150 lb plastic motor

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The developer claims 67 kg for this 450 hp motor. It will be interesting to monitor the longevity of this concept.

That 4 cylinder making 450 HP is going to throwing out a ton of heat. Longevity is definitely my worry. Cool though.

It this was a thing, making a sub 1k lbs Locost would be cake.

singleslammer wrote: It this was a thing, making a sub 1k lbs Locost would be cake.

except the whole 'lowcost' thing.

Maybe they sell this polymer so you can 3D print your own engine parts?

If you still want cheap and light, go with sportbike engines. 1000cc's from a GSXR has 160-170 hp, comes with a sequential 6 speed trans, and weighs 130 lbs or so.

For a bike engine, more like 200 lbs complete with transmission, me things.

kb58 wrote: For a bike engine, more like 200 lbs complete with transmission, me things.

Might be true. Number I saw was quoted for a 2001 GSXR 1000, but it was wikipedia, and wasn't specific if that was the engine alone, or the engine + trans (or other ancillaries, like exhaust, intake, starter, etc).

I do know that I was able to lift one out of my hatchback SVT, carry it 50 ft or so to the back of the garage, and put it up on the bench by myself. For reference I JUST BARELY was able to lift my bare MGB block (ok, it had the crank and pistons still in it, but that was it) from the floor up to the top of the bench, stopping halfway on a folding chair. The MGB blocks are anchors though.

A plastic engine? GM will be all over this! Longevity of said engine will be the warranty period, plus one day!

GM used to make Chevy blocks out of cheese, so plastic would be a step up

Seems like it could be a really good idea. We have all sorts of crazy plastics these days. The obvious concern is of course heat. For an engine to make power efficiently, its obvious that really tight tolerances are key, and I would just be worried about heat distorting the plastic, even slightly, and compromising the functionality of the engine. It seems like you could have a ton of variance between them because of this. One might make 400 horses, while the next one makes only 320 because the plastic has distorted and tolerances have changed.

In the 80s ford did one called the polimotor. Basically a "plastic" ford lima. Actually worked well but I dont remember why they never mass produced them. Apparently cosworth built and raced one in 84 and 85

Edit, clicked th link apparently this one is called polimotor 2, makes sense lol

GM will put a metal intake manifold on it...just because.

chiodos wrote: In the 80s ford did one called the polimotor. Basically a "plastic" ford lima. Actually worked well but I dont remember why they never mass produced them. Apparently cosworth built and raced one in 84 and 85 Edit, clicked th link apparently this one is called polimotor 2, makes sense lol

Actually, if you read the article, it says that while it used a Pinto crank, and appeared to be similar to a Cosworth, neither Ford nor Cosworth were part of the work. I do remember the engine, pretty interesting.

Many of the components use a plastic called Torlon.
It is seriously tough material.
It is also seriously expensive.

Don't know why everybody is saying it'll break. They put plastic intakes on cars now that last way over 150k. Plus, if this little banger puts out 450hp, and they market this at a cheap price, it'll be worth it. because: it'll be the cheapest form of horsepower available. Imagine plunking this in a Miata by yourself, running an endurance race, and then removing it by yourself, and putting in a new one. All for, I don't know, 1550$? I made that up. I don't know. But it better be cheAp.

In reply to Trackmouse:

erohslc mentioned that it is expensive. So I looked it up- you can get a 4"x4' rod of the material for about $1500.

That's a nice and simple shape, not one of a block.

Eh. I'll just wait until it shows up on Craigslist. Lol.

The neat thing about plastic is that it is generally an insulator. I believe the point of the Polimotor was that Ford wanted to make an adiabatic engine. 1/3rd or so of fuel used is wasted on the cooling system.

Trackmouse wrote: Don't know why everybody is saying it'll break. They put plastic intakes on cars now that last way over 150k.

Intake manifolds don't have to take cylinder pressure or combustion temperature.

jstein77 wrote:

Trackmouse wrote: Don't know why everybody is saying it'll break. They put plastic intakes on cars now that last way over 150k.

Intake manifolds don't have to take cylinder pressure or combustion temperature.

The piston, cylinder, valves and head surface will still have to be metal. With an open deck design, the bock can be made from something else- as long as it seals water and oil. But it will still need some metal in it.

Overheats are going to suck.

alfadriver wrote:

jstein77 wrote:

Trackmouse wrote: Don't know why everybody is saying it'll break. They put plastic intakes on cars now that last way over 150k.

Intake manifolds don't have to take cylinder pressure or combustion temperature.

The piston, cylinder, valves and head surface will still have to be metal. With an open deck design, the bock can be made from something else- as long as it seals water and oil. But it will still need some metal in it.

Crosley Cobra?

(Cobra = COpper BRAzed. The engine was made of brazed copper. Exceedingly lightweight per horsepower at the time)

I weighed a complete R1 engine with oil at 145lbs.....the 1300 'busa and 1400 zx kawi are in the 175lb range.

Not sure how big that plastic engine is but 450hp sounds like a bit of a stretch.

How many heating/cooling cycles with 450hp-worth of cylinder pressure can it possibly withstand?

It's interesting, I'll say that!

I'm wondering if this "Plastic" is actually more like a ceramic. Like is this material technically plastic, bit with properties more like ceramic, or is a hybrid of sorts. I have a hard time seeing a plastic engine lasting long, ceramic, OTOH, could be a whole different story.