Is the Three-Cylinder Engine Expensive?
2 Answers
Three-cylinder engines are costly to manufacture. Many people might intuitively assume that since a three-cylinder engine has one less cylinder than a four-cylinder engine, its production cost would naturally be lower. However, this is a misconception. Transitioning from a four-cylinder to a three-cylinder engine isn't as simple as omitting one cylinder during manufacturing. More details are as follows: 1. Four-Cylinder Engine: Converting a four-cylinder engine into a three-cylinder one requires extensive redevelopment and recalibration. Mass production would necessitate setting up entirely new production lines. Given their long development history and mature technology, four-cylinder engines are actually more cost-effective, saving both manpower and resources. 2. Three-Cylinder Engine: While the material costs for a three-cylinder engine might be slightly lower, the overall manufacturing cost is undoubtedly higher than that of a four-cylinder engine. Due to inherent design limitations, three-cylinder engines tend to exhibit vibrations and less smooth operation. To mitigate these issues, manufacturers invest significant effort in solutions such as equipping the crankshaft with counterweights, adding balance shafts, and incorporating dual-mass flywheels.
About this three-cylinder engine thing, I've done some data research myself. First, the material cost: eliminating one set of cylinders, pistons, and connecting rods does save about 15% in material expenses. But what you might not know is that to suppress the vibration, engineers have to add balance shafts and modify the mounting system - these additional components cost more than double those in a regular four-cylinder engine! Ford's publicly disclosed financial report last year showed that when developing their Ecoboost three-cylinder, the R&D cost per engine was 22% higher than for four-cylinder engines. So whether it actually saves money can't just be judged by part count. Nowadays, automakers push three-cylinders more to meet emission regulations - the small savings on materials get immediately reinvested into vibration reduction technology.
