manolis

At www.pattakon.com a new Continuously Variable Valve Actuation system is presented, with working prototype photos, plots and animations (even STEREOSCOPIC ones).
Any engine, racing or normal, can be improved as the torque can be about constant from very low revs to the top allowable revs of the engine.

Comments? Objections?

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

Sounds too good to be true... exactly how long has this been tested for, and why is it a mechanical system as opposed to hydraulic liner actuators like BMW and Porsche were testing? It's a very cool concept indeed, but has it been used in a race application yet? I imagine it's not a cheap endevour to create something of this sort, but again... it's gotta be proven before people put it in their cars. What materials are used for the parts? How is lubrication handled, or is there no additional lubrication necessary?

Maybe b16civic will have something to say?

imported_gatherer

personally I think this guy is trying to sell us something since his email address is the same email address thats on the site... the technology looks interesting enough however I didn't see an independantly confirmed dyno chart. personally I wouldn't get something like this because I haven't heard of it from another else other then the guy who appears to own the patent, every company says their product is good I've personally learned to ingnore the companies and perfer to listen to testamonials.

as as bbarbulo said lets here was b16civic has to say I also value his opinion.

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

^^ Gatherer, the owner of the patent is the person that posted, most likely doing market research to find out who he should target as a customer. Personally, I think it's good... but I would really like to see more testing. Maybe if he sponsored someone with his system for race testing, it would prove market-worthy. I say but why haven't the OEMs thought of something like this??

imported_gatherer

well yes I agree it's a cool Idea ...and it's very very interesting ....however just because the guy that created it says it's the best thing since slice bread doesn't mean it is I perfer to here was people have to say that have tried the technology. and yes if my solo2 civic was sponsered by this guy to get all the engine work done on a spare engine I'd try it out and see if it was anygood in the real world... OEMs remember make cars that are the quickest and easiest to produce ...sure adding a VTEC lobe to the CAM shaft made it harder to make CAM shafts ...but the stuff this technology seeks to change looks like mass production would be tough. just my opinion over all I think it's just a smoothed out VTEC

donesixer

Looks like a bare bones version of the BMW Valvetronic system.
Cool idea, not sure that I like all those little parts in the top end of my engine though.
I have a similar system in my 'To Be Built' list...

manolis

Yes, you are right.
Imagine a VTEC having not two cam lobes activating a valve, but hundreds of them, and each moment is selected the best one.
The last version of VTEC includes a simple VVT system that improves smooth operation.
The proposed VVA system is by itself an intelligent VVT system, controlling not the angular but the actual overlap (intelligent VVT is also Rover’s VVC which controls the overlap at Top Dead Center without spoiling things around Bottom Dead center).
Comparing VTEC/VVT to the new VVA, which seems to be the simpler?

Finally, the system is published in the web to collect opinions and objections.

bbarbulo

iTrader: (2)

manolis, there are not that many technical people here. We wanna see dyno charts, race results, endurance tests.... you know, the expensive tests that really tell us that someone believes in the product and has invested heavily in it. You really may have a more intelligent response on honda-tech or dseries or purehonda. There are a few ppl here (besides the ones that already replied) capable of commenting on this intelligently, except the 4-5 ppl I can think of right now don't seem to be around.

imported_gatherer

well I still stand by thats it's interesting for me to consider it better or worse for that matter then any other technology will take like bbarbulo said, dyno tests and endurance runs (the endurance runs to ensure that the technology is a reliable technology. also with the extra equipment thats going in the head for this technology is it backwards compatible with b series heads? how about sohc D series heads? will the extra parts fit under the valve cover? or will a larger valve cover be needed?

like bbarbulo said there arn't many technically inclided people here me being one of the mass of non technically inclide when it comes to cars (my own personal opinion) another website to try would be www.theoldone.com ... it's the website for Endyn and the tech talk that gets thrown around there never stops to blow my mind.

it's very interesting but bring out the dyno results for a honda engine with only that done to it (no extra work) so that we can see improvements over stock. thanks

donesixer

Ya know, after rolling the idea around in my head, I have two problems with the design.
The first is weight.
The second is a little more in depth. I got the impression from the website that he had eliminated the throttle and now uses the cable to control the new valve events. This is cool, and should save on pumping losses. My problem is, while you are controlling the valve lift, you are not effectively controlling the valve timing.
When the valve is only open a fraction, it will reach that fraction as the piston is halfway down the bore. My guess is that the engine will have REALLY soggy power down low and only effectively function in one tight rev range. You will still need the throttle.
Now, if you could change the lift AND valve actuation timing, do away with the throttle body, and increase power everywhere. Really cool idea though...