Finding the right engine - for a hovercraft!

[niky]

Will this engine be running at high rpms all the time? If so, I concur with ghosthunter... the D16 should fit your needs. It doesn't require an overly large radiator, and Hondas are relatively stable at high rpms.

Lots of four cylinder and three cylinder engines are available. It all depends on your needs. Personally, a Nissan GA13DE should fit the bill, too. It doesn't make a lot of power (about 85 hp), but it revs smoothly, is carburated (for easy fuel system maintenance) and has a dual-overhead cam and timing chain construction... which means you almost never have to open the head to replace the timing chain. Very easy engine to own and work on.

[rickhartland]

Thanks for the replies. I am looking into both kinds of engines now, the Nissan sounds interesting from a low maintenance point of view - but do you know how much it weighs? I notice it has a cast iron block, which often tends to make the engines too heavy to be useful.
Any more suggestions gratefully received - I'll keep you updated on the project progress.
Thanks
Rick

[KBR]

or if you want an engine that is very light weight and can sustain higher RPM's, then you might wanna try using 4 stroke Motorcyle engines. preferably a 1000cc engine (from a Suzuki GSX-R1000 , Yamaha R1, etc.. or even put two smaller 600cc 4 stroke motorcylce engines).


aite, peace.

[ghosthunter]

or if you want an engine that is very light weight and can sustain higher RPM's, then you might wanna try using 4 stroke Motorcyle engines. preferably a 1000cc engine (from a Suzuki GSX-R1000 , Yamaha R1, etc.. or even put two smaller 600cc 4 stroke motorcylce engines).


aite, peace.

replacement parts might be hard to find.

[KBR]

replacement parts might be hard to find.

ohh, that can be a possibility too

but how about a couple of 125cc 2 stroke engines?? (even put 3) like those Honda Wave 125's?? (and I think theres alot of those in the PI), thats probably enough to power-up a decent size Hovercraft.


aite, peace.

[niky]

125ccs don't make much power. At best, I think it's about 10-12 hp per engine. The most powerful engine in the class is the Suzuki 150cc (used on the Raider) which is DOHC and oil-cooled, and that still only makes 16 bhp.

RE: iron block... yeah, that might be a problem... but most 1300-1600s here are ironblock... the engines with lighter casings (that I know of) are the Honda B16 (the block is hollow) and the Nissan SR20 (2 liter, but it's all aluminum). Unfortunately, the SR20 is still about as heavy as an iron-block 1.6, while the Honda B16 is really expensive (about 65k pesos)... either one would be very complicated in terms of wiring, which probably means you should stick to the smaller carburated engines.

I don't really know the wet weight of an iron-block 1.3, but I'm pretty sure that it's much lighter than the bigger engines available. Even if it shares a head with the higher-displacement model, the block casting of the 1.3 is different, and uses less material.

If you don't mind having a loud exhaust sound, and run the engines with open pipes, I'm pretty sure any carburated 1.3 - 1.5 liter engine (GA13, Toyota 4AFE, Mitsubishi 4G18 (is it?) or the carburated Honda D15B (makes the most top-end power here)) should work. And as long as you know how to change plugs and choke the carb, they should serve you well.

[baludoy]

nicky: how about the engines of the suzuki fronte (are parts still hard to come by for this?) and the kia pride? will they satisfy the threadstarter's requirements?

[fourtheboys96]

Thanks for the replies. I am looking into both kinds of engines now, the Nissan sounds interesting from a low maintenance point of view - but do you know how much it weighs? I notice it has a cast iron block, which often tends to make the engines too heavy to be useful.
Any more suggestions gratefully received - I'll keep you updated on the project progress.
Thanks
Rick

a lot of engines here are made from iron block and aluminum heads.

you might want to consider a small engine and add some modifications to increase power.

[niky]

The old 1600 makes maybe 75-85 hp... but yeah, the simplicity and lack of extra weight from having no liquid coolant will make it ideal for marine use. Good one, GH!

[drey]

+1 on the Old VW Beetle engine. It's flat similar to Boxer's Subaru and it's light.

[rickhartland]

Thanks for the info. I think the old VW engine may have been used in hovercraft before - so I will pass that suggestion on to my team of expert advisors (having never built a hovercraft before I have involved several people who know what they are doing from all around the world.) I'll let you know what they think.
Rick

[tebs]

the suzuki g13 engine is available here. and there are available parts for it. they used this engine for the suzuki samurai (being used by large companies for their fleet cars).

running price is at around 20-25k.