Like any two stroke, it produces considerably more power than a four stroke of equivalent size. The FITS engine, unlike many two strokes, has extremely low emissions. It’s being developed with diesel and bio fuel variants and will be adapted for use in a wide variety of applications, everything from chainsaws to all types of transportation and even Formula One.
Two strokes have the advantage of more power, lighter weight and fewer parts than four strokes and with today’s materials and engine management systems it isn’t surprising to see renewed interest. The FITS, as described in this press release, seems very promising, but details are a bit sparse so we’ll have to wait to see how the actual engine performs.
Press release follows:
GROUND BREAKING NEWS FROM NORTON VILLIERS
THE INTRODUCTION OF OUR “FITS†ENGINE ( FORCED INJECTION TWO STROKE)
For the last 8 years, we at Norton Villiers, along with partners Villiers Engines and DMW, have been developing a completely new, innovative two stroke engine design. Due to I.P. restrictions (Intellectual Property rights), the engine design is currently in the Patent process and thus I can only briefly give the principles of this exciting engine. Unlike its current 2-stroke engine predecessor that runs on a pre mix fuel (oil & petrolmix) our engine runs on PLAIN fuel with no additives. Diesel and Bio-fuel variants are also in development. This will enable Norton Villiers to re-create its industrial division to cater for the industry, construction, heavy haulage and the shipping industry.
Our engine is designed for the present and the future, so the components we have designed are the very latest in technological design. For instance, ceramic bearings,Teflon and other coated surface treatments not yet on the market. Components will be treated with an advanced formula that never needs lubrication. This advanced formula is currently being tried and tested with a number of leading car manufacturers and within the aircraft design industry.
The engine is super charged by a Norton Villiers system giving controlled, outstanding, advanced power output over any of its rival engines. This advanced system exerts little to no drag when the engine is not driving. The control of the engine is via the latest engine management system including a laser ignition system which is under test. The engine has a Norton Villiers unique variable scavenge system giving reduced emissions. These reduced emissions will meet the current and the impending lower emission levels being introduced by the E.U. The carbon footprint made by our engines will be the descendants of any impurities within the fuel: The cleaner the fuel the lower the carbon footprint.
The engine is lubricated by a Norton Villiers controlled spray system, designed to give a minuscule level of drag on the engine and surfaces.
One of our advantages over our engine manufacturing rivals is that our engines are wholly adaptable for ubiquitous purposes from a chain saw to multi cylinder engines, to all transportation needs including shipping and F1 engines.
Why a two stroke over a four stroke?
Our “FITS†engine will produce some 30+% more power output than its equivalent 4 stroke rival. This takes into account any engine drag caused by the engine components i.e. bearings, induction system, clutch, gearbox etc. Since the 2 stroke fires on every second stoke while the 4 stroke fires on every fourth stroke, it gives a significantly increased power output.
The production cost of our “FITS†engines would be some 60% less than its equivalent 4 stroke counter part. This of course is after engine plant set up costs. A car with an engine size of say 1000cc could be reduced to approximately 600cc with our FITS engine, resulting in lower fuel costs, lower insurance rates and so on. We have been approached by a company designing low cost vehicles to use our engines to cater for the Mobility market, the under 25’s age group and developing countries.
We have held talks with a number of leading universities, including Queens University Belfast. These talks utilize a wide range of engineering excellence, covering surface treatments, engine management, engine scavenge to engine design.
Our only competitor or rival, if this is appropriate term, is a company in the USA which is developing an engine known as the “OPOC†engine, which can be Googled. This engine is much more cumbersome than ours and thus would have limited applications. The only advantage that this company have on Norton Villiers is the fact Bill Gates of Microsoft has funded their R&D by some $50 million dollars.
As mentioned we are working with a number of leading Universities and hope to have an animated drawing for you to view in the next few weeks.
Link: Norton Villiers
Nicolas says
plus 30% power, less 40% costs, laser ignition, advanced materials, secret coating, no lubrication … it’s either awesome or too good to be true.
B50 Jim says
Laser ignition, ceramic bearings, low drag, supercharged, all at 60% less cost than a comparable 4-stroke. That’s a a tall order, but I don’t doubt the folks and N-V are confident they have a winner. Without the need for premix, and with spray lubrication, that eliminates the bugbear of drawing the mix through the crankcase. This will be highly interesting; I wonder what a 1.6-liter, V-12 F1 car engine would sound like, screaming at 27,000 rpm?
scritch says
If it goes “ring ding ding ding” on my bike I’m all for it.
OMMAG says
I was looking forward to this for a few years.
In several discussions on this site … the issue came up about the benefits of direct injecting a two stroke engine.
Now … I want to see one in action.
JR says
This is great! Aprilia has a little 50cc direct injection two-stroke, and since I’ve learned this and seen one of the little guys in action I’ve wondered why no one has taken this on.
A 600cc (or 400cc) DI, supercharged 2-stroke would be AWESOME!
Can’t wait!
Simplify and add lightness.
kim says
There are plenty of two stroke diesels out there: Just a few miles from where I live they start an old one up twice a month. It is four stories tall and makes about 21,000 bhp (emergency powerplant for Greater Copenhagen).
JR says
Awesome!
bigaug says
Bimota tried it in 1997 with the v-Due. It was exciting back then. The machine itself was less than reliable, underpowered, and very expensive. According to the motor press at the time it did not ring-ding, sounded like a four stroke.
William Schmitz says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mslu_2aQgJI
noogie says
for people that follow the development of 2-strokes this doesn’t seem that exciting/revolutionary at all. like JR said there have been DI 2-strokes out there for years in 50cc scooters (a company called orbital supply the injectors which use a blast of high pressure air to vaporise the fuel as there is not time in the 2-stroke cycle for the fuel to mix naturally in the cylinder) and outboard motors (a company called evinrude developed their own injector system which i think is more similar to standard DI, don’t quote me on that though…i have found it hard to find much info on the evinrude engines).
if you want to look at something really interesting have a look at the lotus OMNIVORE or ELEVATE engine…it is a forced induction 2-stroke with variable asymmetric exhaust port timing (this could be what NV are talking about when they say “variable scavenge system”), variable compression, scavenges with purely fresh air and can be run and started in HCCI mode meaning it doesnt need a spark plug or any of the associated ignition circuitry…and it has been out there in the public domain since 2000.
granted the NV press release mentions laser ignition etc but all of that’s already out there too.
sorry, didn’t mean that to sound like a rant.
noogie says
was the bimota not port injected rather than DI?
Hawk says
Why are we skeptical about concept engines that promise to surmount all those pesky problems that have baffled engineers for the past 120 years or so? Especially when the “details” are awaiting Intellectual Property patents.
Perhaps some collusion with the Two Stroke Shop http://www.twostrokeshop.com/ for small engines or PACCAR on their large diesels (like the new MX) would give more credibility.
In the meanwhile, it’s an interesting read.
noogie says
not sceptical i just don’t think it’s as ground breaking as it’s trying to make out.
Charles says
I agree.
They have to sound groundbreaking. Behind the few technical details, this PR is mostly written to attract funds. Why are mentioning their supposed US competitor if not to tell that even Bill Gates believes in such tech ? Why are they talking to be ready to hit any market that uses internal combustion engines ?
Although we have to wait for real details, the main improvement on current fuel injected 2-strokes is that it may comply with future Euro/EPA regulations.
All the rest is quite standard : 30% more power… Yamaha-Minarelli 4-stroke liquid-cooled 125 cc engine output is something like 20 HP. 90’s tech Rotax-Aprilia 2-Stroke 125 engine is 34 HP. Sound’s like more than 30%…
60% cheeper… At full-scale production levels… Right, it means that all that ceramic-coated bearings, laser ignition, … will be far more expensive than their chinese-made counterparts for years. At least, until chinese-made automotive industry produce all that stuff.
To sum up, great fund rising marketing PR.
I’d rather Peugeot Scooters or Aprilia going further in their 2 stages fuel injected 2 stroke
Terdwilicker says
Remember the OPOC? As soon as they got their funding from Bill Gates: bang, dead silence. No more press releases, no more development news. Like they took the money and ran. One gets the feeling that the “minor developmental issues” were not so minor. Yamaha has a direct injection 2-stroke scooter. Above other direct injection 2-strokes are listed over the years. Considering that Japan took a real beating in their car and motorcycle industries due to the tsunami and radiation disasters associated with the quake, shouldn’t there be some US-based motorcycle companies making scooters and engines like this domestically for a price ordinary people would pay, the folks that would have previously bought those reliable cheap Japanese bikes? This isn’t rocket science.
The other thing that concerns me is the long term reliability of this “wear resistant coating”. That stuff never works out in the real world. 2-strokes are rated in Hours, not Miles. There’s a reason for that. How many hours before those piston rings need replacing?
noogie says
i’m almost certain none of the major japanese manufacturers make their own 50cc DI 2-strokes, all the engines are made by piaggio, morini, minarelli (all european companies) or similar and the actual DI technology is made solely by orbital/synerject. there is basically zero money to be made from any US manufacturer trying to compete in the scooter market, that’s the reason they don’t try to compete. same with the UK motorcycle industry. the money is to be made in high value added products.
your opinion at the end of your post is a very “old school” view of 2-strokes in complete contrast to the main gist of this article. it’s complete rubbish to be honest, it depends what type of engines you’re comparing…yes some high performance 2-stroke engines have very low service intervals but so do some 4-strokes.
Jimmy says
you got that right Noogie. I raced a 1974 suzuki TM125cc. I bought it brand new and took vary good care of it, every one was replacing piston and rings 2 or 3 times a season on these bikes. I raced this bike for 4 years,with no replacement parts in the engine. I also had a 1970 ossa pioneer same kind of reliability,proper care and the right fluids,good oil and gas never any problems ,and thats before synthetics. I love 2 strokes and hope this project or any others like it go somewhere.
Viv Collins says
Is it any thing to do with the old Wolf stepped piston engine that NVT briefly talked about before going tits up?
Not really followed it since but this reminds me of it, here is an example
http://users.breathe.com/prhooper/opads.htm
'37 Indian Chief says
My old ’86 Peterbilt came with a 736 cu in Detroit Diesel 8V92 two-stroke V8. It was supercharged (has to be for this type of two-stroke to run), and turbocharged. The intake was cylinder ported, and it had 4 exhaust valves, all in the cylinder head. It used a conventional style crankcase with 11 gallons of diesel rated engine oil. The injectors were mechanical direct injection, no need to mix any oil with the fuel. These engines worked great in buses, but really didn’t hold up that well in heavy trucks. Overheating was the worst problem, as they didn’t intercool the intake air, so the heads would crack at (comparatively) low engine temps. Mine cracked at 205 degrees, allowing coolant into the crankcase oil, which spun the main bearings in a short period of time. Excessive smoke and lower that average fuel consumption were other drawbacks. I agree that what they’re working on doesn’t sound all that groudbreaking, but I’m interested in what N-V comes up with.
Mule says
Sounds fantastico!! Like Santa Claus almost. I can’t wait to see it. However, the part where they’re soliciting some “Universities” to develop aspects of the design and the fact that they don’t have an animated prototype, much less a working engine makes it sound like a bunch of cool theories being tossed about. “NV has been developing a new design.” Not an actual engine. If they had an actual engine, with patents, they’d have it plastered all over the world. Maybe they’re looking for investors?
Sorry, not quite a believer yet. Thats the difference between the internet and reality.
John Ellwood says
sounds good, hope they make it.
BigHank53 says
Does this sound familiar?
“The Orbital Combustion Process engine has been refined into a two-stroke engine that is 50% lighter, 30% more fuel efficient, 20% cheaper to make, 70% smaller, and produces 30% less pollution than traditional engines. A plant was established in the USA to build these engines for sale to car, motorcycle and boat manufacturers to test and develop as licensees to the Australian company.”
That’s from Orbital, back in the nineties. Evinrude and the scooter manufacturers are pretty much the only people using the direct-injection technology. Their Ford, GM, and Fiat partnerships haven’t produced much.
I’m not knocking the Norton Villiers stuff. But right now it’s just a press release. I hope it works as well in the real world as it does in the lab–I want a 275 lb bike with 100 hp.
JR says
There are some 2-stroke scooters out there that are 40 years old and still run like tops…
Joe Nichols says
Bill Gates money and two stroke technology, who would have thought…………
DanyalDenyo says
I’m surprised none of the replies so far has mentioned the 600cc(115hp) Rotax 2-stroke DI “593 E-TEC” that’s been used on snowmobiles. What’s wrong with that engine? What am I missing?
Tin Man says
Yes, This concept has been in use for years now In Marine Outboards and Snowmobiles. Its all Good and I look forward to 2 Stroke bikes again, I grew up fooling around with RD Yamahas.
JoeW says
About thirty-five years ago my mate at Uni had a go at making a DI stroker so it is already old news… interesting that someone mentioned the Wolf as that had stepped pistons with a supercharging effect, so could be a development of that. Not sure where NV could get the dosh to make a state of the art stroker engine, though but I suppose anything is possible.
todd says
two-strokes are bound to make a come-back. There’s just too much cost savings to be ignored. It’s got to be the closest thing to a solid-state IC engine if there ever was one.
-todd
p.s. my old two strokes seem to last forever
Jimmy says
Ya no kidding Todd, I guess all the people saying poor reliability don’t remember the lawn boy lawn mower, no maintenance and run forever.
hydro says
Quote from the text: “Since the 2 stroke fires on every second stoke while the 4 stroke fires on every fourth stroke, it gives a significantly increased power output”
What!! When I went to school, a 2 stroke fired on every stroke, and a 4 stroke every second stroke. Doing you homework like proof reading is an absolute must in professional enginering atleast..This was obviously written by an accountant, sort off blows any credibility into the weeds doesn’t it…?
Nicolas says
I believe the term “stroke” can be understood in different ways, if a stroke is considered 360 degrees of crank rotation or only 180 degrees … they say 180 degrees in this article, you Hydro say 360.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
hydro, count ’em, … intake, compression, POWER, exhaust, … four strokes, one power stroke. You might want to recheck your notes from school.
Scotduke says
The Bimota injected two stroke suffered from poor mapping of its electronics as I remember – build quality wasn’t so good either and the few bikes that still run have carbs now instead as part of a retrofit – pretty bike though. Honda however developed a very successful injected two stroke with low emissions. This was fitted to a trailie and ridden to the North Pole some years back. I would presume Honda still is working on the concept.
As for the Detroit Diesel two strokes, they did have a reputation for blowing gaskets and turbochargers in particular, as well as being noisy and consuming a lot of fuel. The Deltic railway locomotives developed in the UK were two strokes and had a high power to weight ratio, similar with all two strokes (they also had two pistons/cylinder incidentally). They also were noisy and burned a lot of fuel and weren’t so good on reliability. Most modern large ship diesels are two strokes like the enormous Wartsila engines that are as big as an office block.
Injected two strokes do have a lot of potential. NV and its Bill Gates backed rival aren’t the only competitors in the field though. Let’s wait and see what Honda does. I would expect a Honda motor to be pretty good if/when it comes to market.
pat walker says
animation drawing here
http://www.ecomotors.com/
JustThunkin says
What a lot of mis-informed motorheads. Hi pressure DI for two strokes is not new nor is it the exclusive venue of Evinrude outboard motors. The Mercury OptiMax and the Nissan TLDI and Yamaha HPDI engines all use DI and all are consumer rated at 200 Hp in stock form and well capable of delivering 300 Hp with relatively minor tuning (relatively being a function of removing the “consumer” resttrictions for warranty purposes).
With all the @Kneeslider emphasis on ideas related to motorcycles, and specifically this article, it’s a disappointment that there aren’t more well experienced readers/riders.
Head shaker. Next there will be an article on ABS as invented by HD.
Nicolas says
Thankfully you’re here to save us all misinformed and uneducated inexperienced riders. Thank you.
Sick Cylinder says
I remember Ford developed a 2 stroke for cars which had a conventional wet sump bottom end – the project was canned because they could only get engine life of 100,000 miles – the target was 150,000.
I expect in snowmobiles and boats there is not the same requirment for long engine life?
Does anyone remember anything about this project – I am going completely from memory, but beleive it was a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder petrol unit – the project was canned about 25 years ago.
Paulinator says
I noticed that NV never said that the lubricant in thier high pressure lubrication mist was actually oil-based.
Len says
Sounds like a great concept, but Norton Villiers will never be able to pull it off, maybe they should sell the idea to Ecomotors so that it will not die on the vine….!!
cyclox says
I’ll believe it when I can buy it. Until then, it’s vaporware and I’ll continue riding my old smelly form of 2 smokes.
T-Ray says
A coating that doesn’t require lubrication! I’d put that on everything. (Just like autotune, says Eminem). And you wonder why OPOC went quiet. 🙂
hydro says
Sorry for delay,….stuff… & stand corrected, stroke v’s rotation..
Perhaps (the echo of my late father).. a stroke is a revolution, and realised upon critisism from forum.. kind regards.. 🙂
Gregjet says
Noogie said it right ,I reckon.
Low pressure supercharged two strokes can have no oil pollution AND produce even more power. Common crankcase compression is only about 1.5:1 ( ie nominally 22psi or 7psiboost) so a charger is not a big problem ( although because of the two stroke cycle it has to pass twice as much air as a 4stroke one). Even a slight extra boost would increase the power easily. Two stroke pistons have come a long way and coated pistons can easily increase piston life especially when you can lube the skirt properly. May have to go to 3rings ( ie and oil ring as well).
Expansion chambers would have to undergo a modernization to reduce noise from pipe ringing. But fuel injection and variable inlet and exhaust valved timing and two strokes ability to produce more torque at lower revs ( when air flow timed right) would make it a very viable road motor proposition.
Remember way modern two strokes are crankcase charged. Blame the FIM. They outlawed supercharged two strokes a very long time ago mainly because the supercharged DKW’s were blowing ( sorry) everything away on the race track. They disappeared and so did the high performance ( and efficiency dividends) development of supercharged two strokes.
Note: superchargers would have to be, at least at start up, electrically driven.