---------------------------------------------------------- JabiruEngine-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Mon 12/13/10: 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 04:10 AM - Re: EFI on a 3300? (andysilvester) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 04:10:19 AM PST US Subject: JabiruEngine-List: Re: EFI on a 3300? From: "andysilvester" Hi Lynn, The only horn you're tooting is the one to make the engine better! You shouldn't feel at all sensitive about criticising some aspects of the engine - there's enough evidence to prove you were (and are) right. And to 'only' criticise without action is a bit meaningless; you have engineered real improvements which we all learn from. Knowing most of the guys at Jabiru (especially those involved in the early days when these designs were made) I still think they would defend the engine as 'functional and affordable'. Of course they know the addition of direct injection would improve efficiency and maybe power, but they have always tried to keep the engine's price at a point where it will sell in numbers, and particularly to those who want a 'cheaper than Rotax' alternative and something more advanced than VW and other auto conversions. In that regard they've done well, I think. The number of design-related actual failures is relatively low, and certainly manageable - they still sell engines. However, in almost 20 years of engine production there comes a time when technology advances 'past' the basic product and that's where I think we are now. Surely it can't be long before the humble carburettor is consigned to only to lawn tractors and the cheapest of motorcycles! I'm sure the problem for Jabiru is how to incorporate improvements like injection and variable ignition without putting the price up to un-competitive levels, in a production environment where (nowadays) I doubt they are selling more than 20-30 engines a month (the peak was about 80, I think). No, in my view the only realistic way forward is what we see in other engine types like VW - a basically OK engine where after-market improvements make it better - at a cost. I'm saying all this in an attempt to understand Jabiru's business and commercial focus; I still think they've been lucky to carry some pretty-poor design decisions through the years, and owners / operators have borne the cost. The 'luck' has been largely because the engine has sold mostly into the Experimental aircraft market where the diversity of installation quality and owner knowledge / skill has given Jabiru the room to blame others for some of these design issues. Nowadays more engines are entering the 'factory-built' (SLSA) community where maintenance and operation falls more into the 'certificated aircraft' environment and methods can't so easily be questioned, this wiggle-room is disappearing fast. Now, if Jabiru can get to the bottom of the oil pressure-flow issues and also the poor mixture distribution (mainly in 6-cylinders), there will be less for us to moan about! Cheers, Andy Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=323146#323146 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message jabiruengine-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/JabiruEngine-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/jabiruengine-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/jabiruengine-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.