Do I go single or multiple?

[barnesrickw]

I n my unasked opinion, multi-cylinder model IC engines just seem to win the coolness contest over their single cylinder brethren. They do however, look much more difficult to build. Not that practical is really the issue with model engines, but is there any advantage (power to weight, smoothness) of a multi-cylinder over a single?


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[stevehuckss396]

They do however, look much more difficult to build.

Might look that way but in reality they are not "harder" to make. If you decide on a say, inline 4 cylinder. Yes the crankshaft takes longer but is no harder than a single cylinder. You have to make 4 or 8 of everything instead of 1 or 2. They are more work and take more time but are not harder. Typically you make one of something and it takes an amount of time. Making 4 of the same part will rarely take 4 times longer than one if you consider setup time. So in reality it may take only twice as long to build a 4 cylinder than a single.

In a coolness contest the more cylinders you have the better your chances of victory.

 

[Till]

If you build it to actually power something, eg a RC-Plane, other points such as proper lubrication, cooling, ignition and reliability become more difficult to archive.

 

[barnesrickw]

Probably never power anything, then you have to make it run and be durable. I think I like the looks and sounds of multi cylinders.


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