Pontiac Solstice Forum banner

Solstice Engine

5K views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  61BelAir 
if motors that rev higher create more power then why don't most domestic engines spin faster to create more power? Also, when looking at larger engines they seem to like to keep the rpms low rather than high. I am just wondering what is the benefit to using an engine that needs high rpms?
Most of the reason American engines are lower reving is because of typical American driving habits. We don't like the sound and vibrations associated with high revs and we do like torque. Hell, most Americans don't even like to shift gears and thats another reason why we need engines that have more torque, to feed the energy sapping automatic transmission. Torque is created by having a longer stroke and there are limitations on piston speeds and rotational speeds involved with really long strokes having to do with the inertia of the engine components. Americans drive these types of engines because we can. The rest of the world uses smaller higher reving more efficient engines because their gas costs as much as 5-6 dollars a gallon.

Engines like in your parents van are large displacement engines. They make their power by the tried and true method of having more room in the combustion chamber for the fuel/air package. More package more power. The old saying goes "there ain't no replacement for displacement." These types of engines typicaly have more torque due to a longer stroke required to get that displacement and still get a compact engine size and effiecent fuel burn as well as make American buyers happy. These engines deliver the classic american hot rod experience. Step on the gas and your head snaps back. We like that.

Having said that, the down side of these engines are that they are big and heavy, and generally not as efficient as smaller high reving engines. (all things equal regarding aspiration and construction materials) A smaller 4 cylinder high reving engine is going to produce more HP to it's weight than a comparably equiped V8.

If you were to somehow put your parents van engine in the Solstice, it would no doubt give exciting 0-60 times, but you would also find it handled like crap and took considerably longer to stop. In addition your top speed would most likely suffer as well. Anyone who ever drove a V8 Vega or Corvair can attest to this. This increased efficeincy is also evident at the drag strip. In the amature "run what ya brung" racing you'll find highly modified Volkswagon Bugs turning in faster times than Cameros, Mustangs and even Vipers.

It all comes down to power to weight ratio. Of course you can modify Cameros and Mustangs with even bigger power plants, but you will give up handling. In the case of Nascar you'll notice that while these bigger cars also use V8 engines, and can handle well, those engines are operating at very high RPMs. In general with engineering, if you can operate a system at a higher freqency then you improve efficiency. Think of the processor in your computer, a higher frequency processor gets more work done in a shorter time than a lower frequency one.

I don't know if I am explaning this very well, and I'm sure this thread will spin off into a very technical debate on engine theory, but the bottom line is you have to ask yourself what kind of driving experience you hope get. The Solstice is a classic roadster, meaning to be in precise balance of all the qualities needed to traverse all types of roads in the most efficient manner and still deliver a spirited driving experience. If fast 0-60 times and lighting up the tires in the parking lot is more your thing, then I would say the Solstice is not for you. I would suggest the new Mustang (which I think looks awsome) or the Pontiac GTO for that kind of driving.

Hope that helps a little, not sure I did. :leaving
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top