Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-22
TWO CYCLE ENGINE
BEST, SAYS SNYDER.
Makes Ideal Motor When Proper
Iy Designed and Well
Constructed
SOME OBSTACLES OUTLINED
Tells Why Engineers Are Unable
to Build Autos Just as
They Would Like
SOME OBSTACLES OUTLINED
Written for The Herald by
DIR. CHARLES w. SNYDER,
Local Agent "Middleby" Car

The clearance space, or, more prop
erly, the combustion chamber, meaning
that space remaining in the cylinder
when the piston is at it's heighest point,
theoretically should be a sphere, be-
cause the sphere of any given capacity
has the smallest surface possible.
The gas engine being heat engine,
1t is most desirable that the heat caus-
ing the expansion of the gas be re-
tanned as much as possible, and the less
radiating surface there is in contact
with the gas at the time of ignition the
greater the temperature developed and
the more efficient the motor.
This spherical shape of the combus-
ton chamber would be q difficult me-
chanical construction to secure, but
notifications are in general use.
The two-cycle engine, having no
valves In the cylinder head, is often
built with the cylinders having hemi-
spherical dome. and the piston with
fiat head, a near approachto to the ideal
condition.
The four-cycle engine with the valves
in the cylinder head also is a good de-
sign, and all other things considered, 1t
will give more satisfactory results than
the or L head motor, for the simple
reason that the area of castiron sur
rounding the burning charge Is nearly
the minimum. The surface surround
ing the charge in the t or L headed
cylinder is about twice as great as in
a motor with overhead valves, which
means twice the radiation.
The automobile engineer very rarely
ever builds the best he knows how"
He is always up against the CONNER
cial problem, and this is governed to
marked extent by price, appearance
and custom.
WHERE ENGINE OUGHT TO BE
If a man designed the most perfect
mechanically machine possible, at a
high cost, which did not have good
appearance, and was built in manner
the people were not accustomed TO see'
how many of them would he sell? For
instance, the engine at the front of the
car under the hood is poor mechanics;
but if a car came out with the engine
over the rear axle, no hood, and the
driver sitting between the front wheels
though you knew it was perfect de-
sign, how many of you would buy II!
And this is the way with the auto
mobile engine the designer starts on
his car. The public demands an en-
gine under the hood. He must make a
motor that can be placed there, be
handy and fairly accessible. To nave
the public buy mis- car he must fix a
given price, say $4,000. Now only
portion of the $4,000 can be allowed for
the engine, perhaps $400; and it's up to
this automobile engineer to produce an
engine of a given size, to go into
given space, at given price, and with
these and several other minor cons1d-
erations in view he designs the best
he can"
TWO-CYCLE ENGINE BEST
AS before stated, the two-cycle en-
gine lends itself to the most satisfac-
tory form of combustion chamber; In
fact, the two-cycle engine, if well de-
signed and well constructed, is the ideal
motor. The only objections to those in
use at the present time are that they
are a constant compression engine, and
therefore do not throttle as readily as
the four-cycle, and there is always
some loss of the charge, which is
sucked out" by the inertia of the eX-
haust But this latter defect is nearly
overcome in the best designs, as for
instance in the American Simplex (now
the "Amplex'). With these manufac-
turers the cost of the engine is but lit
tie considered and the result is a near
ly perfect motor from the mechanical
standpoint.
The Franklin people have been con-
sistent advocates of the overhead valve,
and the most satisfactory perform
ances of their cars speak for them
selves. This arrangement has been TAX
en- up by several other plants during
the last few years, some showing de-
signs with both valves in the cylinder
head, while others place only one valve
above and the other in a pocket. The
objections to this overhead method of
construction are that it requires two
valve cages, two rocker arms, two
pushrods with the necessary brackets,
screens, ETC., for each cylinder. And