mustangcat

Ok, I've been learning about automotives for about 3 years now, and here's some engine/Mustang/Tech questions that have been bugging me. Hopefully, you can help!

#1
Was the Mustang really named after the P-51 "Tankbuster" Mustang? I overheard this in the movie "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", but why the horse if it's actually an airplane..?


#2
If the 4.6L P.I. is made of Cast Iron, and the S197 GT 3v is made of alluminum, doe's that mean the P.I. engine could handle more power, since cast iron is stronger? I'd think the 3v has better internals, so it could handle lower powers better, but if internally forged, the P.I. would be better, right?



#3
Why are we still using cams?

I mean, we can have a hard drive spin to 10,000 RPM, but we can't use a electronic cam system that's free of the engine? Think about it! No cams would mean a 4v engine that weighs basically nothing, frees up drag on the engine from timing chains, and idles at 0 RPM but could spin to 10,000 RPM and beyond!


#4 Are transmission flushes bad if you've never had one done before?

I have the 4r70w auto tranny, I'm at 95,000 and I've heard that if I haven't done a flush by now, to not do one at all. Is this true?

jvog

IIRC, an aluminum block can actually hold more power than a cast iron block. Aluminum is softer, buts its also less brittle. Cast iron is more likely to crack than an aluminum block is.

2000AZ5.0GT

Well, MC, if you want to start designing an engine that will use hard drive technology, I'll write the software

It's not that simple man. The whole point of engineering is to achieve all of the aspects that an engine does, as elagently as possible.

Elagency in science and Engineering is simplicity.

Remember, a hard drive can fail if one little fraction of the drive chips, or a contact gets fuzzy on one of the connectors, not to mention, if something major happens.

Lets remember, an engine operates at very high temperatures, say 200*F? that's pretty Effing Hot, any soldering that you'd use would completely melt and become nothing, if you were thinking about using electronics.

and no, the car was neither named after the plane (although it did have more influence) or the horse. There were like five different possible names, it was actually named something completely different before it was named "mustang".

The guy that suggested names did have a thing for the planes, but that wasn't the sole reason he suggested it.

reznap

Iron blocks can support more torque/power. However, recently the aluminum casting process and the materials they use has improved very significantly which is why you're seeing more high horsepower applications with aluminum blocks. Some examples would be the new dodge hemi and the ls7. I'm pretty sure iron is still stronger and that's why you see it preferred in (extreme) forced induction engines and nitrous applications.

Someone correct me if I'm screwed up, I'm only 26 so I could be screwed up on history/facts.

edit:

Well I came back because I wanted to add that the reason they use aluminum in the engine is for saving on weight. A disadvantage of having an iron block paired with aluminum heads is the different rate of thermal expansion... but as far as cat's question, I can't say what would be a better platform for building big horsepower and torque. My guess would be the cast 4.6.

Now you were asking about an engine without cams and valves... sounds like the mazda rotary engines. If you want to know more about them do an internet search for 'wankel engine' or look on the online encyclopedias for the same term. I believe they are capable of 10,000+ rpm... but they have their downfalls also (I think the seals wear out or something).

And about your trans, a flush and new filter couldn't hurt. When they (techs at the shop) properly flush a transmission, they circulate fluid through the entire system and catch any debris in a filter on their flush pump. They can then fill the trans with completely new fluid. If you were to just drain it in your garage you wouldn't be able to empty the torque converter and such so it wouldn't be a complete change of fluid. So if you wanted to switch to synthetic ATF, you really should have it flushed out properly to avoid mixing the two types of fluid.

devongarver

Actually, it NEVER at any point in time had anything to do with the plane, and when that correlation started to gain popularity with the public, Ford took the ball and ran with it. It was however, named directly and soley after the horse. Period. Phil clark was the origanl designer of the running horse, and the tribar. He approached Ford with his idea and attested that it was an "American" horse only found on the plains in America. And to further back up the American theme, he added the red/white/blue tribar.

According to Lee Iaccoca in an Interview that was later in Mustang Monthly, the Mustang got its name from the Wild And Free Mustang Horses, and was run by J.Walter Advertising, who also agreed that it was an appropriate name for the car for advertising at the time.

Lee Iacocca of course is the guy who has gotten all the press about the mustang, however there are signed journals and artwork of Mustang prototypes that look "ironically" similar to the original Mustang 1 prototypes, only, these drawings were dated YEARS earlier than Fords designs.

Clark's 2+2 Design, a fastback he labeled Mustang Coupe, was drawn in the 1950's. This drawing can be seen in 1963 MotorCade Magazine: it was clearly called a Mustang, and clearly signed by Clark years before such a car would be produced

The executives said Clark was a genius--and so was his American Wild and Free Mustang idea--and they set out to make it happen--the American Legend we call Mustang.

Mustang_NTriangle

[QUOTE=reznap;6257692]Iron blocks can support more torque/power. However, recently the aluminum casting process and the materials they use has improved very significantly which is why you're seeing more high horsepower applications with aluminum blocks. Some examples would be the new dodge hemi and the ls7. I'm pretty sure iron is still stronger and that's why you see it preferred in (extreme) forced induction engines and nitrous applications.

Someone correct me if I'm screwed up, I'm only 26 so I could be screwed up on history/facts.

Absolutely correct!

mustangcat

Hmmmm. Ok, this stuff makes a lot of sense now.

AZ: I see what you mean by heat being an issue...suppose nothing but mechanical things could withstand it. And you design the program now, I'll design the parts later

Devon: Thanks for clearing that up. Damned movies giving out false information about cars

Reznap: Thanks for the write up. That makes sense. The iron/aluminum debate really got me interested after I found out most modern engines use a iron sleeve for the cylinder walls..

562cobra

excuse me ghay, what are you planning on doing?

2000AZ5.0GT

well remember, With respect to a completely OHV engine, you have 1 cam, keeping the valvetrain in check for up to 12 Cylinders.

With this simplicity, no matter how big the engine is, all of the theoretical stuff that keeps it running is the same.

I mean, it's very elegant to be able to say that the 427 LS7 that you find in the corvette is not very much more complex than a 427 from the 60's, if at all.

To be able to use the same technology to run 600+hp as would run 100Hp is pretty cool

texas_stang02

yeah you're right, the general design of internal combustion engines hasn't changed drastically over the years. i'd say a big step is variable cam timing (or variable valve timing), and i was reading an article this morning about Variable Compression Ratio engine designs. supposedly, these designs could allow an engine to vary its compression ratio from 8:1 to 18:1, which is pretty damn amazing if you ask me. i'm not sure how feasible it is for real world use, but i like the idea. imagine an engine with a centrifugal blower that could vary its compression ratio in relation to the amount of boost seen at the manifold (or better yet, with twin turbos).