Engine displacement

Engine Displacement

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Engine displacement

Engine displacement is the volume swept by the all pistons of an engine in a single movement from top dead center to bottom dead center. It can be specified in cubic centimeters, liter

Litér

Lit?r is a village in Veszpr?m , Hungary.External links ...
s, or cubic inch

Cubic inch

Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
of air/fuel mixture an engine

Engine

An engine is a mechanical device that produces some form of output from a given input.An engine whose purpose is to produce kinetic energy output from a fuel is called a Wiktionary:prime mover; alternatively, a motor is a device which produces kinetic energy from a preprocessed "fuel" ....
draws in during one complete engine cycle, howsoever defined and subject to further interpretation by taxation and racing authorities.

The engine's displacement is sometimes used in the manufacturer's nomenclature.

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Encyclopedia

Engine displacement is the volume swept by the all pistons of an engine in a single movement from top dead center to bottom dead center. It can be specified in cubic centimeters, liter

Litér

Lit?r is a village in Veszpr?m , Hungary.External links ...
s, or cubic inch

Cubic inch

Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
of air/fuel mixture an engine

Engine

Nissan Teana

The Nissan Teana is a front wheel drive Full-size car automobile produced by Nissan of Japan, introduced in 2003. It is exported as the Nissan Maxima and Nissan Cefiro to certain markets, not to be confused with the Nissan Maxima sold in North America ....
is a Teana with a 3498cc (213.5 CID) engine

Nissan VQ engine

The VQ engine is a V6 piston engine produced by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. with displacements varying from 2.0 L to 4.0 L . It is an aluminum cylinder block DOHC 4-valve design with aluminum cylinder head....
. Motorcycles are often labeled this way. However this can be misleading. For instance, the current BMW 335i only has a 3.0L engine.

Calculation

Engine displacement is calculated using the bore, stroke, and number of cylinders

Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
:

Units of measure

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
cubic inch

Cubic inch

A cubic inch is a non-International System of Units Units of measurement of volume, equal to the volume of a cube with sides of one inch.Cubic inches are still sometimes used as a unit of measurement in the United States and Canada, although SI is continuing to gradually displace non-SI usage....
was commonly used until the 1980s by the manufacturers to express the displacement of engines for cars, trucks, etc. (e.g., the "426" in 426 HEMI refers to 426 cubic inches displaced). It is therefore still used for this purpose in the context of the classic-car hobby, auto racing, and so forth.

The automotive industry nowadays uses metric system

Metric system

The metric system is an international decimalised systems of measurement, founded by France in 1791, that is the common system of Unit of measurement used by most of the world....
for this purpose worldwide (e.g. 6.1 L HEMI). However, on markets accustomed to cubic inches the actual displacement measurements of an engine are still given by many manufacturers in these units, usually along with metric value; e.g. the 6.1 L HEMI's published displacement is 370.0 CID/6,059 cc. Some examples of common CID-to-litre conversions are given below. Note that nominal sizes are not always precisely equal to actual sizes. This principle is frequently seen in engineering, tool standardization, etc. (for ease of use) and in marketing (when a big round number sounds more impressive, is more memorable, etc.).

Make (±Division)	CID (actual) (nearest 1)	CID (nominal)	SI (actual) (nearest 0.01)	SI (nominal)
Honda, Kawasaki, others	something close to 61 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	1000 cc (= 1.0 L)
Honda, Kawasaki, others	something close to 98 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	1600 cc (= 1.6 L)
Honda, Kawasaki, others; Ford	something close to 122 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	2000 cc (= 2.0 L)
GM (Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, GMC, others)	151 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	2.5 L GM Iron Duke engine The Iron Duke was a 2.5 L Straight-4 piston engine. All Iron Dukes were built by Pontiac beginning in 1977 and ending in 1993.This 151 was also used by American Motors starting in 1980, as the base engine option in the RWD AMC Spirit and AMC Concord, and continuing in both cars through 1982....
Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, others	something close to 183 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	3.0 L
AMC, Jeep, Chrysler (I6 AMC Straight-6 engine The American Motors Corporation straight-6 family of engines was used by a number of AMC and Jeep vehicles from 1964 through 2006.* For an outline of all engines used by AMC see ... )	241.573 CID	242 CID	3,959 cc	4.0 L
Ford	something close to 244 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	[something close to SI nominal]	4.0 L Ford Cologne V6 engine The original Ford Cologne V6, also known as the Ford Taunus V6, 640L, was a 60? cast iron block V6 internal combustion engine built by the Ford Motor Company in Cologne, Germany, hence the name....
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	250 CID	4.10 L	4.1 L
AMC, Jeep, International Harvester	[something close to CID nominal]	258 CID	4.22 L	4.2 L
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	289 CID Ford Windsor engine The Windsor engine is a 90-degree small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1962, replacing the old Ford Y-block engine. Though not all of the engines in this family were produced at the Windsor, Ontario engine plant , the name stuck....	4.74 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
Ford (Ford trucks and vans)	[something close to CID nominal]	300 CID	4.92 L	4.9 L
Ford, GM (Chevrolet)	[something close to CID nominal]	302 CID (302 Windsor Ford Windsor engine The Windsor engine is a 90-degree small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1962, replacing the old Ford Y-block engine. Though not all of the engines in this family were produced at the Windsor, Ontario engine plant , the name stuck.... , 302 Cleveland Ford 335 engine The Ford 335 internal combustion engine family were a group of small-block V8 V8 engines built by the Ford Motor Company between 1970 and 1982. The significance of the Numerals '335' designated to this series of Small block Ford V8 engines is relatively unknown.... , Chevrolet 302 Chevrolet Small-Block engine Chevrolet's small-block V8 is a not a single engine but a series of famous automobile engines built on the same basic small engine block. Retroactively referred to as the "Generation I" small-block, it is distinct from subsequent GM "Generation II" GM LT engine and "Generation III" GM LS engine engines.... )	4.95 L	5.0 L
AMC, Jeep, International Harvester	[something close to CID nominal]	304 CID	4.98 L	5.0 L
GM (Chevrolet; Buick)	307 CID	307 CID Chevrolet Small-Block engine Chevrolet's small-block V8 is a not a single engine but a series of famous automobile engines built on the same basic small engine block. Retroactively referred to as the "Generation I" small-block, it is distinct from subsequent GM "Generation II" GM LT engine and "Generation III" GM LS engine engines....	5.03 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (Oldsmobile)	307 CID	NA (not marketed in CID)	5.03 L	5.0 L Oldsmobile V8 engine The Oldsmobile Rocket V8 was the first post-war Overhead valve V8 at General Motors Corporation. Production started in 1949, with a new generation introduced in 1964....
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	318 CID Chrysler LA engine The LA engines are a family of pushrod engine Overhead valve 90? V-block gasoline engines built by Chrysler Corporation and factory-installed in passenger vehicles, trucks and vans, commercial vehicles, marine and industrial applications from 1964 through 2003....	5.21 L	5.2 L
AMC, GM (Chevrolet)	327 CID	327 CID	5.36 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	340 CID Chrysler LA engine The LA engines are a family of pushrod engine Overhead valve 90? V-block gasoline engines built by Chrysler Corporation and factory-installed in passenger vehicles, trucks and vans, commercial vehicles, marine and industrial applications from 1964 through 2003....	5.57 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, others)	[something close to CID nominal]	350 CID Chevrolet Small-Block engine Chevrolet's small-block V8 is a not a single engine but a series of famous automobile engines built on the same basic small engine block. Retroactively referred to as the "Generation I" small-block, it is distinct from subsequent GM "Generation II" GM LT engine and "Generation III" GM LS engine engines....	5.74 L	5.7 L
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	351 CID (Cleveland Ford 335 engine The Ford 335 internal combustion engine family were a group of small-block V8 V8 engines built by the Ford Motor Company between 1970 and 1982. The significance of the Numerals '335' designated to this series of Small block Ford V8 engines is relatively unknown.... or Windsor Ford Windsor engine The Windsor engine is a 90-degree small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1962, replacing the old Ford Y-block engine. Though not all of the engines in this family were produced at the Windsor, Ontario engine plant , the name stuck.... )	5.75 L	5.8 L
AMC, Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	360 CID Chrysler LA engine The LA engines are a family of pushrod engine Overhead valve 90? V-block gasoline engines built by Chrysler Corporation and factory-installed in passenger vehicles, trucks and vans, commercial vehicles, marine and industrial applications from 1964 through 2003....	5.90 L	5.9 L
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	383 CID Chrysler RB engine The RB engine is a big-block V8 engine from Chrysler. It first appeared in 1959 and was a raised-deck version of the Chrysler B engine. The big-block RB lasted until 1978....	6.28 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
AMC, Ford, GM (Cadillac)	[something close to CID nominal]	390 CID	6.39 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (Chevrolet)	[sometimes 396 CID, sometimes 402 CID]	396 CID Chevrolet Big-Block engine The Chevrolet big block is a series of large displacement V8 engines that were developed in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. As American automobiles grew in size and weight following the Second World War the engines powering them had to keep pace....	6.49 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (Chevrolet; others?)	[something close to CID nominal]	400 CID Chevrolet Small-Block engine Chevrolet's small-block V8 is a not a single engine but a series of famous automobile engines built on the same basic small engine block. Retroactively referred to as the "Generation I" small-block, it is distinct from subsequent GM "Generation II" GM LT engine and "Generation III" GM LS engine engines....	6.55 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (Chevrolet)	[something close to CID nominal]	409 CID Chevrolet Big-Block engine The Chevrolet big block is a series of large displacement V8 engines that were developed in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. As American automobiles grew in size and weight following the Second World War the engines powering them had to keep pace....	6.70 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
GM (Pontiac)	[something close to CID nominal]	421 CID	6.90 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	426 CID (Wedge Chrysler RB engine The RB engine is a big-block V8 engine from Chrysler. It first appeared in 1959 and was a raised-deck version of the Chrysler B engine. The big-block RB lasted until 1978.... or Hemi Chrysler Hemi engine A Chrysler Hemi engine, known by the trademark Hemi, is an internal combustion engine built by Chrysler that utilizes a Sphere combustion chamber.... )	6.98 L	7.0 L
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	427 CID Ford FE engine The Ford FE engine was a Ford Motor Company V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. A related engine, the Ford FT engine, was used in medium and heavy trucks from 1964 through 1978....	7.00 L	7.0 L
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	428 CID Ford FE engine The Ford FE engine was a Ford Motor Company V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. A related engine, the Ford FT engine, was used in medium and heavy trucks from 1964 through 1978....	7.01 L	7.0 L
Ford (Ford, Mercury)	[something close to CID nominal]	429 CID Ford 385 engine The Ford 385 engine family was the United States Ford Motor Company's final big block V8 internal combustion engine design, replacing the Ford MEL engine and gradually superseding the Ford FE engine family....	7.03 L	7.0 L
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth)	[something close to CID nominal]	440 CID Chrysler RB engine The RB engine is a big-block V8 engine from Chrysler. It first appeared in 1959 and was a raised-deck version of the Chrysler B engine. The big-block RB lasted until 1978....	7.21 L	7.2 L
GM (GMC, Chevrolet)	[something close to CID nominal]	454 CID Chevrolet Big-Block engine The Chevrolet big block is a series of large displacement V8 engines that were developed in the USA during the 1950s and 1960s. As American automobiles grew in size and weight following the Second World War the engines powering them had to keep pace....	7.44 L	7.4 L
GM (Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac)	[something close to CID nominal]	455 CID	7.46 L	NA (not marketed in SI)
Ford (Ford [trucks and vans]; Lincoln [cars])	[something close to CID nominal]	460 CID Ford FE engine The Ford FE engine was a Ford Motor Company V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. A related engine, the Ford FT engine, was used in medium and heavy trucks from 1964 through 1978....	7.54 L	7.5 L
GM (Cadillac)	[something close to CID nominal]	472 CID	7.73 L	7.7 L
GM (Cadillac)	[something close to CID nominal]	500 CID	8.19 L	8.2 L
Chrysler (Dodge)	506.5 CID	505 CID	8285 cc	8.3 L
Chrysler (Dodge)	509.8 CID	510 CID	8354 cc	8.4 L

Governmental regulations

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon an individual or Legal person by a state or the functional equivalent of a state.Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entity....
ation of automobile

Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
s is commonly based on engine displacement, rather than power output. Displacement is basic to an engine design whereas power output depends a great deal on other factors, including wear and even the weather. This has encouraged the development of other methods to increase engine power, such as variable valve timing

Variable valve timing

Variable valve timing, or VVT, is a generic term for an automobile piston engine technology. VVT allows the lift, duration or timing of the intake or exhaust Poppet valve to be changed while the engine is in operation....
and turbocharger

Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo, is a gas compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine. Like a supercharger, the purpose of a turbocharger is to increase the mass of air entering the engine to create more power....
s.

There are four major regulatory constraints for automobiles: the European, the British, the Japanese, and the American. The method used in some European countries, and which predates the EU, has a level of taxation for engines over one (1.0) liter

Litér

Lit?r is a village in Veszpr?m , Hungary.External links ...
and another at the level of about 100 cubic inch

Cubic inch

A cubic inch is a non-International System of Units Units of measurement of volume, equal to the volume of a cube with sides of one inch.Cubic inches are still sometimes used as a unit of measurement in the United States and Canada, although SI is continuing to gradually displace non-SI usage....
es, which is approximated to 1.6 liters. The British system of taxation depends upon vehicle emissions for cars registered after 1 March 2001 but for cars registered before this date it depends on engine size. Cars under 1549 cc qualify for a cheaper rate of tax.

The Japanese method is similar to the European taxation by classes of displacement plus a vehicle weight tax. In the American system, which includes Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, there is not this sort of taxation per engine displacement. In The Netherlands and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
road tax is based on vehicle weight. However, Swedish cars registered in 2008 or later are taxed based on carbon dioxide emissions.

Displacement is also used to distinguish categories of (heavier) motorbikes with respect to license requirements. In France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
and some other EU countries, moped

Moped

Mopeds are a class of low-powered motorized vehicle, generally two or three wheeled. Moped classification is designed to allow the use of small motorized vehicles seen as not requiring the safety restrictions and license requirement that larger motorcycles are subject to....
s, usually with a two-stroke engine and less than 50 cm³ displacement can be driven with minimum qualifications (previously, they could be driven by any person over 14). This led to all light motorbikes having a displacement of about 49.9 cm³. Some people tuned

Engine tuning

Engine tuning is the adjustment, modification or design of internal combustion engines to yield optimal performance, to increase an engine's power output, economy, or durability....
the engine by increasing the cylinder bore, increasing displacement; such mopeds cannot be driven legally on public roads since they do no longer conform to the original specifications and may go faster than 45 km/h.

Wankel engine

Wankel engine

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine which uses a rotary combustion engine to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating piston engine....
s, due to the amount of power and emissions they create for their displacement, are generally taxed as 1.5 times their actual physical displacement (1.3 liters becomes 2.0, 2.0 becomes 3.0), although actual power outputs are far greater (the 1.3 liter 13B can produce power comparable to a 3.0 V6, and the 2.0 liter 20B can produce power comparable to a 4.0L V8). As such, racing regulations actually use a much higher conversion factor.

Engine displacement

Calculation

Units of measure

Governmental regulations

See also