N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
While at OSH this year I stopped by the ECI tent to see if they had any new tricks up their sleeves. During the conversation I asked them if they had any idea how much HP a stock ECI O-360 actually puts out.

I asked because when I fist started flying my re-powered RV-9 Craig Catto made me three props before he got the pitch right. This prompted Craig to say, "You are putting out closer to 200 HP than 180." which always remained in the back of my head. (I'm always leery of BS HP claims in cars, boats, motorcycles, planes, weedeaters, etc.)

The only question the guy asked was which cylinders I had. When I pointed to the cutaway of their tapered cylinder on display he smiled and said, "That experimental cylinder has a different intake valve design than their certified cylinder." We discussed that this design helps get more air in the cylinder and that it also helps atomize the fuel-air mixture better for more power/fuel economy.

Just putting this out there and wondering if anyone else has noticed this.
 
N941WR said:
Just putting this out there and wondering if anyone else has noticed this.
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Not sure what your asking. Are you asking if anyone has noticed the tapered fin barrels? Yes and it has been discussed here. The tapered fins are a weight savings feature. I think the # was 5 lbs but I could be wrong about that. Has been in production since 2006. A long time. You will find these on ECI engines, their kits, and other assemblers like Aerosports 375 motor(an ECI kit engine). Very common these days.
 
Bill,

I seem to recall somewhere in eci documentation that my IO engine is rated at 188 hp... For whatever that is worth.

I have added Superior cold induction and G3i ignition, so with those changes I am probably well over 300 hp! Hahahaha

Now, if fuel consumption is an indicator of output (and we all know that there is a correlation) these engines are thirstier than usual 180's. machine man's eci IO-360 can chug down the fuel!

Any way you slice it, they are good running engines!

:cool: CJ
 
Kahuna said:
Not sure what your asking. Are you asking if anyone has noticed the tapered fin barrels? Yes and it has been discussed here. The tapered fins are a weight savings feature. I think the # was 5 lbs but I could be wrong about that. Has been in production since 2006. A long time. You will find these on ECI engines, their kits, and other assemblers like Aerosports 375 motor(an ECI kit engine). Very common these days.
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True, and the weight savings was the main reason I went with the tapered fins. Finding out that the intake redesign was part of the package is just a bonus.

Captain_John said:
Bill,

I seem to recall somewhere in eci documentation that my IO engine is rated at 188 hp... For whatever that is worth.
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I knew that but the odd part was the sales guy didn't mention that number, he just smiled when I asked him about the true HP rating and mentioned the problem getting a prop to match the engine/airframe.

Captain_John said:
I have added Superior cold induction and G3i ignition, so with those changes I am probably well over 300 hp! Hahahaha

Now, if fuel consumption is an indicator of output (and we all know that there is a correlation) these engines are thirstier than usual 180's. machine man's eci IO-360 can chug down the fuel!

Any way you slice it, they are good running engines!

:cool: CJ
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Very true! My dual P-mag setup probably gives me some extra HP, how many is anyone's guess.

As for the fuel burn, I can see 16 GPH at full power and full rich. OUCH!
 
N941WR said:
During the conversation I asked them if they had any idea how much HP a stock ECI O-360 actually puts out.
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And did you get a straight answer?

Call me crazy... but for the money a new aircraft engine goes for, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that it should be delivered with a dyno run sheet. But that's just me.
 
flyinga said:
Every engine is different. The only way to know the HP is run it on a dyno.
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I agree 100%! Everything else is just a SWAG.

DaleB said:
And did you get a straight answer?

Call me crazy... but for the money a new aircraft engine goes for, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that it should be delivered with a dyno run sheet. But that's just me.
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How is that going to work when the engine arrived from ECI in a bunch of different boxes with a note saying "Some assembly required"?

Not having access to a dyno means I have to go with the factory numbers, which just seem too low, based on my experience getting a properly pitched prop. That and I was able to outrun a -7 with an IO-360 parallel valve that dyno'ed well over 200 HP. Go figure.
 
Well that's ineresting

I bought the o-360 tapered fins from aerosport and had some regret lately that I didn't get the o-375. But Bart at aerosport obviously knows what he's doing.
 
Data plate

This maybe just a little off topic, but what is the data plate stamped? Is it 180HP or what that engine was tested at? The reason for the question is if the FAA passes the proposed medical change to eliminate the need for a medical if you have 180 hp or less. I don't want mine to say 185 hp for example.
 
N941WR said:
I agree 100%! Everything else is just a SWAG......snip..... That and I was able to outrun a -7 with an IO-360 parallel valve that dyno'ed well over 200 HP. Go figure.
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Bill, Sounds like you need to enter a Sport Air Race....everything else is just SWAG:D

My overhauled lycoming 360(factory cylinders) was never dyno'd, but with Emag/Pmag, 9:1 compression and AFP injection I would guess 190hp. I'm not very competitive in the RV blue class, 4th place is about where I end up most races. I top out at ~188kts, I've seen higher but not consistent to be over 190KTAS.

But when we travel I seem to do pretty good. Yesterday we flew to Cabin Creek Landing (97MT) for breakfast. 180kts TAS at 8.7gph 8500'msl, so 21nm/gal at that speed ain't too shabby. I started my 1hr fuel timer as I taxi'd out, did a run up, then climb for our trip 8u8-52s-97mt. The timer showed 1 minute remaining as I switched tanks in prep for landing. Not too shabby.

will fly for food is a worthy cause. here's a pic from the lookout tower. others planes not here yet, but we were the only RV.
 
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Hey guys,
I recall looking into this engine back when I was building. The extra HP it puts out isn't from the tapered fins, it's from the increased airflow into the cylinders from the valve shafts tapering down to be thinner, thus allowing more air to flow around them when they're open.

This is an old muscle-car trick...if you think of an engine like an air pump, it makes sense that it makes more HP the better the air flows.

Anyway, I went with the "standard" ECI kit engine because I didn't want to modify the baffles too much.
 
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