Direct Injection - Stratified

[Gary Derian]

Bingo!  Cost is fundamental to the efficient allocation of resources.  Sure
a highly efficient engine can be built but if the overall cost of doing so
is too high, the overall efficiency of that system will also be low.  I am a
great believer in Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand".  Market systems do not
always allocate resources in the most efficient manner but overall its
better than any other alternative.

That and the NOx problem.

The really large engines that Jim Zurlo mentioned would have a really bad
detonation problem without stratified charge.  Detonation is a fundamental
limit to the efficiency of a spark ignition engine.  Diesels rule in large
engines.  If there is a lot of natural gas around, large engines can be
built to use it if they have diesel like characteristics.  Ergo the
prechamber and stratified charge.

Gary Derian <gderian at oh.verio.com>
>
> > Gee Robert, if all these engines are so good, why aren't they used by
> > anyone?  Maybe they are in the same vault with the Fish carburetor.

> Can anybody spell COST? As long as the bean-counters and stock prices have
> more to say about automotive design than the engineers they will not see
the
> light of day.