitive it is, and even more torque. It's the reason we have a car based culture, cars wouldn't have been as widespread if the T wasn't so cheap. Cars spread like wildfire, and in the first quarter of the 20th century, 20 million of them were chugging along thanks to the T's four cylinder. The motor got more refined in the A, and the "Flathead" of 1932 carried on the sidevalve design.
What do you guys think?