Terry Geiger has joined in with an answer to question 11
11) How are engine firing orders determined by the engineers? Is it
rhyme or reason?
Firing order is set up to that the engine is "load balanced" on the
crankshaft
so that vibration and stress on the cranshaft is minimized.
Easiest to understand example is a 4 cylinder engine:
Cylinders 1 and 4 are 180 degrees from cylinder 2 and 3. When 1 and 4
are at
TDC, 2 and 3 are at the bottom of their stroke. For this arrangement to
work
the firing order would be 1-3-4-2 which would alternate the power
strokes to
where if 1 is in a power stroke 3 is in a combustion stroke, if 2 is in
a power
stroke 4 is in combustion and so on so that anytime 1 or 4 is in a power
stroke
then an opposing cylinder (cylinder 2 or 3) is simultaneously in a
combustion
stroke.
I hope I'm making sense.
Terry Geiger
6 More to go!
Jim
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