Quote:
has anyone thought about the mass of the pistions..and their size?
stop a second..
2.8L 4 cylinders..no of any other 4 cylinder engine that size..no most are smaller
most VW TDI at 1.9liter..much smaller
the size of the pistons can be determined by the bore.
The speed of the pistons is determined by their stroke.
And yes, while it is large for a 4 banger, it's about on par for a V8.
2.8 x 2 = 5.6
So our little 4 banger diesels have similar piston speeds to a 5.6L V8 @ a given RPM, and slower piston speeds than say a 6.2 at a given RPM.
And there are plenty of manufactures out there making v8 engines rev to 6,000 rpms and beyond.
in terms of the weight, yes, you are correct a typical diesel piston is slightly heavier than a typical gas piston, and this done in turn put more tensile loading on the rod bolts on the exhaust stroke. That being said, there's still way more stress on a GM 6.2L v8 rod bolt @ 6000 rpms than there is on our 2.8 @ 4000.
Rpms isn't really the cause of our rod failures. These motors are bullet proof in Europe, and most importantly they're designed to be used in a boat.
I have a 19.5" boat that does 55 MPH with a 4.3L V6. My motor has over 600 hours on it, and I routinely beat the crap out of it. 4,800 rpms for 10+ minutes at a time.
Diesels typically have lower redlines because of the diminishing results of higher rpms... (and obviously in the case of bigger diesels because they're strokes run into the limits of the speed of the pistons)
more EGT, and less hp than if you upshifted. IE, our motors would make more HP @ 2,500 rpms than they would at 4,500 rpms.
Lack of variable valve timing, and camshaft profiles designed to have maximum volumetric efficiency at low rpms is also another reason.