No, I absolutely want to do this. I know someone built engine components out of torlon, but I cannot find the cost of this material. It may well be absurdly expensive, in which case I would need to find an alternative. I have no idea what this might be. It also seems that you might need to change some dimensions. The cylinders of course would be lined but I don't know how that would expand compared to the plastic.
there have been several attempts to do a plastic engine block.
But you have to consider the way worser heat transfer coefficient of plastics.
This could lead to much higher combustion chamber temperatures encouraging knocking.
For the same reason ceramics are not the first choice for engine blocks despite other advantages.
I seem to remember a project many years ago to replicate a Cosworth YB engine in composite materials and to use it in the British hillclimb Championship. (Derek Young - Vision clubmans car???)
The only sensible approach is using thermoset composites. The drawback to any composite is the matrix which is from a polymer in the end and shares the weaknesses of all polymers. They age with a heat over time history and become brittle and flaky. Going to elevated temperatures accelerates the aging by an exponential function. This is the main reason why we do not make combustion engine casings from polymeric materials. If you still want to do it you would have to add much more material which defeats the objective of a racing engine to make sure your engine goes the distance. For most application using metal in this app is the smart way to go.
Formula One's fundamental ethos is about success coming to those with the most ingenious engineering and best ..............................organization, not to those with the biggest budget. (Dave Richards)
